Batman's City

Well we have mercifully left the 46 degrees of Sydney for the much more humane 38 of Melbourne,  a city founded, or at least made important, by John Batman (unfortunately Robin Gibb lived in Brisbane).

Thankfully, my sister-in-law and her husband have a pool and air-conditioning as I try everything to stay cool in this relentless heat.  Surprisingly, Ambriya seems to be dealing with the heat better than any of us.  Other than a few sweaty mornings and her new found dislike of sunscreen, she hasn’t complained at all.

Melbourne, on top of being Australia's Gotham City, also has the idiosyncrasy of making drivers turn right from the left hand lane, which would be like trying to make a right hand turn in Canada from the far left lane across 5 other lanes of traffic.  I have yet to have someone give me a reasonable explanation for the design and continued use of this road layout. 

While in Melbourne I took in a few of the local sporting events.  I was present to watch the Brisbane Heat knock off the favoured Melbourne Renegades in the semi-final of the Big Bash league (cricket).  Then, the next day I went to the Australian Open where I watched some equally commanding performances, most notably Maria Sharapova who beat her opponent 6-0, 6-0.

The other big news from Melbourne was seeing my first whitetail spider.  While living in New Zealand I was warned about being bit by these spiders as they could cause paralysis, necrosis and death!  However, I have since been informed that this probably isn’t the case and that the whitetail, while big, is mostly harmless.

This is actually my last stop before heading back to Bendigo to start work.  I must admit it has been a very pleasant summer break here, save the few nights of plus 30 temperatures.