Our Travel Experience
We instantly liked Melbourne. So much that it is a city we would consider
living in. We came back for an extra night after Tasmania since we wanted
to see more of it. Too bad it's such a long flight from Chicago, IL and
Columbus, Ohio.
In contrast to Sydney, we felt like we were in a very friendly, cosmopolitan and diverse city. Our hotel looked out over the river towards the city center buildings. We didn't get very far from the hotel in the short time we were there. While Seth worked, Tara went to the city market, got her hair cut and took the free tram around town. The, we went to dinner with Seth's friend from work. They were all so friendly and very nice to us even though we'd all just met. After dinner we asked to be pointed towards the hotel and enjoyed walking through the city streets towards home.
The extra day when we came back, we enjoyed a dinner at the famous Italian section of the city. We had at least 50 Italian restaurants to choose from. Finally, a friendly restaurant waiter invited us into one & we made up our mind. Again, we walked back to the hotel, passing a charming-looking Chinatown. Then, in the morning, we sat outside at the riverside mall and watched all the people go by.
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Seth at night along the South shore of the Yarra River in Melbourne. We stayed at the nearby Sheraton and enjoyed many nice walks home along the river. The illuminated train station across the river was Tara's favorite building. |
| While Seth was working, Tara was out shopping. She especially liked all the fresh food available at the Victoria Market. |  |
| Category | Rating | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Experience | 9 | We want to go back. |
| Ease of Journey | 8 | It was 1 hour 20 minutes from Sydney to Melbourne. No upgrade for Tara though. |
| Accommodation | 8 | The standard work hotel, Le Meridian, was full, so we stayed a the Sheraton Towers Southgate and really enjoyed it. Seth was upgraded to a top floor, so we were able to eat free breakfast & go to the lounge with a good view. Seth liked it so much he signed up for a frequent stayed card & we've been staying at a few Sheratons since. |
| Activities | 8 | We weren't very active, but had a good time exploring the city by walking back to the hotel at night. The dinner outside at the Italian cafe was fun! As was sitting outside at the riverside mall watching people walk by. |
| Coolness | 9 | Melbourne is a very kool city that we want to go back to. |
