AFL Hawthorn Hawks vs Sydney Swans

On Saturday we went to our very first AFL game at the MCG (melbourne cricket ground -100,000 capacity stadium!). It was the Hawthorn Hawks vs. the Sydney Swans so we rallied around and supported the team from Melbourne (hawks) - I even went all out and bought a scarf which turned out to be more expensive than the ticket to the game! Having said that, the ticket was only $22 which was a bit of a bargain if you ask me...! We were about 4 rows from the very top/ back of the stadium but the view was still pretty good.

There were over 72,000 people there that night, Sydney and Hawthorn are two of the best teams so I think we picked a good night to go - the atmosphere was great and the crowds were all mixed, so no separate stands for each side. We'd had a prep session with a local aussie before we left, so just about knew the rules, although at first we had to watch which supporters were cheering to work out whether what had just happened was a good thing for us or not! After the first quarter we were seriously into it, booing, ooing and cheering along with everybody else - we are really hooked now and are desperate to go again next weekend!

They play 4 quarters which are roughly half an hour each, although some were a little longer and some a bit shorter, still don't completely understand why... There are 18 players on each team and they aim to kick it through the inner set of posts (6 points) , but if they miss and get it through the outer ones they get one point. They can't throw it but have to kick it or punch it and if a player catches a ball from a really long kick then nobody can tackle them, so they try and catch it within the 50m line so they can have a good chance at kicking it through the centre posts without being tackled. Other than that i'm not completely sure what happened but it was great fun to watch and would highly recommend to anybody that gets the chance!

First trip to Melbourne

20/7/14

Took a trip to Melbourne for the first time for Alix's birthday, had lunch in a laneway (pulled pork baguette, very predictable but delish nonetheless) and wandered around the centre for a bit. 

Saw loads of things we wanted to do but didn't have time to fully explore so we came back the next day to take it all in. Went back to the same laneway and got a much-needed cup of english breakfast tea from espresso (didn't taste like builder's tea but was still enjoyed immensely) after tackling the newly opened H&M flagship store - so overwhelmed I only managed to buy some tights! Then after tea we headed to another laneway to get some soup from 'the soup place'. We got a bowl of Moroccan chicken soup and it was SO GOOD. They had loads of different flavours so our plan is to go back and sample each one. For pudding we nipped into a chocolate shop - ganache i think it is called - and I picked one choccy from the amazing selection they had, salted caramel barrel for $2 but worth every penny (or should I say cent?). Freya tried her first macaron and loved it, so we can remain friends for now. 

Then we trundled off to Gertrude street, stopping off on the way to grab a slushy from seven eleven despite the fact it was absolutely freezing outside! 

Gertrude street holds a projection festival for ten nights (6-midnight) every July where artworks are projected onto the street, on high rise buildings and in shop windows. It was really odd seeing groups of people standing in complete silence mesmerised and staring into a shop window - it looked like they had been brainwashed and from a horror movie. The artworks themselves were all amazing, some a bit creepy and trippy but quite different from anything I had seen before. 

http://gspf.com.au/about-gspf/

Gertrude street is in Fitzroy where all the shops have quirky (but very expensive looking) clothes stores, cafés and winebars - definitely somewhere to visit again during the day. One gallery of woodworks was open and smelt incredible of the oils, we popped our heads around and the man inside was telling us about his wife's work - he asked her to create a quiet corner/ pod and so she did, Frey and I sat in it and it was amazingly calming!

After that we wandered back to Flinder's street station and headed home to a cup of tea and a mammoth batch of bolognese.