Melbourne in March.......

Requires a huge amount of stamina to keep pace with the myriad of events that take place. Some have called it Event Overload but I call it FUN. Our adventures in March started off on the first weekend with the Ferrari Festival in Lygon St. This was a lead up event to the Grand Prix which took place last week. Lygon St was transformed into Ferrari heaven with a display of 60 ferraris, all different models and colours (I thought Ferrari's were all red but the Yellow one looked pretty cool too). Lygon St became a racetrack for the day with a parade of the famous cars and one GP test car driven by test driver Mark Gene. A sea of fans made for a fun day with great atmosphere. Lunch was eaten with the roar of the race car - very exciting.

On the way home we found a High Country exhibition at Federation Square so checked that out and now have maps of all the ski fields in Victoria. Well I'm sure I can use them next year. Later that night we had a change of pace seeing a great show at the 'old' Atheneum Theatre in Collins St. It was a Cat Steven's tribute show called Moonshadows - Sensational. If it travels it is a must see if you like the music.

The following weekend was Moomba. Saturday saw us wandering around Birrarung Marr & Alexander Gardens, which had been transformed into a huge carnival with rides, centre stage for the many & varied entertainments on offer, and lots of interactive sports areas. Of course the Yarra river running through the middle of these two areas was where the action was with the Moomba Waterfest taking place. We had lunch at Federation Wharf and returned to watch the Waterski events sitting in the sunshine on a beautiful day. A short rest at home saw us return to the river that evening for the Moomba Fireshow & Fireworks all from barges along the Yarra. Again Spectacular.

A rest day with a difference was called for on Sunday and we headed off to the Yarra Valley with friends to Riverstone Winery where we had a great lunch, a few drinks and a wonderful afternoon being entertained by a trio called Wild Honey.

Back at Moomba on Monday morning we watched the Parade. Had front row (gutter) seats just 10 mins walk from home. After a wander through a very busy city we headed for home via Crown to check out the Ferrari's 60th Birthday display in the Atrium. At this point all touristed out we went home for a well deserved rest.



And so to the Big Event itself. We went to the Grand Prix on Sunday. Again Red was the predominant colour and Ferrari won out in the end. It was never in doubt. Albert Park was transformed but all the noise (wow, do those F1 cars ROAR) and people (105,000) didn't seem to bother the Black Swans who just kept puddling around on the lake. The air display prior to the big race was amazing (I couldn't watch some of it). The highlight was a huge Qantas Jumbo (Flight 109 to London - they said) flying along the back straight at 1000 ft before heading off into the bright blue yonder. We were sitting right next to the back straight - Awesome!

Dinner with friends featured during March as well. A few good nights out have been had. And there is still a week or more left, stay tuned for more exciting adventures. I hope I can make it.

until next time.......