Ahhhhh Melbourne

We've been touring from early in the morning until evening each day. Great trip but we are all pretty tired once we get back to the hotel.
Melbourne is a terrific city. It has all the things a city should have and few of the things you don't want in a city. There are several sports stadiums, museums, monuments, a theater with three stages that will hold various size audiences, a casino, cafes and restaurants, and the list goes on and on. We traveled outside the city twice. Once to tour the Great Ocean Road and then to go to Phillip Island to see the Penguin Parade. I plan these trips over a year in advance which means I've forgotten many of the things on our itinerary. The Penguin Parade was one of the things I didn't remember selecting. It is now something I will never forget. We've seen many amazing things on our travels but the Little Penguins are truly fascinating. They swim miles off the coast all day long fishing for food and like clockwork they return at sunset in groups to the beach. They travel across land for a mile or more to return to their home where their young are hungry and waiting for mom and dad to return. No description will do it justice. At this point in the trip the Penguins are the highlight, along with dipping my feet in the Southern Ocean, feeling the breeze direct from the Antarctica on my face, and flying in the helicopter to see the Twelve Apostles (which are really 7 and a bit because part of the 8th feel in the ocean a few years back and there never were 12 to begin with).
I loved Melbourne. It had a great atmosphere and was easy to get around. People were friendly and proud of their home. They welcome visitors and are happy to have new people move to the area. It is a city of 4.1 million but it felt like a small community. Can't wait to see what the rest of Australia has to offer.