The Fellowship of the Ring of Fire, Part 8: Melbourne

Melbourne was a fresh welcome back to urban life. Art is everywhere. We went to the Victoria National Gallery, which was quite nice and FREE!!! Actually, there was a special exhibition that wasn't free, and our bad timing made us miss it because it was a members only day. But we weren't complaining. There was a special exhibit at The Australian Center for the Moving Image (ACMI) that was interesting. It was artsy experimentation with a video camera, unique movements of the body, and very unique angles to make things look really interesting.

The shopping was nice too. Downtown Melbourne has an upscale street for shopping. I tried on a very warm Armani jacket that cost $1,000. Just outside of town is the bohemian district of Fiztroy. They also have a street with lots of good shopping, but of a very different sort. The clothing is all ultra hip vintage stuff. And the shops are very specific boutique shops. We came across a tea shop that had hundreds of different teas. It's like Bath and Body Works, but for tea. Samples everywhere for you to smell. I didn't even know there were breakfast teas, mid afternoon teas, and dessert teas.