One of the more famous of Melbourne’s attractions is the Queen Victoria Market — which is the largest market in the southern hemisphere.  Even though we knew it would be massive, we were still surprised at how big it was.  Rows upon rows of fruit and vegetable vendors, meats, sweets, t-shirts, electronics, soaps, make-up, trinkets, and the list goes on and on.  We stopped by for just a few minutes on Sunday on our way to church, but we immediately noticed that the prices seemed to be lower on Tuesday.  Funny, huh?  We bought a few pieces of fruit at very nice prices and sat on a bench and ate a few.  We also watched a candy maker make very intricately designed candy.  First he pieces together the design by placing long strips of different colored warm candy (when it is pliable) long-ways to make a huge log.  By placing the strips in the correct places, when he then stretches the log out into thin sticks and chops them up, a design is in the center.  It was a real treat to watch, and we bought a bag to enjoy for the next few days.

We discovered that Melbourne offers a free tourist bus which hits several of the city hightlights over a 90 minute time period.  You can also hop off to explore and catch the next one when it comes around.  We did this and especially enjoyed the “Shrine of Remembrance” which is dedicated to the soldiers from the state of Victoria (which is in the south eastern tip of Australia).

Overall, though, we did enjoy Melbourne.  They have a very extensive tram system, which makes zipping around the city very easy for $3 a ride.  One of the highlights of our trip to Melbourne was meeting up with one of Katie’s college friends and her husband who now live in Melbourne.  They invited us to their church service on Sunday and we went out for lunch afterward.  It was great to have an hour to chat about life in Australia with real locals.

The next day, we walked to the Melbourne Zoo — which was a reasonably close walk from the hostel we were staying at in North Melbourne.  At the rangers station, they had a sign that said “Tours every 30 minutes.”  When we asked about it, they offered to give us a personal tour right then.  We tried not to be a burden, but they insisted, and we spent the next hour or so with Margaret, our very knowledgeable personal zoo guide.  Margaret knew all of the animals by name and knew each of their stories and personalities.  It was a real treat to have her with us.  We were especially taken with gorillas and orangutans as she told us about each one of their personalities.  For example, one of the gorillas was especially fond of a burlap sack.  She carried it with her wherever she went, sometimes putting it over her shoulders like a shawl.