Australia...Part 2

After my week in Perth, I headed across the country to Melbourne. The Pacific Rim gymnastics competition was being held out there, and so I was excited about watching Team USA at another big meet. Looking back, I’ve actually been to quite a few competitions since I’ve been living in Italy. Worlds in London, Champions Trophy in Stuttgart, USA Women’s competition outside of Venice, NCAA Championships in NY, and now Pacific Rim. At this point I’m pretty sure the USAG officials are sick of seeing be show up at meets around the world!

Coming from the NJ/NY area, I can appreciate a good sports city. I am a passionate supporter of my sports teams, and after being in Melbourne for a few days I could see that they too have a similar love for their teams. The dominant sport is the Aussie Football League, or just footy. To give you an idea of how crazy Melbourne is about it’s footy, just think about this. There are 16 teams in Australia’s top division. Of those 16 teams, 10 of them are based in Melbourne!!! THAT IS INSANE!!! NY/NJ has three football teams (including Buffalo). Rio de Janeiro and London each have five soccer teams. That always seemed like a lot to me. But 10 first division teams in one city...that’s another level. They also host the footy equivalent to the Super Bowl every year. Melbourne is a true sports city...

To accommodate all those teams, along with the cricket teams, the Australian Open tennis tournament, and various other sporting events such as the Pacific Rim, Melbourne has a vast network of sports stadiums. It doesn’t seem like a city big enough to pull off so many sports, but they do. For me, it was one of the most impressive parts of the city.

I got a first hand experience of a footy match too. North Melbourne vs. Melbourne. I love checking out new sporting events, so this was something I thoroughly enjoyed...and unlike the rugby match, I was able to stay awake the entire match. Footy is played on a huge oval field. My crude understanding of the game gave me the impression that it was basically a combination of soccer, rugby, football, and hot potato. The fans are passionate in a similar way to the Italians with soccer. That’s to say, it’s a borderline unhealthy relationship. The love I have for my Giants, Mets, Lazio, and the Azzurri can be looked at in a similar way, so I felt a unique sport connection to Melbourne.

Another form of sport, gambling, is something else I enjoy quite a bit. Melbourne has a state of the art casino that I found myself at a few times during my few days out there. For the past 17 years I have taken at least one yearly trip to Las Vegas. This was the first year that I missed out on my Vegas experience, so being able to gamble a little bit helped fix my Vegas itch. The atmosphere wasn’t quite like Vegas, but it was still a lot of fun. Plus, I ended up winning a couple bucks which wasn’t so bad.

The rest of my time in Melbourne was spent walking the city, eating sushi, and watching the USA clean up at Pacific Rim. Actually, it was pretty ridiculous how many medals the USA won. Between the guys and girls, I think they ended up with something like 35 medals. Wow. I guess you could say it was a successful weekend for Team USA. The girls were dominant as usual, and the guys have a bunch of up and coming talents that are going to do some big things over the next few years...it’s going to be fun to watch.

There is a reason why Melbourne is consistanly rated as one of the “The Most Livable City in the World.” It’s got a lot of energy with a younger population that keep the city alive late into the night even on weekdays. The downtown river area lined with restaurants and shops is a great spot to hang out and people watch. To me the city seemed very modern, but after living in Rome I think any city would seem modern. Overall, I’d say that Melbourne was one of my favorite cities that I’ve seen so far.

The only downside of my trip to Australia was how expensive everything was out there. The Australian dollar is essentially equivalent to the American dollar, and despite it’s resemblance to Monopoly money, it’s very real and it goes quickly in a city that regularly charges $15 to $20 just for lunch. One upside is that you don’t have to tip for anything. It’s a nice little bonus, but in the end the sky high prices still end up emptying the wallet pretty quickly.

The 30 hour trip back to Rome actually wasn’t too bad, but I was relieved to finally be back in my own bed. I’m in Rome right now, but I’m already planning my next few trips. This summer should be a memorable one...