Day 1: Friday April 30 @ 1245, Rachel and I got picked up from Griffith Uni Village for the Gold Coast airport. Due to some slight/major plane booking confusions (aka Jetstar sucks) Jodi was already on her way to Melbourne and we were to meet here there 4 hours later. The flight went by pretty quickly with me passed out even before take off and before I knew it we were reunited with Jodi on beginning our trek out into Melbourne to find our "hotel" for the weekend via a Skybus and train service, clearly stopping along the way for snacks. To our surprise the transportation system was all pretty easy and we got checked in with no problem, again happily surprised at how nice our accommodation was. We were then back out in search of food. As it seems to happen to Rachel and I often (aka it happend to us in Sydney too) when we are starving, we end up, unknowingly in Chinatown. This time it was made a little more obvious with signs and decor, not to mention the people. This made dinner choices easy as there were a range of all types of Asian cuisine very close to our hotel, and I love thai food. After a good meal we were back and ready for bed, a theme we would get used to during the weekend.
Day 2: On this day we woke up veryy early as we had to be ready to meet up Great Ocean Road tour by 7am. This day became a long day of driving and stopping getting in and out of the bus to look at the beautiful views. Some of our stops along the drive included Bells Beach (one of Australia's first and most famous surf spots), Apollo Bay, The Twelve Apostles, Loch Ard Gorge, and London Bridge. At the Twelve Apostles the three of us took a helicopter ride for a better view of the apostles and the coast line. This was a great way to see the view and really the only way to be able to take in all of the rock formations in once glance, making me very glad I did it. I didnt feel well this whole day making it hard to enjoy the ride and views as a result but I came away with some amazing pictures and I am very glad I got the chance to see some of the rock formations and views I have always heard so much about.
Day 3: Reunited with the parents :) In the morning we woke up and walked over to meet up with them at their hotel. As we got a later start to our morning than we had planned (typical) and nothing around town was open (typical as it was a sunday) we sat in their hotel cafe and waited...giving them very little opportunity to settle into their hotel after getting off the plane before starting the day. We headed out to federation square, walking around and eating lunch. We continued our walk around the city as we headed over towards Eureka Skydeck, the tallest observation deck in the Southern Hemishpere. We rode the elevator to the 88th floor where we took in the views and went on the Edge, a "ride" that rides you out from the building in a glass box with frosted windows and floors. Then once the box is sticking out of the building the frost is taken away giving you clear views of the city from every angle, including under your feet. It was very overrated and I do not think it would have been necessary had we not have gotten free vouchers with our Great Ocean Road trip, but it was a nice additional view of the city, and a nice extra effort towards helping Jodi conquer her fear of heights (it was her idea after all!).From there we watched a street performer and his amazing fire whipping abilties(which I could have lived without seeing) and it was time for me and the parents to separate from the girls for dinner. We went for dinner on a tram car which took us for a tour of the city. I ate a delicious meal and enjoyed some quality alone time with the rents. I then went back to the hotel so I could listen to Donna's new ring tone, watch some of Glenn's new favorite music videos and relax. Then before long it was back to the girls and back to sleep.
Day 4: Again we woke up early determined to see more of the city before heading out on our Philips Island tour for the rest of the afternoon. We met back up with my parents at the free city tram stop and rode this around the city, viewing the city from a nice seated position and listening to the commentary of the driver. Eventually we got off back at Federation Square, spent a moment listening to the Melbourne Jazz Festival warm up and wandered into the ACMI (Australian Center for the Moving Image). This was a cool museum and my dad and had fun trying to make ourselves into the Matrix and create flip books, and many other cool gadgets the museum had to play with. After we were done with our play time we headed back towards the hotel to eat lunch and meet our tour guide. When she arrived I was suprised to find out that we were on a private tour and had a small mini-van and single tour guide to just the 5 of us. That was a very nice change of pace to the many tours I have been going on lately and it was nice how flexible she was willing to make the itinerary based on what we wanted to do with the day! After the long ride to Philips Island the stops began. We first stopped at a farm, where the cows and bulls came practically all the way inside the van for us to pet them! After a quick walk around here, looking at more cows and some peacocks, we had high tea of scones and jam and of course my latte and were back on the road. Next we stopped at a koala conservation park. I had just seen koalas in the wild on our Great Ocean Road trip but was very excited to see more as they have quickly become my favorite animal! They were all over the trees in this park. They are so cute and I look forward to planting a gum tree in my backyard to house my new pet koala on :) From here we made another quick stop to check out some Kangaroos.
Donna was on a search for a large kangaroo her whole trip and this stop may have satisfied that search. If the large kangaroo wasn't enough it was atleast cool to finally see a kangaroo with a baby kangaroo in its pouch. Who knew I even liked animals!? Then it was finally time for the main attraction of Philips Island....the penguins. Our tour guide upset us all as we got there and she told us we would be unable to take pictures of the precious little creatures as they came out of the water and waddled into their burrows. But the experience was well worth it to witness. As soon as it got dark outside the tiny little penguins began emerging in "rafts", or groups, of approx. 50 at a time from the water. They would stay in these groups, waddling across the sand and up the hills to each find his proper burrow. We got to get so close to them and follow them along a long path, waddling right alongside them. I tried to race some- I won- major self-esteem boost! By the end of the night we were told over 537 penguins had come to shore that evening, and that was considered a drop off from the evening before! I was sad to leave the penguins but was comforted by a delicious steak dinner before our long drive back. When we got back the night could not be ended without a trip to Pie Face, a local pie shop selling everything from meat pies to fruit pies...all with faces on them (hence the name). This place was apparently a favorite of my parents in Sydney and was actually Rachel and Jodi's dinner choice the night before, leaving me the only one left to try it. We took the pies back to our room and enjoyed a leisurely stroll back before having to say goodbye to my parents as they had an early flight the next morning :( I MISS YOU! Come back soon?!!! 
Day 5: Needing to be checked out by 10 and with alot still left on our Melbourne to do list we woke up early yetttt again to pack up and explore the city. When checking out all our conflicts of the day were solved when they told us we could book a shuttle to pick us up from the hostel and take us directly to the airport! This new bit of news would save us a lot of time and hassle on public transportion while still costing us the same amount of money-- so perfect! We were therefore able to store our bags at the hostel and continue on our way to the Queen Victoria Markets. I would equate these markets the most to a flea market. We walked around for a while checking out everything there was to be offered. In the end I left with more postcards, an engraved bracelet (Australia 2010), and a full stomach. Moving on from the markets we headed over to Bourke St. Mall. This is the home to one of Melbournes higher class shopping centers which we enjoyed browsing as well as Australia's largest department store, David Jones. This store is essentially Australia's Bloomingdales and plus/minus a few brands I felt no difference between the two...although it was huge! The men's department was across the street.
Moving on from shopping we check out another graffiti alley in the area, enjoying the public art, legal in Melbourne in such designated areas. Before we knew it is was time to start heading back to catch our shuttle. We made a stop in a cafe first to recaffinate where this time I took a chance ordering an ice latte. Not overly surprised...I got a normal latte...with ice cubes. To add more to this interesting drink, I went up to ask for my equal, and the lady told me to stick out my hand. Upon doing so she pulled out a dispenser and dropped to pill-looking balls into my hand. At first I thought she had given me some mints...then I thought maybe I was being drugged? However, these were the cafes version of sugar cubes. Not overly effective, but not drugs either. Phew. With that figured out we dodged the rain and were on our way to the airport with our friendly Melbourne bus driver. He was so excited to hear about what we had done in his city and even just to compare the weather from Melbourne to the states, I always love talking to the locals! And all to short a cab ride later it was time to depart with Melbourne. When we landed we met up with our shuttle and were told we would have to wait for one more flight to get in, giving us a $5 refund for our patience. A very odd compensation, but I was happy to accept the money...and would have been glad to take more from him as we ended up having to wait an hour for this other girl to land! But soon enough we were back in the Village, unpacked and ready for our week of classes to fly by yet again!
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