WITWISA? How I Spent My Summer Vacation

Actually how I spent my birthday too!

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It's not the nicest beer I've drank but it is a beer I've drank. €0.85 #PreparedForHateMail

Mel B.

Melbourne greeted me quite pleasantly at 6:15am with the sun streaming in as my overnight bus ambled over the bridge toward the large and bustling city. A megatropolis compared to Adelaide, Melbourne seems to be teeming with life and culture, business and people. Even more pleasantly following a relaxing day of sightseeing I was greeted by my good friend Lee who lives here with her boyfriend. She's been a most gracious host and I've already been welcomed by more sunshine, beer and a massive Moroccan feast with a slew of her friends. More of the same, plus gigs and bike rides and all sorts of fun awaits!

Vancouver Olympics: Day 17 (Final Day!) Highlights

- Ughh.. 8:30am after a late night was not pleasant after the luxury of sleeping in for the past week. A necessary evil though as we started what soon became a MASSIVE line at one of the MANY bars to watch the game. Yes, 9am for a 12:15 puck drop. But boy was it worth it...

- With our crew of 13 we kept the double-pitchers coming, made friends with our fellow Canadians, and got riled up as Canada took a 2-0 advantage. The equalizer from the US with seconds remaining put a hold on the celebration that had nearly begun already, but we didn't lose faith. We did lose it when Sid slid it home though! The place went off. I don't remember who I hugged - everyone in sight!

- Best. Street Party. Ever. Hands down, or more appropriately Hands UP, as mine are raw from the high fives from every single person who packed Granville Street. It was mayhem, I lost 11 of my 12 friends, but somehow found my way back to the apartment, as did Jon, so we could usher him quickly to the Skytrain with only minutes to spare for his flight (he made it).

- Winding back through the throngs of people it was such a joyous atmosphere. Canadian Pride.

- Over some much needed pizza nourishment, rejoined by friends at home, we called Nickelback, Lavigne, Hedley and Buble at the Closing Ceremony, but unfortunately no sign of Celine.

- Crash! Two weeks of non-stop concerts/games/party, a minor cold, a lot of beer and an early start culminated in zonking out mid-evening for a deep nap. Fortunately or unfortunately this resulted in being wide awake to check out the revelers still going (somewhat) strong 12 hours later. The Olympic flame now out, I stumbled upon a Closing Ceremony briefcase, complete with moose antlers, abandoned on the sidewalk which made the detour by the cauldron worthwhile.

Vancouver Olympics: Day 8 Highlights

- Set the track record at the BC Hydro energy saving obstacle course

- Sampled many of the 43 beers available at Six Acres in Gastown, over a nice family meal

- Was taken from lows to highs with the epic song structure of Hey Rosetta! and nearly screamed myself hoarse in a vain attempt for an encore from the opening band in a 90 year-old theatre with ushers that appear to have been working there since day one

- Enjoyed a typical romantic pop set from Stars at the aforementioned theatre

- Once again yucked it up with the ongoing party on Granville Island. High fives/free hugs for Canada!

Vancouver Olympics: Day 6 Highlights

- Woke up to Stephen Colbert live-taping out in the gorgeous sun (no joke!) Including a rendition of Oh Canada sung to the tune of The Star-Spangled Banner by Michael Buble

- Rode the free shuttle train to Vancouver's most-visited tourist attraction, Granville Island, for some delicious taco bowls and even better Granville Island Brewery beer after a tour of the facilities

- Returned to Granville Island later for P.E.I. night at the Atlantic House. The nearly two-hours lineup for Two-Hours Traffic (the band) was well worth it. Not only did we make friends with everyone (maritimers are friendly folk aren't they?) but we were treated to a tie and suspendered authentic set of music including the tune 'Turkey and the Straw'. Sounds awful? It wasn't - it was incredible. The yummy beer helped too and we partied, dancing to Two Hours Traffic (and scoring an autographed setlist) til some ungodly hour before a mid-night poutine.