Footy...finally

Scott's been to 2 footy matches since we arrived, but this weekend marked my first foray into the huge footy culture in Melbourne. Our friend, Kaye, invited me to attend a match on Sunday night - Collingwood (Kaye's a die-hard Magpies fan) vs. the Western Bulldogs. The crowd of 50,000 was enthusiastic to say the least, and the game is fast-paced and very fun to watch. There were a lot of f-bombs dropped (errr, make that screamed) by the dedicated (aka crazed) fans, and I think we came close to witnessing a fight break out. Kaye was a fantastic host and a lot of fun to watch at the game...she knows her footy and feels pretty passionately about it. It was a close game, but Collingwood got their win.

Kaye and I cheering on the Collingwood Magpies at Etihad Stadium

(An aside: I wrote about Kaye back in February, saying that she had special ties to PEI. She is an Australian who has visited PEI 4 times in the past 15 years. She loves it and considers it her second home. The circumstances that introduced her to the province are pretty amazing. Over 15 years ago, one of her daughters, was diagnosed with what was thought to be terminal cancer. Her doctors advised the family to organize her children's wish, anticipating that she had a short time left to live. Her daughter had 3 wishes: Visit Disney World, New York City, and PEI (to see where Anne of Green Gables lived...what else?!). They fell in love with PEI and have gotten to know several people there really well. I'm happy to report, that all these years later, Kaye's daughter is alive, working fulltime and was recently married! I hereby give them both the official designation of IBCs (Islander By Choice).)

Kaye decorating her car in celebration of the big win

On the other end of the cultural spectrum - we visited the Melbourne Museum this weekend to check out the Titanic exhibition. It was well laid out and showcased many artifacts that have been salvaged from the wreck. Despite seeing the movie multiple times and reading about the accident, you don't get a true sense of the tragedy until seeing the personal artifacts and hearing the stories of individuals on the ship. Georgia had a good time banging on the glass cases, with the occasional lunge towards the person standing in front of her. Fortunately she was not escorted out of the exhibit.

Scott and the Peach at the Melbourne Museum

Next up - We're looking forward to K and S Miller (Nana and Papa) arriving on June 12!