Melbourne....interesting...

I just returned from a 4-day trip to Melbourne, and while I have to admit I think it's a great city....there are some very strange things going on down there.

1. They are over-run with 7-Eleven stores.
It is astonishing just how many you can pass in a 5 minute stroll. I counted 9 in a 2 block area. I think that's a little excessive myself. Especially when you add to that a number of City Convenience stores, plus a sizeable Coles Express.

2. They like their sport segregated.
Here in Sydney, we have a veritable wealth of general sports stores. But not in Melbourne! Well, they have the standard Rebel Sport and Foot Locker chain....but in one street is it really necessary to have a golf store, a cricket store, a basketball store, and an extreme sport store?
(I'm already regretting that question...boys, it is not a requirement that you answer)

3. They seem to be obsessed with ears.
Or at least with the ability to hear. I think it's great that in Melbourne there is a large school for the deaf, a large hospital dedicated to otology, and several smaller clinics and centres specialising in the same. Good on them. If I ever feel I'm going deaf I'll know where to go. But I think they're taking it too far when it starts to affect their street-naming abilities....