Done with Dan Brown - Melbourne Tour Day 1

At long last, I've finally finished all four books by Dan Brown. If you're totally new to the author, I suggest you read his books in the following order: Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons, Digital Fortress, then Deception Point. No doubt Da Vinci Code is good - that's what got me hooked in the first place. Angels and Demons is almost a copy of the previous - same type of characters, same story development, but in a different setting. The plot's not too bad though. In Digital Fortress, Dan Brown tries his hand in the techno-thriller genre and fails miserably. In Deception Point, he goes for a political suspense, and again fails.

Off to Melbourne for a 4-day tour. It's 880 kilometers from Sydney to Melbourne (or so I was told), so it's a great time to catch up on some reading. For the trip I brought Deception Point (just to get it over with) and The Princess Bride. You would think a guy can finish 2 books in 12 hours, but distractions abound. I look out the coach window from time to time, hoping for great pictures to take. Then, there's the pit stops every 2 hours or so. Other times the tour guide would put on a movie and leave the TV's volume on max. Not really conducive to reading books or listening to MP3s. During these times, I nod off to sleep. One of the stops we made is at Albury, the last town on NSW before we cross over to Victoria. According to our tour guide, Albury was originally selected to become the capital of Australia. On the day of site inspection, it rained and everything was dark and gloomy. That's how Canberra got the title instead. Yeah, blame it on the weather.

Had a sumptuous dinner at the Dragon Boat Restaurant in Holiday Inn, then off to a Comfort Inn called Crest at Barkly. It's pretty far from the city. (I believe it's quite close to St. Kilda Beach.) Took the tram back to the city centre where lots of people are about as it's Christmas Eve. There's a long queue outside Myer with its Santa Kid window display. A big Xmas tree is set up at Federation Square, but it's nowhere the size of the one at Martin Place or QVB. St. Paul's Cathedral is open at this time of night, and the church choir is having a concert. Of course, Carols by Candlelight is also happening tonight at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. We're all a bit tired, so we didn't go for that anymore. Watched the traditional event on the telly. Found out later that the Christmas Eve concert is not a free event, unlike Carols in the Domain in Sydney. Tickets range from $30-$70 for an adult and $90-$185 for a family of 4. (Now we know which one's the better city. Kidding.)