July 26, 2011 Bad Luck in Tennis and Complementary Mints

As you all know (or don't know), my tennis tournament was today. Very exciting. The actual results, not so exciting. Anyways, since I was the state champ last year, I was given a bye so I was automatically put in the quarterfinals. My first match was relatively hard at first but then got easier as I warmed up. So, the end score was 9-2, I won! The girl looked like she was about to cry during the match when I got the lead but I think I understand why. I proceeded to the semifinals which was at 1:00pm so I got to eat lunch between the matches (we ate Mexican food!). We returned to the courts shortly after we finished our food, checked in, and waited for my opponent to arrive.
Once 1:00 finally rolled around, my opponent (named Ruth) arrived. First, we warmed up for about two minutes and then began the semifinals match. This is a match I did horribly on. Well, I didn't do that bad, she was just super good (personally, I think she should've been in the Girl's 12 and under Singles Bracket 1 which is the best one). Ruth got almost every shot in so our rallies were long and drawn-out. Since she made almost no mistakes, I ended most of the rallies with a ball just barely out or slapping the net. In the end, the score was 9-1. I lost. Badly. Like the girl I played before, I cried because that was the first match I had ever lost when I was up against a girl (close to) my age. Now, I'm really mad that I lost to her but since she's probably 12, she shouldn't be in the 12 and under tournament next year so I have a chance to win next summer. I just have to wait...
After that, we went to get ice-cream at this amazing ice-cream shop so that kept my mind off the loss for about ten minutes. Once we devoured our ice-cream, we went to pick up my dad who was working so he didn't see me play. Then, we began hiking around for a bit and then drove to this restaurant called Baker St. Pub and Grill. My small soup and salad with oil, vinegar, and salmon was great but a bit bland (well duh, what's a salad without any real dressing). Wait, before you get confused, the salad was bland, not the soup. The soup was excellent but I had to put in a lot of work taking out the bacon because I wasn't in the mood for ultra soggy bacon. My brother and my mom ordered some buffalo burgers which tasted like regular burgers, and my dad got this tuna with mash potatoes and green beans (ick :6). When we left, we passed by this mint container that offered you complimentary mints. Of course, my brother and I took advantage of this feature and took about 10 mints each. Maybe I should start a mint collection like I have in Myrtle Beach...

That was the final handshake on the last match. I can't upload videos so I'm putting a bad picture. Anyways, enjoy these fail pictures and have a good night.

July 3rd, 2011 Pie Face, The Melbourne Museum, and Alpino

So, for lunch my family and I came to this Australian food chain called Pie Face. Pie Face is a trendy, fashionable, light take on the famous Australian meat pie. Though the pies aren't the best, they get the job done in a light, non-messy, way
After lunch, we travelled to the Melbourne Museum. This museum is about as interactive as a potato. Actually, a potato is a lot more interactive. This place is mainly centered towards adults and only have a few things younger audiences will care for. My favorite part of the whole museum was the forest inside the museum. Even though this was my favorite part, it still had some flaws. One of the worst flaws was the fact that they had an exhibit for certain animals, yet no animals could be found. In fact, there were absolutely no signs of life in those glass cages.
Soon enough, we became hungry and started to search for a good Italian food. After carefully looking through every menu and turning down some great offers (ie, you get free wine and it's 20 percent off if you come here), we ended up in a small restaurant called Alpino Restaurant. Here, the food was to die for but relatively pricey ($35 dollars for a lobster? Who would buy that?). Here, I decided on getting the Salmon(e) and Spinach Fettucini which was about $22. This dish was SO good but there wasn't enough. Anyways, if anyone is deciding on coming to Melbourne, Australia anytime soon, here's the restaurant info.

262 Lygon Street
Carlton Vic
3053

george0758@hotmail.com
www.alpinorestaurant.com.au