punkinlr

This sounds so interesting! We love taking cooking classes.  Our last, many years ago now, was in Dominica. It too was in a private residence, in their outdoor kitchen.  I don't remember all of the menu, but we steamed fish, fried plantains, made a rice pudding and drank something that I'm still not sure of what it was 🤣.  

At our age, we don't need anything else to dust or wear so 😊

I'll contact her as well.  Maybe one of us will be lucky and get a response.  Happy Sailing

I haven't checked back yet about the tickets for the 2nd game.  On the agenda for tonight.  If the level one seats aren't available, will check for day of tickets.  

3 hours ago, possum52 said:

Unfortunately Ticketek is the only authorised seller of AFL tickets. They have a contract to sell all tickets at the MCG. I really dislike using their website. My experience of buying reserved seats in the MCC Reserve for the ANZAC Day game between Essendon and Collingwood was so frustrating. Over the past year or so Ticketek have changed their website for the worse.

 

I would wait a few days and see what the options are if you haven't already purchased tickets. More seats may be made available.

 

Leigh

That's what I thought.  Just for fun I pulled up our StubHub and US Ticketmaster - and the ones I bought for the April 6th game via Ticket  for $45 AU are selling for $165 US - Holy Moly!  Talk about jacking up- SH even says "ticket prices may be selling for more than face value".  No kidding!  

I think I will wait for the March 31 tickets - and see what happens.  If I can get good seats great, and if not, we'll just stick with the one game.

Is there a better site than others where you have more of an opportunity to choose your seats?  On Ticketek it doesn't give you any options for reserve seats - they choose them for you.

44 minutes ago, Docker123 said:

Row A is closest to the fence. The bay slopes, so not blocked because of flat seating arrangement.

 

M52 is in what we call a pocket, or perhaps flank, in relation to player positions. Closer to te goal than the wing.

 

Not bad seats.

Great - Tickets purchased !  

I did find another game that we could attend.  There aren't any reserve wing seats - allotment exhausted.

March 31  - afternoon game 3:20

1 hour ago, Docker123 said:

I would recommend wing, and level 2 (or 3 at a pinch).

 

The playing field is getting towards 200 yards long, so from seats behind a goal it is a long way to see the other end.

 

Compare to the desirability of seats on the 50 yard line at an American football game.

 

Choosing a level 2 seat will give height for perspective on the game.

This is exactly the kind of info I need .  

Sadly because of our travel dates, we are a bit limited in our choices.  The best seats so far for the dates we have available to attend a game

April 6th - I don't know whether the rows go from A-Z closer to the field or the opposite.  Z-A

Hello all, 

Time to buy my tickets!  

It's still a quite a bit more complicated than purchasing tickets at most of our sporting venues - or it could just be that I'm used to choosing exact seats from a seating plan.

I'm looking at the sections you've suggested, but I'm not sure if I want "wing" or "goal"?  It seems like quite a few levels no longer have tickets available.   Again, my major goal is to have reserve seats since we'll be novices in such a large crowd.

Thanks so much for all of your suggestions and guidance!

Lee Ann

Thank you Docker123 and Leigh!   At this point in trip cost - I'm good with whatever we have to pay to get the best seats we can.  As my aunt always said "It's only paper" LOL.  Her other great piece of advice was "go and do while you are able to go and do because all to soon you won't be going anywhere except to the doctor".  Yes, she was a jewel!

I'm putting an alert on my phone for March 6th!

DH and I will be visiting Melbourne at the end of March.  I'm anxiously awaiting the day the AFL tickets go on sale!   Quite a few folks on this forum have been kind enough to share their thoughts on which teams we might want to see,  youtube videos to watch so we won't be totally lost, etc.

Since I have to purchase our tickets on-line I've been visiting different ticket sellers.  I'm must confess - I'm am totally confused .   What's the difference between "Public Reserve" and "AFL Reserves"?   And MCG said  that general public tickets won't be on sale until March 6th.   I do know that we want to purchase reserve seating 

Right now our plans are to see games at MCG.  Should we try and see a game at Marvel too?

** we're also very excited to be in town for the International Comedy Festival!! 

Any information, thoughts, suggestions will be greatly appreciated!  

On 1/4/2019 at 11:54 PM, possum52 said:

Tickets for AFL games at the MCG will go on sale in late February, early March if I remember correctly. Second level (N), in my opinion, on the wing (middle of the ground) has the best view but this is likely to be the most expensive option. I also don't mind the first 10 rows or so the top level as it does give you a great view of how the teams set up on the ground and it is quite easy to follow the ball. I don't particularly like the bottom level unless you are in the first 10-15 rows. But certainly the middle part of the ground is the best. Though to be honest, you will get a good view anywhere in the stadium. I would suggest bays 50-54 in the Olympic Stand or bays 10-15 in the Great Southern Stand or anywhere where you can get reserved seats! For both games I would recommend purchasing reserved games because of the expected attendances.

 

For which game to attend, my preference would still be for the Melbourne v Essendon game on the Friday (taking away my bias) because at the Collingwood v West Coast game it will be mainly Collingwood supporters whereas at the Friday game it will be a more even split of supporters so probably more noise and both teams do have very vocal supporters. Probably Frid game will have a bigger attendance as both are Victorian teams. 

 

Leigh

 

 

Leigh,

Thank you for sharing such great info.  Reserve seats are a must.  When we've gone to see professional baseball, we tend to sit higher for the very reason you mentioned.  The few times we've had seats right above the dugouts or box seats,  you get a great view of what's right in front of you, but you miss really seeing the whole game play out.  

I'll start checking for ticket sales in late February.  Perhaps because of the larger crowd on Friday night, I might opt for the Saturday night game.  My husband is a retired First Sargent - Army Infantry and has a thing about big crowds in somewhat confined spaces  He knows there will be a ton of people but is really excited about  going.  If there's beer involved, he'll be even better!

2 hours ago, Docker123 said:

Walk up tickets for the football are around $25 our money. Booked seats about more, not sure how much more.

 

The Comedy Festival is a great feature. Lots of local and international acts. Good place to see new talent. Similarly, venues vary from large theatres, to even performances on a tram in previous years.

 

Most venues are around the CBD, so easy access. Often performers trying to sell tickets to their shows outside the Town Hall. I should  have a look at the programme.

YAY!  We're staying at an airbnb on Brunswick,  Fitzroy North with a tram stop right on the corner - super easy access.

1 hour ago, Kangakid said:

Lee Ann my suggestion is definitely the Collingwood game as Collingwood have a guy called Mason Cox playing who hails from Houston.  He played College Soccer for Oklahoma State.  He is one of the stars and when he is playing well the crowd chant USA, it really is something to see and hear.   His parents often travel over for big games, and as this is a replay of our GF I would anticipate a big crowd and the atmosphere will be fantastic.

 

cheers V

You've sold me on the Collingwood game.  Will be fun to see a "hometown kid" play.

Where are  the best places to sit in reserved seating? 

Thanks everyone!  If tickets aren't outrageous, we might just go to both of them.  Or go to the March 31 daytime game and one night game.  Maybe by the second game we might actually have an idea of what's going on 🤔!  I have a few youtube videos in my queue to watch - rules and  highlight reels.

 An NFL ticket average cost is around $110.00 and premium for almost $400.  And that's for a regular season game.

When I checked last night tickets weren't on sale yet.  I do want to get reserved seats.  Can't imagine attending such a well attended event and not have them.  Any suggestions on which arena sections/seats would be better than others?  

On a totally other entertainment track - the International Comedy  Festival will be in full swing.  Any suggestions here?   We're up for any type of venue.  Large, small, cabaret, whatever.  

Did notice on Twitter this morning about the rally  going on in St. Kilda this weekend with the police advising folks to either stay away,  be present and protest peacefully, or break the law and be prepared to be arrested 😳.  The key to being anywhere these days is to be super aware of your surroundings - and always have an exit plan!  

t

Once again, thanks for taking time to answer questions and give suggestions.  

80 days til boarding time!!

1 minute ago, Aus Traveller said:

I would plan on at least two hours ahead of departure time.

Thanks so much!

I have another question as well.  We plan on going to an AFL game.  

From what I can tell,  the AFL fans are as crazy & dedicated to their teams as we in the States are about our college football teams.  Here are our choices - Which would you suggest? 

Sunday March 31 afternoon: Hawthorne vs Western Bulldogs

April 5 night: Melbourne vs Essendon

April 6 night : Collingwood vs Western Bulldogs

April 7 afternoon: Hawthorne vs North Melbourne. 

Thanks again!

Lee Ann

I've read where it's recommended to arrive 3 hours before you scheduled flight out of Melbourne back to the US.  On my Qantas booking, it says check in closes 1.5 hrs prior to the flight.  Should we plan on the 3 hours?

Thanks

Lee Ann

9 hours ago, Docker123 said:

I think you have hit on another of the “benefits” of the recent upgrade.

 

THEY HIDE THINGS.

 

Anyway, if you go to your profile and hit the Activity button, it only seems to show posts since the upgrade.

 

however, over obn the left is a list of options, including POSTS.

hit that button and it lists all your posts.

 

very frustrating some of the things they have done, or not done.

 

Enjoy your visit.

You  are my hero and new best friend!  Cheez Whiz - they could have made it a bit trickier if they had just tried a little harder... UGH.  

Have been off the forums for only about 2 weeks, but managed to miss the announcement of a massive new upgrade to the website.

It's a "darn" good thing I copied/pasted all the wonderful info folks have shared with me about DH's and my upcoming trip to Melbourne to my downloads folder because ALL my posts are missing.  My activity search reports NO ACTIVITY in the last 365 days. 🤬

 No posts on what to do in Melbourne, day trips, car hire, etc.   I believe my last post was in the first couple of weeks of this month.  I've reviewed all the pages in the A/NZ forum and nada.  

Has anyone else experienced this?   Please forgive me if I repeat some of my questions 😝

Even with lousy reviews, I can see why Tiger gets passengers.... It's less than 1/2 of what Virgin or Qantas charge. Makes one wonder .....

Researching flights I find it's about $400 US to fly Qantas or Virgin to Canberra or Hobart.

Decisions, decisions...

No I see driving not a good option for you. I'm not a fan of tiger, they have a reputation for being unreliable. Virgin or Qantas are best options.

 

There is an old cemetery in Carlton. You could do the gaol, then cemetery and dinner in Carlton on the same day.

 

Sent from my Lenovo A7600-F using Forums mobile app

Sounds like a grand plan! Thanks for the Tiger review - that sort of goes with what I had heard.

Suzbuz - Tripadvisor has the hours for AWM as Sat & Sun., but good to know it's open every day! I probably misinterpreted the "Sat-Sun". Before making a decision I would have looked at their website. I did find an affordable airbnb close to the area. San Fransisco is one of our favorite places to visit!

I don't think the drive to Canberra would work for us since we only want to be gone from Melbourne for one night at most. And at our age, we don't do 7 hr drives without stopping at least for a bathroom break ;-). We've already paid for our airBnB so we'll be eating the cost for one Melbourne overnight plus adding another night cost for either Canberra or Hobart.

Absolutely the old Melbourne gaol is on the list! I also find old cemeteries gold mines for history. I made DH spend one whole Thanksgiving weekend visiting old gravesite in rural Mississippi.

GUT2407 - I'm not familiar with the Female Factories. Will have to look in to them.

I'll need to make a decision soon. I imagine lodging might start to get tight the longer I put it off.

Another question : Tiger Air - I've heard good and bad reviews... Opinions? Best airline for in country flying?

Re a visit to Canberra to visit the Australian War Memorial. Our last trip there we spent a whole day at the AWM and still didn't see it all to our satisfaction. We have been a number of times and always find something new to see. My point in suggesting the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne was that to do a side trip to Canberra, to do it justice you really need to spend at least two but I think four days there. As Leigh Ann and her husband want to see many things in Melbourne and surrounding areas, their eleven days is going to be pushing it to make a trip to Canberra as well.

 

The history of the Shrine of Remembrance - after WW1, to help the grieving people of Victoria cope with the loss of over 19000 during the war there was a push to build a monument to honour these men and women who didn't return from the Great War. The people of Victoria raised enough money and a design was chosen from entries from Australian architects and artists. It was opened in 1934 by the Duke of Glousester, the son of King George V officially opened the Shrine in 1934.

 

Leigh

Mr Walker - Auto check gives me headaches! ;p

The Shrine of Remembrance is on our list. Since we are going to have a car, we'll be driving to Phillip Island to visit the Vietnam Memorial there.

While checking out the feasibility of a side trip to Canberra to visit the AWM, I read that the only days the museum is open are Saturdays and Sundays. So that puts a bit of a cramp in the planning.

Another option is to fly to Hobart. Weird as it sounds, I have this thing for prison history. On our drive trip through the North Eastern US, we toured the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia PA. It's the oldest prison in the US. All US prisons use it's design concept. And of course there's Alcatraz. Visiting at night, feeling in all it's creepiness and spookiness.

The other thing that I would really like to do is tour one of the hospitals. I'm a retired Pediatric Orthopedic RN. Seeing how other hospitals compare to my experiences always fascinates me.

So you can tell our interests are quite varied. And when I say "we", I mostly mean me. My husband likes to say he puts out his clothes for me to pack for any of our trips and just shows up at the appointed hour to begin the adventure :):)

Hook turns don't really make sense until you see them done. You'll likely get it as soon as you see it. I love Melbourne, it's a great city. Hope you have a great time.

 

Sent from my Lenovo A7600-F using Forums mobile app

Thanks Suzanne! That gives me a bit of confidence :D. What's your favorite thing to see or do in Melbourne? Place to eat?

We'd love to spend some time - even if it's a day - in Canberra. My husband is a retired Army First Sargent whose service began in Viet Nam when he was an 18y/0 kid. We both want o visit the Australian War MemorialI so I hope I can work it out.

I know a flight would be expensive - but as my aunt always said : It's only "paper". Go and do all you can when you can because you never know when you won't be able to do much of anything any more.

Words to live by.

Lee Ann

With only eleven days, we'll drive some of the GOR. I have so much I on my "to see, do, eat" list!

DH and I have fished for halibut & salmon in Alaska and red snapper and tiger fish in the Gulf out from Panama City Beach, Florida - so how could we possibly travel all the way to Australia and not fish? So, I've been debating booking a fishing trip that goes out of Mornington vs finding somewhere we can fish off the dock or pier.

Don't worry you will be fine. Melbourne is a large city and a lot of tourist destinations are over an hour and a half drive (great Ocean road, sovereign Hill Ballarat, Philip Island, puffing Billy, Mornington peninsula etc.). Stick to the major well known car rental companies and I am sure you will have a great holiday.

All of the above + Healesville Sanctuary. I hoping that once we get on the highways it will be smooth sailing.

You know, Fed Ex drivers here in the States never make left hand turns - it slows them down by having to wait to cross traffic. Maybe I'll take a page from their book and never make a hook turn :confused:

Okie Dokie - Y'all have just about convinced me that I need to research other ways to hit the road besides driving. LOL! Seriously tho....

if we don't rent a car to do out of town travels, and we aren't keen on organized tours, what other options might we have that won't take all day to get somewhere 1.5 hrs away from the city?