G'day from Melbourne! For those of you who don't know, or don't happen to remember your high-school geometry classes (like me, up until 10 minutes ago...), Melbourne is the capital city of the state of Victoria, in southeastern Australia, and is located on Port Phillip Bay at the mouth of the Yarra River.

Since they had come all that way, the beans decided to do a little sight-seeing, where they had a great time on the waterfront, although they did have a hard time getting over the fact that it was July, but the middle of winter...

Here, the beans overlook the Crown Limited Casino, where you can eat, sleep, party, and throw your money away playing "Pokies", the Aussie version of the one-armed bandit.

Now interestingly enough, the Crown's Web site has a all-too-truthful disclaimer about the perils of gaming: (And I swear I'm not making this up:) Warning: Excessive gambling may cause family problems for some people. See? Your Mom was right! be sure to thank her the next time you stop by the Bingo hall...

Since they had just gambled away their life savings, the beans decided to wander the waterfront, stopping off at the Melbourne Aquarium, where if you're up to the challenge, you can drop $99-192.50 and go diving with sharks! Uh - no thanks - I have to go now... I think I hear a "pokie" calling me...

The Yarra River itself is known as the "upside-down" river - all of the dirt is on top of the water. (Makes you wonder what's on the bottom, huh?) Well, I suppose since we're "down under" and all, it makes sense in its own way...

And now for something completely different, the beans stopped by the Old Melbourne Gaol (yes, that's spelled correctly...), which in the U.S. we'd refer to as the "slammer", "joint", "lockup", the "Iron Bar Hotel", or even "Camp Leavenworth".

Yep, it's the local prison, where betwen 1842 and 1924, 135 poor souls swung from the gallows, the largest number to take place in Victoria. Apparently they're proud of this number, because the Gaol now houses a permanent exhibiiton entitled "The Art of Hanging". "Can't we all just get along?"

Now, if you're brave enough, you can have a tour of the Gaol -- after dark, where you can see the death masks of the condemned. Unfortunately, you won't find the beans there - they're back at the "pokies", remember?

On a much happier note, the beans decided to cruise by the Queen Victoria Market, which is considered to be a historic landmark, a tourist attraction, and a local institution for Melbournians. Many of the Market's buildings date back to the late 1800's.

But even after leaving the Gaol behind, the beans haven't completely escaped the scent of death yet, because believe it or not, the Queen Victoria Market site was previously used as a -- are you ready for this? -- cemetery. The beans enjoyed their visit, even more knowing that they weren't grown on this land, so they couldn't have been fertilized by the remains of one of the Gaol prisoners...

Here's another shot from the Queen Victoria Market area, where the beans run into one of their American friends, Mickey D's. It's good to know that our Aussie mates are subjected to the same mediocre burgers that us Yanks are... although you can pick up something called a "McOz™" (which includes beetroot as a topping), and have curry sauce with your McNuggets...

As for the beans, they're holding out for a Vegemite sandwich with their friends from "Men At Work".