The hostest with the mostest

A fair bit to cover as it’s been five days since my last update but I’ll try to rattle through everything. First of all, I have to give a huge thanks to everyone in Melbourne – Amy, her sister and housemate for putting me up the first night on short notice; Shelly, Reina, Julia and Henry for the other nights; and Ben for being great company as usual.

So I set off from Shelly’s place at around 5:30 on Thursday morning. The tram systam starts very early so I caught that down to Parliament station and then a train to Fawkner station. This was all within Zone 1 so only cost a little over $3 and got me out on the old Sydney Road. Here, I stopped by a large bus stop and stuck out the old cardboard sign.

After I was moved on by the police (they were very nice – simply telling me that the building on the corner was a police station so nobody would stop there… and that I’d have better luck a couple of hundred metres up the road) I was picked up by a very nice chap in a recovery truck. He had two dogs – one which just wouldn’t stop licking me, and a very cute little white thing that sat up and begged constantly.

He left me where the M1 split in two and after half an hour or so, a Vietnam war veteran (navy) gave me a lift about 200km up the road. From there I got a lift to a junction near a truck stop and after quite a wait my luck finally turned for the better.

Wow. Blue.

The chap that picked me up (Benny, if I remember correctly) was only going as far as the Wagga Wagga turnoff. However, his mates behind me were heading as far east as Moss Vale. This is very close to where Vesna lives and a long drive – around 4 hours. However, there was a delay. One of the chaps was buying a boat the next day and needed to withdraw cash from a bank. The nearest was in Wagga Wagga itself, something they only twigged after we’d been heading east for 45 minutes.

This meant doubling back. Along country roads. On a strict time limit as the bank would shut soon. While the guys necked suds (as did I – they gave me three beers while we were travelling). Needless to say, I don’t think I’ve been on any more of a white knuckle ride than this drive. The good news is that they made it in time to get the cash.

Quite late on, and after a couple of pit-stops, we arrived at Moss Vale where the guys dropped off one very grateful hitch-hiker. A truck driver took me to the outskirts of town and then Ves very kindly drove out to get me. I was “close” to her place. In Aussie terms, this meant only about an hour each way.

Their pastry is fresher

After a sleep that I really needed, I was up in Sydney the next day. I got up by train as the service is frequent and cheap enough that hitching just wasn’t really needed. I’d only popped up to see Sarah and Alan and I met them in the evening at Darling Harbour.

We sat for a good couple of hours in the Strike Bowling Bar on the Harbour front and just chatted away. I had a really good time putting real faces and bodies to people I’d chatted to online as is usually the case and I thank them for taking the time to pop into Sydney. Hopefully, I’ll catch up with them again on another visit!

Afterwards, I just kicked around at the bar. I’d not booked a hostel and was toying with just crashing at a train station. I got talking to the two bouncers who were on duty – a British Indian guy (Jeff) and another from Vanuatu (Kalo). Their work ethic put just about everyone else I’ve ever known to shame with each having at least two jobs.

There was no trouble all night, and the guys were more than happy to talk away as they welcomed patrons in and wished them well as they left. I was tempted with one invite from a group who were heading off to a club somewhere, but I didn’t fancy forking out $30 to listen to music I hate at ear-splitting volume. Music I like at ear-splitting volume is fine.

Classic cinema

Instead, I loafed and found myself helping close up the club. I got myself a couple of free drinks, shared a burger and chips and was dropped off a few train stations down the line south of Sydney. I crashed on a bench, but this saved me a few bucks on the fare back to Vesna’s in the morning.

Saturday and Sunday were a complete chill-out. Marg, Rod, Chris and Janine came over for a barbequeue on the former, and the kids returned from their cousin’s on the Sunday. The rest of the time we justy kicked back and chilled. I finished two books – something I’ve not done in such a time frame since I was in India with Hans.

Today, Mike (Ves’s partner) took me over to Huskisson where I wandered around for a few hours while he was at work. It’s a lovely little seaside place with some beautiful beaches, a cute little cinema and an awesome bakery. Try their cheese and bacon sausage roll if you’re passing through.

So I’ve had a great couple of days here, thanks in no small part to my excellent hosts. Ves and Mike (and Emma and James) – thank you very much indeed! My next stop will be Newcastle tomorrow. Marg and Rod have offered to put me up for the night to break up my trip to Brisbane into manageable slices.

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Victoria to New South Wales

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The main building housing the Shrine

I aimed to chill out today and I pretty much did. I set off at midday to meet Ben for lunch. Then turned round after 200m when my bike chain snapped. I grabbed the spare bike from the back yard, washed the oil off my hands and then realised that the spare bike’s back tyre was flat.

Finally, I got going and we went to somewhere called Funky Curry or Funny Curry on Bourke Street. They had a special on as it’s an Indian holiday (the Festival of Colours, apparently) so all the meals were $2 off. Bargain. I paid this time, so we’re all even on the lunches. Though I do recall that Ben paid for the world’s largest lasagne last time I stayed with him.

The eternal flame

As I’d promised myself I found somewhere nice to sit and read my book – down at the Queen Victoria Park. The sun shone, traffic whooshed past in the distance and two hot bikini-clad girls covered each other in suncream nearby. I delighted in texting Ben and Muddy with this information.

The sun’s strong down here, so I didn’t want to sit in it too long. Instead, after an hour or so, I packed up and cycled south a little further to the excellent war memorial and shrine. An hour was spent walking around here before I popped back on the bike and returned to Shelly’s.

Inside the War Memorial in Melbourne

No plans for this evening, so no need to blog about them. Just kick back, maybe grab a beer or two from the bottle shop and make sure I get plenty of sleep. It’s an early start tomorrow.

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Last day in Melbourne

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Coats of arms

I joined the hordes today and watched the new Watchmen film on IMAX. It was OK, but would have been fine on a “normal” cinema screen and at the corresponding lower price. Mind you, the IMAX here in Melbourne‘s not that much more expensive than a regular cinema ticket. In the queue I got talking to a random local called Andy who was good company until the film started. This is pretty typical of the open attitude that people around here have – they always seem ready to chat and share a beer. Or a popcorn.

My touristy day actually started when I met Ben for lunch. He took me to a restaurant at one end of the Chinatown precinct where we had dumplings (dim sum). They were pretty tasty, and not bad at around $7 for a dozen of the beef or pork ones. He picked up the tab for lunch as his work colleagues dropped in so I’ve promised to meet him again tomorrow so I can pay for his in return.

From there I cycled round the corner to the Town Hall where I’d booked a tour. They do two each weekday, 11am and 1pm, at no cost but it’s worth pre-booking. The 11am one today was booked out, but I got onto the afternoon one with a small group. If you’re interested then give them a call on 96589658.

Seat of power

A spritely guy called Ray took us around for well over the quoted one hour and was full of nice touristy trivia. We got a potted history of Melbourne itself as well as a bit of information on how the mayoral system works. One interesting thing us that Melbourne could have been named Batmania (!), but that the decision was made to name it after the then-Prime Minister of the UK. Or actually after the place he lived and was Viscount of – Melbourne in Derbyshire. However, he never even set foot in Australia let alone the city named for him. Do check out the Wikipedia link above. As with all fairly modern cities, its history is both interesting and well-documented.

We saw some interesting rooms including the council chambers which are available to functions for a “very nominal fee”. They’ve been used for society meetings, weddings and film sets. Of course, all the wood is Australian. The majority seems to have been carted over from Tasmania.

The function room where the mayor hosts important guests is quite posh ut does look a little out of touch with the times. With my limited furniture vocabulary, I’d class it as Tudor. Still, being able to picture Paul McCartney playing Chopin on the piano, while Ringo walked around in the mayoral robes and John and George threw boomerangs to a screaming crowd outside does give it a different edge!

What a wopper

Ray’s enthusiasm, however, really came out when he showed us the enormous organ housed in one wing. It’s the largest organ in the southern hemisphere (fnar-fnar) with 8700 pipes. Once they have the repeater (I think that was the term) installed, this will rise to 10,000. It really is a magnificent piece of engineering, a lot of it American work. Some years ago flooding caused the roof of the building to collapse, severely damaging the organ along with a lot of the offices. The pipework was dismantled and shipped to a company in the US who’d won the contract to repair it.

Currently, it’s insured for $AU20million, but this – apparently – would barely cover the cost of replacing it. We managed to get a walk around the scenes behind the (and in fact, inside) the organ and listened to a pre-recorded piece of Bach. There are free recitals now and again, so if you’re into organ music then do check it out if you’re in town. You could get lucky.

After thanking Ray, I went up to the IMAX cinema to see Watchmen and as soon as that finished (2 hour 40 minutes later) I pedalled down to Richmond to meet Jacqueline of six impossible things fame. She’d contacted me over the weekend when she spotted I was in Melbourne – I didn’t even realise this was where she lived!

Pipes galore

As it always is, it was great to meet up with someone I’ve nattered to online for ages. She’s actually a Kiwi, but don’t hold that against her! A shame we only had about an hour or so to chat before she had to dash off – maybe longer next time! Oh, and don’t call her Jackie…

Then back home with a quick stop at the Kiwi Fish & Chips on Victoria Parade. Which wasn’t very good. The chips were crispy, not soggy, and the sausage I had was kind of… ick. And they didn’t have vinegar. Still, it was a filling meal for a shade under $9 and I needed something by then.

And that was about it. Tomorrow is my lazy day before the Big Hitch to Wollongong.

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Watching Watchmen

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Typically cloudy

I’m really starting to “get” Melbourne. The last time I was here, I was pretty much in a very depressed state – those who’ve followed the blog since it started will be fully aware of why. So even though I did a fair bit, I just didn’t get a feel for the city.

This time round, I’ve ditched most of the touristy nonsense and just hung out. As a result, I’m really beginning to see why people like this place.

On Sunday, walking down the street for breakfast, Shelly and I found a bike leaning against a shop front with a sign on it: “Please take me. I’m free but my tyres are terrible”. So I took it. And the tyres were fine. The rear one, if you take it off the wheel, does seem ever so slightly mis-shapen but I’ve been riding it for three days with no problems so I can’t complain. It even had a helmet hanging from the handlebars, which is handy as helmets are mandatory in Victoria.

So, what have I done that’s warmed me to Melbourne? Well, we had breakfast one morning in Retro on Brunswick Street – a very nice home-made muesli with fruit compote and at a pretty reasonable price. I’ve chilled, snoozed and read a book by the side of the Yarra River as waterskiiers whizzed past. I’ve cycled part of the Capital City trail around the outskirts (it needs better signposting or actual maps).

Darth Vader? Nice chap

Monday was a public holiday here, and the end of the Moomba Waterfest. Essentially a 3-day carnival which takes place aorund the back of Federation Square on the riverside. There’s a lot of free entertainment running from early morning until around 11pm. It culminates with a parade on the Monday which I managed to catch most of. If nothing else, it shows off how multicultural Melbourne it. There were floats and marching groups from organisations as wide-ranging as the Japanese Club of Victoria, a belly-dancing school, cheerleaders (drool), anti-racism groups, the Australian Red Cross, and AusTrek – the Aussie Star Trek fan club (as well as the Star Wars club and the Doctor Who club). And cheerleaders. Did I mention the cheerleaders?

This thing was huge

I’ve found the staff at the tourist information on Fed Square to be really helpful, too. It’s one of the busiest tourist info places I think I’ve ever been and they all seem to know everything. The girl who helped me with the cycle trail has done it herself umpteen times so knew how to spot some of the more awkwardly-signed junctions. A shame I only had time to do around a third of the trail, but what I saw was great.

Melbourne caters very well to the cyclist. Even those on cheap-ass free bikes the found on the street. All the roads have cycle lanes, signposting refers to them constantly and the trails outside the city are excellent. The Monash Freeway Citylink – a toll road which leads east out of the city – even has a bike track suspended beneath it. Fully paved, safety rails either side. And three climbing walls built into the motorway’s support structure which were all in good use when I went past.

Just a short cycle takes you to parks, gardens, a petting zoo, a farmer’s market, a skate park, far too many cricket grounds (I hate cricket). And this is just the one trail I part-followed along the river. This is where I was really blown away by Melbourne. By what’s just there, right on your doorstep.

Located under an expressway

Last time I was here was the AFL Grand Final. And that’s next weekend, so I guess that means it’s two whole years. Wow. My last host here was Ben who I met in Vietnam. Well, I caught up with him for drinks on Sunday evening not far from where I’m staying and it was great to see him again. What was supposed to be “a quick pint” turned into “a session” at the very nice Bar Nancy on the High Street in Northcote. Definitely a little place worth checking out. They have around 15 beers (Aussie and international) in a chilly fridge and some great rooms, plus a beer garden. I can just see the open fires roaring away in winter!

As to Ben – good luck in the UK later this year, fella. I genuinely don’t understand why you’d want to move there from Oz but if I’m home at some point I’d be more than happy to show you around!

The tyres were fine

So I have another two days here before I hitch to Wollongong. One (today) will be a little busy as I catch up with more people. The second is either going to be a lot of cycling, or a complete chill-out. It depends on the weather. Which is one thing I’ve learned that you can’t depend on in Melbourne!

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Free bike!

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I ended up going for the redeye flight from Perth to Adelaide. Mel very kindly dropped me off at Perth International Airport. Then realised this wasn’t much use as I was flying domestically and even more kindly drove me the extra ten minutes to the Domestic Airport. Thanks, Mel!

It had been a good, smooth flight with Tiger Airways. We even took off late as there was a tailwind. The flight time was reduced and we were dot on time for landing. Craig (Mudcrab) picked me up at a little after 7am after I landed in Adelaide. He dropped me at his place where I caught up first on email and then on sleep.

Dinner was from the Adelaide Burger bar on O’Connell Street. This is heartily recommended. The chips are slight crispy, but I don’t know what they put in the batter. Whatever it is it tastes delicious. This was followed up by an exceptionally good slice of fruit crumble from the 24 hour bakery over the road.

Our home for the evening was to be the Crown & Anchor (if I remember correctly) where we chewed various amounts of fat and drank far too much and until far too late. Or early. They really don’t do “chucking out time” here.

Thursday was a bit of a blur until Craig came home. Just about recovered, we went to the Grace to see about 5 local bands each doing a short set. The final act, Raw Ether, were playing their last set for several months. The bassist is heading to Germany for some reason I didn’t quite pick up. All three members are 19 years old and annoyingly talented. Great set, and thanks for the free CD!

As the pub closed we relocated back to the Crown & Anchor until they did actually throw us out. A steak and pepper pie and a cake from the bakers on the way home and we crashed out around 5am. No worries. 2½ hours sleep would do us fine for the next day…

Only we had nearer 4½ hours. Craig was late for work and I was late to start hitching to Melbourne. However, Craig got me to the outskirts just before the M1 route begins and set me down around 10:00 for my trek to Victoria.

Almost 45 minutes later I got my first lift off a lady heading just outside of Adelaide to see a relative. A 20 minute drive, but it was a start. Next up – after 30 minutes – were two guys finishing work for the day. They both had beards as good as mine! They dropped me off after around half an hour with instructions on how to get to a really good truck stop if I was struggling.

Maybe 15 minutes later, I was picked up by Geraldine and her two dogs. They kept me company for 4½ hours as we stopped for a beer and headed deep into Victoria. 300km to go and I was picked up by Rick, a truck driver heading back east in his 4×4. He left me around 2 hours’ outside of Melbourne at a roadside café. I’d barely put my bags down when Jason, a young IT guy who works for a large financial company, picked me up and dropped me off right near Shelly’s place. Almost 12 hours to the dot since Craig left me in Adelaide.

However, by this time Shelly had caught a tram into the CBD. Cue a farcicle attempt to locate each other which we finally did. We had a quick meal (it was after 11pm by now) in Red Pepper on Bourke Street. This was amazing – only $5 for a small but filling and very spicy dahl dish with two nan bread. Just about the right amount for me at that moment.

We sat and talked for about an hour until Amy and her sister Emma picked me up to take me to their place where I’m typing this up now. The two girls are Vietnamese and if I remember correctly I got talking to Amy as she’s also a big sponsor of the Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation in Hanoi.

So now to bed. I have a couple of plans for tomorrow (after sleeping very heavily) and then will be meeting up with Shelly, Amy and her boyfriend for a couple of drinks (oh, no…).

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Adelaide then Melbourne

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And a great night it was. I can’t put any pics up as there’s a photograph ban inside the venue which is understandable as they charge for pics to be taken with the cast. At $15 each, we didn’t bother – a shame as it would have been nice to get something on here, but pop to their website instead.

The tickets were $57 each ($63 on weekends) and, annoyingly, I could have got a 10% discount from a voucher I found later on. Not to worry, at least we got a free cocktail each from the Melbourne tourist guidebook.

On entering, we were hoarded to the bottom of the stairs and greeted by a very camp, overacting “vampire” who pretty much put us in our place. All very theatrical. The doors swung open and we walked upstairs to the bar to queue for the ghost train that was to take us to the dining area. The ride was quite short, but entertaining and Fiona screamed like a girl. Which is fair enough as – between you and I – she actually is a girl.

The theatre and dining area was superbly decorated. Permanent lamps shaped like skulls with red eyes, table lamps looking like they were made of stitched human flesh, skull pepperpots and the cast and staff all dressed in various Gothic outfits. The guys looked great while the women looked… erm… astounding to say the least. It seemed pretty obvious from their attitude that they loved their job. At least, if they didn’t they were very convincing liars.

Our waiter was the guy from the entrance who hammed it up more than an entire pigfarm, treating us “badly” (wiping his wet hands on Fiona’s top and so on) while still giving us great service and keeping the laughs going between acts on the main stage.

All the acts we saw over the evening were brilliant. Magic tricks, comedians, music numbers, dedications to members of the audience… the whole thing was just wonderfully chaotic and well choreographed. In between it all, the wandering staff kept spirits up (and glasses full – I won’t scare you with our bar bill). The food, included in the ticket price, was also excellent though the servings weren’t huge. Fiona had steak and I had a veggie curry, served in a hollowed-out skull!

The show lasted around four hours from the time we entered until the time they insisted we all left. The cast received a well-deserved round of applause and everyone made their way to the exit.

Ben very kindly picked us up and we popped to a bar for one more drink before dropping Fiona off for the last train home. I checked, and she did make it back in one piece!

When we returned to the house, I popped online and booked myself a flight for Brisbane the next morning. Ben, as with everyone else, had proved himself to be a wonderful host and is also on the list of people I seriously owe. Thanks, fella!

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A night with bite

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The event was really good. The kids who took part in the training session had all won a draw via Umbro and got some basic hints and tips and some demonstrations for almost an hour before they did a goal-kicking contest. The lad in goal almost saved a Shearer shot that went low and left – had he been wearing gloves I think he’d have stopped it! The poor kid came up for his photo later with an icepack on his arm.

All the children got to keep the football they’d been using, a t-shirt listing Shearer’s goalscoring achievements for clubs and country, a personally signed photosheet and a professional photograph of them with Alan. He then made his way along the crowd (around 200 people, at a guess) and signed at least one thing from every person who thrust stuff at him despite his agent telling him to hurry up as they were late for a TV commitment on Channel 10.

Lovely day, great guy and a good bunch of people who organised it. It was great to meet so many ex-pat Geordies and honorary ones who’d visited Newcastle some time ago and fallen in love with the place!

 Oh, yes. What did I get signed? My arm, right above my Newcastle United tattoo! Only, of course, this would rub off. So I got it inked in permanently the same afternoon.

Mari is a fountain of knowledge as regards Melbourne or at least the area immediately surrounding where they live. When I texted her to ask if she knew any tattoo parlours, I didn’t expect a reply back within two minutes telling me the best two within walking distance of the flat. One said he could fit me in around 4pm as it was only going to be a quick job so I walked out of the Grand Final we were watching in the pub and got back again, avec new tattoo, to catch the last quarter.

Oh, yeah, there was some Aussie Rules game on as well. West Coast Eagles beat Sydney Swans (who used to be South Melbourne so had most of the local support) by a single point. I have to say, I left a very one-sided competition and returned to a very close finish in the last ten minutes!

 After the game ended, I helped Mari and Jesse with the shopping then collected my bags to meet Ben and Fiona in town.

Another “thank you” is called for here. Once more, people have shown themselves to be really welcoming and helpful. Mari would sit and go through maps and phone books to help me plan things out, and even got hold of information about the Japanese rail tickets from someone she knows for me! Jesse is just an amazing kid – I think about 12 years old. Great to talk to, really polite, wise beyond his years and when he gets older if he wants to travel to wherever I settle down I’d be more than happy to offer him a couch to sleep on.

I originally met Ben in Hanoi around early May, I think. He’d been to the final itself and looked like he’d been up all night. Which he had, more or less. His ticket just got him into the ground, but didn’t alot him a seat so he and some mates camped out and had a barbie outside so they’d get the pick of the seats when the gates opened.

We jumped on a train to Ben’s and when we arrived started on the booze. Ben’s basic rule is that he spent so long sponging off other people when he was travelling, that he refuses to let visitors pay for stuff while he’s at home and working. Very generous… again, like all the Aussies I’ve stayed with so far. We went through a few beers and wines then (just) caught a train to Richmond for some food and to meet some of Ben’s friends in a bar.

As is apparently quite common in Melbourne, we had to queue to get in though Ben’s friend inside was saying it wasn’t too busy so he didn’t see why we had to wait. Never mind, after a 10 minute wait we were allowed in and headed directly barwards.

We just had a good natter with a few people, some of whom I’m sure I’ll never see again but they were all good company. I got talking to one couple at the bar who saw my Newcastle shirt and helpfully told me that Shearer had been in Melbourne that morning. I showed them my new tattoo! Then when I went to sit back with Ben and Fiona, the same people walked over – they knew Ben!

Around 2am, we decided to call it a night as we were all pretty tired. Ben had been sleeping on concrete, Fiona was woken at silly o’clock by two drunken lads in her hostel banging on the doors and I’d simply not slept well as I’d not wanted to sleep in. We managed to flag a cab down after an age, dropped Fiona off and Ben and I returned to the house. Ben zonked out in front of the TV while I watched a couple of episodes of Friends with his brother and sister. Then I felt the need for sleep and retired to my comfy mattress and duvet/dooner. 

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Shearer! Shearer!

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I slept in a little bit, so didn’t see Mari and Jesse before they left the house. A quick breakfast of orange juice and… more orange juice, and then I tootled off down the road to catch the convenient tram once again. I like this tram system. Frequent, clean, convenient and pretty cheap at $6 for a one-day zone one pass. Or you can fare-jump easily enough, though of course I’d never condone that *cough*

 The city was heaving today as it was the day before the AFL grand final. A parade was scheduled for around 11am-1pm and I think I caught the last tram that guaranteed getting me into the city before they closed the roads off. I had the usual walk around and then headed up to AFL World to find out a bit more about that insane sport that nobody understands (except for possibly the Irish, who view it as “Gaelic football for poufs”). AFL World is worth a visit, especially if you get one of the tourist booklets with a 20% off voucher and more especially if you have kids in tow. There are very few actual exhibits on show as such, but a huge amount of interactive games. Kicking, handballing, virtual football, AFL on XBox, radio and TV commentary positions and so on. Tons for them all to do. As an adult, though, it was just fairly interesting.

 I left in time to catch part of the parade wheeling past down the street, though by that time I wasn’t going to get a good view. The papers that night reckoned around 60,000 people were in the street to watch the teams go past. The atmosphere was great. AFL is a very family-oriented sport, much like rugby back home so despite the mix of fans in the city there was absolutely no tension. Just good-natured banter and the like.

Fiona called to say she’d be really late as the guy she was meant to be sorting the house out with hadn’t showed up, so I decided just to meet her then and we’d at least keep other company and grab some lunch while we waited for him to get in touch. He did, eventually, and we met him and his girlfriend for tea/coffee on the northern outskirts of the city. I think his name’s Mark and he was really pleasant, so we decided to get a lift off him to the house and check it out. It’s further out than Fiona was hoping, but it’s in a good location and has a huge room. It also comes with a wonderfully lovely and bouncy labrador! If it was me, that’d have sold me straight away. Mark was stupidly helpful – something I’ve found is the case with all the Aussies I’ve stayed with while I’ve been here – helping peg down bus timetables, showing us the nearest shops and bar, advising where cheap furniture can be bought and so on, and then driving us back into town.

 After a brief walk around and some thinking, Fiona decided to take the room. A weight off her mind! To celebrate, and also as we were starving after walking around all day, we walked up Lygon Street and picked an Italian restaurant. Which wasn’t difficult as there’s pretty much nothing but Italian restaurants around there. Plus, anyone offering a free glass of (very nice) wine to convince you to take a seat is OK with me. A fine Aussie pizza and two lemon crepes later and my appetite was satisfied. Lovely.

A few doors up was a bar with some very comfy sofas where we sat and nattered for a couple of hours. At points, we had live music from a random guy with an acoustic guitar who was playing some good tunes. Eventually, tiredness started to overcome us so we walked back into the city centre and caught trams back to our respective domociles. I made it back just after midnight, so didn’t see Mari or Jesse all day. Oops! 

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It’s that posh bird again

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 The great thing with where Mari lives is that she’s in Zone 1 so the fares are about as cheap as you can get. $6.10 nets me an all-day MetCard to dot around the city centre at will. The tram ride is a short one with some lovely scenery on the way in, and I got off at Federation Square where there is currently a lot going on around the AFL cup final this weekend. Goal kick competitions, live chats with retired players, the cup itself on show and a ton of other stuff. The square is made up of several very strange buildings. It looks like someone’s got a group of architects very drunk and given them a selection of kids’ building toys with which to construct a working model. And then it’s all been scaled up. Freaky, but also very cool.

 The tourist information area came in useful, as I grabbed a bundle of leaflets to help decide what to do. First on the list (after lunch) was the Melbourne Observation Deck, the highest point in the city. Well, I’ve done it in Auckland and Sydney so I may as well start visiting all these towers! There are 23 in the World Federation of Great Towers… so only 20 to go. Melbourne’s stands at 253m, which is 75m shorter than Auckland’s and 50m shorter than Sydney. However, the view is superb. Melbourne has an impressive variety of buildings from old to new to bizarre – Fed Square is only one example of some very extreme architecture.

 Melbourne is also home to one of (if not the) largest glass structure of it’s type. This glass “cone” covers the Shot Tower, a very old brick building originally constructed for the manufacture of lead shot. At the time, it was 6m taller than building regulations allowed. The glass cone is significantly taller than it. The cone covers a large shopping area which also houses a rather impressive clock donated by Sony to the city. It’s in the form of a very large old-fashioned pocketwatch. On the hour, the bottom of the watch slides out to reveal two figures and a variety of wildlife. As the birds “dance”, the figures play Waltzing Matilda before the watch closes itself up again.

I’ve got a list of things to see tomorrow and by now, the rush hour was starting to ease off. I walked back to Fed Square and jumped on a tram to Chapel Street to pick up some wine and beer to drink with dinner. Mari was cooking chicken wings, and you just can’t have chicken wings without a few cold tinnies! 

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Melbourne from a height

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The entire Luxford clan (Adrian had the day off work as well) drove me to the station to wave me off. A huge number of hugs were exchanged and I jumped on to be whisked into the city centre. Less than an hour later and I was at Flinders Street. The main tram stops there all have a couple of staff members walking around, so getting information on where to catch the tram from was simple.

The trams themselves are frequent and the signposting good, so I jumped off at the right stop and them immediately got confused. I ended up ringing Jesse and he walked to the tram stop to get me. Thanks, Jesse! He then directed me to their favourite local pub for lunch, but when I got there I found I’d missed the lunch break, so kept on walking until I reached Chapel Street. This is a long road lined with nice cheap shops and a gazillion fooderies of various descriptions. I was only peckish, so I settled on a ham sandwich and some milk after being trapped in a bookshop for almost 45 minutes by the woman who worked there. Very chatty. Too chatty. Of the three-quarters of an hour I was in there I was only browsing for about ten minutes!

I muched my sarnie on the walk back and got to the flat not long before Mari came in from work. Again, I’ve not met either of these people before having made initial contact through Couchsurfing.com. We had a glass of wine and a natter then headed out for dinner, back on Chapel Street. Mari knows the manager of a Thai/Vietnamese restaurant so we went there and I had a rather delicious beef dinner. And more wine.

The conversation was great, the next bottle of wine went down well and back at the flat I collapsed onto the converted sofa exhausted and slightly the worse for wear winewise! 

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And so to Melbourne

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