Moving Through Melbourne

This weekend I got a glimpse of what you all are feeling at home, cold. I'm not trying to be whinny but being in a city that didn't reach above 63 degrees was brutal. I don't have clothes for that kind of weather! This girl is used to 80+ degrees! It certainly reinforced my thought that I'm going to freeze once I step off the plane in Chicago next month.

Melbourne, Victoria is a two hour flight away but felt like a world of difference. Besides the cold, it was filled with cultural activities and buildings, as well as the second most photographed wonder of Australia (second to the Opera House)--The Twelve Apostles. I love the Gold Coast but I was yearning for some museums and natural wonders.

There isn't one picture that can get all twelve. And as you are reading this, more apostles are being created, and destroyed. It's the erosion of the rock by the sea. My friend Erica took a helicopter ride around and in them and was able to get a great aerial view of them. How many can you count?

We took an all day tour around Melbourne's natural wonders and even though it was just about twelve hours long, and we were surviving off about two hours sleep, I got so much out of it. The trip started off rough after arriving to our hostel and realizing the condition it was in. I'm not a princess. I don't need a mint on my pillow or someone to answer to my beck and call. I just want security and appropriate cleanliness. Our hostel had neither. I was in a random ten-person room because the room my friends were in was booked by the time I was able to book my trip. I hoped for the best but once I walked in my hostel room and it had the appearance of one of Intervention's crystal meth houses, I inconspicuously grabbed my pillow and blanket and headed back to my friend's room. Katie was oh so generous to share beds with me for the weekend, thank God. Otherwise I think I would have been on the next flight home, considering all hotel rooms were booked (thanks to Mrs. Hayes for looking into that for us). I can laugh about it now but I wasn't this weekend. I may or may not have cried after getting off the phone with my mom the first day. Australian phone credits well spent.

This tour was called The Great Ocean Road tour, which encompasses the Twelve Apostles. We were also able to see: a lookout of the ocean as well as more decaying rocks, half a rainforest, a cute little town in the middle of nowhere, wild koalas, and London Bridge.

The Great Ocean Road was built by the returned servicemen of World War I. They needed work and so the government projected this design for them. The sign is currently the fourth one since then, all the others having been burned and destroyed by bush fires or ruined by storms.

Thanks to this tour, I was able to sing, "London Bridge is falling down." Really. In 1990, the London Bridge collapsed into the ocean, leaving only a section of it. No one was injured but two people were actually trapped on the one part for hours until authorities could attain a helicopter. The best part of that story? The two people were married, just to separate people. Both had told their partners they were going away for the weekend, and had both called in sick to work. Their names and faces became top news and well, that fairytale didn't end so nicely. The man lost his job and it was never verified whether or not both were left by their partners.

The road is truly the most beautiful scenic route I've ever driven. If I wasn't looking at the ocean, I was looking at rolling meadows similar to what I imagine Ireland to be like. There were sheep, cows, llamas, echidnas, and wild parrots. Every time I looked up, a new thing was to be seen. The weather wasn't perfect but it was almost as if in between stops, it would rain and then when we would stop, the rain would stop. Except for towards the end, it didn't stop when we stopped and I got a little soaked. A little rain never hurt me.

Friday night we explored the nightlife and some grabbed dinner at a really fun Italian restaurant. The guy we presumed was the owner was playing practical jokes on everyone--including putting on clown masks and scaring passersby.

Saturday we took on the city ourselves and even though got turned around more than once, were so successful. They have a tram system that runs in the middle of the street on electrical wires and although you're suppose to pay for them by touching a prepaid card, we played our international advantage and just hopped on and hoped that we wouldn't get caught. We probably rode it about twenty times and never had to pay. Such luck!

The first stop was Chapel Street filled with different stores and cafes. After walking around for a bit, we hoped back on the tram and headed to the Shrine of Remembrance.

It was built as a memorial to the men and women of Victoria who served in WWI and is now a memorial to all Australians who have served in war. It has a wall of 4,000 metals that represents the over 400,000 past war veterans. 

The place gave me a sense of appreciation for not only just the Australians who have fought in war, but all military people in general, especially my grandpa for his service to WWII. Even though he won't see this--Thanks, Poppy. (They even have a whole field of Poppies dedicated to you!) 

Our next stop was the National Gallery of Victoria. I used to hate going to museums and art institutes because we had to do those kinds of things in grammar school and high school. But now when I can go voluntarily, I appreciate it more. Like this $300 million dollar painting that is in the NGV...

I said I appreciate it, not understand just why they're so expensive. Like, c'mon people, some of us need that $300 million. After that, we went and followed our tourist map to find the graffiti alleys. I have this weird fascination with graffiti because I think it can say so much of the person who created it. It isn't illegal in Melbourne, as long as it's in the designated 12 alleys, but if someone is caught with spray paint in hand, they're immediately fined $550. Talk about a catch-22. 

We're funny.

At this point, we had walked the equivalent of what felt like a marathon so we headed back to the hostel, held our breath, quickly showered, and headed out to dinner. A quaint Mexican restaurant at the bottom of some stairs appealed to us and it did not disappoint. Gracias, Taco Bill's! After a full stomach, it was on to the Eureka Skydeck. Now, I think it's a sin that I haven't even been to Chicago's Skydeck yet but I have told myself that I must go this Christmas break after experiencing this one. So, anyone who wants to go on a date with me there over break, I'm now taking offers.  

We got to see the whole city lit up and then experience the Edge, which is their version of the Skydeck except it moves. You begin in a dark, frosted window part and then the cliched sound effects start, and suddenly you feel it moving and the frosted windows are no longer. The whole thing is glass and you're stuck facing whatever fears you have of heights as you're suspended 935 feet in the air. No photos on the Edge experience because I'm not paying $20 for it! 

We roamed the city a little more, checked out the bar next to our hostel then called it a night. Sunday we decided to do the free city tour but quickly realized it was everything we had already figured out on our own the day before. I got to walk around the Polish festival a little bit though, those perogies and sausages sure seemed like home! We politely excused ourselves and headed to Queen Victoria Market. It's like flea market, meets farmers market, meets souvenir shops. I'm just about finished with all you people's gifts! I tell ya, I didn't realize how many great people I had until coming here! 

Since we're obviously college students on a budget, we go for the cheapest of everything: food, hostels, airfare. So, because of that, we chose the night flight. 8:40pm to be exact. That wouldn't have been an issue if we had stuff to do. But, we literally roamed the whole city, saw what we wanted and were too tired of walking all weekend to do more of it. I really questioned my athletic ability this weekend because I'm still sore from walking. Regardless, we just decided to go to the airport--5 hours early. There was wifi there so we just hung out and caught up on social media. 

Everything was fine until 8:15 came and we still hadn't lined up to board the plane. Cue PA announcement. Our flight was now delayed an hour. Which meant we were going to miss our bus home. We checked online and saw there was a later one still. We're on a budget, remember? We can't afford a cab! Long night short, we arrived back on the Gold Coast at 10:30 (Melbourne was an hour ahead) but came to find out that the website actually lied and there were no more busses. So, I had to dig in my wallet and painfully pay $10 for a cab split between four of us back to campus. At that point, it wasn't too bad because I just wanted to be in bed, after showering off the weekend exhaustion. 

I'm in the homestretch here. I have a little less than a month left and I have to use this blog to look back and see where the time went. I feel like it was just yesterday I was looking back at my mom after going through security at O'Hare. I'm going to miss this place, more than I'll ever miss another place, but I think it's the fact that it's Thanksgiving and I've been gone for three months, that I'm feeling ready to come home. My mom sent me a little piece of home, which was exactly what I needed at the time...

I also got a nice little surprise with paintings made by my little neighbors and some pictures of them. Although it made me miss them even more, I appreciated it so much. Everyone loves the new art in my room. 

I've got quite the workload ahead of me for the next few weeks but I just know it will keep me busy and before I know it, I'll be on my last trip of the semester--New Zealand! I'll without a doubt go out with a bang for this trip, there. I won't reveal the things I'm doing there because it's all so extreme and it will come as a surprise! 

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone at home! I'm definitely thankful for all of you, and for this opportunity.