So last time you saw me I was laying in my own tears and snot on my hostel bed. Fastforward three hours and I am still laying on my hostel bed. For some reason I decide to get up and make an effort to see a little bit of Melbourne since it was such an undertaking to get there. Helen and I leave the hostel and catch the free tram that circles the CBD. Melbourne has one of the largest tram, aka streetcar, systems in the world; it also has lots of French looking architecture. While these things sound reminiscent of New Orleans, Melbourne has no warm, comfortable, chill air about it. Its missing the charm. And its rainy and freezing. There aren't any big time attractions in Melbourne that you go there to see, like say an opera house, so we really have no idea what we're doing. While riding around the CBD though, I grow a little hopeful that there will be some cool things to do once we get our barrings. We go to the "harbor" area, harbors in Australia are supposed to be cool right? Well this one consisted of some restaurants and weird statues. It was a small wannabe Darling Harbor that was a miss.
Luckily, Helen knows a guy that lives in Melbourne. Actually she met him at a bar a few weeks ago in Sydney. I insist she not talk to him because that's creepy but she does anyway. He fills us in on where to get a good dinner, Lygon Street, and then volunteers himself to come along. This doesn't thrill me. Also luckily, two of our friends from the apartments where I live in Sydney were also in Melbo for the weekend so they meet up with us too. Turns out Lygon Street is amazing; its a little Italy of sorts with amazing Italian restaurants and bakeries for miles. And the guy Helen knows, Adam, is pretty cool too. So we meet up on Lygon Street, I have some lovely pasta and a couple of glasses of wine and once again feel at peace with the world. Then Adam suggests we go to this bakery/confectionery place down the street called Brunetti that he says will blow our minds. I don't really think much of it and am quite full but we head that way. Turns out it does way more than blow my mind. This place is AMAZING. Its huge and filled from wall to wall with pasteries, candies, chocolates, goodies, num-nums, etc. as far as the eye can see. I am elated and take a good 20 minutes to pick out exactly which goodies I will be eating. I select a chocolate canolli and strawberry tart. Oh and they are SO good, divine really. I wish I lived there. Except there would be the whole issue of me weighing 300 pounds and having to be buried in a piano box, but its almost worth it I think.
Next we head to a bar. Adam explains that there aren't any nightlife centers in Melbs, but rather bars and clubs are spread out through the city down alley ways and the like. You really have to know what you're looking for. He proves his point by taking us down this alley where we see a club that I think we're going to until we turn off down another double sketchy alley and proceed to head through a non-descript door arriving at our destination. Its actually really cool. Its a total hole in the wall dump, eclectically decorated with old junk. Also extremely New Orleansy. The fake plants remind me of F&Ms.
Later, we leave that bar, which I'm not even sure has a name, and go back to the hostel to change clothes. I put on a big ol' sweater and boots to increase my chances of surviving the cold. Then we go to this club where I have to pay $15 to get in. Vom. The music is really techno-y, apparently also very characteristic of Melbo, and while I'm not a huge fan I'm determined for this night to go out with a bang. I dance with some Aussies and ask the DJ to play Britney. Lo and behold HE PLAYED BRITNEY, in a Melbo techno club! Granted it was kinda a techno remix of If You Seek Amy, but it was Britney. I win. I also make that my new life goal: to have Britney played in every club I ever go to in Australia. (I don't even have to ask at Scruffy's anymore, the DJ plays it every Tuesday and points to me.) The other girls make fun of me because they think Adam is sweet on me and then they all want to leave to go watch some soccer game. I want to stay put because I payed $15 to get in here darnit and I don't like soccer. So they leave me with Adam and think this is all very entertaining. Yea, fine. Fortunately, he's nice and takes good care of me, gets me home safe, pays for the cab, and all that. Back in the hostel, sweet hostel, I hit the hay.
Next day I wake up and go to free pancake breakfast that the hostel does every Sunday. The pancakes are actually more crepe-like and they taste a little funny because I have no butter and the syrup is gross. Not bad though, all part of the experience. Then Helen and I go to the Melbourne museum. I quite enjoy it; they have dino bones, a forest exhibit, and I got to learn all about Phar Lap. Phar Lap is the horse Aussie's are obsessed with and they have him stuffed and in a display case. Turns out he's a rather large horse. In the gift shop I buy a Phar Lap magnet and a couple of other magnets for the collection and then Helen and I head to lunch.
Post lunch, I meet up with Adam and my friends from Sydney and the four of us go to a footy game. For those of you who don't know, footy is Aussie rules rugby. Its held in the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) which is apparently this famous stadium. It is a cool stadium I'll say and a good experience. Then we head to the Eureka Sky Tower which is this giant skyscraper with an observation deck on the 88th floor so you can see heaps of stuff. Its located in a really pretty part of the city across the Yarra River from the main part of the CBD. Nice views, cool stuff. Then we head back to Lygon Street for dinner. I split a delicious pizza with Jackie and insist we all go back to Brunetti. Welcome back to heeeaven. This time I get a milk chocolate almond cluster and a truffle thing for round one and then I go back for another round, because I have no plans on ever coming back to Melbo; may as well get more, right? Round two is a hazelnut macaroon and some kind of chocolate nutty biscuit thing. So amazing. Then we go back to the hostel and crash because we're all quite tired.
Monday Helen and I have cornflake breakfast then start the trek to the airport. Turns out Melbs has two airports and our flight happens to be out of the one that is 45 min away from the city in the middle of nowhere. Cool. We lug all our stuff down the the free tram, take it to Southern Cross Station, hop a bus to the airport, which is really more like a shed than an airport, and then catch our plane. In the shed airport no one weighs my bag, asks for an ID even once, and doesn't make me take my shoes and jacket off to go through security. The flight is marvelous. Its only an hour and 15 min long and I read for my history class the whole way. Then we're back in glorious Sydney!!
We train to central station and catch the bus home and I'm SOO glad to be home! I put my stuff down, call Amber, and we immediately go to the gym for 5:30 yoga class with the intention of staying for 6:30 ab & bum attack class. Turns out we mixed up the times and yoga isn't until 6:30. Pump class starts at 5:30 so we do that, then yoga, then stay for the ab & bum class. Three hours at the gym makes me feel a lot better about all the sweets I ate over the weekend. The scale is discouraging though as I gained 4 pounds in Melb.
So in conclusion, I learned: Manners are not possessed by everyone, I am SOOO glad I picked Sydney over Melbourne to study in, DO NOT drive from Sydney to Melbourne- the flights are cheap enough and take 1/10th of the time.
Also, a sidenote: I texted V on Sunday and apologized for yelling at her just to be the bigger person and all that good stuff. Yea, I didn't enjoy it, but I'm glad I did. I saw her a few minutes ago and we stopped and talked for awhile like everything was fine. So, everything is fine. I'm really behind on a lot of things, but am catching up. Had a good day at work. Aaaaand, that's Kathryn goes to Melbourne and such. The end.
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