well i’m on my way…

I arrived in Auckland with two main things to do:  pick up some last minute souvenirs and meet up with my friend Simon, whom Naomi and I met in Invercargill.  He was on a whirlwind tour of the south island and had to go back to work in Auckland.  We had a blast together when we met, so I was determined to hang out with him one last time before I left New Zealand.  After two days of comparing prices and haggling shop owners, I completed my souvenir shopping.  My last day in Auckland I met Simon for coffee before I had to pack my bag.

I was so sad to leave New Zealand, but glad to leave Auckland.  I landed in Melbourne not too thrilled, as I spent almost two weeks there a few months ago, but I was staying with a friend I had met in Sydney when I first started traveling.  Tyler met me at the bus stop, which was only half a block away from his building.  After we went through the security doors and said hello to the concierge, I was impressed.  The marble floors and a promise of tennis courts and a swimming pool were way above my hostel standards.

The flat was on the 27 floor and had quite a view.  We got ready to go out and had a dinner of pizza that made me glad I was going home to Chicago soon to eat REAL pizza.  We met up with more friends on the infamous Brunswick Street at the even more infamous Little Creatures, originally from West Australia.  We ran into some people I knew from Sydney and even more people I didn’t know.  We did a bit of bar hopping and stayed out until the bars closed.  I hadn’t stayed out that late in a long time; in fact, I hadn’t drank since St Patrick’s Day!

The next day I wandered around Melbourne, or more truthfully, got lost.  I found the library and sat down to read my book.  Instead, I fell asleep!  I made it back to the flat as it was getting dark out and had an early dinner of noodles and went to bed early.  We were all hurting a bit, I think.

Monday I went to the Melbourne Museum while Tyler and his flatmates had to work.   I got really engrossed in the exhibits and ended up getting kicked out when the museum closed!

All day I kept on having contradictory emotions.  I’d feel like a kid on Christmas Eve, just wanting to go to bed so Christmas moring would come sooner; or in my case, the day to go home.  But once that word “home” ran through my head, a wave of panic would overcome me.  I don’t want to go home!  I don’t want to leave Australia!  The only thing that made it OK, I think, is the fact that I’m home for four days, then off to Greece and a two month Euro-trip.

When I arrived at the flat, Tyler gave me two options:  go to an AFL (Australian Football League) game or go out for a friend’s birthday.  I asked “Why can’t we do both?”  The footy game was crazy, with unprotected men running around after a rugby-shaped ball, kicking it, hitting it like a volleyball, and underhand throwing it.  Any kind of defense seemed to be allowed-shoving, kicking, tackling…everthing but face-punching.  After the third quarter, the team we were rooting for was losing by 4 times their score, we left.  Tyler and I collected some of his roommates and headed for the city center to meet up with the birthday girl and have some drinks.  We only stayed out for one and ended up having a semi early night.

I woke up the next morning and looked out the window, sad that I was leaving.  I said goodbye to my new friends and headed for the bus stop.  I don’t think I’ve ever walked so slow in my life.  As I stared out the window on the way to the airport, I vowed myself I’d be back to Australia and New Zealand, very very soon.

I checked out of the greasy hostel and practically ran to the cleanliness of the YHA.  I couldn’t check in til 1 so I did some laundry and just hung out, mindlessly watching the news and reading Lord of the Rings The Two Towers.  I’m kinda hooked.  I’ve just been wandering around the city, not really doing anything too active-I fly out of here in May (read: WINTER) so I’ll probably want to spend some time, decompress from New Zealand, and check out museums and see who of my friends are still living here.  I went to the cinemas and saw He’s Not That Into You.  Good flick, I guess, but it had a happier ending than I thought it would-given the title and all.  It was nice hearing American accents…I hung out on the hostel rooftop that night overlooking the city. 

Melbourne and Chicago are similar-with the rivers cutting through the cities, “docklands” being converted into housing, ferris wheels, the skylines are a bit similar-don’t ask how…it just feels a bit like home here.  And I’m not sure how I feel about it.  I travel to find new things, different things, and Melbourne doesn’t really feel new or different. 

The next day my mission was to check out the two cultural streets:  Lygon Street and Brunswick Street.  Lygon Street is the Italian street-I still don’t understand why cities want to put all of the same thing on one street.  Anyways…walking down the street the smell of garlic was so pungent, and it was 11 in the morning!  I didn’t have any food, but smelling and drooling over the menus were enough for me!  I headed two blocks over to Brunswick street-the “bohemian” street that was filled with arty gardens, secondhand shops, and eclectic cafes…I walked up and down the street, pausing in a few shops here and there.  I was so tired, even though it wasn’t that hot.  My feet were sore (btw, the ankle’s recovered for the most part) and I started heading back to the hostel.  I stumbled across a nice park on the way back and lied down in the inviting shade of the trees.  I must have fallen asleep beause I jumped when I heard laughter-I got up and wandered around some more.  When I got back to the hostel, I met some people on the roof and we watched The Full Monty.  

I lied on St Kilda beach yesterday.  The waves were nonexistant but the sun was ever present.  I worked on my tan, since I’m afraid I will start losing it once I get to New Zealand, with temperatures being in the 50s and 60s (farenheit) on the South Island.  Yuck!  After I returned to the hostel, I went up to the roof and eavesdropped on a conversation-but only because I was trying to determine whether or not a guy was Canadian or American.  When I heard him say “It was, like, awesome” I butted in and asked him what part of the States he was from.  He looked taken aback, surprised someone asked him if he was American (a big no no, especially if you make the mistake of calling a Canadian an American), until I explained that I was from Chicago and hadn’t heard an American accent in so long.  So we chatted it up about the differences for a while.  I’m not homesick by any means, but hearing a familair accent is nice once in a while.

Today I went with one of my roommates to the Rialto Observation deck-55 stories up above the city.  It was a bit foggy out, so there wasn’t much to see, but what we did see was cool.  We’re heading to the night market tonight to see what there is to see.  I have to pack my bag tonight-yuck!  But I’m going to New Zealand tomorrow, so it’s so worth it.  =)

I'm condensing the last week into one post, so I'll only give you the highlights:

The first day, Monday, we headed south and west, away from the fires and closer to the coast.  We followed the Great Ocean Road which is ... [Continue reading this entry]

So after a painful week for Victorians and generally Australians, I am back in Melbourne.  There are people everywhere with buckets asking for donations for the fire victims, market vendors are advertising they will donate percentages of their profits made today, and ... [Continue reading this entry]

On Friday I had the best/worst breakfast of my life (after the avo and cheese of course) today: pancakes and berries smothered in maple syrup and vanilla ice cream.  Yum!-although I did feel a bit sluggish for the rest of ... [Continue reading this entry]

I don't know if this has reached world news yet, or if it will, but if you have heard about the bushfires in the state of Victoria, Australia, I want you to know that yes, I am in Melbourne, where ... [Continue reading this entry]

I'd first like to share that I'm sitting in the comfort of my friend Cameron's apartment.  I met Cameron on my last day in Beijing; he was in search of a camera and I for something to do besides look at more temples.  Staying ... [Continue reading this entry]

I woke up on February 2, my 46th day of traveling, with a mission in mind. I was going to Perth! Well, actually, I was going to another suburb of Perth, one I'm sure not too many tourists ... [Continue reading this entry]

So after we arrived in Perth, I went with my new friend Jen (also on the tour) to her beachside hostel somewhere between Perth and Fremantle.  I didn't have a reservation, but I was confident I'd get a bed.  Jen ... [Continue reading this entry]

I booked a 5 day tour to see the south west corner of Western Australia and left early Australia Day morning.  We did and saw a lot, and I don't really remember all of it.  We saw a lot of ... [Continue reading this entry]