I Hate Goodbyes…
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.
Tags: Australia, New Zealand
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