Melbourne Pictures

I am still horking up intriguingly-colored hunks of mucus and procrastinating finishing unpacking my pack and folding my laundry, but I thought I’d better start posting pictures as soon as I could because I’m already forgetting various parts of the trip—even parts that were, like, four days ago—and if I don’t get on it my trip entries will be like, “Uh, yeah. I did some stuff but I didn’t take a picture of it. And I met some people. And I walked around. The end.”

Although to be fair, this entry will sort of be like that anyway because as usual I have not taken pictures of the things I did most in Melbourne, which were a) attempt to correctly validate my tram tickets, b) talk to Georgina about boys, c) sit in Georgina’s living room in front of her heater drinking tea and reading her food porn magazines, d) talk to Sarah about bellydance, and e) shiver violently while wearing all of my clothes. You will just have to imagine my doing those things as I show you what poor photos I did actually take.

Okay, first of all, I don’t know if you remember my free haircut I got from a man who approached me on the street about how curly my hair was? Yeah, me neither, because my hair currently looks like it always does: about to stage a bloody coup. Oh, also? It has recruited a bunch more gray hairs lately, like a bunch more, and I don’t know what that’s all about. My hair, it is inscrutable sometimes. Anyway. Here’s a picture of me, freshly cut, with the lovely Adam, who really got me and my hair journey.

The Man Who Gave Me My Free Haircut

I have mentioned before that if I were going to live in Australia I would want to live in Melbourne because it’s got everything I like in a city: awesome music, cool arty stuff, public transportation that actually works, and great food, including places that serve international sauces:

International Sauces

Sadly, I never did go inside to find out what, exactly, these international sauces were–tzatziki? Harissa? Nam pla? It remains a mystery.

I spent a lot of time just walking around the city looking at stuff.

Make Poverty History

Melbourne Across The Street

And some time at the Victoria Market as well, which was just as good as I remembered it being the last time I was there. George invited her friend (and mine!) Frances, who was also at the Octopus Resort, a year ago, now, over for a fantastic risotto dinner one night and I was in charge of getting the antipasti from all the fantastic Italian delis, which is just the kind of job I like.

Yum

Although there were some purchases I just couldn’t make.

Nooooo!

I spent a whole afternoon at this market, wandering around freezing cold and buying fluffy socks with hearts and flowers on them, though I did manage—somehow!– to resist the siren call of the iconic Australian symbols piled up on the folding tables.

Made In Taiwan

I had to tear myself away from this, as well.

If Only It Were That Simple

I hung out in the city for most of the week I was there, but at George’s suggestion I did go for a day on the Great Ocean Road. She said she’d have taken me herself if she hadn’t had to go to work, that it was really special. I was a little doubtful at first because how great could this ocean road be, you know?

Just Like The Sign Says

I had just come from my fantastic South Island trip and at first I was all sniffy and “eh,” even though it actually was quite gorgeous and cool. That’s the thing about living in New Zealand, though. You get spoiled.

Windswept Headlands

But then it started to get really good.

Just Take The Picture!

London Bridge Rocks

Loch Ard

The Twelve Apostles

Sunset At the Twelve Apostles

It was burning cold that day but it was all so crazy and windswept and romantic—our cool tour guide told us all these stories about shipwrecks and white men who had escaped prison to live with aboriginal tribes—that I just wanted to stay there on the beaches or up on the cliffs forever, or until I physically froze to the safety railing, whichever came first.

Back in Melbourne, I had a chance to go out with Georgina and Frances and their friend Michael on a Friday night, which involved delicious Vietnamese food and a lot of discussion about being lawyers, as well as a lot about what Michael should wear to a fetish night (we all agreed on the chaps but there was some friendly disagreement as to the shoes).
Out

And I also got to go out a couple of times with my beautiful Sarah, who not only took me to a very yummy Moroccan restaurant where we sat and discussed bellydance and boys for about three hours, but who also invited me to a really good dance class my last day there, which garnered my only picture of us together, in which we are both a little sweaty and giggly. This is right after my ass had been well and truly kicked by the fine ladies at Underbelly and right before we went for a chai tea and another couple of hours of deep discussion re: bellydance and boys.

Post Bellydance High

It was a really good start to the trip, that week in Melbourne…as I think about it now, I wasn’t quite ready to jump back into the oft-vaunted backpacker lifestyle after having just quit my job and all that. It was nice to be doing fairly normal but very fun things in a city I happen to adore and always want to go back to visit. By the end of that first week I was definitely feeling myself to be on holiday and was ready to see what the rest of the trip would bring me, but there was still something so sweet about laughing and rolling our eyes at horrid, ridiculous Pretty Woman with George on her living room couch that last night, thinking about how lucky I am to be able to find my type of people, wherever I go in the world.


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4 responses to “Melbourne Pictures”

  1. Sylvia Avatar

    OMG Sarah looks exactly like a Georgia I know.

    You look hot. Repeatedly.

    And those sea cliffs are gorgeous.

  2. Erika Avatar
    Erika

    Wow. Those Great Ocean Road photos are gorgeous!!

  3. Tracy Avatar

    Sadly, I never did go inside to find out what, exactly, these international sauces were–tzatziki? Harissa? Nam pla? It remains a mystery.

    I think the fact that I now want to go to Lord of the Fries even more than those sea cliffs is why Penny sometimes says I’m so Dutch it hurts. And now I will be stealing that picture away to TracyFood for speculation about those sauces, oh yes.

  4. Renee Avatar
    Renee

    Ok, get your damn job and visa already because I have decided that my and Scott’s next international trip should be a week each in Fiji, Wellington, and Melbourne. January should be nice…