There's more than just a wizard in Oz

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Back in Oz
The Qantas flight from L.A. to Melbourne is smooth. I fall asleep before takeoff and wake up nine hours later. Usually, I’d love that, but with the entertainment options aboard with Q OnDemand, I regret not having more time to watch all the movies I want. I manage to squeeze watching Volver (Pedro Almodovar’s latest, with Penelope Cruz, great), Blood Diamond (great), and almost all of Dreamgirls (great so far). I still don’t know what happens in the end, but maybe on the Qantas flight to Manila, I’ll get my chance. Leroy watches Blood Diamond and Dreamgirls, then spends the rest of the time reading “A Long Way Gone,” which is a memoir about a boy soldier from Sierra Leone. We heard about it on Jon Stewart’s Daily Show, and it goes well with Leroy having just watched Blood Diamond.

We decide to declare our bag of cashews and almonds that my mom prepared for our trip. It was either that or toss it, the latter being what I favored. We end up in the declarations line and having our bags looked through, but Leroy is convinced we got out of Customs faster this way since the regular line was really deep. They took the nuts anyway since they were not in their original package. We catch the Frankston and Peninsula bus toward St. Kilda; the ride is free as part of our lodging at Base Backpackers in St. Kilda, which is a beachside town with a boheme feel. The first time I was in Melbourne was in 1993 at the age of 17. I participated in a 5-week ecological adventure which included an 8-day homestay with a Melbourne family. I remember a little bit about my time with the family, but we never kept in touch. Driving into the city, none of it looks familiar. Most of my memories of Melbourne were of The Great Ocean Road and meeting under the clocks at Flinders St. I can’t wait to get to know Melbourne again, especially this week. Melbourne is hosting a food and wine festival, the 12th FINA (swimming) competition, and Miss Saigon. We only have 4 ½ days here, so we have to take advantage.

Soaking in the St. Kilda Vibe
Once we get to Base, we check in and head out to brunch at the Galleon café. I have a wonderful eggs benedict and Leroy has the big breakfast. Everything is good, but at American prices, we know we have to limit ourselves while in Melbourne. We walk to the beach, only three blocks from our hostel. It is beautiful. Autumn in Melbourne is pretty warm and the beachgoers are tanning on the sand. We walk along the beach toward St. Kilda pier, then walk on the pier as far as we can go. The water is dark green-blue and clear. Signs tell us that penguins have a habitat here, but all we see is a duck in the water. When we go down some steps onto a wooden pier that is closer to the water, a fellow traveler tells us there is a penguin in a burrow among the rocks. He shows it to me and I just love him (the penguin). These penguins are among the smallest, and he is just sitting in a nook surrounded by rocks. We don’t have a camera on us, but I vow to return to get a picture of him. At this point, Leroy decided we’ll spend our money on a one-day tour of The Great Ocean Road since we’ve just seen a penguin and there is now little reason to do the one-day tour of Philip’s Island where the penguin parade is. Melbourne will be expensive for us (I have already bought tickets to Miss Saigon as a birthday present for Leroy). We walk back to Base and spend the rest of our day hanging out in the hostel room and bar, walking about St. Kilda, and making our plans for the rest of our stay in Melbourne as well as thinking about what our plan is for Vietnam. So far, we are seeing Miss Saigon tomorrow, and will likely do The Great Ocean Road on Saturday. Sunday will be saved for the Food and Wine Festival, and Friday is free for now.

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Photos

My buddy
Meli's new found friend, hiding from the sun.

Comments

[sOL for real]

happy B-day playa
Hope you guys are having a great time. Chile really messed you guys up, huh? I just finished my Step 2 CS.... I'm officially done with all my tests for medical school. Damn it feels good. ICU rotation left.... I gotta start getting myself prepared to act like I really want to be there. Have a great time and kidnap a penguin for Leroy's b-day. They make better pets than canaries. sOL

[rubyjones]

wondering hoew you are doing
hope you two are having a good time traveling. ruby [e-mail]