Advertisement
Published: September 22nd 2007
Edit Blog Post
Work was really tough this week as we had deadlines on the 15th of September. We also had several extensions which means it's going to be a tough couple weeks till the end of the month.
That said I've had a semi-quiet weekend. I had been walking around practically every weekend and really just wanted a little down time. Also everyone in my office has gotten sick so I'm trying to take care of myself (aren’t you proud of me mom?)
Anyway, Saturday was a pretty full on day of tourism. I had a small list of sights I hadn't seen yet so I went to cross them off. First was the Rialto towers, which until 2006, were the tallest buildings in Australia. They still claim notoriety in skyscraper enthusiasts (like myself) but draw less of a crowd compared to the newly opened Eureka tower in south bank. I got some pictures of the outside but decided to forgo the $14 ticket to the top and join the crowd at Eureka later in the afternoon.
I then moseyed on down to St. Paul's Cathedral which predominately sits at the entry of the CBD. I got inside and took
St. Pauls
The Australian National Treasure lies below. some grand photos. It is an Anglican cathedral but looks just like a catholic cathedral so I'm not sure what the differences are. I was taken back by a wooden shrine which appears to be the 12 disciples replaced by 12 kings of England (not sure which took Judas Iscariot's spot but I'm glad it wasn't me).
After that I went down to the Shrine of Remembrance which sits up in a park at the end of the city and is a highly visable from the city center. I got some pretty good pictures of this too since the weather was so nice. The shrine honors both Australian soldiers who fought in WWI and WWII. Turns out they were father and son and a statue in there honor is in the basement. (Okay Australia had more than 2 soldiers in the great wars. Based on my calculations they had approx. 400,000 serve, 12,000 injured, and 3,000 die. And to be honest it really doesn’t matter what country you come from, if you fight for other people's freedom that is a sacrifice truly worth remembering.) Inside sits a plaque in the middle which reads "greater love hath no man" I
guess that says it all.
The shrine has a roof top balcony that gives terrific views of the city which most Asian tourists and white Americans take full advantage of.
After paying my respects (to the donation jar). I made my way to the botanical gardens. I thought the Grandparents would really like to see some photos of Australian flowers and it was a nice day to take a walk in the park. They claimed to have a "rain forest walk" but the rain was turned off the day I went. I did find fern gully but sadly did not see Cyrsta, Pips, or any fairies from the movie on my stroll. I did see some carvings in the bamboo which the movie warns us hurts the trees. Therefore I did not leave my mark on mother nature.
On my way out of the gardens I tried to go to "Government House" a house where apparently government happens. While the gate was opened I got stopped by a man in a silly hat that said the house is closed to the public, and I could not enter. When I asked how to get in he said call
the government. I don't know the gov't's number but after the APEC scandal I figured it best to just step away from the man before he makes me where one of those hats.
I then ventured on to the other side where lies "Sidney Meyer Music Bowl" and no I didn't spell it wrong. It's named after the guy who founded Meyer a large clothing store which some people say is responsible for destroying Australian fashion. (Not sure if that was the cause but I think they are on to something). While setting up for some shots of the amphitheater I was approached by a guy with a yellow bag and a new camera. In broken English he asked if he wanted me to take his picture. I agreed and then he took my picture. As you can tell it was kind of awkward. I really wanted to explore this newly found bowl of music but instead he asked what I was doing, I told him I was going up Eureka tower later to watch the sun set and he said "I'll go with you, I don't like to walk alone" Being the kind hearted guy that I am
I agreed to let me join me.
Turns out the guy is from Chile and has been working in Brisbane for the past 3 weeks trying to solve the Australian water crisis ( If I haven’t told you Australia is currently in a 5 year drought) I don't really believe it cause it has rained at least 3 days a week since I got here but whatever. So he's now in Melbourne for a week and wants to find out what to do, and apparently I looked like I know how to have a good time as I was taking pictures of an empty amphitheater, so naturally he came to me for advice.
I didn't really know how to talk to this guy I tried but I really couldn't understand him very well. As we walked to Eureka he took a couple pictures of an Austin Martin showroom and talked about taking one of the cars and crashing it. I think there were some bits of the conversation lost in translation.
Anyway at the top it was pretty cool. It was strange though. I guess the only observation decks I can remember going to is the Empire
State Building and the Sears Tower. This was nothing like either of those. I had to wait nearly an hour before getting on the elevator in NY and Chicago, but here in Melbourne I just paid my toll and jumped on the elevator. There was no mystery to it, no romance, no security search, no gum chewing so my ears don't pop,. Just straight up to the 88th floor. The observation deck is roughly 300m 975ft above the ground which makes it the tallest structure in the southern hemisphere. Still not quite 1200ft the Empire State Building takes you but a noble feet nonetheless. I don't know what people think of Eureka but something tells me there is some controversy behind it's design. It seems like a giant trophy for rich people. The top 7 floors cost 7million each (one of which is owned by Nick Cage) and the windows of the top 10 floors are made of 24 carrot gold. Personally I think it's kind of an eye soar but maybe I'm just spoiled with the design of Signature that I can't fully appreciate carrot top.
So I didn't get to see the sun set since my new
friend wanted to check out Fed Square before he scurried off to the AFL game his boss had invited him to. After taking him to a souvenir shop we parted ways and I haven't heard from him since.
On Sunday I slept in. I didn't go to church cause I woke up with a sore throat and knew I was in for it. I stayed home and cleaned up the apt. and planned out the next several weekends as my time in Australia is drawing to a close. I did attempt to go to a church function in port melbourne around 5 pm, however by the time I got down there a storm was a' brewin' and the party had been called off as posted on a bit of paper taped to a flower pot. With the wind blowing the rain and sand in my face I tried to scramble back to the tram station but had to take refuge in a Blockbuster where I heard someone on the phone warn his friend to take shelter from the storm. At this I figured a blockbuster was not where I wanted to be as the typhoon rolled through so I
braved it and ran to the train station. This is where I was greeted by a neighborly bum who asked if I played for the local footy team (I guess my New York jacket would have lead him to that conclusion) I told him that I did not and was actually from Nashville, TN in America. He responded that he liked Elvis.
So that was the end of my weekend. I ended up catching the Australian flu I thought I was immune to as an American. But feeling fine now and planning to go down to Phillip Island next weekend.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.146s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 12; qc: 43; dbt: 0.053s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb