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Published: February 18th 2008
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(Clover)
Where Sydney had lovely parks Melbourne had lovely old buildlings. The odd part was the juxtaposition of the old against the new. I would walk around a corner to see a grand old chruch and then right next to the would be "modern" monstrousity. Every street large and small had something going on. The streets were crawling with people.
The area of town where we were staying was called Chapel street. We were a little worried that we were going to end up in a suburb far away from downtown but it ended up being a pretty neat little area. The buildings were not so grand but the street was lined with little cafes, restuarants, hip little bars and tattoo parlors. What we found on Chapel street was actually more of what I was expecting to find in Kings Cross in Sydney. So it was a pleasant surprise. Come to find out Melbourne is loaded with little gem neighborhoods known for there own flavor. Not sure Kings Cross was a flavor I would want to describe but I suppose the flavor may have been cigarette butts, side walk gum and vomit with a hint of doughnut
Lord of the Fries?
Hmm, if this is a play of words from the book "Lord of the Flies" ewww. Flies and fries don't go together. I will just pretend they were thinking of "Lord of the Rings." on the end.
The train ride downtown was pretty long and the subway was more than a little confusing. Somehow we always managed to get where we intended, though we never knew how. The Flinders street tram station was a massive old building built back in the 1800's. On our last day in town the Flinders Street was shut down for the filming of Steven Spielberg's miniseries movie "The Pacific." We took some pictures of the road set but we didn't see any movie stars roaming about the set. There were plenty of people waiting with their cameras just in case though.
After walking past the movie set we stumbled upon a hip hop dance competition. We sat and watched awhile. I am not into hip hop music or dance but it was amusing. There must have been at least a couple hundred spectators surrounding the outdoor stage. Young men and women bounced about the stage. They looked like they felt pretty cool. From my perspective the dance style looked like a combination of Fat Albert/Michael Jackson/MC Hammer. I wondered if this may have meant I was getting old. I quickly decided it was just because
church anyone?
the ugliest architecture creation was across the street from this church they looked silly and I was still hip with the times.
Each day we would find a little cafe on Chapel Street and I would partake of my tea ritual. I am going to end up being one of those people with a creepy room in my house that is just for my collection of tea pots. One day my grandkids will make fun of me to their friends. “Gran is weird.” At least it won’t be dolls (shudder). As a kid the only thing I did with dolls was give them mohawks and rearrange their arms and legs.
It is a place like Chapel Street that offers, in one business, haircuts and body piercing. Somehow when walked past that store the offer didn’t seem out of place. As we wondered along our lazy path Scott decided he wanted a haircut and I wanted my nose pierced. Sure, kill two birds with one stone. Good deal. We walked in for business. There was a man with messy hair cutting another man’s hair in one corner. I dismissed him. I wanted my nose pierced not my haircut. An older woman walked up to me and asked me
yuck
One of those nasty modern buildings I spoke of how she could help me. I stated my intentions and she quickly sat me down. I picked out a cute little rhinestone stud. She made a tiny dot with a magic marker on my nose and told me to stay put. All of a sudden the man that had been previously cutting hair was standing in front of me. He grabbed my nose with one hand and shoved the piercing gun up my nose with the other. Suddenly getting my nose pierced seemed like a bad idea but it was too late. Then bam! I heard a pop and my eyes teared up. My abused nose throbbed. A minute later Scott was getting his hair cut. The old lady came back and patted my knee in a matronly way. Moral of the story is hair barbers shouldn’t be body piercers. Scott got a great haircut.
It was in Melbourne we discovered the Victoria Market. Everything a person could possibly want was at this market. From denim jeans to mangos as big as your head. Scott’s eyes bulged out of his head when he found the cheese section. Fish hawkers yelled there goods to the crowd. Little Asian women
sold medicinal powdered reindeer horn. Chinese butchers sold five dollar pig heads, whole smoked squid and kangaroo steaks.
Supposedly, Melbourne (pronounced “mel-bin” by locals) is considered the European city of Australia. Everyone is said to wear black. A countries view on its fellows in amusing. We all do it. Everyone in Australia seems to agree that Tasmania is where the inbreeds hang out. One man said he met a girl with webbed fingers. So Melbourne is where the European Aussi’s hang out. When I get to Europe I will conclude whether this is true or not. If I find a body piercing barber shop in Europe I will know where Melbourne got the idea.
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Uncle Robert
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G'day Mates
Want you to know I have enjoyed reading about your adventures and seeing your photos from the beginning in Fiji. I did think, Scott, you could have looked more ferocious doing the Hoka dance. I imagine you are working on that. I did not realize you are both into ocean diving as you are. What a fantastic dimension to your experiences "down under". Clover, you write beautifully with all the right mix of interest, information, detail, entertainment, and humor. I enjoyed learning what "mozzies" are. I hope you have recovered from the leech attack (you could carry a cigarette to light when you need to make the leech let go). Good for you - appreciating a proper tea. Very civilized! I have been interested in your comments on the food along the way. Hmm, scrummyburgers - but not at McDonalds, right? I regret to tell you, Lord of The Fries is a play on the title - Lord of The Flies. I look for any evidence you are carrying a didgeridoo by now (sending one home, by chance?) I missed my chance to buy one a few years ago. You are doing good, nephew, doing good! Safe traveling - make memories - know we are looking forward to your next installment. Robert