Hungover

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A typical hangover is brought about by the consumption of too much alcohol guised at the time as fun. The remnants of the fun can last hours or days, influencing the perception of reality.

I’m hungover. However, it’s not because of alcohol. It’s the cause of too much fun in Queenstown, which has drawn out an underwhelming opinion of what I’ve experienced since leaving it.

I was up very early this morning (4:00 am) to depart Christchurch for Melbourne, Australia. I caught my shuttle out to the airport and had no problems with the process. One thing that was surprising is that New Zealand has a NZ$25 (US$18) departure fee that must be paid at the airport and is not included in the cost of the ticket.

While waiting to board, I was able to finally get caught up on my entries (only to fall behind again with this one).

The flight itself was about four hours, but went by quickly as we arrived well ahead of schedule. I caught another shuttle to my hostel where I left my bags while I went out exploring for a few hours until I could officially check in at 2:00.

Melbourne offers a free city tram that circles the CBD (it’s a bit slow but the price is right). One of the tram’s stops is about a 10 minute walk from the hostel. I caught a ride on this for a few blocks, getting off by an information center near Flinders Street Station and St. Paul’s Cathedral.

I wandered around the information center for about an hour, soaking in all that Melbourne has to offer. Many of the activities are day trips outside the city and places to drink and dine but a few things caught my attention which I’m planning to do over the next few days.

I left the information center and briefly went inside St. Paul’s, though I didn’t stay more than a few minutes. From there I continued along on the tram until I got off to walk up to Queen Victoria Market, a five minute walk off the tramline.

The market is enormous. Each type of stand - meats, fish, produce, prepared foods and other items - had its own large area with a dozen or more stands offering a variety of fresh foods. Butchers and fishmongers shouted out the specials of the day as I walked past. I had to leave one building and walk across a road to get to the massive produce area, where sellers were announcing their specials on sweet strawberries, bananas and all sorts of vegetables.

I was very impressed with this marketplace. Visiting marketplaces is one of my favorite things to do in a city and this one sure didn’t let me down.

All the while, the weather has been cloudy with brief showers. I didn’t bring my umbrella out with me but I didn’t need it. When I got back to the hostel and checked in, I made sure to have it out to take with me later on, as the weather continued to deteriorate.

My roommates here are all from France; a pleasant bunch but they stick to themselves. It’s been interesting observing the interaction of the different nationalities over the past several months. While most everyone is amicable, cultural and lingual barriers are wholly evident. The French tend to associate with French. The Germans with Germans. Aussies, Kiwis, Canadians, Americans and Brits with one another, as we all share the same nationalistic ancestry.

Late in the afternoon, I went out for another walk to explore a bit more of the town. Again I caught the tram to Federation Square, where I walked around the very modern buildings on my way to the Yarra River. On the river, several crew teams of four and eight were practicing, or perhaps warming up for a race.

From there, I caught the tram up to Carlton Park and the Royal Exhibition Building. I walked through the park, which has clearly suffered from the severe drought that has affected Melbourne this summer, on my way to the Fitzroy area.

I walked for a couple miles into Fitzroy, a neighborhood where many younger people live. The streets are lined with restaurants and bars; one of which is called Grill’d, a healthy burger joint where I dined. There I had a grilled Tuscan chicken sandwich, chips (like England, fries are called chips) with some mouthwatering herbs, spices and tomato sauce and my first beer in Australia, a Carlton Draught (it’s probably like the Budweiser of Australia but it wasn’t half bad).

I came back from dinner and relaxed in my room, resuming Robinson Crusoe. It’s been a long day; I’ve essentially been up since 2:00 am Melbourne time. I shut my eyes and fell asleep around 10:00.

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Photos

Flinders Street Station
This train station serves people commuting from outside the city.

Queen Victoria Market
One of the many stands offering fresh fish.

Free tram
The free city circle tram is a bit slow but very functional as it gets passengers a short walk from wherever they want to go in the city center.

Federation Square
One of the many modern buildings.

Dinner
My chicken sandwich, chips and beer at Grill'd.

Comments

[Phil]

trolley, not tram.
That's a trolley. We still have a couple of them in Philadelphia. And that market is similar to the Reading Terminal Market that we have in center city philadelphia.