In love with Melbourne and Mountain Goat

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So for those of you that were nervous that I'd get to Australia and never want to come home...be happy that the northern area of Queensland flooded again and I had to change the direction of my trip. Melbourne originally would have been at the end of my journey and now its at the beginning. There is so much of this country that I want to see that my adventous side can not justify staying here right now. But on the other hand, I have completely fallen in love with this city and could stay for a very long time. I think that would have been the case had this been the end of my journey...

When I woke up on Monday, I had several things to sort out. The Lonely Planet Australia guide book is over 1000 pages, with good reason, and I had only read up on Brisbane, Fraser Island, Cairns and Alice Springs. This was because this was goign to be the 1st half of my trip and there's only so much I like to read about the country at once. So when I had to abruptly change my plans, I ended up in Melbourne and reversing my trip. This meant sorting out all of the different things I want to do. Believe it our not, this took me about 4 hrs to complete. There were flights to book, trains to book and a few hostels inbetween. This trip is turning out to be a bit more structured than I'd like. After sorting through it all, I compromised and only booked a few things. I've decided that from there, I'll just have to see what I feel like doing and try to take in the atmosphere a bit more. Wish me luck!

I spent the second half of Monday exploring Melbourne. According to Lonely Planet, its a city of 3.9 million. It has such an amazing feeling to it! The center business area was hopping with the Moomba festival ending earler that day. I decided to just walk up and down the streets and get a lay of the land. The city is a great mix of tall highrise buildings and small short old buildings from the late 1800s. It gives such character and interest to the city. Then to make it even better, you get a great mix of businesses. The streets are lined with a variety of restaurants and cafes - everything from sushi to smoothies to coffees to kabobs - it really impacts your senses. Then you have a variety of clothing shops mixed in - professional and high end to edgy and daring. Its a little bit of everything all rolled up into the same place. The city is on a grid and is a rectangle shape. Off the main roads there are several smaller roads and then pedestrian alleyways. These are stuffed full of small boutiques and cafes. Along with all of this, you have several old historic buildings that house the library and parliment and theaters and the such. The library was one of my favorite stops. Out front of it is a large lawn area and in the sunny afternoon, it was covered with people chatting, eating, reading or meeting up with friends. It was a social mecca so to speak and I choose to sit down on the steps of the library and soak it in for a bit. After going in and out and up and down several streets, I decided to hop on the free city tram that runs the loop of the city. I figured this would help me to grasp all the space. I was really glad I did. The tram car is an original from when the tram was first put in (the early 1900s, I think). The city has an extensive tram service along with bus and a subway. Its comfortable to ride and they give you little bits of info on the city along the way. I am able to see the docklands area which is pretty self explainitory. I also see where many of the stadiums are. This is quite cool! This city is a Aussie Rules Football place. This sport is like rugby, sorty of. I am not going to be here for a game. They start playing in two weeks. Another reason I should have been here at the end of my trip. From here we venture past several old buildings. They are typically 3 stories high and made of stone or concrete of sorts. They are beautiful! It seems as though the city has worked hard to keep these buildings in good shape. All sorts of businesses operate in the. In fact, the hostel I"m staying at is in a building from the early 1900s and its incredible! High ceileings in the rooms, so when you sleep on the top bunk you don't feel like you're inches from the ceiling. A great kitchen and hidden areas to watch TV/Movies or read a book. A great garden/courtyard area to socialize. But the best part...on the top floor they have fabulously modern individual bathrooms. Now to those of you who have never staying in a hostel, this is not really that big of deal, but when you share a bathroom for so many nights you get really excited about goin gin, locking the door and having a sink, toielt and HUGE shower all to your self! It really is heaven! I might just take two showers a day...just cuz I can! Anyhow, got totally side tracked...

After roaming around on the tram for just over an hour, I hopped off to explore someo the parks. The city in general is generous with park space. The treasury gardens and the large botanical gardens sit on the one side of the city and allow plenty of areas to escape the noise and hustle and bustle. There are trees inside the gardens that were planted in the late 1890s. They tower over the walkways. They were originally planted along all the walkways to proved shaded walking areas for the city goers. Well, the plan worked. I roamed through the park for quite some time. On the way back to the hostel, I stopped off to look at St Patricks's Cathedal. Its so impressive. You can see the spires from several different areas of the city and to be up close and next to it was cool. And, since I was there at the end of the day, the sun was setting and giving the building a beautiful spark. The color of the sun reflecting off of the roof and stone was intriguing. Different way to see a church than in most cities. I was not able to go in. But I'm sure the inside is quite nice as well.

When I got back to the hostel, I found out it was sausage sizzle in the garden night. What what what!!!!???? Did one of you call ahead and let them know that I was coming? Anyhow, I enjoyed the free dinner and then settled in for the night with my book. I'm at a point in my book where I don't want to stop reading.

I got up on Tuesday morning and decided to head out to Queen Victoria Market. I had heard about this and since its open during the week, I was super excited to go. I took a nice long walk through town and arrived with a smile on my face. This was going to be fun. The market is broken up into several different sections. The first building is all fish and meat (butcher) vendors. They don't throw their fish though...Then I went into the pastry and foods section. This was like a sensory attack! I was so excited...I didn't quite know where to start. I had not had breakfast (or brekky as they call it here) yet so after looking at all the pastry and bread stands, I settled on a blueberry traditionall boiled bagal. It was SOOOO good! I think its because the blueberries are still moist and fresh unlike they are when you bake a bagel. As I ate, I looked through all the cheese and meat stands. They also had stands with all sorts of 'pickeled' items. Mamie, a new ingredient for our bloody mary's...pickeled octupus! As I walked, I was already forming what I could have for lunch. I finished my bagel and decided that I had to eat one more thing before moving on. I picked a hot cross bun. I'd never had one and it seemed like a perfect time to try it out! I was very happy with this selection!!! I moved from this section of the market into the fresh fruit and veggie area. Now, typically when I backpack, my dinners consist of a ramen noodle packet. So, since the market had some great deals, I settled on fresh raspberries, kiwis, avacado and then a potato that according to the guy is sweeter then a sweet potato. I decided this was an excellent thing to try and bought one. This part of the market was really cool. They had a ton of organic items and everthing from eggs to exotic friuts. I enjoyed going up and down the aisles. The next stop was the merchant building with all of the clothing and souvineers and whatnot. This place was a trip! I loved looking at all of the different things you can buy. Everything from knock off Uggs to boomerags. It was great to walk up and down and chat with the vendors and check it all out. I stopped and picked up a few things and the mad justifier that I am, talked myself into a purse. Its made of hemp and organic cotton and I had found that the purse I had with me has been too small. So, this was a very logical purchase. Very logical! Its a really cute purse and I know I'll use it once back in the states. So, yes, it was a good buy. And the guy gave me $10 off. Sweet! Before leaving the market for the day I stopped off at the hot donut truck. Yes, Cindy, that's right...much like at Pike Place, they have a donut vendor. Now, this donut was much different. I told the guy all about the donuts at Pike Place and we compared notes in general. The donut I had here may be slightly better. It could be because it had a little squirt of jelly in it. Literally, that's how the guy described it. I was laughing so hard. But overall, it was yummy! Cindy, you might have to come with me next time so that we can make a fair judging. :-) From here I was not full yet, well ok, I was pretty full but there was more to be had and I was having an eating day. In case you've forgotten, I lost a lot of weight in Fiji...I need to put some pounds back on to keep my pants from falling off. You think this reasoning will work for me for the rest of my trip...

Next I stopped off at The Bratwurst Shop. Oh that's right...straight out of Bavaria! I had the traditional German white brat with the traditional German sweet mustard. I was in heaven!!! And now officially stuffed! I sat and ate the brat on a bench outside of the market. I watched as the musician entertained the work crowd that was out to lunch. It was great to see the people of the city in their daily routines. There is a laidbackness to this city that seems to carry thru all things. I like it. From here I headed back to the hostel to drop off my goods and then hit the other neighborhoods I wanted to see. I went up to Fitzroy and Collingwood for the rest of the afternoon. I had read about both of these areas and decided that checking them out would give me a better overall graps of the city. I was right. These two locations are more neighborhoods with distinct personalities. Collingwood was punk and a be irreverant. Lots of used book stores and record stores and cafes and night clubs with live music ads out front. I enjoyed seeing the grittyness to this area and figured that at night, its probably a great place to be. I stopped for an afternoon coffee and I was happy I did. I have been told by other travelers that Australian coffee is amazing. As of my first cup, I was very happy! I sat outside and read the local paper for a bit while I enjoyed my flat white (Espresso with milk, no foam). I of couse had mine with soy. They also add sugar to it for you...that's a nice treat! From here I walked a bit further and then jogged over to Fitzroy. This is the area I could live in. I was in and out of about 10 bookstores (I'm almost done with Girl w/ The Dragon Tattoo and want to get the second book). I talked to a bunch of people along the way. Hopped in and out of some vintage stores. Generally just took in the atmosphere. There were more bars and cafes. People were dressed in all sorts of attire. Some really funking, some more conservative. It seemed to be a real melting pot of sorts with a little taste of everything. You could get a meat pie or eat thai. I really liked the area. After walking for quite a bit, I decided it was time to settle in and have a beer. It was about 4:30 pm my time and I was quite thirsty. I picked the next open bar and settled in. The bartendar was really niice and the place was quite empty. I talked to her about the beers on tap and decided on Mountain Goat. A local Victorian brew. I got the pot size. This is maybe half a pint. I was so happy I got this beer! So now, I've had 3 really good beers - Fat Yak, Mountain Goat and Pure Blonde (in that order of preference). I settled into a table and got out my book (I'm obsessed at this point!) and watched people go back and forth on the sidewalk. I stayed for quite a while. I had a second beer, same size but I tried the Coppers Dark Ale. It was ok, but not as good. Its not worthy to make the list. LOL I finally got up and decided to continue on my walk. It was getting close to dinner time and I needed to head back to the hostel. I arrived around 7 pm and settled into the kitchen to get my potato and avacodo all prepped. After a cook spin in the microwave, my potato was done. I sat down at the table, watched some world news and dug in. Good lord! This is the sweetest potato ever! If you used this to make the sweet potato caserole at Thanksgiving, you would not need the brown sugar. I'm telling you, it was that good! I ate it all and the avacodo was excellent as well. I was just so happy to have so many fresh things to eat! After dinner I went down to the quiet couch to continue on with my reading. I ended up meeting Brad, a fellow American, from Bellingham, WA and traveling thru Australia on his way to NZ. He's spent the last 3 yrs teaching English in Germany. We talked Oktoberfest...it was a nice conversation. He was planning to explore the city on Wednesday as well and so we decided to meet up in the morning and head out together.

Wednesday morning and I got up and showered again in the nice big private baths on the 3rd floor. I can almost promise that you won't hear about showering again after this blog. LOL I went downstairs and had a breakfest of kiwi and raspberries...so happy! And met up with Brad. We headed out and started walking thru the city again. I was looking to go to St Kilda, another neighborhood. He was cool to go anywhere. After making our way through the city, we found a tram stop and figured out how to buy a ticket. On the trams you have to have exact coins so we had to go to the central station to buy a ticket from a person. Then we hopped on what we thought was the 96 tram. The tram takes you across the river and into the areas on the south side. We passed the stadiums and several development areas. Then we got into the neighborhoods again. As we talked and looked and talked and looked and after a while, I felt like we'd gone too far. It didn't look to be a long trip on the map but now it felt like a really long trip. We pulled into a really cool looking area and I said to Brad, lean over and ask those people where we are. Yeah, we stayed on the tram about 10 stops longer than we should have. And, we were on the #3 tram, not the 96. So, after laughing a bit, we got off at the next stop and started our way back. It was a nice way to see more of the city so neither of us really minded. We got back on the tram and took it to a transfer stop. Then got off and got on the real 96 tram and headed into St Kilda. This area was really cool! Its on the bay and the beach town of sorts. There are really pretty beaches that sit along a boardwalk and then park areas. We made our way over to the boardwalk and then out onto the pier. The pier has been around since the early 1900s and used to be the welcome spot for when Royals would visit the country. We watched a guy pull in a really cool red/pink looking fish and tried to spot some penguins. Well, I was trying to spot penguins, I think Brad was more interested in all the fishing. One of the big marinas is also in this area so we saw the sailboats and yachts and whatnot. It also afforded great views of the city and skyline. I really liked it overall! The weather today is a bit on the chilly side and I had to put on my sweatshirt. It was sunny though, so I was really happy about that! From the pier we walked into the town area and started to wander around. We were on the verge of lunch and decided that finding a pub and having a beer would be a good idea. We made our way along the streets and at first I was a little disappointed. I had thought this area was more of a busy spot with shops and cafes. Instead, we passed a few restaurants, but not much else. We did pass one and I snapped a picture of the sign (see photo - that one's for you Mom). We decided to make our way around to another street that we found out had more shops on it. After about a 15 min walk, we landed in what we were looking for. This area had all the pubs and cafes and shops. I was in love. Brad did not seem to be in the mood to wander around the streets though. He did want to get a meat pie for lunch...who could blame him! We finally find a place that had some on the menu. When we went to order, he got a burger. Um, why did we go in and out of so many places looking for the meat pie? Either way, I had a great BLT and baked beans at a place called Abbey Road with a Pure Blonde. I was a happy camper. After lunch we caught the tram, this time we got on the right one in one try, and headed back into the city. This tram took a different track and we found ourselves along the bay for a bit before crossing the river and heading into a nother area of the city and then crossing our way back to the other side of town. The downtown area of the city is really not that big, but its diverse in what it has to offer. Each corner seems to have something new or fun. I really could spend a considerable amount of time here.

Once back at the hostel, it was prep time. I set up my airport shuttle, printed out my boarding pass and then headed out to the ATM. Tomorrow (Thurs) I fly to Hobart which is in Tazmania. After the ATM, I found a cafe and had my afternoon coffee and sweet treat. The sweet treat was great - chocolate charmel thing - but the coffee was not so good. So, I'm not quite ready to leave my hot tea days behind :-) Then I came back to the hostel. I sat in the garden with the afternoon sun and read my book. It was a very relaxing afternoon. No plans for tonight other than to finish off my bottle of wine. Oh yeah, I'd bought a bottle of wine in Fitzroy on Tuesday. I was feeling a bit guilty that I was giving Aussie beer to much attention and not giving the wines a fair chance. So, I did the honorable thing and bought a bottle of wine. Its not too bad. I got a locak Yarra Valley one. Its a Cabernet Sauvigon/Cab Franc mix. It could be better, it could be worse. But for $10, its just right! I will take one last shower tonight and then hit the hay. I'll be back in Melbourne on Saturday and hope to have a bit of time to see a museum or something. FIngers crossed!

Tomorrow is Thurs, St Paddy's Day! To all my Irish friends on this...happy day of your people! I am scheduled for the 1 pm brewery tour in Hobart. Its the oldest brewery in the country. Therefore I feel I will be doing my part to celebrate St Patrick. I hope you all have something fun planned. And please, someone somewhere, drink a green beer!

To all of you in Dublin...have fun! Stacy, please stay out of the hospital! No one get lost and I expect a full report of the adventures you all have!

Love you all, CJ

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Photos

One of the theaters in Melbourne
This is one of the venues that shows musicals. Hairspray is playing right now.

100 yr old trees in the park
I loved walking through this park. It was a world away from the city!

The market with the donut truck
Look Cindy! It was a damn good donut! And behind it is the produce part of the market.

The Melbourne skyline from St Kilda pier
I really love this shot! It was a great walk today.

I couldn't not take a photo!
I absolutely love this photo. Mom, this one is for you!

Comments

[Brooke]

Book
Courtney - The Girl Who Played with Fire is AWESOME. Definitely get it. I'm enjoying living through your blogs!!

[Angie1987]

great blog on Melbourne
Hi Courtney Jo, Really enjoyed reading your blog on Melbourne and it made me really excited to be planning to visit there. Liked that you visited all the different neighbourhoods and got a good feel for the place. happy travels Angie