Going Woop Woop - Sydney and Melbourne

Long post :-). Pictures to follow...

So, I'm sorry it's been so long since I blogged. I get caught up in travel, in life, in Australia and then blogging seems overwhelming. I need to learn to blog in short bursts :-). But - I have to update you on my travels! To the great cities of this country - well, the main 2. And I didn't actually go Woop Woop - I just like the saying - it means traveling out to the middle of nowhere :-). And at the end I will tell you which I liked better :-). And then - my favorite - coming home to Canberra. I <3 Canberra :-).

So - to Sydney. I rode Murray's bus there Wednesday afternoon. Not bad - 3 hours 15 minutes, and I slept most of that :-). We got out on the side of a street and I had no idea where I was. Actually it was Central - the main train station, but it took me awhile to figure out where buses were so I could ride to my friends place near UNSW (Uni New South Whales). So, I finally got my bus which took about 40 minutes, then we walked up a hill to her apartment which took 10. Then I dropped my stuff in her place - without heat!! - and met her German roomates and we left again to go back to Central to meet the rest of the gang to take a train out to the State of the Union Rugby Union game. So this was out in the ANZ stadium - a huge stadium built for the Olympics. Sat over 80,000 people and it was almost full for the game. And this game was neat - sort of like the All-Star game - New South Whales (one state) versus Queensland (another). See below for an elaboration on the states/geography of Australia :-). So, NSW's color was blue, and Queensland was maroon. We were cheering (not rooting - it's a bad word) for NSW. It was a cold night, but it was fun - the fans were CRAZY and very spirited. I got rugby union explained to me - their field goals are only worth 1, and their "tries" are worth 4 - like our touchdowns. It's hard to get a try. They don't have downs, they just have 5 tackles to make it down the field. No padding on the guys again :-). It was interesting, but unfortunately our team lost, and I thought AFL was more fun to watch. So, then we took the train back to Central, then the bus back to Kingsford (everything here is identified by the neighborhood). On the bus back home we struck up a conversation with a guy on the bus. Well, even though this young gentleman was dating an American, he made an off-hand comment that he never wanted to go there because Americans are racist (given the whole African American slavery debauchle). They another crazy man on the bus chimed in, ranting about how evil Americans are - totally racist because we brought slaves to our country to work our land. And not only that - we poison the whole world's culture with our Paris Hilton and our breast implants - I guess our superficiality - and because we are a leading Western rich country - these evils just propagate all over the world and it's our fault. So yeah - I had nothing to say, but sorry guys - apparently we are evil...

Some geography history: Australia has 5 states and 2 territories. States: NSW (Sydney), Queensland (where Great Barrier Reef is), Victoria (where Melbourne is), South Australia (where Adelaide is), and West Australia (where Perth is). I live in a territory - Australian Capital Territory or ACT - like our Washington DC because Canberra is the capital. The other territory is where Darwin is - North Territory. Don't ask me why North is a territory and not a state.

So, Thursday - I went to UNSW to give a talk to the Computer Science department and the government computer industry/research lab called NICTA. Met my mentor Steve who came up for the day from Canberra. It went well! Was well attended even though it was only announced the day before... And again - got a lot of interest from lots of different research areas (embedded systems, compression, etc.). I work in memory management, but it was actually more interesting to give this talk to people in CS but outside my area I think... Anyway... It was fun to network and talk to people, and they took us to a yummy Indonesian restaurant for lunch. I got Beef Rendang I believe - and they put egg in everything... Then we parted, and my mentor had a few hours, so we took a bus up to Circular Quay (pronounced Key) - the main area of Sydney. This area is past Central, so another 40 minute bus ride :-). It was a nice sunny day, so we had fun walking around, seeing the Opera House (of course) and the big bridge and The Rocks area in general. It was cute. There were aborigines playing digeridoos and street performers out... We got gelato on the key by the ferries :-). Then I took another bus (40 minutes) to Newtown - another area of Sydney where a friend from the program lived (all the people I hung out with in Sydney are other scientists that got this NSF award - all Americans, but from all over the US). So it was known for having a ton of restaurants, so I met my friend Melissa and we went to a N. African restaurant - pretty tasty. Mild spices. Got lamb :-). And then we needed to cross town to meet our friends at a pub trivia night... So we took a train back to Central, then a bus way out to their place - another 40 minutes. Are we seeing a pattern? :-). Anyway... finally made it out there, and pub trivia night was fun. There was a 90s trivia category while I was there - mostly being American doesn't hurt too much :-). And met a neat Canadian there who was a friend of a friend from the program (who I was staying with - Kristen). Anyway, then finally took 2 more buses home to Kingsford - I think this took like an hour and a half with waiting for buses at night... So didn't get home until after 11pm.

Friday... my day to walk around Sydney and explore by mysefl! This is how I like to see a new city - just walk all over. I get sick of museums :-). And of course - it was raining. Pretty much all day. Not hard, but slightly miserable. So I stayed at Kristen's house for awhile that morning, but finally made it out and took bus back into center of town. Walked around Hyde Park, lots of Catholic Cathedrals, Town Hall, Queen Victoria Building, a memorial to soldiers called Martin Place, State Theatre, saw Sydney Tower, and Strand Arcade - an old beautiful thin, multi-level mall. These arcades are neat :-). I think I got some chocolate - awesome chocolate shops here :-). I got some Pide for lunch - basically flat Turkish bread wrapped around with a thin layer inside of filling - I got spinach - like a calzone/pizza. Tasty :-). Then kept walking - past the old neat buildings - Barracks Museums, the old Mint, Sydney Hospital, Parliament House, and the State Library. Then into the Botanical Garden which was small, but cool. And then out to Mrs. Macquaries Chair - where she used to like to watch the Harbor. Good views of the city and the Opera House from here. Then walked back around to Circular Quay in the rain, and took a free ferry (free!) out to an art exhibit on Cockatoo Island. So, the ferry ride itself was cool - about 20-25 minutes. Cockatoo Island was weird - where they used to build military ships, it look like old abandoned warehouses with scrap metal everywhere. And the art there was very random - some film, some drawings, some random sheets hanging from the rafters, some light shining through glass to project weird images on the walls. Interesting... Then ferried back, and took bus all the way back 40 minutes to Kingsford to pick up my suitcase and head to my other friend's place for a 4th of July BBQ! Instead of figuring out taking 2 more buses to their place - I broke down and called a cab. It was only like 5K away... Anyway, finally got to the BBQ and had fun with the Americans! A ton of us from the program gathered, and we had hamburgers, hotdogs, Doritoes, brownies, corn, potato slices, shrimp on the barby :-). It was fun. We drank a bunch - I went on an alcohol run. But these friends were right by the beach, but far from EVERYTHING else. Their neighborhood was called Clovelly. 3 people from the program were sharing a 2 bedroom appt of a UNSW professor who was away. So, it was nice to be with friends again, not have to just hang out by myself. And see familiar faces. And actually a friend of an Austin friend is living in Sydney and she showed up at the party and it was fun to meet her! Her name is Susannah. So after the night's party, I (and a bunch of the others) crashed there. And about 4.5 hours later - my alarm went off :-).

Saturday - to the Blue Mountains! These are out of Sydney. Me and 2 of the people from the program - Samantha and Chris - made it up after the party and went together. We bused to Central (again 40 minutes, and we missed 1 bus, so had to wait 20+ minutes for the next), and then waited 50 minutes for the next train out to Katoomba. The train ride took 2 hours :-). Love my theme... But we had good conversation, and I slept some. And then - Katoomba! A tiny little town. We caught a quick bus to the edge of the mountain - where a beautiful lookout showed us the neat rock formation - the 3 sisters. We were above the clouds :-). And saw rolling green hills and mountains beyond - very pretty. So, then we started hiking! The train itself was sorta muddy because it had been raining, but that day was nice - I even got hot in my layers. We saw beautiful vistas, neat birds, waterfalls. We hiked down into a rainforest which was neat. Sat in a shallow cave to eat our lunch - I got a sandwich with capsicums in it (what they call peppers - just like red and green). So, we finally hiked to the bottom of the rainforest and came upon the steepest railway in the world! 52 degrees - and we decided to take it up the mountain. And boy was it scary! It was scary enough that we were basically facing down as we went backwards up, but then we went through a cave and it was black! Definitely a thrill :-). Then we were at the top! We would've had to wait quite a while for the next bus, so we walked the couple miles back to Katoomba. And then we had just missed our train back to the city, so had to wait 50 minutes for the next, so stopped in a cute cafe in the town and got coffee and hot chocolate and shared a maple crepe with ice cream and wedges (big fries - they say chips) with chili sauce. Very indulgent :-). Then, the long 2 hour train ride home! My friends were going to another AFL game, and I didn't want to go, so I met friend Nancy (she lives in Canberra with me and was up for the weekend) for dinner. But we both then bussed from Central out to Bondi (another 30 minutes or so) to meet Susannah and a friend of hers at a Thai restaurant they recommended. It was all tasty, and Susannah and her friend were all into the fashion and the money of Sydney. Susannah works for Google here. They brought wine to dinner (most restaurants are BYO), and Susannah just picked a bunch of dishes for all of us to share. So nice, after a busy day. Then Nancy went home and I joined Susannah and her friend going to a party of their mutual friend in Bondi. It was very strange - the theme of the party was also 4th of July (many Americans), and it was themed also as an American frat party - so there were people in togas and other random costumes like Mickey and Minnie Mouse and Wonderwoman. Odd. So I talked to some random people there - an Irish girl, a neat guy who had spent a bunch of time in Australia, but was from Austin, and a really nice Australian guy. Talked about travel with the last 2 - got some neat New Zealand recommendations. And talked about music with the last guy - told him about Ryan's band :-). So, it was an interesting party by the end. And left a little after 11 because I was tired :-). Took a cab home because again, it was a short distance, but would've taken many buses to get home.

Sunday of Sydney... Sorry this is so verbose! Got to sleep in a bit which was very welcome :-). Then Nancy and I got up to run along the beautiful beaches of Sydney. And thankfully this was a BEAUTIFUL day - very sunny. I actually had to take off my long-sleeved shirt because I was HOT! Very nice :-). It was GORGEOUS. There was a nice track along the ocean - first we had to pass a large old cemetary, but then just kept passing beautiful beaches and coves. Ran passed nice Bronte beach, and then after a couple of other smaller places, to the famous beautiful Bondi beach! Both these big beaches had this curious thing at the side - a lap pool, but it got filled at high tide with the ocean as it washed over the concrete barrier. Very interesting. Looked fun. So after running about 4 miles, stopped and took tons of pictures in the sunny day. Nancy and I took off shoes and put our feet in the sand and in the water. It actually wasn't too bad - I heard it was around 68 degrees, so like Barton Springs :-). There were surfers in wetsuits in the water, but everyone else was just hanging out on the beach - playing frisbee and the like. I could see this place being very crowded in the summer. So we walked back taking beautiful pictures and talking - it's nice to have a close friend here in Australia - Nancy is the 21-year-old from Connecticut, and we've gotten pretty close. So - we finally got home, cleaned and packed up, and I took ALL of my stuff - suitcase and backpack with me on the bus back into the city (45 minutes again). Met friend Melissa at Circular Quay and got a quick lunch. Then stopped quickly by a neat festival there - the Aroma Festival! Chocolate, coffee, tea and spices :-). Very cool, but very crowded. Then Melissa and I left to go to Featherdale - a zoo type place where you can pet the animals. They said it takes 40 minutes to get out there from the city, and we took trains, and of course it took over an hour and a half - ugh. So we got there only 15 minutes before it closed. I ran through to see it in time - it was dusk, too. Even though time was tight it was great fun! I petted Lucky the koala - so cute. And hugged and feed kangaroos - even saw one with a baby in the pouch! And petted emus and cute wombats - my favorite. Saw echidnea, penguins, dingos, bats, wallabies. Think I saw a tasmanian devil. So, very cool! Finally had to get out of the park - it was dark. And rode the long train ride (although it look only an hour to get back) to the city. Had an hour before my bus back to Canberra, so Melissa and I grabbed some quick Vietnamese noodles. It was fun :-). Then ran to make the bus - and sat next to an interesting guy on the way back. We talked a bunch - he was interested in forestry and rangering. Had lived in a ton of places - loved Tasmania. So many people have recommended that place to me - if I had more time, I'd probably try to go there. Anyway, he was nice - we talked about Canberra some too. Then I passed out and sleep for awhile - was very tired from Sydney :-).

So: impressions of Sydney. It WAS warmer than Canberra which was nice. Obviously from what I talked about you can tell that transportation was something that I did a lot and took most of my time, which frustrated the hell out of me. But at least there was public transport I guess. I really liked having friends to hang out with, but didn't know them that well. But at least didn't do much by myself :-). Nice to have a group, and we all are coming from the same point of view. But I felt like I should be hanging out with more locals to really feel the more Australian mannerisms and viewpoints and local hangouts. But yeah. Liked Sydney, but was slightly exhausted afterwards and actually got a cold coming back to Canberra. Sydney is a big, sprawling, busy city. It's beautiful, but was hard to get to know with my short time there.

So, I was back in Canberra for 2 days, and then Wednesday morning flew to Melbourne!! Yes, I know - I'm crazy. But I did take it easier there, and staying with friends from home, so it was a different experience. I stayed with Nick and Phoebe - Phoebe is 8 months pregnant. Phoebe grew up in Austin and did her PhD in Comp Sci Education, so we get along great :-). She's actually part of the reason I moved to Austin for school. And she met Nick who is from Melbourne (pronounced Melbin) but was doing a post-doc with my advisor at UT. They fell in love and Phoebe moved down here a couple of years ago :-). So they are very cutesy and coupley. But they treated me divinely! Oh my God awesome hosts. Nick picked me up from the airport in a CAR! Took me to their awesome pencil house (long and skinny), and showed me to the cat-free guest room with a very comfortable bed. Said to help myself to everything in the house. They bought me a weekly public transport ticket that let me use all trams and trains and buses in the city which were very convenient. They lived a couple minutes walk from 1 tram, and 10 minutes walk from another tram and a train. All of these went to the city center which was small and contained. Nick road the train into the city with me - teaching me the system, walked me down the main street and bought me Pho - a Vietnamese noodle soup - for lunch. Then gave me a Lonely Planet book with a suggested walking tour of Melbourne and said he'd meet me in a couple of hours and we'd tram home together. Everything was made a lot more easy! It was a sunny nice day in Melbourne. I did my walking tour around the big Swanston street. Saw the big library, Flinders Street Station - the main train station, an old pub with the Chloe painting in it (naked woman), Federation Square, more big Cathedrals, Town Hall, Chinatown, tiny little alleys full of cafes and cute shops, more old beautiful arcades, many old Victorian buildings with scalloped exteriors, Chinatown, Regent Theatre, Parliament house. I walked through a couple of parks - one with a memorial to JFK. Interesting... And one with Cook's House in it. Anyway, I walked all around and it was fun :-). Took a tram to meet Nick at Uni Melbourne, and passed the old bath house building which was neat. And then we went home and I saw Phoebe! The reunion was awesome - someone from home, and someone who had known me for more than a month :-). We talked and talked - all about all the weird things that you get used to in Australia - differences from the states. She had had a BBQ - Texas style - the weekend before and was annoyed that even the cuts of meat were different down here! And we had the vocabulary comparisons. I think Phoebe liked seeing someone from home :-). And we talked about Austin, and grad school, and life, and their upcoming baby (it's a girl). Oh it was fun :-). Nick made us homemade pesto over pasta for dinner with a salad - awesome! And it was just a relaxing night.

Thursday in Melbourne - I went to give a talk at the Uni. See a theme here :-)? Nick works for NICTA - that government lab - in Melbourne, so he arranged the talk for me. It was like the one in Sydney - diverse crowd, lots of good feedback, it went well, was well attended :-). Fun! I'm getting good at this talk - have given it enough times now :-). And then we went to a Malaysian place for lunch called The Garage which was fun. Then I took off - had to go to the city (close to the Uni), to get a ticket for a theatre show I was going to see. Only one available was for Saturday, so more on that later. And then went up to Brunswick street to walk around, as recommended by Nick. It was neat! A funky, alternative street with tons of shops, restaurants, bars. Would be great for nightlife. And by alternative - I mean it's the place where people with tattoos and weird piercings hang out - the skaters and such. I went into a book store there, and all books seemed to be about taboos - sex, anti-God, going against society's norms :-). And of course they had offensive shirts for sale and comics on teh wall too. Fun times. Went into some cute jewelry shops, a funky gift shop, and a really cool tea shop, but didn't really buy anything. Did finally stop for a coffee and some freshly made churros! Neat street :-). Then walked back to the Uni, met Nick, and we trammed home together. Phoebe came home later and Nick made us some fabulous Ratatouille and cous cous for dinner :-). They cool a lot - awesome, eh?! And that night we watched a romantic comedy movie they had that was cool - "Playing by Heart" with a lot of good actors. Made me miss Ryan, miss being home.

Friday in Melbourne... I slept in a bit in the morning, and stayed at home for the morning. Was tired from full days out :-). Did Kung Fu in their back yard - to the amazement of their 2 cats :-). Did some work, then left to take the tram down to meet Phoebe at her work for lunch. It was casual Friday :-). Phoebe is 2nd in command at her office, and good at what she does - her office processes all Uni applications for the state of Victoria. So, anyway, I met some of her neat work people there, and we got tasty Indian food from around the corner. We talked about AFL a bunch :-). It was good to see Phoebe in her element. And then she walked me up the hill to the very close Shrine of Remembrance and next door - the Botanical Garden. Guess I hit those gardens in every city :-). The Shrine is again a memorial to soldiers who lost lives in war - every city is big on having these things. It was neat, and had great views of the city :-). And I was tired, but walked all around there and ALL around the large botanical garden taking pictures. It was there I bought my first very cute present for my new nephew :-). So proud! So, walked around hte gardens - mostly wandering, taking flower pictures and taking my time. It was peaceful. Finally walked out and saw the tower of the governor's residence (I think). And walked along their big Yarra River for awhile - btw, have seen a lot of neat skateboard parks here. Walked along the south side of the river back close to Flinders Street Station - it was dusk and there were pretty views. Walked around South Gate - big mall area, and there were outdoor performers there too. Finally called Nick and met him in the city and waited around a bit until Phoebe could join us. We walked around - Friday night shops are actually open past 5! So everyone is out and about. Apparently Friday nigth is shopping night and Saturday is date night here :-). So we went to Phoebe's favorite book store, and a movie store, and then to a very nice Greek restaurant for dinner. I got some yummy Mousaka, and tried Nick's lamb shwarma, and we got some dipping sauces with good bread too. Nick and Phoebe wouldn't let me pay for any meals! I really tried. Finally bought them dessert this night, but that's all they'd let me do :-). We got gelato on the way back to the house. We watched a movie when we got home, but I only made it through the first 40 minutes and fell asleep :-). Traveling is tiring!

Saturday - Phoebe and Nick didn't have to work! I actually got up before them, though, and went out for a run around their neighborhood and down close to the zoo. Then had a sorta relaxing morning, and finally left the house midday to tram down to the huge Queen Victoria Market!! It spans blocks and blocks. A huge section of it is food, fruits, vegies, meats, cheeses, breads - all cheap and good quality! Then there's a wares section with a lot of kitsch as Nick put it :-). I got some opal (mined in Australia) earrings for myself here, and some souvenirs for family too :-). And Phoebe just loved a cute baby outfit with little bears on it, so I got that secretly for her (she had a baby shower the next day). Then we walked in the super-cold overcast day (no rain) to the city and went to a Japanese/Korean place for lunch. Again, I couldn't pay. Then we wandered around the city for a bit until we were supposed to go to a footie (AFL) game. Phoebe had never been, and Nick's brother said we could just get in for free 4th quarter. So we asked and they said no, sadly. Melbourne is known for being crazy about their AFL, so we were sad. Apparently the way to do it is just to walk in - not ask :-). But anyway - we just walked along the river and went to South Bank again instead. We went in the very swanky mall this time and looked at cool shops. I especially liked the glass shop - as Phoebe did. We got some hot chocolates to fill time before our dinner reservation at a very nice Italian restaurant with a view of the river. I got a glass of white wine which was tasty. This meal was about richness - risotto was this restaurant's specialty :-). And Nick and Phoebe got a sort of fried mozzarella appetizer. Decadence! And then, of course, we went downstairs for some dessert - Phoebe and Nick shared cheese cake and I got a small apple crumble which was only ok. It had sultanas in it - like raisins. Then they walked me over to my play! It was very close... And I saw the play "Scarlet O'Hara in the Crimson Parrot". So, it was a play written by an Australian playwright - yes, I know that's the main person from Gone with the Wind. The play was about this girl in Melbourne who daydreams non-stop about old romance movies from the 40s and 50s. The main actress was a famous big Australian actress who's done a show on Broadway in the US and acted in London too. Anyway, it was cute - another romantic comedy about this girl that works as a waitress at the Crimson Parrot - a restaurant, is in her mid 30s and hasn't dated in awhile. She lives with her Mom who puts a lot of pressure on her to get married and have kids, and her mind is always on these movies and not real life. And she's entirely clumsy :-). But of course, without her noticing, she falls in love at the restaurant with a regular customer. So it was cute. And then, I trained home late at night! Nick and Phoebe didn't come because they had already seen the play...

Sunday! Slept in a lot :-). Got up late, and then finally around noon Phoebe and I took off to go to the city to an art festival that is down there every Sunday - more fancy than the market. It was neat to look at all the art pieces and homemade goods - some wooden. Beautiful stuff. I wish I lived here - I would've bought more neat stuff! But we walked through fast, and grabbed lunch while down here, and had fun. Then we trammed it back to hurry to Phoebe's afternoon baby shower! We drove to her friend's house with Nick's mum for the baby shower - Nick had to go to the pub with all the guys, and the shower only had all the girls :-). All of Nick's friends from Uni and their sig others - sorry, partners :-). Of course all these people had known each other for a decade at least, and had been with their partners that long. But they were all really neat ladies and I had fun hanging out with them. And Phoebe made a pecan pie for the occasion, and another made a very awesome carrot cake. So no shortage of good food :-). Apparently, tho, baby showers down here are rare, so Phoebe and I were the only ones that had been to them before! So we had to tell everyone how they went. But it was great! Phoebe opened a ton of very cute baby clothes. And even though she said no pink, there were very cute pink things too :-). And after drinking some champagne, we played Scategories - given a letter, list all girl's baby names starting with that letter. It was sorta hard. O was one letter... And a 2nd round was baby paraphenalia with a letter. Phoebe ended up winning, and the prize was a bottle of wine, so she couldn't even drink it! :-). So we hung out all afternoon, and after awhile, all the male partners came back from the pub - apparently they played ping pong (table tennis) for hours. Some were pretty drunk :-). And then we hung out some more! Ebony and James who lived there make a pork roast with potatoes and salad for everyone who was left... Very tasty. Apparently they crisp the skin in the grill (broiler) and love that. But they make fun of American bacon :-). Anyway, it was nice - then we finally took off around 9 I think and went home. It was a lovely day :-). Phoebe made some small tacos at home - she had made her own refried beans and her own salsa because she missed Mexican food here :-). Not much of that here, but awesome Asian as you've probably noticed!

So - Monday - I promise I'm almost done! Last day in Melbourne - or actually out of the city. I took a day trip on a bus out to the Great Ocean Road - along the southern coast of Australia (not all the way to Adelaide). And this day was a beautiful sunny day - very nice. I had to get up around 6 to get down to our city pick up point on time, and then of course the bus was late. There were only 12 of us on the tour - 11 girls :-). I be-friended 2 girls - one from Canada and one from Dublin. Very nice. 4 other women were from China (mother-daughter pairs), and 3 younger girls were from Germany. Then a couple from Italy who barely spoke English :-). Well, we drove. That was basically the day. After driving an hour (I slept), we stopped at an Aborigine Culture House outside Geelong. Then drove along the Ocean - saw Bell's Beach - apparently famous for surfing. Then saw the arch that marks the start of the Great Ocean Road - it was built by WWI veterans who needed jobs. They got 2 shillings to build this whole road out of shovels and picks! So we drove and drove and saw beaches and pretty coasts and surfing towns. We turned off at this random pull out and got out and saw koalas in the wild - actually moving, not sleeping! That was neat - wish my camera had more zoom :-). We stopped for a very quick lunch in a small town. Then we took a short walk in a rainforest with beautiful big trees and bit frawns. Very cool. Then we stopped quickly in Apollo Bay for coffee, then to see the 12 Apostles! They are these beautiful rock formations just off the coastal cliffs. There are only 7 left because they are made of limestone. But very majestic and beautiful :-). Then we went a bit down the road and saw the Loch Ard Gorge - a natural pretty inlet - cliffs forming a small inclosure around a very pretty beach. And there were neat cave-like openings at the back of the beach. And then right around sunset we got to the end of the big attractions - London Bridge - another rock formation right off of cliffs. Very pretty. Apparently this bridge used to actually be connected via another rock bridge to the mainland, but only around 10 years ago it fell! It stranded 2 tourists out on the rock and they had to be helicoptered off :-). How funny! No one was hurt. So we drove through the dark to a small town not on the coast called Colac. Our dinner options were McDonalds, KFC, and a noodle house. Guess what I picked :-). No, I'm not attached to THOSE American roots. And then a 2 hour bus ride back home in the dark. The saving grace - the bus driver gave us handheld PS2 to watch movies on! I watched "Priscilla Queen of the Desert". Apparently a sort of classic - set in Australia. With Guy Pearce and Hugo Weaving (Agent Smith and Head Elf Elrond) being cross-dressing transvesite singing performers! Hilarious :-). They drive across Australia's outback in a big pink bus. Very odd, but entertaining. And finally, back to Melbourne at 9:30ish. It was a nice day, but mostly in a bus. And I feel like the day would've been a lot more fun if we had a good guide. Our guide -Steve - was a rail-thin, tatooed guy with a weathered face and big nose. And he was a curmudgeon! Just grumpy and said little and worried about time. Yelled at us when we were late, and made us run back to the bus when he honked the horn. And only gave us 15 minutes at most stops to take pictures and run back. Didn't tell us much about the area either, which I thought would've been the benefit of the tour. He did give us "lollies" or "mintys" (because Aussies cute-sify everything with y's or o's) periodically. And actually I talked to him after it got dark (I was in the front) about buses hitting kangaroos (there were warning signs around), and how there was snow here last week, and about New Zealand - apparently where he was from. So, it wasn't all bad, but a long bus-y day. Took a train back to Nick and Phoebes from the city, and got up early the next morning to say goodbye to them and fly back to Canberra!

Overall impressions of Melbourne - smaller city center, more accessible, easier to get a handle on, and more networked public transport than Sydney (although that could be where I stayed). Mellower city, good food, good artsy stuff. And of course the hospitality of Nick and Phoebe, and just hanging out with friends, made my trip :-). It was very fun. Melbourne was also warmer than Canberra, but not as warm as Sydney. Gets colder air from the south. And I did see the bay where the ocean was, but Melbourne isn't really as known for beaches as Sydney...

So, can you guess after all that which I liked better? :-). Yes, Melbourne :-). Most people (unless you were born in Sydney) seem to agree with me. It is a bit chiller than Sydney.

Anyway, I had a great time on my travels and would've have changed them for anything! But by God it was so good to get home! Even though I came back to very cold Canberra (although I mostly skipped the coldest week of winter), God was it nice to be back in a calmer mode - to actually sleep in my own bed and sit at a desk all day - so nice! :-). Funny how that works :-). I was just tired - how odd after so many days of going from 8am-midnight :-). And was glad to have time to myself. And back on regular exercise, although walking all around cities is pretty good :-). But to be honest I was also excited to get back to work - I'm at an exciting point in my research, so it's fun :-). And I'm thinking lately that that's why I like Canberra so much... it's quiet. And it's a big park - I was nostalgic for my bike ride here - seeing my favorite little corners around the lake - because it's MINE. And here I'm home - I don't have to be a tourist everyday :-). I like my sleepy little town where there's nothing to do :-). Maybe it's part of getting older. Anyway, it's nice to be home. I've had a pretty quiet rest of my week - mostly working. Doing some laundry and grocery shopping. Nice to be back to normal, everyday things! And talking to Ryan everyday - always fun :-). I do miss him! I'll put my post about funny Australian things and the rest of this week in Canberra in the next blog - stay tuned!