Day 17: Melbourne - War Eagle Moment!!

Today's adventures began early for me, around 5:45am - a short night! I was well rested from previous nights though, so I wasn't too groggy or anything when I woke up. We were leaving the hotel at 7:00am to leave for the Brisbane airport to make our JetStar flight (great...) that headed out around 9:30am. I had to pack my entire backpack and duffel bag since I had washed all my clothes the night before. I quickly rolled all my clothes up and placed them in the backpack (After doing this multiple times now, I'm really getting the hang of it!), loaded up all my electronic equipment, checked hopefully for any Dr. Pepper's left in the fridge (none), and made last minute looks everywhere before heading downstairs to meet the group at 7:00am sharp!

We took a large taxi (Maxi Taxi as they are called here) which could fit 6 people or so and we left for the airport. The check-in line for JetStar was very small, so I made it to the counter to check my backpack within a matter of minutes. Of course, I had problems. Andrew had called ahead and changed our flight to allow for checked baggage, but only a 10kg allowance. My backpack weighed in at 14.1kg and thus the attendant informed me that I would have to pay A$15 per kilo over the limit, totalling at A$60. I wasn't exactly thrilled, but I decided not to throw a fit, as it was obvious from the way the clerk told me about the fee that she hated having to be the one to follow through with this JetStar policy. She actually thanked me for not making a scene (I suppose this happens regularly) and agreed with me when I noted JetStar's "low fares" motto and how it hides the fact that they get their money in baggage fees. Anyway, I walked over to another counter where I could pay the A$60 fee and had just handed the new clerk my credit card when the clerk I had previously worked with ran over and told me that Matt (another study abroad member included in the group ticket) was 3 kilos under and so it sufficiently covered my backpack's excess weight, so I would not have to pay! Thoroughly relieved I thanked her for the help and continued on to security. I had no problems getting through security, which I'm pretty sure might be the most lax airport security in the world. I didn't have to take off my shoes, remove anything (except my cellphone) from my pockets, or take off my belt or hat. I commented to the security person about how different security was here in Australia relative to America, to which she replied, "Yea, we don' strip ye down and rob ye of ye dignity!" I proceeded on to our gate (which was directly behind the security area) and sipped on a smoothy (breakfast!) while waiting with the group for the flight.

The time eventually came for our flight to board (I got a window seat this time!) and within a few minutes we were flying high above the Australian continent, headed in the direction of Melbourne! I was hoping to see some of the Outback desert, but we never crossed any part of it, only "the bush" which is what they call what we Americans know as the country - grassy plains, rolling hills, and trees scattered here and there. Here's a look from my airplane window!

The Australian "bush"

After a couple of hours in the air and crossing over a time zone (back to the same time zone as
Sydney - 17 hours ahead of Central Time in America) we landed safely in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. I would like to note here that out of all the cities we plan to visit, I was most excited about Melbourne! I'm not exactly sure why (Perhaps the way you pronounce the name - "Mel-bun" with the "bun" part softer than the "Mel" syllable - or maybe because this city is highly touted as innovative and "different" on the Internet.), but I was totally stoked to finally be here! Walking out of the airport provided further relief, as a fresh wind was blowing with temperatures in the upper 60's, low 70's!! This sure beats 90-100 degree weather in Brisbane!! (We are told a heat wave is coming Monday though, today is Friday.) We set off in taxis again from the airport to our destination at RMIT Village, 5-17 Flemington Road, VIC, North Melbourne. This address excited me, as 5-17 is my birth date! Anyway, we drove about 30 minutes and pulled up outside of the Village. After walking in and seeing the place, everyone was congratulating Anoop on a "job well done" for finding this place! RMIT is a University here in Melbourne and this was a portion of the student housing facilities. Each room holds 2 occupants. When you walk in the door, you enter the kitchen (all amenities save a dishwasher) with the bathroom on the left. A little further along is a small area where a large closet and cubby area exists on each side (one for each occupant). Then the room splits in half to create a room (with moving doors as walls) on each side that has a bed, tv (only a select few channels), a desk area, more storage space, and access to the internet via the provided Ethernet cable. Internet is the same price as in Sydney (A$10 for 1GB of data), but after the ridiculous prices in Brisbane for Internet, everyone was relieved. Here's a couple of photos I took of the place. (There is a nice courtyard area you can view from the balcony that has a nice pool.) :

We took a few minutes to get situated, then headed off to get some lunch before meeting again as a group around 2pm. We left as a group and started walking down Elizabeth Street in search of something suitable for lunch. At the beginning of the walk, all we passed were car dealerships (including Ford, Lexus, and Toyota), but eventually we came across the Victoria Marketplace. We walked inside and found ourselves in the food court area (Perfect!) and took a few minutes to check out each of the places to eat. None of the eateries were chains and included a variety of sandwich options and Indian food. I kept venturing into the Delicatessen area (which was a massive area of many shops that had all types of raw meats and cheeses imaginable for sale) before going back to the food court have a second go-around with Indian Food. I had a nice plate of Lamb and Spinach curry over steamed rice and it was wonderful! (No side effects later!) The lamb was cooked to perfection (no doubt slow cooked in a crock pot, or something similar) and practically fell apart and melted in my mouth, but not on my fork! A few of us ate outside and as we ate, we saw a huge Fresh Market across the street that looked like a huge farmer's market. Pleasantly full, we ventured over to take a gander at the items for sale.

The Fresh Market is a splendid place! There are hundreds of different vendors in the multi-block area selling not only every type of fresh fruits and vegetables imaginable, but also everything from live poultry (baby ducklings and chicks), Australian style hats (I purchased a nice kangaroo leather hat for a good price!) and jackets to homemade jewelry, art, shirts, and dresses. This place was packed with people! The feel of the market was so different than anything I have experienced in the states. For the first time since arriving in Australia, everything around me (people, shops, culture, food, etc.) seemed like an entirely different country than America. So exciting!

It was nearing the time of the entire group meeting up, so we headed back in the direction of the Village. I was most proud of my kangaroo leather hat. I visited a moment with the guy who operated the hat shop and learned the proper way to wear the hat, including how to shape it so that when it rains, rainwater runs off the hat. It is squishy, too, so it travels well and also came with a nice small bag to use for transportation.

We gathered as a group and headed off to Federation Square and the Royal Botanic Gardens (of course!) in downtown Melbourne. Anoop had purchased tram and bus passes for everyone for the week, so we walked down the block to the nearest tram station to take a tram to downtown. The tram was packed with people and within a few minutes we had made it to our destination. (Along the way I would like to make a special note of a sign in the window of a store that said "Dr. Pepper - 24pack for $29.95" - however, this may be the only place selling the real Dr. Pepper and I don't need a 24 pack just for a few days...) Anyway, here are some pictures I took of the Federation Square and downtown Melbourne area:

We took in the sights at Federation Square for a few minutes while Anoop went off to locate and purchase the group tickets to the Australian Open! He was successful, just A$60 per ticket for Monday evening!! We then ventured on to see more of the city, including several garden areas that led up to entering the Royal Botanic Gardens. These garden areas (which seem to be in every large city) are quite massive, but the one here in Melbourne provides a nice sense of peace and serenity even though it is in the middle of the city. It's massive acreage makes the middle area with ponds and lakes quite enjoyable and all the noise and hubbub from the city is completely muted. Here's a look at the gardens we strolled through:

After enjoying a short rest beside the pond (shown directly above) that had moving islands (they were really neat!), we headed off in search of dinner. The majority of the students went off in search of dinner, but I stayed behind to ask Professor Hein a question concerning temporary structures class. This was significant in the fact that it ended up leaving me and the professors heading to dinner. (Emily showed up a short time later and joined the group for dinner.) We walked back to the downtown area through the sports complex section of town (Melbourne hosted the 1956 Olympic Games) and enjoyed a nice walk (except for having to fight large crowds headed the opposite direction to the rugby game) along the Yarra River that meanders its way through the city. We ended up eating at a nice Italian place in a highly populated restaurant alleyway. I had a chicken caesar salad, which was delicious! We were almost done with the meal when a lady came up behind me and yelled "War Eagle!" (I was wearing my drumline jacket that has a large AU logo on the back.) She briefly explained how excited she was to find people from America in Melbourne. She left just as quickly (all we had time to say was "War Eagle!" back) and from observation it seemed that she was supposed to be working as a server or hostess of one of the restaurants.

Excited about having a so-called "War Eagle Moment," we started walking back in the direction of the Village. Karen, Hein, and Emily all stopped to wait on a tram while Anoop and I continued on foot. (It was only a little over a mile walk.) I needed to visit the ATM and Anoop was looking for a grocery store to purchase some tea bags. We found an ATM, but oddly enough never found a grocery store. We arrived back at the hotel after running in 7-Eleven (they are everywhere here and sell tea bags) to find the front desk personnel closing up shop. I inquired about nearby grocery stores and they mentioned the Fresh Market, an IGA, and a 24-hour Coles in the bottom of Central Station. The Fresh Market was closed already when we had passed, but Anoop and I had passed Central Station and somehow missed the sign for Coles. Oh well, an adventure for tomorrow!

I went back up to my room and after checking facebook and ESPN ended up falling asleep before 10:00pm. Exploring a new city can be quite entertaining, but it really can wear you out!