Day 27: Soaring to New Heights

Today began around 6:30am, at which time I woke up, still not feeling well (same thing happened with the drainage overnight). I showered and made it to breakfast around 7:15am. Breakfast was the same as the day before, minus the cappuccino. Professor Hein was the only person in the breakfast area when I arrived, so we talked some over breakfast about yesterday's adventure at the museum with the Maori folks. The news was on the television and I wasn't really paying much attention, but I did manage to catch an off-hand remark about another earthquake in Christchurch. I turned around to hear the coverage, but it was reported as a passing headline, a casual reference, and it happened to be the end of the news. Things are obviously different here, but I am certain if an earthquake were to hit the U.S. that news teams would report on it for weeks. (Even Ron Burgandy would show up?)  No way it would be an off-hand remark at the end of a broadcast. I finished breakfast and Professor Hein and I went back up to our rooms to get ready for the group visit to Auckland University. 

The group left the hotel around 8:00am for our 9:00am meeting. After 2 blocks of walking we were practically at the university which completely surprised Anoop. He thought it would take us a bit longer to get there, so everyone piled into a local coffee shop to wait about 30 minutes. It was rather funny, but we more than doubled the number of folks in the shop. Thankfully there was plenty of seating, so none of the other guests were really affected. I bought a Chai Tea Latte and sat down to enjoy the morning. 


The wait was pleasant enough, but I did have to make a run to the bathroom. I don't normally blog about going to the bathroom, though this particular instance was so odd that it's worth mentioning. I couldn't find the bathrooms at first, but I eventually found a door that said "Bathroom Code: CXZ25" and I thought it sounded really weird. I made a mental note of the code and proceeded past the doors. I found myself in some sort of short hallway, but I had to make several turns and go through another set of doors before I made it to the Men's room. Sure enough, on the door there was a heavy duty lock that needed a code to enter. I punched in the code (it took 3 times before I realized I was hitting a "Y" instead of a "Z") and made it into the bathroom. The ordeal seemed like a big hassle to go to the bathroom and honestly I don't think there were any other access points besides a back door to the hallway. Thankfully they didn't charge for flushing! Here's a shot of the door:

"You shall not pass!"

The rest of the wait passed uneventfully and we walked the remaining portion to the correct building on the Auckland University campus. We were met by a woman named Suzanne Wilkinson who is part of the Construction Management Faculty at Auckland University (A faculty is similar to a college at Auburn). Suzanne brought 3 of her graduate students along with her and gave a nice presentation and explanation not only about how the program works at the University, but she also gave us some great information about the construction industry in New Zealand as a whole. Basically, the government changed 4 years ago (recently re-elected for 3 more) and instead of funding sustainable building projects, the government is focused on increasing the productivity of the construction industry. Apparently numerous studies have shown the New Zealand construction industry to have some of the lowest productivity ratings of all industries while producing about 40% of New Zealand's GDP.


Suzanne is also heavily involved with researching natural disasters and particularly how the construction industry responds. She has made visits over the past several years to New Orleans (Hurricane Katrina), Haiti (Earthquake), Queensland, Australia (the whole state practically flooded last year), and of course Christchurch and the earthquakes that continue to occur there. She focused this part of her presentation mainly on the rebuilding of Christchurch. Apparently the Christchurch rebuild is moving along at a snail's pace and many residents are getting fed up with the process and moving away for good. At the same time, she did mention that she had taken some civil engineering students down there last semester just to visit and do some research. The met with some of the construction companies there and, quite unexpectedly, one of the engineering companies asked to interview each of the four students for jobs. An hour later (Four 15 minute interviews), each student was offered a job on the spot. You might say construction personnel are in high demand in Christchurch.

After a short description of how our degrees work at Auburn, Suzanne entertained questions from us pertaining to our thesis topics. Judging by some of her answers, it doesn't sound like New Zealand is on the leading edge of innovative technology for clean energy and energy efficient building systems. (A.K.A my thesis topic). However, several other folks who have had some trouble finding information about their topics were able to secure some contacts at the University of Auckland which will hopefully lead them to great research information.


After the useful Q&A session, we broke up into 4 groups for a tour of the Auckland University campus. Suzanne took one group, as did each of her 3 graduate students. I couldn't understand the accents of the graduate students, so I went along with the group led by Suzanne. She was full of knowledge about the campus and I really enjoyed getting to see the sights. She showed us several of the buildings including the music hall, where there is seating available for anyone to come in off the street and watch the music majors practice their instrument. An odd concept for a practice room, but it probably helps students learn how to play in front of people. The music hall was locked though, so I was only able to see the rooms from the outside. I did take some pictures as she led us around campus though:

Student Building Lounge

Old Government House

Campus Grounds

Their "Samford" Tower

Albert Park - Student come here to relax between classes

Looking back at the tower

Maori Temple - Auckland University houses education and cultural elements for the Maori people to come to college

Business Faculty Building - A sustainable building project that apparently went WAYYYY over budget

Suzanne ended the tour in the room we initially met. Nobody had any further questions, so we thanked Suzanne and her students for their time and knowledge before heading back to the hotel. Anoop told everyone we would reconvene at 2:00pm as a group for the next activity, so we had a nice break for lunch.

Back at the hotel, I gave Pattersons Archtecture (a local firm) a call. They are listed as the designers of the only 6 Star Green Star building - The Geyser - in Parnell, Auckland. I was hoping they would be able to meet with Reel, Jay, and I in the next day or so for a tour of the sustainable features of the building. They answered the call on the first ring and I told the receptionist who I was and my purpose for calling etc., and she responded rather enthusiastically that they love showing students around projects. She said the only problem they generally have is finding the time. (No kidding!) She asked me to call back in 40 minutes when the Project Administrator would be back from lunch. While I waited for the right time to call back, I headed down the street to Pita Pit (Yep, the same company that is in Auburn) for some lunch. I got a black forest ham pita and headed back to the room to eat. I ate rather quickly and managed to call Pattersons back right at 40 minutes from the end of my previous call. (There was only 10 minutes to go until we met again as a group!). The PA actually answered the phone and so I retold my details and purpose for calling and the PA was also happy to make plans in their schedule for a meeting. I told her any time after lunch tomorrow worked best for us and she said that their calendar looked free then, but she needed to check with one of the project architects to be sure. I gave her my callback number, thanked her for her time, and ran downstairs to catch up with the group.

The next activity was to climb to the top of One Tree Hill. This is in no way related to the television show (thankfully) and it took about a 20 minute bus ride to get to the park at the bottom of the hill. We got off the bus and began yet another walkabout. This time though, it was almost straight uphill at around a 60 degree angle (unless you could find the wandering path that rose gradually around 30-40 degrees). The hillside was scattered with herds of sheep (including their fecal matter), grass, tress, and plenty of igneous rocks. After about a 20 minute climb, we reached the top and had an incredible view of the city. Here are some pictures from the top of One Tree Hill:

The gate where we began our ascent

Halfway up One Tree Hill

Auckland from the Top!

King of the Hill

Monument at the top of One Tree Hill

The next three photos act as a 360 degree view from the top of the hill:

Mt. Eden, a small inactive volcano in the middle of the city, can be seen on the right half of this photo

I spy another volcano...

Residential part of Auckland

 We spent about 20-30 minutes on the top of One Tree Hill before following the paved path down. (You can drive up to the top if you feel less adventurous.) We took a bus back to the stop near the hotel and I decided to go upstairs and Skype some with Brittany. We already had devo over phone (I wasn't sure how much free time I would have), but we had to keep our conversation short to save minutes on my calling plan. Reel and I were still using free Internet, so now was a perfect time to use skype and enjoy a nice conversation. We got to talk and chit-chat for about an hour or so before time started getting away and Brittany needed to get back to studying. I really enjoyed the opportunity to talk face-to-face, even though it was through a computer.

After our talk, I still did not feel too great, so I decided to take a nap. I couldn't nap too long though, because Anoop had scheduled for us to meet and go up in the Sky Tower at 8:30pm. It was only around 5:30, so I took a nice 2 hour nap. I got up a few minutes before 8:00pm to go hunt some food while I walked in the general direction of the Sky Tower. (You can see it from practically anywhere in the city.) I stopped at McDonald's and ordered a hamburger and raspberry soda. I ate inside and was successful in getting my first free refill of the entire trip! Thank you McDonald's!

I finished my meal about 10 minutes before 8:30pm, which was plenty of time to walk the remaining 3 blocks to the base of the tower. I managed to meet the other groups of people as they were walking up, too. After a few minutes of waiting while Anoop purchased our passes, we proceeded through to the elevators. Along the way though I had to stop and take a picture with Gollum:

"My preciousss..."

We rode the elevator up to the 52nd floor of the Tower and got out to take some pictures. Here's a look from this level:

Viaduct Harbor

God's beautiful sunset painting over the mountains!

More of the city looking down from Sky Tower

I thought we had reached the top of the Sky Tower where people could go, but Anoop took us back into the elevator and we continued to rise up to the 60th floor. The sun had set by this time, so we got a slightly different view of the city at night. Here's another look:

An historic building in Auckland - maybe a cathedral or an old Town Hall

There were metal tubes to look through, so I made a shot here of the mountains through the tube

Auckland near sun-down

We took the lift down a few floors to the restaurant level and everyone ordered drinks (I had to settle for Coke in the absence of DP) and sat down to enjoy the city lights from way up high in the Sky Tower. We stayed about 30 minutes or so before the restaurant announced it was closing and we had to leave.

It was getting close to 11:00pm, so I decided it would be best to head back to the hotel. I needed to catch up on some blogging, but I also needed to rest (I still wasn't feeling well). I ended up just posting one blog before taking some benadryl and I eventually fell asleep, hoping once again that tomorrow would bring better health and energy!

Day 26: The Haka!

Today dawned bright and early, with daylight coming through my window around 5:30am. I rolled over and tried to fall back asleep, but I found it hard. Not because of the sun, but more because I could tell I was beginning to fall under the weather. The bed was really soft, but despite its comfort I had little head support and the drainage I had during the night found its way into my lungs. On the whole I didn't feel too bad, but drainage is not a fun element to deal with.

I got up and took a shower around 7:00am and then went down to catch some of the continental breakfast the hotel provides. (Sweet deal!) The food is actually fairly tasty here and I was pleased with my meal of cereal, orange juice, and toast with strawberry jam. I had a cappuccino from the coffee maker (this thing makes about 8 drinks with the simple press of a button) to top off the meal, hoping to get a caffeine kick to help wake me up.

The original plans for the day included climbing Mt. Eden, but as the early morning hours progressed, fog set in which eventually gave way to a light misty rainfall. Definitely not the best morning to climb a volcano to get a cool view of the city. Instead, we decided to go back to the Maori Museum and get a glimpse of the cultural aspect of New Zealand.

We walked over to the museum as we had the night before, but this time there was not a bunch of folks dressed in tuxedos at the door. The usual tourists seemed to be flooding the place, so we fit in quite well. We waited in the lobby and enjoyed the interior architecture of the museum while Anoop waited in line to purchase tickets for the "Maori Experience." After a few minutes Anoop gave everyone a ticket and we proceeded into the holding area to await the show.

Unfortunately I forgot to bring my camera along with me, so I don't have any pictures from the show or museum. (Hopefully I can borrow some from another classmate.) Heading into the show I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but I could tell that it would be an authentic experience based on how the Maori folks were dressed in their traditional garments. The show lasted about 20-30 minutes and included several live displays of the Maori's traditional songs, dances, and games. I thought everything would have been A Capella, but one of the Maori warriors actually played a guitar for each song and dance. They explained that the European settlers introduced the guitar to the Maori people and it has been a key part of their culture ever since! (A couple hundred years.) The show ended with a live performance of "The Haka" dance, which was absolutely phenomenal. For those who have not heard of this dance, it is the dance the Maori warriors perform just before battle with their opponent. The Maori explained that the Haka is said to be so fierce and intimidating, that it wins the battle before the battle even begins. That explanation couldn't be any truer. As soon as I am able to locate a video shot during the performance, I will post it here.

We left the show and wandered around the museum looking at the carved buildings and long boats of the Maori people. Everything was quite grandeur and I really enjoyed the first-hand experience. The group got a photo with one of the Maori warriors, which was really fun. Some of us tried to stick our tongues out like they did in the Haka dance, but it actually hurt. Jason remarked that he strained his tongue and the warrior grumbled, "It takes practice."

Thoroughly amused, we checked out the gift shop (too expensive for my taste) before leaving the museum. We left to go find a "2 degrees" mobile phone store that would hopefully be open on a Sunday. After a 15 minute walk, we found one and Anoop purchased everyone a SIM cards for everyone to use while in New Zealand. (Vodafone's rates are more expensive here so we had to switch companies.) The rates at 2 degrees are not cheap by any standards and there is no cap at $1 as there is in Australia with Vodafone. Plus, you can't call other 2 degree customers for free. Needless to say my phone will not be used often here. Thankfully the SIM card did work in my phone, so I didn't have to deal with any technical difficulties.

Many of us left in a taxi to find Queens Street to get some food. (Queens Street is the main drag in Auckland.) We ended up not being too far away (about a 10 minute drive) and spent some time walking down the street and looking at the shops and restaurants. We ended up choosing a place that advertised "Best Fish and Chips," but we mainly ate there because it looked like a nice establishment and their menu had reasonably priced items. By this point in the day, I had begun to not feel well, so I settled for a soup (which they claimed to be guacamole based, but you would never guess it) and bread which turned out to be decent and only cost $10.00. After we finished, Reel, Jay, and I headed back to the hotel to meet up with Professor Hein to discuss our thesis topics and their relation to Auckland. Since each of our topics are similar, we met as a group and developed a game plan to find a case study option here in Auckland before we have to leave. (We only have 3 more days here, 5 total!)

After the meeting, I went back to my room and decided to take some medicine and nap. I wanted to knock off this "sick feeling." About 2 hours later I woke up and found Reel in the process of heading downstairs to meet some other folks to go find dinner. I put on my shoes and joined the party. We walked down to Queens Street in search of a place to eat and a grocery store. There were many options, but we chose a place called Nando's. I purchased a quarter chicken and fries with the "hot" sauce. The chicken was tender and juicy, but the "hot" sauce was puny and in my opinion detracted from the taste of the chicken. I also tried a soda unique to New Zealand, L&P. L&P tasted great, but left a weird aftertaste in my mouth. I'm glad I tried it, but Dr. Pepper still has no competition.

We left Nandos in search of a grocery store and eventually found one. I didn't buy anything, but I did enjoy walking around and seeing the different foods for sale. Nothing too different from a grocery store in Texas or Alabama, except it was quite a bit smaller and had no Blue Bell in the freezers. A couple of folks did buy some food and after they checked out, we headed back to the hotel.

Back at the hotel, I decided to go ahead and work on the temporary structures assignment for Melbourne. I ended up finishing the assignment and I also managed to post another blog. I realized I hadn't taken any photos today, so I decided to take a few shots of the inside of our room. Here's a look at our digs:

The kitchen

Living Area

Nighttime View from the Balcony

After I finished blogging, I still wasn't feeling all that great and decided to call it a night. Traveling really can wear you down. I eventually fell asleep, hoping tomorrow would bring better health and more fun in Auckland!

Day 25: Let's Do the Kangaroo Hop!

Today started early, with Captain Anoop's call time of 7:00am to leave for the Melbourne International Airport. I woke up around 6:30am, took a quick shower, and packed up all the last minute items around the room before heading downstairs to meet the group.

Anoop called a couple of large taxis to transport everyone from the Village to the Airport and by about 7:45 we were all standing outside the airport. We proceeded to the international terminals and finally found the JetStar desk. Absolutely eager to have my third JetStar experience, I approached the counter and had my checked bag weighed. It weighed in at 17.1kg, well under the 25kg I had paid for over the phone. When the JetStar lady handed me my boarding pass without first asking for my credit card, I was astounded. I would use the old cliche "third time's the charm," but in reality I didn't have any trouble because I prepaid two days before. So really this JetStar experience was identical to my others without drama at the airport. As I've said before, they will get your money at some point. Since they are so "customer friendly," they give you the choice of when to pay.

Anyway, I made it through security again without losing my dignity or taking off my shoes, belt, jacket, or necklace. I proceeded to the gate and looked at my watch to find that our flight did not leave for almost 2 hours. I posted up in some nearby chairs and took the down time to call Brittany and have devo for the day. Flight announcements constantly came over the loud speakers in the airport, but overall we had a nice devo and conversation costing just A$1.00.

Eventually our flight started boarding, but it was another JetStar fail, as boarding began 3 minutes before the scheduled departure time. Thankfully we weren't trying to get to another country and enjoy the majority of the day there or anything. (Much appreciated JetStar) Another thing JetStar does is allow the copilot (at least I hope there are 2) to come out and mingle with the steward and stewardesses during the flight and leave the cockpit door open. Totally sketch. Do your job - please! The flight was smooth (somehow no crash landings), but the word "free" or "complimentary" doesn't work well with JetStars philosophy of "Why pay less?" I watched with longings for Southwest and Delta Airlines as the food cart came by and the stewardess asked me if I would like to donate my life savings to improve JetStar customer service. We landed safely in Auckland and I was quite pleased to get off the flight. It's not every day that "thank you" is in reference to life and death.

Thankfully JetStar does keep up with your baggage (somehow) and after everyone picked up their checked bags at baggage claim and grabbed a burger at McDonald's (I just can't call it "maccas"), we headed for the Waldorf apartments near Grafton, Auckland. Anoop forewarned everyone that these accommodations were the nicest to date, and he was definitely not joking. Reel and I ended up rooming together again and we each have a wonderfully large and soft bed! The kitchen is equipped with an oven and dishwasher, as well as utensils and dishes for 4 people. Our balcony has a great view of the city with an awesome backdrop of mountains and the afternoon sun. Here's a look!

View from our balcony

We had about an hour to get our things situated in the rooms before we met again as a group to walk around the city. The plan was to visit a Maori museum (Maori are the indigenous people of New Zealand) since it was around 5:00pm local time (We lost 2 hours due to the time zone change during the flight). We walked through a large park area (The Auckland Domain) and saw some really neat plants and a flock of large geese wandering around. Here's a look to better describe the scenery:

The Auckland Domain

Geese chilling by the road.

Serene environment (Middle of the city, no less!)

 We continued through the Auckland Domain and soon found ourselves approaching the museum. However, on approach we saw several people standing around the door in black ties and tuxedos. We had the odd feeling that guests in blue jeans and wind jackets would not be on the list to get in the party. So instead of touring the museum, we spent some time enjoying the large hill the museum sits on and the awesome view of the city it provides. Here's a look:

Maori Museum

View on left side of hill

View looking out over the middle of the hill

Yes, that is a volcano

Sky Tower!

Artsy shot of the setting sun from the water display in front of the museum

Everyone enjoyed their first views of New Zealand from the hillside, but before too long our stomachs started grumbling so we set off in search of food. We only knew which general direction to go based on where Karen said she had found an Asian market right after we arrived. The professors (who ate during the hour break before the walk) stayed on top of the hill while the rest of us headed off to find some local cuisine. We followed directions and ended up on Karangahape Road. I decided it must be Maori for "Kangaroo Hop," (no idea if that is actually the case since no kangaroos are in New Zealand) but that is how I reference this street now. Kangaroo Hop was definitely the street we were trying to find from our directions, but after walking a few blocks it was obvious that this was definitely a street to frequent only during the day. At night, it is quite sketchy. We decided to go ahead and eat at a Sal's Pizza and head on back to the hotel. The pizza was pretty tasty (New York style), but it wasn't the "local cuisine" we were looking for.

We made it safely back to the room and after realizing the previous tenant had purchased data and not used it all, Reel and I were able to use the Internet for free! I posted a blog and decided to get some sleep to prepare for my first full day in Auckland, New Zealand!

Reflections on Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

The purpose of this particular blog entry is to satisfy the requirements of the blog that I feel have not been fulfilled in previous entries. For Melbourne, previous blog entries have provided pictures and commentary on portions of the built and natural environment. For this blog, I would like to take some time to further reflect on the city of Melbourne, particularly the predominant culture of the area and also provide some details of a conversation I had with a local person. This post will also provide a chronologically correct posting where I can upload a reflections video of Melbourne.

As I stated in the blog on the first day of Melbourne, I was particularly keen and excited to visit this city. After visiting for a week, I am happy to report that I really enjoyed my stay! The Victoria Market on the first day set a wonderful tone for the local culture and although the city seemed a bit dirty in places (not as well-kept as Brisbane), Melbourne definitely grows on you and has an attractive charm. Perhaps the charm is due to the Yarra River winding its way elegantly through the central business districts, providing spectacular vistas of the setting sun. Maybe its the sports center that attracts thousands of people (both local and international) for various sports at the same time - tennis (The Australian Open!), cricket (MCG), soccer, and Australian Rules Football (among many others). At any rate, practically everyone I came into contact with was friendly, continuing the cordiality I have experienced on my journey so far.

Like most places in Australia, there is a huge presence of the Asian cultures here in Melbourne, but overall there seems to be a diverse representation of nationalities. It's a bit overwhelming and inspiring at the same time to possibly hear English, Mandarin, Korean, French, Spanish and even a good "War Eagle!" from a stranger - all within a single city block. Melbourne is definitely a diverse city, but still manages to maintain an air of openness and freedom for guests to come and stay as long as they like.

One thing I noticed (more in retrospect) is the general absence of Aborigines. Other places in Australia we have visited up to this point seem to have had a small presence of Aborigines. Many times they are found playing didgeridoos in the street or posing for pictures somewhere, but here in Melbourne I really only noticed the representation of the Aboriginal culture at the Art Museum. Souvenir shops had Aboriginal artwork for sale, but I don't believe I saw a single Aboriginal person during my stay in Melbourne. Perhaps the Aborigines did not populate the Victoria state as much, or maybe they have decided to move further into the bush or to other large cities. Or, perhaps they are undercover in the city and I missed them altogether.

I had an interesting conversation one evening with a local of the place (I can't recall his name at the moment). Our conversation didn't start out normally, say, with a nice introduction and explanation of why I'm in Australia, etc. After learning I was from America, he immediately started asking me detailed questions about the political parties and my opinion of specific people involved in U.S. politics. I did my best to carry on the conversation, but honestly I don't pay politics a great deal of attention until it nears election time (no time!). This guy seemed to keep up with every breaking news story in U.S. politics and has been doing so since the mid-90's when Bill Clinton was President. Reflecting on the conversation, I find it curious that he follows politics in the states so closely. Then again, when you turn on the television here and quickly find a station covering U.S. politics by accident, its not such a mystery anymore why the folks here know so much about our presidential and congressional races. Heck, Australians are probably more informed on the candidates than a majority of the people in the U.S. who actually cast a ballot.

Overall, I think Melbourne is a spectacular city with plenty of local flare and excellent entertainment venues . Buildings here are running confidently with the sustainable torch and the area appears to be in a wonderful boom-time. If I ever get the chance, I would definitely pay Melbourne another visit! However, my time here is waning and it is time to be off to the next big city - Auckland, New Zealand!

For a reflections video that contains a full recap of adventures in Melbourne, please click on the following link:

(Video coming soon!)

Day 24: The 3 Cathedrals of Melbourne

Our last day in Melbourne! I woke up this morning and did the usual routine of shower and breakfast before heading downstairs around mid-morning to meet the group for a full day of activities! First off, we would be visiting the historic Melbourne Cricket Ground. Only Anoop could really appreciate this stadium and its global significance (Anoop is an avid cricket follower), though he helped us understand its importance by likening it to the traditions of baseball at Wrigley Field or Fenway Park. Basically, this stadium has been around for some time, opening back in 1854. It has been renovated many times since then, but is currently the 10^th largest stadium in the world (largest for playing cricket) and has the highest light poles for any sporting venue. It seats 95,000 and has standing room for 5,000. The MCG was home to the opening ceremonies and games of the 1956 Olympics and 2006 Commonwealth Games and is also home to the prestigious Melbourne Cricket Club. Several Melbourne teams across different sports call the MCG home, but (as we would find out during our tour) the stadium is designed to adapt to the colors and mascots of the different teams as needed.

We were lucky enough to have a tour guide, Robert, who has been coming to the MCG since 1946 and is a current member of the MCC. He was an excellent tour guide – the more stories he told, the more he remembered. Robert was delighted to learn about our interest in construction and architecture and so he attempted to remember as many stories pertaining to the development and architectural elements of the stadium. He would be in the middle of a fascinating story about renovating the stadium to include more women’s toilets when he would go “Oh, oh! That reminds me of another story, right-o!" He took much longer on our tour than usual, but I thoroughly enjoyed all the fine details he would sporadically remember. No doubt this stadium is the pride and heart of Melbourne. Robert evidences this, too, as he provides tours for the stadium on a volunteer basis. Here’s a look inside the MCG:

MCG Field and Stands

From the top!

Prestigious MCC Recognition

Robert also enjoyed telling many jokes, but one in particular I thought was pretty funny. We were touring around the outer limits of the stadium on the top floor when he remembered the joke, but told us “Oh, let’s wait. There’s a better spot to tell that one. Right-o!” A few minutes later we were standing on a balcony with an awesome view of the Melbourne skyline. Here he told us that this was the only place in the city you could see all 3 cathedrals in Melbourne. He pointed over the edge to a tall spire on the left and another spire towards the middle of the skyline. He then turned away from the balcony and remarked in an off-hand manner, “You’re standing in the third.”

Robert took us through a good portion of the stadium – the grass edge, several spots in the stands, several bars, the library, the locker rooms, head trainer rooms (Robert called them psychologists), and some of the private rooms that only Melbourne Cricket Club members had access to. Apparently some 200,000 people are on the waiting list to join the MCC, of which 38% are women.

The tour ended after a couple of hours and we said our farewells to Robert. The group took a tram ride (My favorite!) back into the downtown area at which time Anoop told us we were free for the afternoon, but that we had plans for the evening. Professor Hein, Jay, Reel, and I took this time to go check out the Council House 2 - a 6 star building with a plethora of information available online. We hoped to be able to get a tour of the place, but unfortunately only the third floor was open to the public. 


We found CH2 relatively easy on Little Collins Street and proceeded inside. The building was completed in 2006 and honestly it wasn't exactly the most picturesque building. Nevertheless we checked in at the front the desk and received name badges to go up to the third floor. The four of us took the elevator there and enjoyed some time looking around at the vaulted concrete ceilings and wooden shutters that open and close as needed to shield the building from sunlight. The inside of the building was interesting, but we wanted to see some of the building's energy and water systems. We were completely unsupervised, so we took the liberty of continuing up to the top floor in the elevator. Nobody seemed to mind, so we ventured over to the nearby staircase that would take us up to the roof. From online research, I knew the building had solar hot water panels, wind bowls, and also a water treatment plant - all housed on the roof.


There was no security access to get on the roof, which we though was odd until we realized that the roof had been utilized as a lunch break area for tenants of the building. A variety of plants had been planted (they looked wilted and pitiful), but there were also benches and places to sit amongst the the cogeneration plant and wind bowls. Nevertheless, it was fairly pleasant and we enjoyed ourselves for few minutes. We took several pictures of what we could see, but most of the systems were hidden inside a large metal clad room that required a key for entry. Here's a look at CH2:

Council House 2

Vaulted Concrete Ceilings with Chilled Beam System

Roof - Wind Bowls (They weren't turning and it was windy...)

House for cogeneration plant. Solar panels on roof.

Satisfied with our wanderings, we returned to the first floor to give back our name tags before heading back to the Village. The trip had been about as successful as possible given the circumstances, but the upshot is that Professor Hein was able to secure a contact with someone who is knowledgeable about CH2 and will be able to answer any questions we might have while we write our theses back in Auburn.

Safely back at the Village, I decided I needed a good afternoon power nap (traveling can really wear you out!). This "power nap" got out of hand quickly and turned into a solid 3 hour slumber. I woke up around 5:30pm and decided I should head out and try and find a temporary structure to use as a case study since this was pretty much my last day to find a structure to analyze in Melbourne (nothing like the last minute). I was successful in finding two temporary structures, but my favorite was a 3-story structural steel frame that had been engineered to hold up an existing historic facade while demolition and new construction occurred behind the facade. Here is a look at the behemoth:

Left side view of the Structural Steel Framework

Right side view depicting the framework and facade with demolition

Before I went back to the village to get ready for the evening group plans, I ran inside a particular bakery that was THE MOST unique place in all of Australia. Unlike the rest of the entire country that has sold their rights to Coke, this small bakery managed to have several massive coolers of only one drink: Dr. Pepper. There were only 6 cokes available for purchase (As you can count in the picture below) and the only other drinks available were water, a couple of juices (unfortunately bottled by Coca-Cola), and coffee. I had seen this glorious establishment in passing a couple of times, but I absolutely had to pay them a visit before I left Melbourne. I bought a couple of Dr. Peppers and a donut (breakfast for tomorrow!). Here is a picture of the Dr. Pepper fridge (The cooler behind the counter is not pictured, but was 3 shelves high and ran about 12 feet - solid Dr. Pepper cans!)

A taste of home! Bottled in Plano, TX

 I walked back to the Village and proceeded to get ready for the evening activity. Anoop had arranged for the group to go and see a live Australian play entitled, "Summer of the Seventeenth Doll" performed by the Melbourne Theatre Company. The play started at 8:00pm, so we headed out around 7:00pm to get there early. We ended up getting there in about 15 minutes (a little too early) and so we had a few minutes to roam around the area near Federation Square. As we wandered down the street, we came across a Krispy Kreme (They actually have a lot of stores here!). Steele decided to buy the group a dozen glazed and refused to take any donations to cover the cost. So, naturally, most everyone tried until they were successful in reverse pick-pocketing Steele. The donuts here are made in a factory nearby, not in the shop, but they were still relatively fresh and quite tasty!

Steel was so proud of his purchase!

We enjoyed the treat and then headed down to the Arts Center to catch the show. We had seats in the balcony, which turned out to not be too bad. The balcony was not completely full (the lower section was though), so most everyone took the advantage of finding an even better seat at the edge of the balcony. Here's a look at the stage from my vantage point:

 

 

 

Stage where all the action took place!

I did not take any pictures during the tragedy set in 1950's Melbourne. This is due mostly to the fact that my camera has a bad habit of making a noise to celebrate the creation of each new picture. The play consisted of 3 Acts that lasted around 3 hours total. I enjoyed the first two acts the most (lots of action which climaxed with the shattering of a ceramic vase thrown vigorously into a wall). However, the third act was terribly mundane and sorrowful - not really my flavor for life. I might also make note here that I did not have foreknowledge that the play was a tragedy. Knowing this going in (I somehow missed the memo) might have helped prepare me for the despair. Anyway, all in all I am totally glad we got to see some Melbourne culture up close and personal.

The play ended just after 11:00pm, so most everyone headed back to the Village to get ready for the flight to Auckland in the morning. I spent quite some time picking up my things and cleaning up a bit, but most of my time was spent figuring out a better way to pack my belongings. Since I had purchased extra weight in my checked baggage, I needed to get my carry-on down from 14.7kg to under 10kg (JetStar's limit for a carry-on) - just in case JetStar wanted to weigh my carry-on. I finally managed a suitable arrangement of items between my bags and called it a day. Today had been filled with tons of fun activities, but I would need plenty of sleep to take on not only a new city, but a new country - New Zealand!

Day 23: Art Museum and Windy Beaches

This morning I woke up around 9:30 to eat some breakfast and to do some research related to my thesis before we met as a group at 1:00pm. I managed to get a small bit of work done, though the researching was rather slow. 1:00pm eventually came though and I went downstairs to meet up with the group.

The activities for the day began at the Melbourne Museum of Art, situated across from Federation Square in the center of Melbourne. We took a quick tram ride (actually it was long, overcrowded, and slow - so "quick" in tram terms) to the Museum and proceeded inside. No ticket was required to see the art, but Anoop said we could be reimbursed should we decide to go see one of the art shows. The only show available was a German Art Show and after the briefest glance at their advertisement, I decided to go look at art from the other European countries. I really enjoyed walking around over the next couple of hours and gazing at the artwork and sculptures on display. The museum was quite massive and even with two hours time we did not get around to all the exhibits. Here are a few pictures of some pieces of art I thought were interesting:

Sculpture of Clams (Not sure what meaning it held.)

Anoop pondering the implications of a massive painting

Stained Glass Ceiling

Land Ho!

About 15 minutes before we were scheduled to meet as a group again, I went down to the museum lobby and called JetStar. Our flight to Auckland is a couple of days away and I figured I should go ahead and prepay my checked baggage over the phone... (Thankful for Southwest Airlines!)

We left the museum around 3:00pm and headed for St. Kilda Beach on yet another absolutely enchanted tram ride. Several hours later (OK, it was really only 20 minutes or so), we arrived at the beach. We had to walk a little bit, but the beach was quite pretty and very windy! Plenty of kite boarders were out in the water, but most everyone else was on the sand working on a tan. (The water was cold.)

St. Kilda Beach

The longer we were outside, the colder the wind felt and eventually we retired to one of the local restaurants to grab a bite to eat. Most everyone ordered a $5 pepperoni pizza which turned out to be much larger than what one person could (or perhaps should) eat. Properly fed and watered, we headed back to the Village.

I got to my room and proceeded to debate about whether or not to blog before deciding to take a short nap. 3 hours later I woke up to find the sun sinking low and decided to get some blogging done as well as research some buildings in New Zealand that might work as case study material. I worked for a couple of hours before deciding to call it a night and get a proper night's sleep. Tomorrow would be our final day in Melbourne and I wanted to enjoy every last minute!