Fourth Leg: Melbourne

City view
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Everyone in Sydney kept telling me that everyone in Melbourne was prudish and proper, but I can't make that big of a generalization. In both cities, people seemed to keep to themselves. I will say that it seemed that Sydney had more of an overt tourist presence, and so seemed more open/friendly to tourism in that way. I will say that the public transportation is more easily accessible and the city is laid out in a convenient grid. However, I found it somewhat difficult to get around nonetheless with so many options-- trams, buses, trains, etc. Melbourne is definitely the home to many cultural events, though it was somewhat difficult to find them. The one thing that rang true from both Sydney folk and Melbourne people is that Melbourne has shifty and unpredictable weather. It seemed to always be cloudy in the morning, and then some days it would clear up, and others not. It never rained, despite thunderstorms being predicted 4/5 days I was there.

Great Ocean Road
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My entry into Melbourne was very uneventful. I had elected to ride the bus from Sydney to Melbourne-- and overnight at that. I think I was thinking with my wallet. Nededless to say it was very unglamourous. We stopped at three in the morning at this seedy little gas station/restaurant that didn't offer much I cuold handle.

The London Bridge has an interesting story. It used to be connected to the mainland until it literally fell down (as per the song) 7 years ago.

Crazy Parrots
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The first day  I spent walking around to get a general sense of the city. I attended a church service at the oldest cathedral in town, St. Francis, and felt very squeamish. I decided that it was not worth seeing the beautiful interior and hearing the choir if I had to endure all the Catholic mantra of kneeling (or not) crossing (or not, though I still think it's kind of cool:), especially in movies) or saying the apostle's creed (OR NOT). Let's just say I felt VERY self conscious, not being a Catholic myself, and worried I would be "discovered" any minute, branded as a heretic, and burned at the stake.

It's a bird, it's a plane... on no... it's a koala!
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I also found out the election results. It's rather funny-- I had a feeling from everyone I talked to in Sydney that there would be a change in government, so I wasn't surprised when Kevin Rudd won the job. However, in Melbourne it seems to have been more of a touchy subject-- possibly the political bent is more conservative here.

I was so worried about the weather forecasts that I booked my trip to the Great Ocean Road as soon as possible. It is this windy road that kind of reminds me of a cross between that famous one along the California coast (Route 1??) and the Scottish highlands.  It wanders through small coastal towns. Some stretches have rock formations that are formed from erosion over time that are quite spectacular. They all have names that either vaguely connect them to what they resemble or in relation to events that occurred nearby--such as, "The Twelve Apostles" (a series of rocky pillars clustered along the coast, "London Bridge" ( a bridge -like structure), "Loch Arden" (a gorge where the namesake ship sank). The London Bridge has an interesting story. It used to be connected to the mainland until it literally fell down (as per the song) 7 years ago. There just happened to be a couple out there at the time who became stranded. Finally some people noticed, and went to the nearest area, a local bar, where (surprise) no one seemed to believe them. Ultimately the two were rescued, but not before it had turned into a media circus with helicopters and vans and interviews-- the two stranded young people strangely had nothing to say to the cameras. As it turned out, the "pair" were not actually an official couple, but were married to other people and had been out on a little tryst of their own, not quite anticipating the national media coverage.

Shrine of Remembrance
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Part of the day was also spent searching for koalas and parrots. THe parrots weren't too hard to find, as there was a group of young Japanese tourists ahead who had decided to try to feed the birds with bird seed and were now either being dive -bombed or perched upon-- some on forearms, but some, more amusingly on women's hair (nesting thing?). Watching people spaz out was very entertaining in any language. The koalas were a bit harder to find, and you had to look high up in the trees, which is why the picture is so small.

Grand Exhibition Hall
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The third day consisted of viewing the fantastic Shrine of Remembrance--which is like an ANZAC Memorial, and it was designed in part to replicate the Mausoleum at Halicinarsus--one of the original 7 Wonders of the World. Are we sensing a theme here? Australians spare no expense to honor their vets, and do so very publicly. I also walked around their lovely-- and huge Botanical Gardens.

I spent the fourth day at the local art gallery and museum and parks. I also visited the Grand Exhibition Hall-- the only World Heritage Building in Australia-- because it is the only standing (and still in use) faciilty to house a World Exhibition  (1878??). The interior has been restored in bright colors as it would have looked in 1909. It was also the first site for Parliament. I celbrated the evening by attending Spamalot--which made me feel at home. Although it was basically a rip off of the movie, the players were very talented-- it was so interesting to hear such beautiful and lyric voices bent to a comical purpose. You could enjoy the melodies for an instant, but they never let you forget it was a comedy. At one point, they even improvised, as I imagine they do in all productions based on their location and audience. Such was the case when theThe Knights who no longer said Ni changed their names to the Knights of "Nannauickypatowheahsa-goodbyejohnhoward".

The Apostles
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The final day I spent running from scenic building to scenic building--all converted to banks. I witnessed a coin exhibit and saw a penny proof worth over a million dollars (the most expensive coin in Australia). I also was able to wait out the weather and finally get a view of the harbor. It is more expansive than Sydney's so  it's hard to fit everything in. It also appears more practical/industrial, and less showy than Sydney's. I also popped into the International Art Gallery and was disappointed to learn that the main exhibit I had missed in Sydney and wanted to see did not open until tomorrow. I pouted so much, I bought the $80 book. So if any of you are Bertram Mackennell sculpture fans, I will "rent" it out to you:).

London Bridge
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Well, that's all for now. Stay tuned for the next webisode  about my time in Christchurch/Wellington/Waitomo. I'm grouping them because i don't want to account for the poor trip planning and zig-zagging i will be doing between them, particularly, the former two. (Christchurch-Wellington-Waitomo-Wellington-Christchurch) I'm tired just writing it...