You're on your own kid

Trip Start Sep 04, 2007
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Trip End Feb 08, 2008


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Flag of Australia  ,
Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Saturday it was sunny as we drove along the winding saddlebacks and twisting roads of the Yarra Valley, visiting a number of vineyards, sampling a few choice wines, and thoroughly enjoying the scenery.  That night Jane and Ian departed on the last flight out of Melbourne to spend a few more days in Brisbane before finally moving back to the States.  And so, Sunday morning I got up, gathered my things, and said goodbye to the Cooks.  Jaimie dropped me off at the train station and I made my way to St. Kilda, to the southeast of downtown Melbourne.  The area is vibrant with college kids and post-graduate nomads such as myself carousing about the heavily-tracked thoroughfares and many shops and cafes, and blanketing the white harbor sands a few blocks from my hostel.  The Base Hostel where I am staying is a step up from the usual spare wooden bunks and crowded hall shower scenario I was used to in Europe.  The place has its own bar, a large kitchen and common room, clean rooms with provided linens and an ensuite bath, a slieu of quick and dependable computers with internet access, and even a small travel agency service specifically for indigents and slackers (like me.)  Anyway, I think it's fair to describe it more succinctly like this: awesome at a vineyard
at a vineyard
 .

So I've been spending my time since my arrival at midday yesterday getting to know the area.  I walked over to the beach, to the St. Kilda botanical gardens and watched the Sunday picnickers chasing ducks and grilling out.  I even walked down to the pier with some other backpackers in hopes of glimpsing an allegedly small (possibly microscopically so) population of Australia's endemic 'little penguin.'  Well, none appeared.  But we did see a kayaker get hooked by a fisherman--so that was pretty well worth the walk. 

Today I got up late.  It was raining and most of my roommates were departing.  I sluggishly got out of bed and showered.  The remaining roommate (a Londoner who has been staying here for two weeks and says he "hates London" and "won't go back for at least six months!") took full advantage of his current residence in one of Earth's farthest cities from England's capital by rolling over and going back to sleep.  Though this seemed the thing to do on such an gray, overcast sort of day, I was not disappointed by what I saw once I left the hostel and headed into the city.  I did some meandering walks along the river and through some of the parks, and made it back to the Melbourne Museum where Jane, Ian and I had seen Beowulf a few days ago.  Tin Cows' Vineyard
Tin Cows' Vineyard
 Then we had not had the time to see most of the museum, but today, with a full three hours before closing at my disposal, I went about exploring the extreme variety and outstanding quality of the exhibitions, ranging from natural history to aboriginal history and artwork to human anatomy and the history of neurology and mental illness to the myriad of bugs native to Australia, all of it displayed with an eye for creativity, visual appeal, and informative detail.  I was VERY impressed and would rank it with the top museums I have visited in my lifetime.  Of note were the complete blue whale skeleton in the entry, a great exhibit about human perception and emotions- there were these glass domes like the cone of silence in Get Smart where you were shown a series of reels that evoked different emotions in succession- and the aboriginal art of Lin Onus.  Onus was a self-taught artist with an incredible talent for evocative color and imagery, and he also used his art to help reshape people's conceptions about the native people of Australia. 

And that was pretty much it.  They kicked me out of the museum before I could really delve into some of the natural history exhibits.  The true bionerd in me wanted to hide in the walking stick display and wait till everybody had gone.  Unfortunately I'm not as well camouflaged as they are and despite my efforts to stand still and act like a stick I was spotted and told never to come back again.  Oh well...  I haven't decided what I'll do tomorrow, but I'm sure it'll be something riveting and exciting like...walking around downtown and going to a museum.  We'll see.  I may be motivated to rent (or hire, as they say here) a bike.  Anyway, hope all is well.  Ciao for now.

matt
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