I shall drink for three!

Not really.

Today I met up with Tim's friend Anna-Louise and her husband John. She and Tim met in the 90's when Tim was living in Paris. They were roommates. I heard stories.

Anna-Louise texted days ago and she gave me very precise directions to take the (free) train to Sandringham where they picked me up to go check out some wineries. The catch was, neither one of them were able to drink. They were happy to watch me drink though, which I appreciated. 

We drove to the Mornington Peninsula and I did a tasting at Yabba Lake Winery. I think it might be the first time in my life when I ingested alcohol before noon. 

I considered buying some bottles but did not want to deal with how to get them in my luggage. They did not ship to the US. The next place said they don't ship to the US because the shipping ends up being as expensive as the wine. Oh well. 

We went to Foxey's Hangout for one of those lunches where you pay a flat price and they serve you 10 small plates. They had a nice white which I had a glass of. I don't remember the name of it. The food was interesting. They also served bread with olive oil and pistachios. 

We then went to another winery but only to look at their sculpture garden. This is Montalto Winery:

They dropped me back off at a train station and I returned to the city center.

It was great to meet and talk to them. They were so generous with their time and attention.

On the way back to my hotel, I stopped at a bookstore and bought one (not two) journals. I have no business buying a journal. I have so many. But they are so colorful and pretty and I only got the turquoise one, not also the purple one, so it's not that bad. I'm sure I won't go back and get another one tomorrow.

I did explain to my mother today that Melbourne is not great for souvenirs, I am sorry to say to all the people who will not be getting nice things from Melbourne. 

At this moment, I have been back in my hotel for about an hour and a half. I discovered why the hat I'm knitting was not coming out right (because I was doing it wrong) and I unknit and reknit a few rows for the second time. And I am trying to figure out if I should get room service, because I have not eaten in several hours, but I am also not hungry, but I should probably still eat something.

Life is hard.

Tomorrow is my last day. I already had the concierge order a cab for me. I don't know if I'll post tomorrow since I'll likely be aimless. But who knows, maybe something interesting will happen.

Thanks for reading.

 

Weekend randomness

Saturday was a holiday so many businesses were closed. April 25th is Anzac day, which is similar to our Veterans Day. 

I had breakfast at the cafe on the corner. Since it was open on a day other places were closed, it was mobbed. A couple asked to sit with me. We talked throughout breakfast about our plans for the day. I have no idea what their names were. 

I had planned to go to a modern art museum outside Melbourne, but got lazy. I walked around the Fitzroy, which is a very cute neighborhood next to where my hotel is. I did some window shopping, and some actual shopping.

I walked to the Royal Arcade, which is essentially a very pretty mall, opened in the 1800s. 

I returned to the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) Australia because I'd wanted to see the Motherhood exhibit but they also had an exhibition of indigenous art as well.

I stopped by a bar for a beer. They have some great buskers here. There was a woman on the street playing violin. I was able to hear it from the balcony, mixing with the pop music, and the people smoking.

I ate mortadella pizza for dinner (and again for lunch today.) Check out my cannoli:

Today I returned to the League of Honest Coffee. Honestly, I'm a little obsessed with them. I have been going there to write and order cappuccinos you could wash your hands in.

I finally made it to Queen Victoria Market. 

I used the (free) tram to get to the Australian Center for Contemporary Art. I was also free. It was also brief; they had one exhibit. 

I walked through the two NGVs looking for souvenirs. 

I returned to my hotel and finally used my free drink ticket to get a beer at the bar downstairs (did I mention this hotel really wants to give us free booze?)

That's about it for the weekend. I am about to go out in search of dinner.

A 12-hour tour

I think from now on, Friday will be the day I go on tours when I travel. Last year when I went to Mexico City, I took a tour to the pyramids on a Friday. This one was much longer, with more stops. 

Our tour guide Peter was delightful. Of course he spoke with an Australian accent which makes everyone sound delightful. There were 24 of us on a small bus. 

We started off going to the Brighton Beach Boxes. These were built starting in the 1860s so people would have a place to change. They do not have water or electricity. Now they are considered a status symbol. Peter asked me how much I thought one cost and I puffed out my chest and said "Well I do live in one of the most expensive cities in the states, so my point of reference is skewed. $10,000?" He informed me they cost half a million Australian dollars. Eek! 

We then went to the Moonlit Sanctuary. We saw koalas, wombats, wallabies, beautiful birds. I had a nice talk with a staff member named James who told me about trying to train a couple of Emu brothers, one appearing much smarter than the other. I suggested that perhaps the dumb-appearing Emu was actually too smart to fall for his antics. I'm not sure he appreciated my reframe.

These pictures are not in chronological order:

Pink Cockateels 

Drunk-looking koala 

It turns out they sleep 20 hours a day.

Emu

Wallaby

Echidna 

Some kind of owl

Wombat

Rainbow parrot

THE DINGO ATE YOUR BABY!

A green snake I don't remember the name of but it had "green" in the name.

Then we went to Nobbies, which is a lookout on the coastline of the Bass Strait. I took a bunch of panoramic shots. I am not sure how well they will show up here.

We then went to the Penguin Parade on Phillip Island. These are little fuzzy penguins that come out of the water at sundown, to gather and crawl into the beach. We were not permitted to take picture because flashes disturb the penguins (didn't stop some a-holes from trying,) but you can see pictures online. Unfortunately many of the penguins who did come out of the water, did so away from our bleachers. 

From there it took us two hours to get back to my hotel. 

Peter reminded us that today is Anzac Day, which is a holiday. So I will not be going to the market. I will likely be figuring out how to get to a museum outside the city.