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. 

The tea with the fancy people

As I mentioned, I woke up at 2am and couldn't get back to sleep. I went back to the same cafe and brought my latest writing project. I like writing when I travel. For some reason I feel more productive. 

I walked to the Royal Botanic Garden. Yes, it's free. The most interesting thing about it was the birds. They have some real "I'll swallow your soul" energy. (Evil Dead 2 reference that probably only my brother will get.)

I think those were cockatoos. So pretty, so evil sounding. They had some other interesting birds. 

The landscape itself is really beautiful.

 This is the Yarra river.

I went back to the hotel where I had made reservations for their fancy high tea. Yes, I decided to do it. It was fancy. The tea was great but unfortunately, because I drank a lot of it without milk, it gave me a tummy ache.

There were also scones.

I laid low for the rest of the day, which is fine given I was sleep deprived and today I'm going on a lengthy tour to see animals and penguins (I know penguins are also animals, but they are a particular feature of the tour.) 

I hope to find out more information about why koalas always look stoned.