Yarra River in Melbourne with the iconic Eureka Tower on the Left
Just walked in the door back from Melbourne where I spent the extended weekend (though every one of my weekends has been extended...) with the Travel Writing crew, Dan and Nina. For those who don't want to read through exactly what i did I'll sum up the weekend in 3 words: I love Melbs. It is delectably edgy while remaining livable and has a certain mystery about it thanks to its many alleyways often filled with quaint cafes and shops or blanketed in incredible graffiti. The architecture is a cool mix of old warehouses and hotels preserved from the late 19th century, and clean, heavily-glazed skyscrapers with lots of balconies and rooftop gardens. The main form of public transportation is a tram-way which i thought was incredibly efficient and easy to navigate (which for me, a girl born with a hippocampus the size of a shriveled raisin, is saying something).
Now into more specifics.
Arriving in Melbourne, early Friday morning, we dropped off our bags at the Greenhouse Backpacker Hostel located conveniently smack dab in the middle of Melbourne's CBD (central business district). After throwing our bags on our bunk beds we charged up the street to Hosier lane, a small alleyway that I'd read on Trip Advisor has one of the best displays of gallery sanctioned graffiti in the city. We certainly weren't misled. Every inch of the alleyway was covered in intricate monsters, bombshells, and unidentifiable animals in vivid magentas, greens, blues and yellows. There was also a fantastic interpretation of the Taj Mahal painted over one of the doorways and a tapas restaurant where the color scheme was limited to deep reds and blacks.
A Sub-alley in Hosier Lane
From street art it was on to more conventionally displayed art at the Ian Potter Center - though thats not to say the building or the art it housed were conventional. The building itself was very original with two of the wings made out of multi-tonal stone while the center, constructed solely out of steel beams and glass, resembled a skeleton. The inside was clean and uncluttered besides long strings of flower lights that streamed down from the ceiling.
Ian Potter Art Center
Flower Lights at Ian Potter Art Center
After spending a good hour in the Aboriginal Art section, oohing and aahing at traditional earth-toned spot paintings and contemporary examples of Aboriginal art, we walked the 3 blocks to the National Gallery of Victoria to see the Dali exhibit. Having always been a fan of what Dali I had seen, but admittedly not knowing a ton about him I was awestruck by how prolific and versatile he was. The exhibit quickly shed light on this as I got to see his paintings, sketches, film, photography, sculpture and even the jewelry which he designed. My favorite was a painting towards the end of the exhibit which he painted as Dali was getting on in years called "Othello dreaming of Venice" which supposedly signifies regret about his love life and not living in Italy (if i can remember correctly but that could be totally off). I also really enjoyed the plaques that the Museum put up for the benefit of the children going through the exhibit because the juxtaposition between them and the adult plaques were often pretty funny. I remember one in particular where the adult one was something like "The tubas signify the receptive female genetalia while the flacid violins represent sexual difficulties on the male's part" and the children's read "This painting is about dreams. Dali is dreaming of instruments. Do you ever have dreams?"
Othello Dreaming of Venice
My Favorite Dali Gift Shop Find that ended up being $90 which in my mind was about $85 too many
Funny side note: in addition to being incredibly interesting, the Dali exhibit was incredibly extensive and maze-like with many nooks and cranies. We ended up losing Cathy and waiting for her for about an hour at the exit until enlisting the help of gallery security. They emerged 10 minutes later, looking very proud of themselves and announced "We found Cathy!" To which the other 20-something blonde girl that they were dragging out of the exhibit responded "I'm not Cathy..." We finally found her about half an hour later in one of the video rooms where she'd been entranced by one of the gruesome scenes from Un Chien Andalou which I'd skipped over, being too much of a ninny to stomach watching some chick getting her eyes slit open.
After a much needed nap, Dan, Nina, Julia and I joined Dan's friend Andrew (aka. Fraiser) at the Esplanade on the South Bank for Dinner at a Greek Restaurant on the Yarra. Supposedly Melbourne has the largest Greek population outside of Greece and Cyprus so the food was delectable. After scarfing down an impressive amount of Mezes, Feta, and Pita we head to the Casino at the Crown Complex where Dan was keen to steal Nina's gambling virginity. After she valiantly lost $2 at Roulette we made our way to the Greyhound Racing station where i insisted we bet on a little bitch (im allowed to say it because its the technical term...) called "Yo Paulie!" . The boys tried to argue because she was ceded almost last but I stood my ground and low and behold coming down to the last stretch "Yo Paulie!" broke away from the pack and finished at least 2 lengths before the other bitches and pimps (definitely not the technical term). My betting secret? I liked her name and her hot pink singlet. So what if its not scientific? Betting's all about gut instinct right?
We've got a Golden Ticket!
We decided to quit while we were ahead and called it a night soon after.
The following morning, Nina and I happened to wake up at similar times and took our rumbling tummies to Cafe Lorca - an adorable cafe tucked into one of the many alleys jutting off of Flinders Lane. Melbourne has a reputation for having some of the best coffee in Australia - a lofty feat in a place where as i've mentioned has some of the best java of anywhere i've ever been - and I was definitely impressed by my long black (essentially two shots of espresso and a little bit of water).
Post-breakfast we picked up Dan who got a bit of a slower start than we had and jumped on the tram to St. Kilda where we got our adrenaline pumping (well, sort of...) at Luna Park - a mildly creepy, endearingly run-down amusement park that reminds me a lot of what I picture Coney Island to be like (embarrassingly, I've never been). The rides were totally underwhelming (there was maybe 1 dip and sharp turn on the roller coaster) but it was totally worth going to see.
The 3 Stooges about to Enter Luna's Maw
Apparently My Companions didn't get the Memo that we were going to at least fake being exhilarated
Trekking out to Luna also allowed us to see St. Kilda - a bayside suburb that formerly served as Melbourne's Red Light district. It has since been gentrified but has definitely retained a bohemian feel with tons of leather shops, used book stores and hole-in-the-wall fish and chips shops.
After we walked up and back down the main drag and out to the beach, we caught the tram back into the center of the city where we moved on to Queen Victoria Market - supposedly the largest open air market in the Southern Hemisphere. It was absolutely humongous with stand after stand selling fresh produce, meat, clothing and Australiana (stuffed animal koalas and kangaroo pencil cases, one of which i purchased for my youngest brother). The only disappointing thing was that a lot of the stalls seemed to be selling the same things (I can't even tell you how many boomerangs I saw) but if travelling has taught me anything its that every country tends to have an authentic-seeming standardized set of souvenirs. In Nepal it was Guhrka Knifes, Prayer Bowls and Hindu Figurines in Ghana it was Batik and long strands of beads in China it was Jade anything and in Australia its boomerangs and Australian Animal memorabilia.
After we scoured the aisles looking for more original wares, Dan, Nina and I headed back to the hostel to change quickly before heading to meet Fraiser and his footy friends to go to the Bulldogs vs. Hawks footy match. Footy in Victoria refers to Australian Rules Football, a sport that I'm not even going to pretend to understand. All I understand is that causes very tall dudes prance around in shorts that are far too short for them and try to kick a rugby ball through the center 2 posts out of a 4 post set-up. Apparently it is also powerful enough to inspire mothers with two-year olds sitting on their laps scream "YOU DICKWAD, CATCH THE FUCKING BALL!"
Maybe Wikipedia's Definition will be more helpful:
It is a football variant played between two teams of 18 players plus 4 interchange players outdoors on large oval-shaped grass fields (often modified cricket fields), with a ball in the shape of a prolate spheroid.
The primary aim of the game is to score goals by kicking the ball between the middle two posts of the opposing goal. The winner is the team who has the higher total score at the end of the fourth quarter.[4] Except for special circumstances,[5] if the score is tied then a draw is declared.
Players may use any part of their body to advance the ball. The primary methods are kicking, handballing and running with the ball. There are restrictions on how the ball can be handled, for example players running with the ball must intermittently bounce or touch it on the ground, throwing the ball is not allowed and players must not get caught holding the ball. Unlike most similar sports, there is no offside rule and players can roam the field freely. Possession of the ball is in dispute at all times except when a free kick is paid. A distinctive feature of the game is the mark, where players anywhere on the field who catch a ball from a kick (with specific conditions), are awarded a free kick.[6] Australian rules is a contact sport in which players can tackle using their hands or use their whole body to obstructopponents. Dangerous physical contact (such as a pushing an opponent in the back), interference when marking and deliberately slowing the play are discouraged with free kicks, distance penalties or suspension, depending on the seriousness of the infringement. Frequent physical contests, aerial marking or "speckies", fast movement of both players and the ball and high scoring are the game's main attributes as a spectator sport.
Hehe "spekies". In any case, the Hawks, to whom Fraiser and his pals were hopelessly devoted were mauled by the Bulldogs by an almost 100 point margin.
Frasier Mourning his Beloved Hawks' Loss while Dan looks on, blase as always
I'm going to have to have to report on what i got upto Sunday and Monday tomorrow because i am BEAT and must hit the hay. G'Night!
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