Melbourne Trip #4 - Tuesday and Wednesday

Yesterday's post only got me to the end of lunch on Tuesday.  After lunch, I had a bit of downtime while Jeannie taught a really cute little student.  Then, because of my little encounter on the bike, I decided to change before we went out again.

Tuesday Outfit #2: Stockings from Target, top from Dotti, dress is Don't Ask Amanda - bought at an op shop on my last trip, boots Mina Martini from Jeannie.

We headed into town again, this time on the train, and went to the Rialto tower.  This was something I remember from my high school trip way back when, but Jeannie had never been to the top.  I'm not sure, but I suspect it's been swankified since my school trip.  I can't imagine a whole lot of high school girls, on tour, behaving properly in the bar at the top. 

We were the only customers when we arrived (great service!) so had a pick of views. 

We opted for the Albert Park Lake side, and so had drinks overlooking the city.  It was a pretty great view.

We then headed over to Captains of Industry (in Somerset Place) for some trivia.  Yes, I'm slightly addicted to trivia, so I would have said yes to this anyway, but this particular event was a fundraiser for a group doing the Oxfam Trailwalk shortly.  At first it seemed that everyone there was formerly from Brisbane and either visiting Melbourne like me, or had moved there in the last few years.  As it turned out, there were plenty more people who didn't fit into this category, so those people had a distinct advantage in the 'sport' round.  Another fabulously fun evening, and we came not last, or even second last, but respectably in the middle.

Wednesday.  Outfit: green Kinki Gerlinki dress, black Ambra top, black leggings, black flats from Target, Hot Options jacket from Jeannie.  Wednesday was the consumables day.  This was a good outfit choice.  My hair was in a world of its own though, and highly annoying.

First, we walked down to Bread and Jam for Frances, via Bradstreet Books.  Bradstreet Books is a secondhand store by Glenferrie station, and has 2 levels of shelves and nooks and more shelves.  So many books!  I did not buy anything.

Bread and Jam for Frances is a bakery/cafe attached to Readings bookstore.  Really good service.  Really good coffee.  So we had 2 each.  And we shared a pastry.  And then... Then we went to the bookstore side of things.  Having spent many dollars in my life on not great books, I developed a list of authors I was allowed to buy - everyone else had to be borrowed from the library.  I bought one book from an allowed author.  And then I bought 2 new releases.  No regrets!  One I read yesterday, and the other I started today, and my brain is thanking me for it.
Home again, then I was forced to drink a super greens drink.  I know it's good for me... But yerk. 

Back into the city on the train, and by this stage we were both hungry.  We went to Degraves Lane again, this time to TOFWD.  I have no idea what the initials mean, but I felt healthy just looking at the food, and chose a lentil burger.  We then undid all that good nutrition by heading over to Koko Black.  It's still amazing.  I even had a Chocolat experience!  Having decided from the menu what I would buy to take home, I then forgot one of them - the chocolatier correctly suggested an option. 

On the way to our next engagement (free comedy), we just happened to pass Quick Brown Fox.  A free blowdry later, I also bought a scarf and a pair of earrings.  Then we were ready for some free comedy.  At first, I thought "No wonder this one is free" but then it got unbelievably funny.  Not clever funny, not crass or anything else, just people from the audience being asked to act and have props made out of balloons.  I laughed for at least 30 minutes.

We went to yet another bookstore, then were at a loss.  Instead of buying a bottle of water and wandering aimlessly until dinner, we went to the Cookie rooftop bar.  What a find!  Many flights of stairs (how to earn your treats), and you're practically on top of Melbourne.  There was no great vantage point for photos, but seeing dusk gathering over the city was fabulous. 

Dinner at Miss Chu was mostly vegetables.  Definitely an inner-city eating establishment, with house rules (including 'no chopsticks fights'!) listed at the top of the order forms.  Quick ordering process, very little room, vegetarian and vegan options, and plenty of serviettes for all the effects of the chilli.  My greatest delight here though was when I realised what the deal was with the light fittings - inverted rice bowls!

Then - the highlight of the trip.  We went to Arj Barker in the Melbourne Town Hall.  Going to a comedy festival event had been on my to-do list for years and years and years.  I was not disappointed.  Again, I laughed for most of an hour (there were some serious points), and I was relieved not to be the only one laughing outrageously.  I even bought a sticker pack with quotes from the show, and got a sneaky photo thanks to Jeannie.

I had a relatively early flight on Thursday, so nothing exciting happened that day.  And I wore jeans and many layers of tops, not exciting.  I'm very pleased to have achieved some of my to-do list - and I've added at least 2 items to the list for next time.  And aside from everything detailed here, I met many new people and didn't freak out.

Melbourne Trip #4 - Monday and Tuesday

It's that time of year again.  Melbourne trips seem to happen every 3 months.  I flew down on Monday, after very few hours sleep.  One of my goals for this trip was to wear different clothes - not just jeans and a top.  This occupied more of my brain than I anticipated, which was partly why I'd had very little sleep.  I still had a suitcase weighing only 9kg though.  Throughout all the following activities was a much-needed dose of talk.  Of the kind only a best friend can share.

Monday.  Outfit: Jeanswest super skinny jeans, black organic cotton Ambra tshirt, green and grey striped cardigan from Miss Shop (via op shop), black Target flats, graduated grey scarf.

I met Jeannie at Flinders St station, and we went to Degraves lane for coffee.  At Cafe No. 5 we had coffee and a pear and cinnamon muffin, then decided to get lunch.  I can't remember the name of the place we had lunch (Cafe King? Cafe Kong? something like that) but it was an Asian place with great service, mostly Asian customers (always a good sign) and massive servings.  My sizzling noodles with beef in black pepper sauce would have lasted me for 3 meals if I was making this at home.  Because it was so tasty, and I was rather hungry, I ate rather more than I should have. 

I have no regrets.  Then, being after midday, and we were both in that mood, we went to Ponyfish Island.  This is a bar underneath the Southbank Footbridge, and it's like being in Pirates of the Caribbean.  It has a lovely view, too.

I was a little worried I'd brought not enough in the warm clothing department, but Jeannie had a pile of clothes for me to check out.  Just in case, though, we went to 2 op shops (more great finds).  I then had a teeny tiny nap.  I had been warned that Monday nights were swing dancing lessons.  With all the other fun new things we had planned, combined with the immense sleep deficit, my brain was not enthusiastic about swing dancing.  Eventually, I was hauled off the sofa.  I went to swing dancing.  It was my first time, but knowing where the beat is, and a bit of salsa dancing experience, really helped.  I had so much fun, and didn't feel like an idiot most of the time.  So much fun, in fact, that I'm going to check out the swing dancing options in Brisbane in a couple of months.

After swing dancing, we went to Cafe Sofia (2 doors down) for dinner.  Jeannie and Matt have some experience in the meal sizes at this place, so we ordered one pizza for the 3 of us.  I think we managed to eat the whole thing, but only just.  Huge!  This place reminded me of my childhood, a really great family restaurant with friendly staff.  So friendly that we were given free 'cranberry juice' (port) after our meal.  Needless to say, I slept rather well on Monday night. 

Tuesday.  Outfit #1: op shop dress bought on Monday (black and white horizontal pin stripes, not apparent in photos), black Dotti top, colour block stockings from Target, black flats from Target. 

One of the things on our to-do list was to ride bikes into the city.  So, after breakfast, I got on a bike for the first time in approaching 20 years.  A little practice ride around the garage area, and I thought I would be fine.  Then we got out onto the road.  I got a little freaked out by traffic.  I then realised I didn't need to pedal downhill, and that the brakes were there for a reason.  My adrenaline was rather high, and thankfully we eventually got to the bike path.  I won't go into great detail, but I did realise a lot about my brain from this experience.  In those moments I wasn't concentrating on staying on the path and out of the river, it was a picturesque ride of about 15km in to Federation Square. 

We were hoping for more people around and more coffee, but had an okay coffee and muffin at Opti.  We then ticked off another item on my to-do list: seeing inside St Paul's cathedral.  It's rather beautiful.  It also reminded me of St David's, in Hobart.  Many photos later...  So I'll just share my highlights.  The front door is impressive (that's the outfit photo).  The tiles throughout reminded me of so many English cathedrals, and such a lovely feel.

The vaulted ceiling - I always enjoy looking up.

We also rode home.  I had a little incident (again, brain - resulting in jarred finger) and so when we'd completed the bike path component I opted not to ride along the road.  With the parked cars on one side and major road traffic on the other.  Uphill.  I could foresee an expensive disaster.  Jeannie rode on ahead.  Unfortunately, I didn't check the map function (thank goodness for my phone!) until I was quite sure I was in the wrong place.  And how!  It should have been 800m from where I now know I took a wrong turn, but I went about a circuitous mile instead.   Lunch was rather delicious though, and really healthy.  Thankfully.

Outfit #110 - Last Green Dress in the Shop

On my last trip to Melbourne, we just happened to have lunch one day across a laneway from a favourite store.  We just happened to visit said store after lunch.  This was the last dress of its kind. 

Dress: Kinki Gerlinki.  Shoes: Target.  Earrings: from Mombasa.  Necklaces: from Jeannie and an op shop.

It took me ages to actually wear this dress.  I have a sneaky feeling it will make an appearance in many outfits.  I love it.  Although it's not all that flattering, it is so lovely to wear, and I have several layering ideas already.  I'll do a close-up of the earrings in a future post.

Melbourne Trip #4, Part 2

Thursday morning (after I had rather a lovely sleep-in), Jeannie asked me what I wanted to do that day.  'Not get hot' was my reply.  Forecast high of 36, or 37, or 39, depending on your source.  I knew it wouldn't be the same as high 30s in Brisbane, but I was still keen for as little exertion as possible. 

We headed into town, and after getting to Federation Square without any real plan, Jeannie mentioned Koko Black.  Chocolate.  As if I could resist.  Oh my, what a chocolate shop.  Think Chocolat meets Paris.  Beautiful.  I didn't get a good photo of the interior, though - possibly because my brain was in pleasure overload.

While choosing some morsels for consumption with coffee, we were offered free samples (score!).  Best cappuccino ever - it came with a little pot of shaved chocolate on the side.  Which meant it ended with a hit of melted chocolate.  Bliss.  Couldn't resist buying some more to take away.

Despite this being my 3rd trip in 5 months, I was yet to experience a famous Melbourne laneway.  We went to Degraves Place for lunch in a cafe, which just happened to be opposite Kinki Gerlinki.  More shopping. 

We then headed over to South Bank and the National Gallery of Victoria.  Its cascade entrance was such a relief - it was 37C on the iPhone app at this stage.  We finally found the famous stained glass ceiling (we'd searched on a previous visit) - wow!  Then spent the next few hours wandering the gallery. 

Coffee at a place on South Bank, then we headed over to ACMI in time for Laurence Anyways - and even had time to watch a bit of the tennis on the big screen in Fed Square.  The movie was really interesting, and I keep thinking of new aspects and elements. 

Friday.  My last day - so I was a bit down all day.  Jeannie and I went to a nearby cafe, Porgie and Mr Jones, then stopped off at the local Vinnies (excellent idea!).  With Matt, we then headed over to Collingwood, to the People's Market (on Stanley St).  Not as market-y as I was anticipating - mostly food, with a couple of non-food containers.  I like the concept, but more tangibles and people required.  We then wandered down Smith St, and had lunch at the eco-friendly pub, Grumpy's.  Really good food - sustainable, local produce - with friendly service and did I mention sofas?  Cool sofas.  I wish I'd taken my camera with me to the bathroom - the walls were papered with old sewing patterns.  On the wall by the window (complete with window seat) was a sign reading 'If you sit here you are super cool' - so of course we had to have photos there. 

We also checked out the homewares stores and lost and found market.  The market reminded me of a certain Simpsons episode... 

And that was it.  I then had to head back, fit everything into my suitcase (success!), say final goodbyes, and get back to the airport.  Although quite cool in Melbourne, it was another record-breaker for much of the country.  Bush fires were numerous, and I've never flown over such a hazy country.  The photo doesn't really do it justice.

Melbourne Trip #3, Part 1

I know - it seems like the whole New Thing thing is involving many trips to the same city.  But what am I to do, when my bestie has moved???  With more than a weekend free, and a spare room in which to crash, I went from Tuesday to Friday.  Including checked luggage.

Tuesday: I was fairly dopey from lack of sleep (more than a week of heat-induced insomnia), but before I had a little snooze Jeannie asked which of these clothes I'd like.  After my little nap we went for a quick run around the neighbourhood (really nice area, near the river) and then we (Jeannie, her man Matt, and me) headed to Prahran.  Dinner at Yellow Bird, which was doing Mexican Tuesdays, and then we headed to Revolver for their Tuesday Night Trivia.  So. Much. Fun.  We came last... which was a bonus, as we won the dud prize - a much-coveted dream catcher. 

We admired the groovy, retro outfitting (sofas reminiscent of beach holidays in my childhood - ie, furniture from a couple of decades prior...) and fabulous light shades. 

Dessert cocktails - I had an affogato which included a shot of Kahlua as well as the requisite ice cream and coffee and extra coffee beans.  Total decadence.  Trivia was free, and friendly, and did I mention buckets of fun?  Starts 7:30pm every Tuesday so if you're in Melbourne on a Tuesday, do it.

Wednesday: The goal was to have breakfast then head into ACMI for a showing of Laurence Anyways.  Slight stove malfunction meant slightly higher stress levels, but Jeannie and I still made it in time.  Except Everguide has misled us and it wasn't showing until the afternoon.  So we went to the screen images exhibition.  Some very cool things (I won't put in any spoilers) - my favourite bit though was the snapshot of Australian accents.  A heap of clips from shows like Roy & HG, The Comedy Company, Summer Heights High, The Castle, and more.  Gold.

As I had a whole suitcase and 23kg, we then went shopping.  Bridge Rd, Richmond.  Matt met us part-way through, and we had lunch, more shopping, coffee... I didn't actually buy all that much, but it was really fun trying on clothes quite different from what Brisbane has on offer.  And finding all the stores which sell online with free shipping...

I then made my way (on my own!) to South Yarra, to meet a friend I know from Brisbane.  It's been a few years since I've seen her and it was lovely to catch up over a cup of tea.  Carolyn had just been sent a fabulous swimming cap:

Jeannie and Matt were off to the tennis Wednesday evening, so I wandered around South Yarra for a bit after seeing Carolyn, then caught a train to Richmond, wandered along Swan St in search of something tempting for dinner, then headed back home.  I was still in the 'whoa - daylight savings a long way from the equator' wonder - this photo was taken about 7:20 (slightly enhanced thanks to Instagram, but the sky was really that blue).

Although I was rather tired by this stage, I couldn't resist an evening walk.  It was 8:20 when I left and still quite light, and only just dark when I returned at about 9.

I actually took heaps of photos of plants, too, but I'll spare you the 'ooh that's not a tropical flower' pictures.  Apart from seeing my bestie, though, the greatest bit of this trip was actually sleeping.  Bliss.

Melbourne Pre-Race

Yesterday, I ran the Melbourne half marathon.  I flew down on Friday afternoon and did some more New Things in Melbourne.

Friday:  I met Jeannie at Flinders St station, where they now have storage facilities (until 9:45pm).  We had dinner at ... um... a pub nearby with a fancy restaurant bit attached, but I can't remember the name.  Although it was a Friday, I didn't have fish and chips but the Atlantic salmon salad instead.  Then we were going to go to a Melbourne Fringe Festival show in which a friend of mine was acting.  The venue was in South Melbourne.  We put it into Apple maps.  There was a station nearby, named North Melbourne Station.  We got there and discovered we were on the wrong side of Melbourne.  We went home.

Saturday:  Breakfast at Las Chicas on Chapel St.  Wow.  One of those super feel-good places, as organic and local and sustainable as possible.  I felt really bad for not being able to finish.  Admittedly, my breakfast included a whole crop of spinach...  Very friendly service, too - we were wished a great day by about 4 staff as we left.

Chapel St shopping.  Flying down and back with only carry-on meant I was not inclined to shop.  But some of those stores were so tempting!  I did try on a dress but I resisted buying anything.  Except undies from the Bonds outlet store but that was more a necessity than anything else.  We also passed (and then went in) San Churro's Chocolateria.  This was on my list of things to do. 

I had my first Spanish hot chocolate (like an Italian hot chocolate but not as thick) - I went Azteca, with added chilli.  I love chilli in my chocolate, have been doing hot chocolate that way for years, and at Easter I make a chilli chocolate cashew mousse, but this was the first Spanish hot chocolate with chilli.  So good!  I thought about buying chocolates.  I did not.  A new thing (for this year, anyway) - not taking photos of all meals and coffees while eating out.  I hope you appreciate the absence of 'oh look, another coffee photo' photos.

Tram to Lygon St - with the trees all decked out in their fresh new leaves, this was so pretty!  I didn't get a photo though.  We had a late lunch (still not all that hungry after the very filling breakfast) at Papa Gino's, then had a few hours before the next thing on my list, so we went to the movies.  Cinema Nova was showing Searching for Sugar Man within about 15 minutes, and it was described as 'heartwarming' so we went for that.  After the second sentence we turned to each other and said, "This isn't heartwarming" - but it turned out to be true.  A documentary rather than a movie, it was the tale of Rodriguez - an amazing story.  I won't be able to do it justice here, so find it and watch it!

The next thing on my list was to see the sunset at St Kilda.  After the movie, we were both pretty tired...and my legs were starting to feel it... and it was overcast and rainy... and I could see us getting home close to 9 after dinner... As the primary purpose of this visit was the half marathon, I decided to abort the sunset/penguins mission.  We walked along South Bank (the Melbourne version) and back to Flinders St.

Rice pasta for dinner - a new experience for me - I'm tempted to buy some as it was rather yummy.  Another new experience was feeling like I could fall asleep at 8pm daylight saving time.  I held out until about 9:30, but still!

The Melbourne Half Marathon

Today, I completed my 3rd official half marathon.  It had its ups and downs (literally). 

Negative:

When I signed up for this (dragging Jeannie along with me), I figured that Melbourne is flat, so this should be a fairly flat marathon.  Wrong.  Straight after the start line - rather significant rise for a bridge over the river.  Everyone was still in the "I'm going to smash this race" zone, and kept running.  Another longish (but, in my Brisbane opinion, fairly gentle) incline was met with groans by most around me, and several people started walking.  Nothing else was that horrible, until we got to near the end.  Horrible.  Quite a steep, extended rise into the MCG.  Most people started walking - understandably! - and because the path was narrower, it was more difficult to overtake.

Positive:

I didn't walk for any, except when hydrating.  There were times when a small part of me thought, maybe just a little bit of a walk... but the rest of me would then shout KEEP RUNNING!!!  Thank you brain.

Negative:

Having to think.  Part of the course was shared with the full marathon, so there were times when I only noticed there was a difference by chance, looking up and seeing a sign for half marathon go left, that sort of thing.  I'd much rather just run and look at the view.  The other thing about the course was the twisty nature of it.  I would look ahead, see the crowd veering right, move to the right side - only to discover it was veering right and then turning left.  A bit annoying.

Positive:

Seeing a new(ish) city a whole new way.  Running along the middle of major roads is always exciting; running along tram tracks - how novel!  Seeing, all in the one morning, a whole array of Melbourne landmarks is a great way to see Melbourne.

Negative:

Hydration organisation.  So, Melbourne, hydration is super important in long running events.  I had worked out beforehand which points I would use for water, and which for Powerade, and those I would just run right past.  The first 2 went to plan.  Then there was one (about 8km) that we were told, water on both sides.  I didn't need water, so I ran down the middle (such a good feeling).  I knew that I'd need water at the next one though.  The next one had no cups with fluid available.  I gritted my teeth and kept running.  The next one also had no cups with fluid available.  I nearly cried.  I could have stopped and waited; some people were picking up cups from the ground that had already been used and holding them out to be filled (really); neither of these were appealing options.  I actually had to tell my brain, Think Happy Thoughts.  Not good.  The next one, I sprinted past the people in front of me (I didn't want anyone getting water before me!) but there was such a bottleneck, volunteers holding out cups but that was forcing us to stop if we wanted anything. 

Positive:

Thankfully, the weather was gorgeous.  The last few days had been rather un-spring-like, quite cold and miserable and wintry.  Today was warm but not hot, clear skies, the sort of day that makes you happy to be alive and healthy and able to run a half marathon.

Negative:

Okay, most people probably didn't have this problem - once inside the MCG, there were 3 arches.  The middle (and largest) was for the full marathon; to the right was the 10km; to the left, half marathon.  So reminiscent were they of the finish line, I thought this was the finish.  Everyone else kept running, so I did too, all the time thinking "Why is everyone still running?  Surely we can stop now?" - until I saw the actual finish line. 

Positive:

Black swans!  In one of the lakeside areas, I saw one of those wildlife signs with a black swan - so I looked further afield, and saw a group of 3, long necks curving into the ground as they hunted for food.  Looking to the other side, another group of about 5 - keep going, and I must have seen about 30 of them all up.  Incredible.

Negative:

So many people.  9, 115 entrants in the half marathon, which is (from what I overheard) capacity.  However, if that's your upper limit, I feel you should be able to deal with that number.  The hydration problems, the narrowing paths, and the exit strategy all needed improvement to deal with that many people.  Getting off the field at the end was poorly organised, the post-race hydration was minimal and brusque (and so crowded), and there was a single escalator to get us all up to the warm clothes drop-off point.  Also, that many people meant we didn't spread out at all (well, not much) so there were no good points to speed up.

Positive:

So many people.  Yes.  I get the same kind of feeling from singing in a choir, or playing in an orchestra.  A situation in which there are many of you, and you might not interact with many, or even any, other people, but you are all engaging in the same activity.  This I find heartening.

Negative:

I feel my brain is getting used to the whole half marathon thing.  I was very excited, but in no way stressed about this.  I am hesitant to try for a full marathon just yet though!

Positive:

My flight home was the fittest ever.  I saw maybe a dozen people who had obviously run this morning, so no doubt there were quite a few more of us.

Negative:

Um, Melbourne - where were you?  I know it felt like most of Melbourne was running, but I know there are more people out there... I really missed the spectators and cheering squads along most of the route.  There were a couple of pockets of supporters, but there would not have been more than about 50 people for the whole route until we got close to the MCG.  This was disappointing.

Positive:

Recovery Food.  Oh yeah.  We had a quick breakfast at Grindhouse on Carlisle St (very yummy, great coffee, and mercifully quick service); and I had Indian for dinner.  I love recovery food.  And I'm looking forward to eating normally again!

Escape to Melbourne, Part 2

Yesterday's post was just the beginning.  I had another day to 'suck the life out of the weekend'.  To continue, then:

10.  After a hearty and super-healthy breakfast on Sunday, we drove to the Royal Botanic Gardens.  I had a very vague recollection of them from the school trip, but as the weather was stunning on Sunday (blue skies, a few light and fluffy clouds, warm) it was hard to tell.  I went a bit nuts taking photos of not-so-bare branches and black swans.

11.  We walked back along the Yarra - again, something previously seen yet unrecognisable.  There was some sort of regatta happening so the whole thing felt rather English, actually.

12.  Off to St Kilda.  So, Melbourne beaches aren't all bad in winter.  With the sun shining, trees starting to shoot out leaves, a light breeze, people out enjoying a Sunday, it can be rather lovely.  We had a bit of a wander down to the sea (actually, all of St Kilda had me thinking England - minus the beach huts, of course!) and had lunch at Beachcombers.

Half a lamb later, I walked to the entrance of Luna Park, back via the 'Public Conveniences' and along the famous pier.

13.  We headed back to the Farmers' Markets we'd seen on the way, in Albert Park (I think) on Fitzroy St.  I found the chocolate.  Organic, and made by the man in the stall, who kept feeding me samples.  Then I had to choose...  Thankfully there was a 5 for $10 special. 

14.  I just missed out on a coffee at the markets (which were a one-off, but part of the Regular Farmers Markets), so we went to Bar Sant'amore across the street.  I kept taking photos of the coffee and the placemat.

15.  And then I had to go home :(  I navigated to the airport, and was actually quite sad to be leaving.  So, I have begun to consider the previously inconceivable.  Last year, I know the consideration would be as far as it would go, but this year is much braver.  You never know.

One last photo - flying into Brisbane at dusk, with controlled (I hope) burning on the outskirts, made for a vivid orange horizon.

Escape to Melbourne

My first visit to Melbourne was a high school music tour.  In the middle of winter.  It was freezing, raining and hailing, and they took us to the beach.  Needless to say, I wasn't a huge fan of Melbourne after that.  My second visit was only as the start of the Great Ocean Road.  I noticed just how flat it is (I like hills).  It was January.  It was freezing, grey and raining.  This did not improve my opinion.  However, when my bestie moved there a couple of weeks ago, I wanted to go and visit.  This was the only wedding-free weekend before the end of this school term. 

1.  I was actually looking forward to going to Melbourne.  Partly to see Jeannie, partly to escape a nasty neighbour situation, partly to learn to at least like this city.  Post-landing required a coffee by the window.  I caught the Skybus from the airport, then bought an actual ticket and caught the train to Jeannie's nearest station.  Later, I bought a myki (like Brisbane's gocard).

2.  Although even the pilot admitted the weather was foul (11C, blustery and raining), it was great to get some wear out of my coat.  And warm cap.  Thankfully, Melbourne knows its weather is horrible and compensates with heating.  This is good.

3.  Dinner was at the Oxford Scholars' Pub, then coffee (this was I think my 5th for the day...) at the Marriott (reasonable).

4.  Bennetts Lane Jazz Club.  Fabulous.  There was no cover charge, and the evening's entertainment was in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Mabo land rights decision.  Not just the music was great, but the vibe, the service - and I noticed that we weren't at the older end of the age spectrum, there were people of all ages there.  The general vibe out and about in the city was so different from Brisbane, much less raucous. 

5.  Saturday morning.  Running.  In a new place.  With no fixed route.  Agh!  I had to remind my brain, this is a good thing.  We ran 12 km around the neighbourhood, nice long straight streets, a few gentle rises, a bit of bike path and oval.  It was lovely seeing the gardens - although not pretentious at all, just the difference between the plants in Melbourne and Brisbane was interesting.  We're both running the Melbourne half marathon, and now I'm really looking forward to it!

6.  A train and a tram and we arrived at the Ceres Organic Markets.  The actual markets were closing up, but they pointed us towards the cafe.  I could spend a whole Saturday there, easily.  90% organic, sourced as much as possible from the surrounding garden farm, recycling as much as possible - just imagine the greenest possible place.  We both had green eggs (no ham), I had my usual coffee and Jeannie had a dandelion latte.  A great place for kids, they were running around and climbing the hill and just generally mucking around.  Nice people, too.

7.  A couple more tram rides, including the city circle tram, to get to Federation Square and the National Gallery of Victoria.  We couldn't find the stained glass (next time!) but we did see the Felton collection (Aboriginal art - some of the red works were wonderfully intense) and the Joseph Brown collection, as well as a textile collection which was akin to ballet costumes, so vibrant and Australian.  In the Joseph Brown collection I finally saw many famous favourites, including The Shearing of the Rams and Lost, and some Grace Cossington-Smith paintings of the Sydney Harbour Bridge under construction. 

8.  Food was needed, and I found organic coffee bean yoghurt.  Yum.  We found the Chocolateria San Churro, a Spanish chocolate place and I didn't have anything.  Most likely, only because I had just had the yoghurt.  But still...

9.  We went to a production of Under Milk Wood.  In St David's Welsh Presbyterian Church (of course).  This was a Whistling Vicar Theatre production - still running until September 1st I think.  Both of us were a little anxious about having to listen to words so much, but there was enough acting to help us along.  Plus good singing.  Plus Welsh accents (yet no "but I am the only gay in the village"!).  And, as I was meant to have read this in high school (I admit it, I cheated), references by other family members previously went over my head but now I know what they're talking about.  I would have missed about a quarter of the dialogue still, but that's much better than I expected.

The weather was still quite overcast on Saturday, and the general landscape reminded me at various times of Sydney, Adelaide, and Canberra.  However, it is starting to grow on me.

Movie #5

The Bank.  A 2001 Australian film starring David Wenham and Anthony LaPaglia.  I'm a fan of both those actors.  Yet... This movie had been sitting in my "I really should see this" pile for many months (the middle of last year, in fact).  I'd often pick it up, look at the cover, and then think ".... ummmm.... not really in the mood for this now".  But, with all this business of watching different movies, I was right in the zone. 

This is such a clever movie.  Two tragedies, 24 years apart, are the basis for the two plots which tie in so neatly that the ending is so incredibly satisfying.  It is quite sad, but also quite funny - I had one of those 'wake up the neighbourhood' laughs at what I consider the best bit (the dad's revenge).  Having the good guys win, and the bad guys get their comeuppance - really, how good is that?! 

It was very interesting to see this now, as opposed to when it was released.  The main plot is all about predicting market crashes.  Although made in 2001, it's set it October 2002.  Anyone watching it these days would know that yes, there was a big market crash - in September 2001.  Aside from that, though, there are so many issues still in the news today.  Shareholders, accountability of businesses, small business versus the banks, trust, full disclosure, foreign markets, morals, principles, ethics, underdogs - it felt very Australian, yet rather global too.

Visually and aurally this is also well done.  The camera work is noticeably good.  The shots of the Yarra, the lights from the bridge... My favourite visual part was a shot from above.  David Wenham's character is trying to decide if he's a good guy or a corporate player, and leaves the bank to have a walk and a think.  It's Melbourne, so it's just been raining, the ground is wet.  We see him walking over these repetitive pavers, and the reflection of the bank in the water on the ground follows him.  Aurally, the music is very well done, at least for the most part (a little bit of cliche ruined a moment for me).  I wasn't surprised to see at the end several big Australian music names.  As well as several big acting names, of course.