After Saturday's day trip, we were finally able to go explore the city of Melbourne (pronounced "Mel'-bun). Being that it was Easter Sunday, a few of us wanted to find a church to attend services, so we walked to St. Paul's Cathedral right off of Federation Square; the super-traditional Anglican service was a nice change in pace from what we've been used to attending here, not to mention being able to enjoy the *beautiful* interior.
After church, we hung out on the square to watch some comedy sketches done in conjunction with the International Comedy Festival, and then decided to wander around a bit. Autumn is setting in and it was a nice, crisp sunny day, perfect for wandering. We walked down to the Yarra River and followed it down toward the Melbourne Cricket Ground and the tennis courts where the Australian Open is held.
We found the Sunday markets and looked around for a bit then got ice cream and hung around a cute little park before meeting friends at the Eureka Tower to climb up to the skydeck on the 88th floor.
Monday was ANZAC Day (Australia New Zealand Army Corps), like Memorial Day in the US, and since the city was shut down for the parade, we watched for a while before wandering a bit more.
Because it was Easter Monday and ANZAC day at the same time, most everything was closed that day, so we just enjoyed seeing what there was to see. Melbourne definitely has a lot of interesting street art here and there and in all of the dark corners, making even the dodgy-est of alleys a bit less dodgy. We found our way to Lygon Street where we were told there are heaps of cute shops and cafes, and got lunch at a kebab joint and dessert at a reallyreally classy sweets shop. Here, I learned the hard way that a "short black" is not a short cup of black coffee, but an espresso shot. Oops. It was still super yum!
After church, we hung out on the square to watch some comedy sketches done in conjunction with the International Comedy Festival, and then decided to wander around a bit. Autumn is setting in and it was a nice, crisp sunny day, perfect for wandering. We walked down to the Yarra River and followed it down toward the Melbourne Cricket Ground and the tennis courts where the Australian Open is held.
We found the Sunday markets and looked around for a bit then got ice cream and hung around a cute little park before meeting friends at the Eureka Tower to climb up to the skydeck on the 88th floor.
We timed it so that we could get to the top at dusk and watch the night fall, which worked out great. The skydeck also offered "The Edge," where you can walk out on a clear floor that juts out over the city so that there is nothing but a sheet of glass between your feet and the ground 88 stories below. Preeeeeetty awesome.
Monday was ANZAC Day (Australia New Zealand Army Corps), like Memorial Day in the US, and since the city was shut down for the parade, we watched for a while before wandering a bit more.
Because it was Easter Monday and ANZAC day at the same time, most everything was closed that day, so we just enjoyed seeing what there was to see. Melbourne definitely has a lot of interesting street art here and there and in all of the dark corners, making even the dodgy-est of alleys a bit less dodgy. We found our way to Lygon Street where we were told there are heaps of cute shops and cafes, and got lunch at a kebab joint and dessert at a reallyreally classy sweets shop. Here, I learned the hard way that a "short black" is not a short cup of black coffee, but an espresso shot. Oops. It was still super yum!
Melbourne is a LOVELY city, and one long weekend was not at all long enough to do it justice. The city itself feels really relaxed and friendly, and everyone is very stylish... I felt under-dressed the entire time I was there. Almost every street has buildings with architecture that you would never see anywhere else-- the entire city is very artsy and interesting. On a return visit, I would like to hit up some of the museums and galleries, for sure. Because we had so little time, we did not stray too far away from our hostel- never going far enough to even have to use the trolley service, which is sort of sad.
Going back to Canberra, we decided to take an overnight bus leaving at 8 p.m. and arriving at 4 a.m.... probably not the best idea we ever had. It was heaps cheaper than flying, though, so we went for it. Of course, it was too early to fall asleep when we go on board, and then actually sleeping was a feat in itself. But after it was late enough for everyone to turn their reading lights off, it was nice to be able to look out the window at the stars as we drove through the empty bush. Even if getting zero sleep was a bit of a downer, there was something nice about being on a slow overnight bus after a packed trip, having plenty of time to process everything that I got to do and see, with the Southern Cross sitting there in the sky reminding me how cool it is to be in Australia.
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