Man, it's cold here. Have I whinged enough about that yet? Because it sucks to try and see a city when the drizzle is coating your Australia beanie, making the rest of you feel cold and wet. I toughed it out though, setting out for another day - my last full day in Australia.
I had trouble sleeping, but made it out of bed and onto a tram at around 10 AM. Again, there was nothing planned for today, something that has proved to be alright by me. My first move was towards the Queen Victoria Market, a large open air area near the outskirts of the CBD. It was underwhelming at best, essentially Melbourne's version of Paddy's Market. Not a big deal, and I passed through. I stopped at a random cafe, read the paper, had a coffee, and didn't even think where to go. I wandered down Elizabeth St, but had the urge to see another part of the town, so I walked up a different street. I was lacking in ideas - but I also had my camera. So I headed towards the MCG (exaggerated towards) and snapped a distant photo that you see up there. Federation Square caught my eye, so I made my way to the Information place to grab any kind of inspiration. There was a part of me that wanted to check out the Great Ocean Road, but the combination of the weather and the outside chance of catching my friend Katja, I wanted to stick around. Plus, who doesn't love a good rain?
After stopping at information, I headed across the Yarra, snapped a few photos, and surprise, surprise, made my way towards the Casino. At this point, I was cold, the rain was picking up (from a mist to a light drizzle), and I needed warmth. I also made the decision to actually go inside the Casino. I managed to track down a cloak room, dropped off my backpack, and wandered around the huge place. It was ridiculous - so many card tables, slot machines, and other rif raff that I find unnecessary. And pointless. A good way to waste some money, in my opinion. I've never gambled at a casino, but poker at Joe's has been enough to ward me off for awhile.
Once I was fed up with the Casino, I made my way up towards Flinders St. I stumbled upon the Melbourne 360 building. Seeing as that I always tend to go up tall buildings (Auckland, Sydney, Taiwan), I decided to make it a trend, and took in a quick view of the city from high up. An example below:
Where to next? At some point I decided that I wanted to catch the free tram that took you around city circle. Found that after a short search, and cruised the city for about 20 minutes, listening to the bits bits of history a taped voice brought over the tram's airwaves. Finding myself hungry, I jumped off for a quick bit, which was a gross chicken burger. Managing to resist the desire to have another coffee, I walked down some other random road, caught another tram out towards a place called Royal Park. The sun was finally out, giving a bit of warmth to the day, but still gross. There was nothing but a set of public toilets and a tennis court in this park. I was close to my hostel and toyed with the idea of turning in early, but I resisted and carried on, hopping on another tram towards the city. I jumped off, walked around for a bit longer, but then the rain started again, I realized that I was quite sick of Melbourne, and I then found the tram that took me to my hostel where I now sit. I had the goal of trying to get things squared away for the trip, which I have managed to do. From here, not sure how often I can post. Will try to lots. Hope everyone is doing well, where ever they are and whatever they are doing.
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