We've been averaging 25,000 steps each day. In flat cities like Melbourne and Christchurch that is quite doable. One day in Wellington our 30,000 step day also registered 95 flights of stairs -- those weren't stairs, they were hills (or volcanos).
On our first day of our trip (over two weeks and four cities ago now) Don caught a cold. He is still coughing up gunk and blowing his nose. Yes, a forced rest is a good thing sometimes.
In the US they don't seem to care how much your carryon bag weighs, as long as it fits in the overhead bin. Here the carriers insist the bags weigh less than 7 kg (15 pounds). Had we realized this, we might not have tried traveling with carry-ons only (COO), or when I bought a new suitcase, may have bought a larger one. The empty suitcase weighs at least 2 kg. By some miracle, my ticket included a checked bag, but Don's didn't. We crammed the heavy stuff into my bag, which then weighed 12 kg and is bursting at its new seams.
I realize you are not reading this blog to hear about our travel woes. Or to learn that my glasses were mailed today to Australia after being found twelve hours after we left NZ pretty much where I thought I lost it. (The glasses were mailed this morning.)
Thoughts on Melbourne.
My first impression of Melbourne was akin to if I just left Omaha, NE and was dropped in Times Square during the Christmas season. So many people! The buildings are ginormous!!! (There has been a massive building boom over the past 20-30 years.) I thought, I'll never figure out this city.
By the time we left five days later, we knew our way around by walking and by mass transit and even discovered a favorite grocery store (Aldi's are located in Australia, bigger than at home, but still great) and a favorite restaurant (Max's on Hardware). Favorite restaurant might be a stretch as Melbourne has a lot of different food options, repeat is more of an accurate term.
Our AirBNB was great -- located off Queen Street near the market, and blocks away from a massive LEGO store. The doorman gave us great advice on where to eat and where we should travel next (Morocco, where he is from; Turkey, where the other doorman is from). With the windows closed we barely heard the noise outside, though each day at 5:30 we were roused as garbage trucks went through, and the busses started up for the day.
The highlight was seeing a friend we used to worship with. As is fitting, we worshiped at her new church and caught up over lunch.
Yesterday we rode the oldest continuously running roller coaster at Luna Park -- a bonus we hadn't expected. We also walked on the beach at St Kilda and saw the bathing boxes at Brighton Beach. In-between we enjoyed the small towns of Elwood and something else that began with an E.
Another day we went on an all-day bus trip to Phillip Island and Moonlight Sanctuary. Pet a koala and handfed a pregnant kangaroo (the joey's legs were sticking out -- kangaroos are pregnant for 11 months, during which time the joy will pop in and out until ready to live on its own), and saw the Little Penguins come in for the night. It was a long enough day we cancelled a different bus tour opting for the self-guided beach outing instead.
Another highlight was the self-guided tour of the library. Take my word for it. I felt as if I made it to Library Mecca. The tour was written by the people who do Free Melbourne Walking tours. We went on their two tours learning a lot about Melbourne and the history of Australia.
When we first got to Melbourne (after dropping everything off in our room) we did a self-guided Street Art Tour that was spot-on. I'll share the link after I get home.
As with all of these quick updates, check back again in October to see the stories fleshed out with links and pictures. These posts are just meant to be teasers when I have a little down time.
Tomorrow we snorkel around the Great Barrier Reef -- a wish list item of Don's. May we have a smooth sailing. I was talking to someone who had a rough sailing last week and wouldn't wish that on anyone.
The next day we'll be in Brisbane visiting Andrew and Jo. Andrew and I met as Rotary Exchange Students in the 1980s and have stayed in touch. This will mark the third country where we have connected. The only friend I have been to more countries with is Marlene at 4 (France, Belgium, USA, and Canada). Had we connected in Niagara Falls, NY as well as Niagara Falls, Canada, Andrew would be matching Marlene.
Time to board again.
Ciao!
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