Melbourne, November 11: Wandering

The wheels had fallen off and it was up to me to put them back on and enjoy our vacation even if I didn't feel like it. Or. so it felt while we were sitting in the hotel room at the depressing airport hotel. 

I turned to Don and said I am stumped. I don't have any ideas about how to spend the next four days. I knew we needed a hotel and a plan. I found a hotel while Don looked at things to do in Melbourne. 

Last year I booked a trip to Melbourne. We had a great time. Melbourne is one of my favorite cities in the world. 

It just wasn't Bali.

When we were at the War Memorial the day before our flight was cancelled (was it really only a day ago?), the docent who let me cry encouraged me to disconnect while in Bali. Just relax and enjoy. I had booked a nice room with a private pool for much less than any other hotel on the trip. I drooled over the pictures. I booked a private driver to take us sightseeing so we wouldn't have to use maps or worry about any of the details. I could keep my phone off for everything except taking pictures.

Instead, we were in a city and I was in charge of navigation, finding places to eat, figuring out when places were open, and the best order to do things. The opposite of relaxing

We checked out early and rather than taking them up on the offer of a ride to the airport, we booked a Didi to take us to an Urgent Care near the CBD. Didi offers rideshares like Uber, but often cheaper, frankly Didi is more fun to say than Uber. It is available in many Latin American, Asia Pacific, and other countries. It's downside is you can't schedule a pick up, say for a very early morning flight. 

Our driver took us to the Urgent Care. I walked in feeling more cranky than I have felt in a long time. I turned to the receptionist to pre-emptively apologize for my behavior. I said "I am cranky, and there is nothing you can do to change it. We are spending part of our vacation at Urgent Care, the election did not go the way I wanted it to, and I'm supposed to be in Bali right now. Melbourne is lovely, but it is not Bali." I also had not eaten breakfast yet.

She completely diffused the situation by saying perhaps the only words that would cheer me up at that moment: "This is free."

Free? Yes, free. Free even for Americans without travel insurance. As the place had only recently opened, it was also quiet and they took Don back quickly while I tried to figure out how to check into our hotel when I received an email from the place I booked the night before saying they had a problem with my reservation.

You know what else is free in Australia? Payphones. Yes, payphones are free. I walked around the neighborhood looking for a payphone to call the number provided. They said they did not have a one bedroom suite, all they had was a studio apartment. Hotels.com made a mistake and rented a room that was unavailable. They were booked up. Most of the city was booked up. The room was cheap ($100 AUD, $67 US). 

This is where I made one of our mistakes, I should have said I'll keep looking, but I was tired and I knew the pickings were slim, especially at that price. I just wanted to sit still. We did not need a lot of space. Just a quiet room. They told me to download an app in order to enter the hotel room.

Robyn called to check in on us. WhatsApp is an amazing game changer in the world of communications. It helped to hear the voice of a friend.

Don saw the doctor. A week ago, his thigh was swollen at the impact point. He was told it would take 4-6 weeks to heal. What they did not say, or he did not hear, was how bad it would look before it started to look better. The leg turned purple. First at the impact. Then the knee swelled up and turned purple. Then the calf swelled up and turned purple. Then the right foot swelled up and turned purple. Then the toes turned black. 

No, we did not take pictures.

It looked awful! The doctor wanted Don to get an ultrasound and an x-ray. She called around the corner and luck was on our side when they said they could see Don in ten minutes. We left our luggage at Urgent Care and hustled as fast as his leg would take us. As we waited for his emergency appointment, we heard others calling for appointments and being told they would have to wait until next week.

It was a holiday (Remembrance/Veteran's Day) and we have no insurance.

They took him back to a small room while I walked back to pay phone because the hotel had another question.

We walked back to Urgent Care. He was cleared to fly. He was only suffering from broken blood vessels, which would take a while to heal. Armed with doctor's notes, no airline questioned him when he hobbled on airplanes with his crutch. They just made sure they safely stored his crutch.

We booked another ride with Didi. As we waited a couple of minutes we heard someone playing taps or reverie and realized it was 11 am.  

We couldn't figure out how to get inside the hotel. It is more an residence than a hotel. They rent some rooms, but for the most part people live there. I stepped into the attached café and was introduced to someone from the hotel. He connected my room to the app and stayed with me until I could get into the room. Fortunately, we were able to check in early. I was drained. I needed a nap. I needed breakfast. I'm not sure in which order, but both were needed to recharge my internal batteries.

As soon as we saw where the room was located we realized why they never rent  it. There were people eating lunch at the café table next to our room, maybe two feet from our bed. They had no idea we were in the room next to them. The shutters and blinds gave us physical privacy. They were not even loud. They were just there talking.

We decided, if you can't beat them, join them. We bought lunch from the café and sat outside our window. Rather than buying tea, we made tea in our room and had breakfast. Food always helps. Sunshine helps. 

We gave up on rest and walked around Melbourne. 

Still mopey about not going to Bali (the logical side of me said I'd rather not be trapped in an airport, or breathing the volcanic ash, but logic only goes so far when you are tired). We took a tram to St. Kilda Beach. Last year we went from St. Kilda to Brighton Beach to see the bathing boxes, so this year we walked in the opposite direction. We noticed the pier where the penguins like to visit is still under construction. As it was still a holiday (yes, this day felt long), there were others enjoying the weather. Even though it was almost summer, it was not a beach day. The weather was pleasant, but not for swimming.

We walked up to Melbourne Beach and Port Phillips before taking another tram back towards our hotel. As our hotel was near Chinatown, we had Chinese food for dinner. The portions were so big we had leftovers the next night. One of the things I love about Melbourne is the wide variety of really good food. It is a Foodie's paradise. I noticed on this leg we returned to many of the places we ate at last year. Returning to a place we liked last year felt like comfort food. 

Dinner!

Chinatown

When we got back to our place, it was almost perfect. After the café closed, it was peaceful and quiet and though located a block from a major tram line, we never once heard the street noises. The people who live there keep quiet. The art deco style transformed me back in time. I wrote in my review, it is a great place to stay, but do not take the studio. It really was too small. The bathroom was almost as large as the main room, so we kept our bags in there.  

Don took on my challenge of making plans for the next few days and suggested we get out of the city and do a bus tour of the 12 Apostles. When he said that, I instantly remembered we talked about doing it last year, but felt it was too much running around and stayed in Melbourne instead. This year, it was just the right amount of running around. Driving on the Great Ocean Road was the much needed change of scenery.