New Zealand and Australia 2016

Spoiler alert : This is going to be a long post!

Alright so given my change of plans here I only really had today to do rhe whole city of Melbourne. This proved to be a task and a half but I think I did a pretty great job of covering a good chunk!

I started the day with a 1030 walking tour of the city. I quickly made friends with an English man from Yorks hire. As we chatted it became clear we were quite similar in many ways. Neither of us were huge alcohol drinkers, or coffee for that matter. We were both rather business oriented and enjoyed psychology and the way our minds work. I ended up spending almost the whole day with him.

The tour was pretty good. The tour guide definitely seemed to know his stuff. He taught me about hook turns which is in Canada would be the equivalent of having to go into the far right lane and then making a left turn around the tram and the rest of traffic. It's pretty weird and it's apparently unique to Melbourne.

We took a walk through the old melbourne jail. Apparently there was this Robin Hood type character back in the day named Ned Kelly who was for lack of better words a "shit disturber." He caused a lot of trouble for the police but often found a way to turn his bad deeds into favourable deeds for the general public 😊 Seemed like quite an interesting historical character.

On the tour at one point there was this busker on the street and an old asian man (probably in his sixties) who was watching him. At one point the busker said something like "show me whatcha got" and without missing a beat the man stood up and lifting one leg in the air while clapping underneath the lifted leg. The old man's smiled as if to say something like "Yeah I still got it!" This event totally made my day.

Once again we found some cool street art in a few alleys and again I have a picture of my favourites 😊

The tour ended around one and Harry wasn't too busy so we stuck together for the afternoon. I learned that he was travelling with his girlfriend who was currently at work and how he had already done China and Thailand before coming here. He and his gf had worked a few weeks to make some money before buying a van. This weekend they were heading out on their new adventure of seeing Australia in their van. Sounded like a hell of a good time!

After the tour I showed him state of grace and the magical bookshelf from the night before. He was so taken back, I was glad to not be the only one. The bar was actually closed to we left quickly after that.

Next we went to ANZ tower to try and have a drink on top of the city. Unfortunately by the time we got there we learned that the bar didn't open until five. Insistent, we rode the elevator to one of the top floors anyways. We got out and there were glass doors on either side with two different companies working on the 40th floor. We couldn't go inside but the view was still quite amazing (and free!).

I was pretty keen to see Victoria market so we headed there next. There was all kinds of cool stuff but I got hungry so we decided to find somewhere to eat. We found this place called Fancy Hanks BBQ Joint. Unfortunately they were all out of ribs so I settled for wings and he had a brisket sandwich. Both were incredible and we were beyond impressed! Afterwards we got these nice dessert squares from the market and he agreed that dessert was better than beer (which not many people would agree to).

Our last stop together was the library. It was massive and had all kind of free exhibits but the one were interested in was Ned Kellys. There was an exhibit of the suit of bullet proof armor he had created for him and his gang. Given how old it was, it was beyond impressive. Unfortunately for those who know his story, he was still hanged to death at a young age after he was convicted of his crimes.

After the library Harry and I went separate ways. It was really nice to have a day out with a new face with such similar interests. Hopefully Harry will come to Canada sometime so I can show him around (even if I have to meet him outside of Saskatchewan haha).

I had one more activity left for the day and since it was still beautiful weather I decided to follow through. I headed back down to the hostel to regroup before setting out to St Kilda Pier.

The tram ride was about half an hour. On the way, there was this adorable little boy like maybe three or four with his mother and grandmother riding the tram. He had the most amazing smile and energy to him. I loved it. At one point he made eye contact with me and he was like "hello!" And he kept waving and smiling at me and I could tell I had my truest smile shining through at him. I was so sincerely happy to share that moment with him.

Once I arrived at St Kilda pier it was about dusk. The sun had already began to the sink into the horizon. As I walked down the pier there was a very serene feel to the night. Although there were plenty of people on the pier it felt quite and relaxed. At the end of the pier is a rock formation and in the formation guess what hides inside at dusk and at night? Yes, you guessed right.... PENGUINS!!! So yeah got to see all these cool little guys hanging out in the rocks just chilling having a good time.

After I saw the Penguins I went onto this little rock formation type thing that stretched into the waterfront. I went to the very end and then parked myself there for a little while. The crashing of the waves on the rocks and the melbourne skyline combined with all the boats in the harbour in my vision was such a sweet harmony of senses.

After I got back to the city centre. I was taken back by one busker. He was playing Ed Sheeran who I'm a very big fan of. I sat and listened to him for probably five or six songs. He had really cool style. He had a tattoo of pikachu dressed as link which was so cool. He also had two different boots on which was unique.

Then I continued down the street where I legit found a guy in a full horse costume playing bass. He was so funny and so into it. I'm sure he was pretty baked but you obviously couldn't be certain because of his costume.

Finally I found a busker named Josh Romig. He was absolutely phenomenal. Probably the best busker I've ever sat and watched. He did artists like Ray Charles, to Drake, to Ed Sheeran, to the Beetles. He had such an incredible range. I even got a photo with him after his set.

Luckily there was a cheap little restaurant right where he was playing so I ordered a meal and watched from the patio. So I ordered a lamb shank and enjoyed the music. I started a small conversation with the older couple sitting next to me and within like two minutes the man offered to buy me a beer so obviously I accepted. They were retired business owners just having a nice night out. For an older couple they certainly still looked very in love and that made my heart smile 😊

And that was my day! Best day in Australia so far!

-Terrence outMeer informatie