“follow the course of the road, for awhile…”

we picked up the rental car in downtown melbourne and pl graciously offered to take the first shift of driving on the other side of the road. after about fifteen minutes of getting used to the car, she started it precariously. we had not even left the car park when she almost hit the left side of the parking garage. i would give her about three inches clearance from the passenger rear view mirror.
after our initial trip through the city, we made our way to our first destination: bridge street for some shopping. we managed to park and get some excellent discounts on a few shirts.
leaving bridge, i took the second leg of the drive. our navigation device, named either miss daisy or tart, depending on the time of the trip, directed us to the highway. it was smooth sailing from then on (mostly). difficulties: 1. hitting the windshield wipers instead of the turn signal, 2. driving too close to the left side of the road, and 3. cops, which pulled us over on the second day for speeding.
the great ocean drive was gorgeous, and we had blast under the time constraints. i would give the food a D-, as we had not only little to choose from, but the service was terrible. accommodations get a C+, which would have been better if it weren’t for the grody tea kettle and lack of included breakie. views get an A, and weather a B (it was hella-windy).

dichotomy of art

i have no knowledge of art. i like to look at things, i like to study things, but i have no real knowledge of the beauty of art. i have visited both the art gallery of new south wales and the museum of contemporary art so far here in sydney. they left me with two very distinct impressions.

agnsw - i have seen far, far better art than this.

mca - i am far, far below artistic intelligence to appreciate this.

although i had no gutteral reaction to the paintings, sculptures, and mixed pieces at the agnsw, i had nothing but gutteral reaction to everything at the mca. which makes me think it was much better. although i do not quite know how someone gets the idea to hang a taxidermied horse from the ceiling, it definitely made me feel something. sadness, sickness, something. the room with hammocks, jimi hendrix, and loud music. the wall of photographs of the history of communism in sydney. the room filled with metal poles, basket-weave snakes, and the smell of eucalyptus. all evoked a feeling within. and all the 19th-century landscapes from britain and australia combined could not do that.

off to melbourne, and the great ocean drive

we are headed to melbourne tomorrow. i shall once again board a plane, albeit no connections and only a two hour flight. pl and i are going with a friend of hers i have yet to meet. we will be attending a viewing of the musical Wicked, which comes highly recommended from both my mother (who has seen it twice) and my sister. i borrowed the book from pl and read it my first week here, it was pretty entertaining.
after the weekend in melbourne, we will rent a car and take the great ocean drive. i have one major fear about this trip, namely driving on the other side of the road. i am nervous, but in the back of my mind i feel i will be a natural. we will be sure to get the full insurance.
the great ocean drive should be highly romantic, which would be good if i was taking the trip with a handsome man. however, i will be taking the trip with my best friend, so i feel that hilarity will ensue for the most part. i am most looking forward to the sunset at the twelve apostles, which is supposed to be a fantastic sight.
when we get back, we will have less than a week before i leave, and with pl off of work, we will have plenty of time to do lots of sight-seeing together. i have specifically avoided the chinese gardens so we can go for tea, as well as even an up-close glimpse of the opera house. i hope i can convince her to go to the royal gardens again...

a day at the zoo

so, spent tuesday at the beautiful taronga zoo. i would put it above the san diego zoo (i know, most think it is the bestest ever, i am not in agreement) in terms of animal space but not variety of animals, and below the cleveland metroparks zoo in terms of animal space, but on par in variety. although there was no mr. bear ancestry, there was a tiger, which i have never seen at the zoo before.

the only thing i have to say about australian animals, you are not into me at all. the kangaroos wouldn't even blink from their mid-day naps. the platypus hid from me, even though i searched the waters for a full five minutes. and the dingo, i believe i saw him yawn.

side note on dingoes, they are basically dogs. i believe if i would have thrown a stick, the dingo would have chased it down and returned it to me, tail wagging. i have no idea how he could have eaten a baby. oh, poor meryl streep.

i did feel a bit silly walking around the zoo by myself all day, followed by schoolchildren in their matching outfits and mothers with their baby carriages (prams out here, of course). the occasional old couple walked by, giving me a sad, sad look that basically said, this poor girl, all alone at the zoo. as i posed with various bronze statues and attempted to take pictures of myself, i could feel the pity of others. a young couple with a child offered at one point to take a picture of me and a crocodile bronze, and afterward, i felt a bit foolish. "this is mostly for my nephew, he he," i laughed nervously. i believe they were rolling their eyes behind their sunglasses. oh well, i never have made a very good first impression.

inanimate objects as an art form

one of the things that i love, love, love in australia is the numerous amount of statues and fountains that i come around.

they are lovely works of art, honorariums to the past leaders and government officials of a country, welcome peices to visitors from afar, and, of course, photo opportunities.

here are a few for your amusement and enjoyment.

ciggies down under, part ii

grabbed a second pack of dunhills, they were the only available in the ciggie machine at the club (i know, a ciggie machine!).

benson and hedges (or, bitches and hoes, as i learned from an old friend) - ok, is this a cheat? i know they sell b&h in the us, but not in a 25-pack, rite? well, i think it counts, as i have never even tried before. not bad. ranking two out of three from the brands i have tried so far.

is it sad that i am already dreading my attempt at quitting when i get back to the states? i suppose i can always read past posts of ciggie glory on the blog. have to give it a go, tho.

spelling and pronunciation

curb = kerb. tire = tyre. debut pronounced as "de-boo." where oh where did the bifurcation occur?

i love noticing the small differences in the english language between two countries. arugula is known as rocket here, which i have decided is a much, much more fun name. a rutabaga is known as a swede, which i would never have known if it not for a dinner at a friend of pl's. i always thought a swede was shorthand for a person from sweden.

spent my first day at home, barely ventured out but to grab some groceries and pick up shoes from the cobbler. i spent the day tidying up, doing laundry, and marvelling over the tiny language differences in olympic coverage*.




*great job in the 4 x 100 relay, us men's swim team!

ciggies down under

first pack - peter jackson. i imagine they are named for the director for all he has done for tourism for filming in new zealand. got a 4mg pack, which i am assuming translates to ultra lights based on the taste. no better than marlboro, no worse than camel.

second pack - dunhill, blue pack. i have had on at least one occasion before, but much better than marbie lights, not as good as the glorious parliament lights.

more to come, including discount brands!

rain and pictures

well, the day started like any other rainy day, with procrastination. i woke up, headed to the store for a phone card and an orange, made a few calls to the fam to check in, and promptly watched the morning fluff news for an hour. after dressing, and changing my mind five times about what to do for the day, i decided to follow the original plan and head over to hyde park.

took the train, landed at martin place after one stop, and walked over to the park. as soon as i stepped across the street to the park, the rain that had cleared decided to return. and i forgot the umbrella that pl specifically showed me this morning. oh well, took a few pics of the glorious fountain, and decided to check out st. mary's cathedral.

after taking a few pics, started to walk outside as the mass began. simultaneously, the rain began to pour, so i decided to have a seat and listen to the ceremony.

after the mass, became a tourist and started with the pictures. too many of them. stopped and bought a tshirt to commemorate citysurf08, and got a free hat and bag! ran into a radio station, and got a free pair of armbands (sponsered by gatorade!) - can now check a gift for my brother off the list tee hee!

other things, lots of pics, quick and late indian lunch, head back.

abroad

after a long, long, long day and a half of travel, i have arrived in sydney with absolutely no jet lag and plenty to do. the bank holiday granted me with an extra day with dj po-po, and we spent it walking, lunching, perusing gorgeous parks, and mostly laughing. i heard my first australian fc, and it was worth the wait.

some things to note about the trip so far:
my most favorite thing to do has been to surprise my lovely friend by letting her know australian things exist in ohio, as well, including lamingtons (although we call them coconut cakes), gloria jeans coffee, and evergreens by the beach.
ciggies come in a 30-pack
"cheers" is the cordial thank-you
penguins do exist outside of icy regions
waiters, even on this continent, continue to just love me

in addition, i have ridden in almost all types of transport available to me thus far, including bus, shuttle, train, taxi, car, and ferry. i have not yet experienced the monorail, but the trip is young.

off to the beach, to find some postcards, lunch, coffee (another post on coffee, i promise).