Sydney to Melbourne

Well Sydney finished up well, but relatively anti-climatic. Sydney is a beautiful city with plenty to offer, but I got a fair bit of bad weather and many things in Sydney were cost prohibitive ($160 to do the harbour bridge tour).

I went to the local play which was creative? (don't say anything if you can't say something nice) Yet, my mood was biased after getting absolutely soaked by the rain on the way there. Came back to the hostel had a drink with my Irish roommate and decided it was time to bounce out of Sydney and out of this filing cabinet for 20 year olds on their first holiday away from their parents. So packed up and went to bed by midnight to be ready for 10 am check out, nonetheless my 20 year old roommates (fit into the aforementioned category) came in at 3 yapping away, turning the lights on, brought friends, and then asked "did we wake you up?" (for full effect imagine the girls being honestly surprised and their blonde hair bobbing to one side as the cock their heads to punctuate the question). Left a bit tired at 9 for Manly Beach.

Manly was cool, yet it rained continually until late afternoon. At this point I grabbed my camera and had my mood brightened well beyond the gray skies when I was able to shoot pro surfers tearing it up on a 12 foot point break. Movie & pizza, then off to bed.

The next day it was beautiful and I headed back into Sydney and got some required tourists shots of the Opera House. Then later on caught back up with Laura from Austin. It's interesting and not a negative comment of Laura, but I felt more at home with people I met in Fremantle than I did with my pal from Austin. Just goes to show you that time in a place has nothing to do with how connected you are to it.

Had a blast, drank a lot of wine, laughed a lot & then walked less than straight back to the ferry to Manly. To pass the time I got it into my head to call my father at home... where it was 5:00 am. He was more than gracious even given my lack of articulated sentences. (maybe 5 am vs. 5 glasses of wine put both people on about the same level of mental sharpness?)

One more day of hanging around Manley, got a little rollerblading in just before the clouds hit. Packed up at the hostel and told Laura I'd stop by later as my flight wasn't until midnight. Laying around I decided to check my email instead of my calendar and found out my flight was at 9:15. Kicked it into gear: ferry to Sydney, quick bite with Laura (can't miss that), cab to the airport and arrived with a whopping 12 minutes to spare: what was my rush?

Landed in Melbourne with absolutely no plan, as I'm realizing is my style of late. On the ground I figured out how to get to St. Kilda (the beach community outside Melbourne) via a bus, a walk, and a tram. Once on the tram I found an Icelandic girl to chat with you was nice enough to inform me that "this is your stop" and then walk me to the hostel. Stayed one night in the "Coffee Planet" hostel which if you were in a decade long haze from smoking marijuana - you would be perfectly comfortable. But just a bed for about 7 hours.

In the morning I got to the Base Hostel which is fantastic. A beautiful modern, "upscale" hostel. Still paying $30/night, but there is a 1 foot deep aquarium running the length of the lobby floor right beneath your feet. (And we have an ensuite bathroom! Yippee! Complete with rain shower head and all). Thank you Rochelle for the recommendation.

St. Kilda is fantastic. I feel like I could live here after spending only one day. 20 foot wide sidewalks covered with cafes that server breakfast untill 4 PM. A pervasive counter culture Austin style. Art, music, and right on the beach - I have nothing more I could want. There is an international Comedy Festival in Melbourne and I'll be off to laugh tonight after a day of jogging the seafront, tea on the sidewalk, and laying on the beach.

How will I ever go back to work?


Not taking too many photos, but I'm about 3 weeks behind getting them up. Just slow going - there are acutally on their way.