Tuesday, 9/16 - Melbourne

Day 7

My last day in Melbourne. I'd pretty much done all I could do in the city without spending a lot, so I mostly returned to areas I'd already been. Part of my mission for the day was to grab a gift for my hosts at the Queen Victoria Market. I'd planned on getting a bottle of organic wine and some gourmet jams for other people, but as luck would have it, those two stands weren't there anymore. This was the first of several things that would go wrong that day. I didn't have many other options for edible things to get them since they were all vegans. I found another wine stand and hoped it was vegan friendly.. Rebecca had mentioned before to my surprise that most beer was not, but I had no idea if wine could be non-vegan too.

After accomplishing that feat I went down to the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA) at the recommendation of one of Rebecca's friends. It was a big, angular building in the middle of an open lot.. kind of confusing at first trying to find the entrance. The inside was very modern looking with bathrooms just as confusing as the rest of the building and doors that blended with the wall. There were only a few exhibits - a video installation, some kind of light/glass sculpture, and a room painted with multi-colored stripes. I kept looking around corners and such trying to figure out if there were other rooms or hidden staircases, but that was it. No wonder it was free.

I'd already done everything I'd planned for the day, so I wound up going to the free Ian Potter Gallery at Federation Square. It was full of work exclusively by Australian artists, past and present. There was actually a lot of good stuff there, so I looked around til they closed at 5.

I went back to Rebecca's to pick up my bags and leave on the 7pm bus to Sydney. I'd planned on having enough time to go back, get my stuff, maybe eat something quick, and return to the bus terminal. But of all days and times, I accidentally got on the express train that ran several stops past mine. So by the time I got back I just grabbed everything and left, fortunately making it just in time for the bus. Since I had no time to eat my dinner on the go consisted of chips from the vending machine, a small cookie I got from the market earlier, a piece of plain white bread, and 2/3 of an apple I had to scarf down upon finding I wasn't allowed to bring on produce because of potential agricultural threats to certain regions we were passing through.

I spent part of the ride looking up things to do in Sydney in my guidebook. The driver put on a DVD of Unbreakable, so I watched most of that.
We had a stop in Albury after about 4 hours of driving so I was able to get a "second dinner", a mediocre bacon & egg sandwich and watery hot chocolate. The driver was talking to the cashier when I went in, and upon hearing my American accent, he was very friendly and offered me advice on places to go on my trip.

After that, attempting to sleep on the bus was tricky. I'd wake up every 20 minutes or so because of being either cold or uncomfortable. Sitting up, lying down, sitting stretched out - nothing really helped.

When we arrived in Sydney early the next morning the driver made good on his promise and offered plenty of tips. Apparently he was also an experienced diver and told me good places to learn, warned me of dangers like box jellyfish and stinging trees. I'd heard about the jellyfish, but the more he talked about diving and the more I thought about doing it realistically, the threat felt all the more real and it kind of started to freak me out. Between the jellyfish, stinging trees, poisonous snakes and spiders, crocs, and sharks, it's is a hostile environment.