For background on this series of blogs, see this intro post.
Commentary
When you’re away from home for an extended time, it’s not uncommon to realize you are very thankful for certain things at home. This trip was no exception. This was a day that, by the end, made me very thankful for not having to rely on public transportation at home. The Melbourne public transportation system wasn’t bad, but it was just so much more of a pain, typically involved some waiting, and I always had to keep in mind I had to get purchases back to the dorms on public transportation. It was definitely nice to have it to get around while I was down there, but I was very thankful to get back home to my own vehicle.
The Journal Entry
(Actually written evening of March 15 about March 13.)
Saturday I got up at 7:30, ate breakfast, and got ready. I went down to catch the first shuttle bus to the shopping center. Monash runs a free shuttle back and forth from Brandon Park shopping center on Saturday mornings. While I was waiting for that I realized I had forgotten my list. So I had to run back up to my room and grab that. The stop is right by Farrer Hall so I didn’t have to go far. I made it back in time, but when the shuttle bus showed up, it filled up before I could get on. That was a bummer. I had to wait for the next one, which took about 10 minutes. When I got to the shopping center I found Coles and did my shopping. After that was finished I took the shuttle back to the halls. I put everything up and then went down to the bus loop. I saw the bus I wanted pulling away, and I had to wait for the next one, which took about 30 minutes. I had to wait for a while for a train once I got there as well. I believe it took between 1.5 and 2 hours to get to the city from the time I left my room. Once I was in the city I went to the Eureka tower. That was really awesome. It was a bummer though because the glare on the windows was really bad, so it was hard to get good pictures. While I was there I did The Edge, which is a glass cube thing you get in that goes out from the side of the building. That was pretty cool. I was up in the tower until about 2. After that I headed to Pancake Parlour at the Bourke St. Mall. It took me a while to find it, which was kind of annoying. I got the Farmer’s Breakfast, which was 2 pancakes, eggs, and hash browns. It was pretty good except for the hash browns. They were overcooked. Overall I wasn’t particularly impressed though. After that I went to the student welcome thing at Fed Square. I got there about 3 and left at about 3:40. I got to see a snake and a couple crocs on the stage. That was pretty cool. After that I went to see a production of Madagascar by the Melbourne Theater Co. at the arts center. It was a “mind twister” type of play where it all came together at the end, and I missed something because I was lost at the end, and pretty much through the entire play, which was a bummer. It probably would have been a lot better if it had made sense. Anyway, that finished at about 5:45 and I had to hurry and get to the IMAX by 6:30. I took a train from Flinders St. to Parliament and then walked to the IMAX. I made it there at about 6:20. That was good, because I was kind of worried about getting there on time. I watched the new Alice in Wonderland in 3D. It was pretty awesome. I was kind of skeptical about the movie, but it ended up being really good. That finished a little while after 8. I caught a tram to the corner of Russel. St. and Bourke St. and then went and had dinner at Taco Bills. It was really weird eating there by myself, but it was really good. I didn’t eat until 9. I got the Enchiladas Grande. After that I walked to Flinder St. Station. I just barely caught the train that was there. Then I came back and went to bed.
Brent Umphlett Photography Blog 