A Day in the City

G'day mates! Today I ventured out in the city purely for fun for the first time since I've been here. The day got off to a bad start when the bus driver was really rude and sarcastic to me when I tried to buy a $10 bus ticket with a $20 bill. I don't think it would have killed him to be a little nicer, but ya never know. If he would have just nicely said "oh, i'm sorry, we can't take bills that large" he might have just keeled over and died right there on the spot. Who knew? Anyway, I arrive in the city shortly after 8 am. Nothing was really open yet so I just sauntered around getting my bearings around the city. I went to this little cafe to have breakfast and it was sorta yummy. (I've come to the conclusion that the food here just isn't quite as good as American food. Bummer). I sat outside and the breeze was nice.

Then I went over to Starbucks. Oh how my heart leapt with joy at the taste of my grande non-fat sugar-free vanilla latte! MMMMM..... I again sat outside and just watched people and birds (equally entertaining) and enjoyed the lovely totally-opposite-to-Houston-this-time-of-year weather. After enjoying my cup of joe, I browsed around a bookstore with lots of old and rare books. I bought 2 (of course) and I'll more than likely be back to buy more. They had a lot of obscure Australia history books that you probably wouldn't find in your local Barnes and Noble, so I decided to take advantage of the situation.

Next, on to souvenir shopping. I was really hoping to blend into the crowd and avoid the whole "touristy" look, but that totally went down the tubes when I started walking around with a Hard Rock Cafe bag and another bag with a big kangaroo on it that says "Australia the Gift." Eh. The constant picture-taking probably gave it away hours before anyway.
The next item on the agenda was lunch. I strolled over to the Southbank of the Yarra River and had fish and chips on a bench looking over the river. How totally stereotypical. Good times. Relaxing.

I spent the greater part of the afternoon in the Immigration Museum located in the old Customs Building built in 1850something. The front was undergoing a face lift, so I don't really know what the old Customs Building looks like on the outside. I, being the total history nerd I am, absolutely loved the museum.
Then, it was time for home. When the streets were too crowded to really walk, I decided it was probably time to skedaddle.

Things left to do in the city: Yarra River cruise, Melbourne Museum, Aquarium, Queen Victoria Market


Interesting Australia fact(s) of the day 1: Criminals were sent to Australia from the British Isles from 1788 til 1851. The gold rush of the 1850s brought another wave of immigration. Around this time, there was also a large number of people emigrating from China. In the late 19th, early 20th century, there was a major push by the British government to populate Australia. There were signs in London that said "Go to Australia! Perfect climate!" as well as offers for boys to move to Australia to work on the farms in exchange for huge compensation for their families back in Britain. Displaced Europeans moving to Australia after World War II brought the most recent major wave of immigration. In the mid-20th century, immigration laws were eased in order to allow more non-Europeans to enter.

Interesting Australia face of the day 2: Aussie kids do crazy things with their hair that I never before thought possible. I have never seen so many rat tails, spiky mullets, pink hair, and just pure crazy-colored bushes of hair on heads in my life.

Listening to: Pink Floyd