What a day! Since we'll be heading to Perth tomorrow, I decided to spend the day in and around Melbourne's downtown area today. With my 'unique' gifted sense of direction, I knew I would probably be doing a good amount of walking (and retracing) so, I layered up the best I could and headed out on my own.
(Kimch - I totally should've packed that down coat. My ass is freezing here!)
In roaming the city all day, I've made some interesting observations about Melbourne and the Melbournese:
- The city is so well organized and pleasant! No garbage on the street, no one bumping into you on the sidewalk, no offensive graffiti on the walls, it's like... Asia... But with lots of white people...
- No one speeds or honks. Literally the only time I heard someone honk all day was when I wasn't paying attention and almost crossed the street before the walkway sign said, "Walk".
- No one jaywalks. Ever. Doesn't matter that there are no cars whatsoever in sight. No one jaywalks, and that's that. (I had to beat that urge out of my NY self today).
- There is no dried up gum on the sidewalk. None. How they do it, no idea... But whatever they're doing, they should share their secrets with the NY sanitation dept.
- The toilet water flushes ... down. Sorry to disappoint, but I have yet to find a toilet that flushes anti-clockwise. I'm sorry, but their toilets just flush differently. There's no swirling ... Just goes ... Down. Haha. Whoever convinced the world of the whole Aussie toilet flushing thing was lying. At least as far as James and I are concerned. I'll be sure to let you know if it's any different in Perth.
I realize that my early observations are primarily focused on hygiene and public etiquette. Haha. But, I guess coming from NYC that's initially the most apparent difference.
Anyway, enough blabbing... Here are some pictures of today's highlights.
Flinders Street Station near Federation Square
Local bike shares! Like ZipCar... But bicycles. Would never work in NYC, but in a country where there's respect for public property, works great!
Lunch with James at Ramen Yu
Touristy trinkets at Queen Victoria Market
Carlton Gardens
Melbourne Museum
I walked over to the Parliament, but there wasn't much to see or snap. Imagine a big old ornate stately building with big columns and lots of steps. That about sums it up.
Dinner at Movida Next Door with James and Arlene
When we got home, I was so tired I was practically falling asleep while packing for our weekend Perth trip. BTW, there's no liquid limit fuss or taking off the shoes nonsense here. It was like boarding an Amtrak train. So painlessly easy. They don't even check your ID! Don't worry America, maybe one day we can be like this (again) too... ;)
Alright, see you in Perth!
Location:Melbourne, Australia
