It was Easter weekend last weekend, so we decided to hop on a plane to Melbourne! It's a major city on the southern tip of Australia, so close to Antarctica that you can see penguins on Phillip Island.
I think I've flown on more planes in the last 3 months than I have in my entire life. I still don't enjoy flying, and I still hold my breath and grip the seat until my knuckles are white everytime the plane takes off, but it's getting better.
We landed and the city was nowhere to be found. We hopped on a packed bus and zoomed to the city with a really friendly bus driver who kept us in good spirits. It's fall there so it was really chilly. We stayed in a hostel in the city for two nights, and it was the WORST hostel I have ever experienced. Angela and I stayed in a room with 4 European girls who were fine, but everyone else in the hostel was insane. I slept for maybe an hour the first night because people were screaming and yelling and breaking bottles and turning on the light etc.
Friday night we had really nice dinner along the waterfront. I had pasta with amazing white wine sauce and me and Abby downed a bottle of red. After that we walked to the casino, which is like Conrad Jupiter's here but ten times bigger. We had a few drinks and ended up watching a Celtics game on the big screen. There weren't as many people there as I thought there would be, but we had a good time.
The next day we went to the Queen Victoria markets and I bought souvenirs for my entire family. I got my brother a boomerang, I got my Mom a wine holder with Aborigine designs, and I got Tim an Outback hat. I got Joe a didgereedoo as requested. We walked around all day checking out the day, it was a lot of fun.
That night we went to an Australian Rules Football game, Melbourne vs. Sydney. AFL is like American football mashed together with rugby and every other sport you can think of. The Aussies go mad for it. I wish I understood the game a bit better because I found myself zoning out during some of the plays. It was a close game towards the end but Melbourne ended up winning. They don't play any music during the game and have no announcers, which I found weird. Maybe Americans are just used to being stimulated constantly.
Then we found a bar down a random alleyway that led up to the roof of the building. We had a drink but we were exhausted so we went back. Angela shadily left the hostel to go hang out with some guy by herself, and we all got a little upset that she would put herself in that situation, but thankfully she returned at 5 AM in one piece.
Sunday was Easter. We rented two cars and drove down The Great Ocean Road. It was the most amazing experience. I drove, which was huge because I hate driving in the USA, let alone on the other side of the road in Australia around huge cliffs. We zoomed along by beautiful beaches and through the rainforest. Six hours later we arrived at the hostel, and got caught in a violent hailstorm. It was really scary, we had to pull over and sit there for 20 minutes before we made the dash to the hostel, and then we had to sit there in our wet clothes because none of us could go to get our luggage. I had a seafood pizza for dinner, which was...interesting.
It ended up raining for the entire night so we watched a hilarious Australian movie called "Kenny" and tried to call it a night. This new hostel seemed like it was going to be much better than the previous one, but it was 9,000 degrees and mosquitoes were everywhere, feasting on our skin. Lovely.
I hadn't slept a wink when at 1 AM Angela jumped out of bed and ran out of the room. I was confused. She continued running in and out of the room, making a lot of noise and I started getting really annoyed. Out of nowhere she woke up Ilana and asked her if she had anti-itch cream. Ilana gave her attitude and said no. Then she woke up Abby and said, "I'm going to the Emergency Room."
Now we were all confused. Apparently she had been bit by something and now was breaking out in hives all over her body. Her tongue was swollen and she was freaking out. Abby, the saint she is, jumped out of bed and drove her to the hospital. We were in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night. She is too good.
They got back at 5 AM, we had breakfast at 6 and drove the The Twelve Apostles at 7. The Twelve Apostles are these humongous rock formations that just out of the ocean. It's a sacred site to the Aborigines. It was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. The sunrise was gorgeous, and I'm so happy I got to be there.
We had to drop the cars off at 11:30 and we flew back home to the Gold Coast. I liked Melbourne because it was a city that was a lot more similar to Boston, so I felt kind of at home with the cold weather and the T.
Exams start next week, eek!
