A Kansan Down Under: Marvelous Melbourne

Kat and I returned to Brissy (pronounced “bri-zee”) at the end of June after a lovely week in Sydney. I had to finish just one more (grrrrr) paper (done now, grade not yet known) and we had quite a bit of laundry to do. Plus we had to figure out where we were off to next. We knew we were going to Melbourne (pronounced “mel-ben”), and we wanted to also go to Cairns (pronounced “cans”). Usually I’m the one in our duo who does the travel planning, but writing about globalization for weeks on end had muddled my globe trotting skills. So Kat and I found a lovely travel agent at the chain travel agency, Flight Centre, and booked our trip from Brisbane to Melbourne to Cairns, then back to Brisbane (pronounced “bris-ben”). (The idea of visiting a travel agent to book a flight, at least for me, is totally foreign. In the US, I book all my flights online to get the cheapest deals. If there’s an equivalent online in Australia, I have yet to find it. But, in the end, it’s ok, as I prefer to book my flights with a human, rather than a computer).

While in Melbourne, Kat and I stayed with our AUW friend, Varuni, and her husband, Sunny, and brother-in-law, Ash. They were wonderful hosts, feeding us excellent food, showing us the sights, and letting us bask in the warmth of a centrally heated home. Varuni helped outfit us to better endure the cold, rainy, and gray Melbourne weather when we did venture out. Like Kansas, if you don’t like the weather in Melbourne, wait a bit and it will change. Or, as they say, “four seasons in one day!” I think we saw the sun for a total of 15 minutes in 6 days.

Sunny, Varuni, Kat and Me enjoying a cuppa

Loving this latte

However, what Melbourne lacks by way of sunshine it more than makes up for in culture and coffee. I was blown away by the museums, wine bars, cafes, and food food food. We met up with our friend Monique, whom we met in 2003 while traveling in Spain and Portugal, and feasted on some delicious Chinese fare at Lau’s Family Kitchen. Afterwards, Monique and I enjoyed a concert by Alex Gao (from Oh Mercy) and Dan Sultan at the National Theatre. Dan Sultan’s looks and sounds left me in a lightheaded state. Granted, a lot of that may have had to with the fact that we were sitting near the top of the theatre, where the heat rises and the very large man sitting next to me smelling of cat worsened as the night wore on. Nonetheless, the pleasures of sight and sound far outweighed olfactory discomfort.

Reunited with Ms. Melbourne!

Fabulous Flinders Station

and Federation Square

Funky graffiti alley

Speaking of sights and sounds, Kat and I happened to be in Melbourne over the school holidays. This meant loads of screaming children being hauled around by their parents to free museums. So why Kat and I chose to visit the Melbourne Museum—the coolest museum of them all with no entry fee for children—during this time is a mystery. I suppose we should have thought it through a bit more: school holidays + free museum + dinosaurs + insects + lots of stuffed animals = re-thinking of having children. I’m starting to consider adopting—a koala.

Plenty of stuffed animals to terrify many a child at the Melbourne Museum

My future as a mother

We were able to swiftly recover from the trauma thanks to Varuni and Sunny whisking us away to the Dandenong Range. A ride through the beautiful scenery—and a strong cappuccino and the best flourless chocolate raspberry cake ever—renewed our spirits and sanity.