The Power of Quadblock...
Thank goodness for the tube of quadblock (Aussie uber sunscreen) in my backpack or my arms would have been burnt to a crisp. I've become very faithful about smearing my face in a thick coat of sunscreen since getting reddish at Bondi Beach, but my arms got forgotten. Cue the hurried application at the Botanical Gardens which seems to have done the job.
Melbourne is quite a different city from Sydney, but I love it for all of its unique charms. The 12 train ride from Sydney was in parts depressing and fascinating. I was fortunate enough to sit beside a woman who lived up near the mountains on the border of Victoria and New South Wales, and she was a font of information about the area and it's various features/animals/history. Unfortunately, right now much of the area is in the middle of a dire drought, the landscape looking painfully dry. They've not had a decent amount of rain in four years, so the irrigated fields are about the only flashes of green in a desolate landscape. I always thought Scottish sheep were pretty hardy, but the diet these sheep seemed to be living on would make the Highlands look like the tropics.
Yet, despite the pervase dryness, it's amazing how diverse the landscape is between the two cities. Towards Melbourne it becomes much more forested and flat, whilst the New South Wales parts are hilly, rocky and lightly sprinkled with gum trees. Not much native wildlife visible, but I spotted a few roos hopping about.
The train is hardly the fastest mode of transportation, but well kept and pleasant. Students get about 50% off of tickets, so I 'splurged' for first class which is a bit nicer than regular seats back in the UK. In comparison to UK trains, I think the seats are a bit comfier with more space, and the aisles are definately wider.
In general, the service harkens back to a more relaxed, genteel time. The train ambles along at a respectable pace, stopping at lots of little towns. Unlike the UK, they've tenderly taken care of the old railroad stations, so in most towns you are treated to the site of genuine Victorian era stations, the detailed metalwork freshly painted in a panopoy of bright colors, planters full of cheery flowers. And for tea, breakfast, lunch and dinner, you get to reserve your choice of hot meal, then proceed later on down to the dining car to pick up the food & pay. At 4GBP for a hot dinner, it's a pretty good deal. Munchies are available the whole time.
Today I introduced myself to Melbourne. The sun was blazing, making me reget having worn jeans. Twas definately a shorts n' sandals kind of sun beating down on you day. It was shopping first, as one of the local guides mentioned a great little CD store in one of the shopping arcades. It turned out to be easy to miss - just a single door leading down to the stoor - and a wonderful place to find music. It has that Aussie relaxed feel, and the staff will happily play any disc on their special system which leads to individual headphones. Essentially, it means that you can preview just about any disc before laying down the cash. I splurged on two albums byMelbourne area bands.
Melbourne has great public transportation as it's crisscrossed by trains, trams and buses. For about 30 GBP, I could buy a week long all access pass for all three forms of transportation. Anyone who poo-poos the idea of trams in Edinburgh should come here - they're efficient, quiet and practical. Here you either validate your ticket on the tram or buy a new one from the on board machine so there's no queue-up trying to get in the door. Same goes for the trains, though I'm not sure about the buses.
My grand debut on the tram was a quick trip up to the Botanical Gardens. The Gardens are actually surrounded by other parkland, so it's a huge expanse of green, and pretty darn gorgeous under the clear blue skies. After meandering around myself, I took the free tour. Which further made it clear that you can escape Scotland, but not the Scots. Of the five people, there was me, a woman originally from Ayshire and her English husband who she'd met in Edinburgh and a Singaporean woman who'd done her business degree at Strathclyde in Glasgow. Itty bitty world it is out there. I enjoyed getting to know the highlights of the garden and getting to ask about the many plants and birds.
Apologies for the lack of pics, but I've not had internet access where it's feasible to upload many images.
Thank goodness for the tube of quadblock (Aussie uber sunscreen) in my backpack or my arms would have been burnt to a crisp. I've become very faithful about smearing my face in a thick coat of sunscreen since getting reddish at Bondi Beach, but my arms got forgotten. Cue the hurried application at the Botanical Gardens which seems to have done the job.
Melbourne is quite a different city from Sydney, but I love it for all of its unique charms. The 12 train ride from Sydney was in parts depressing and fascinating. I was fortunate enough to sit beside a woman who lived up near the mountains on the border of Victoria and New South Wales, and she was a font of information about the area and it's various features/animals/history. Unfortunately, right now much of the area is in the middle of a dire drought, the landscape looking painfully dry. They've not had a decent amount of rain in four years, so the irrigated fields are about the only flashes of green in a desolate landscape. I always thought Scottish sheep were pretty hardy, but the diet these sheep seemed to be living on would make the Highlands look like the tropics.
Yet, despite the pervase dryness, it's amazing how diverse the landscape is between the two cities. Towards Melbourne it becomes much more forested and flat, whilst the New South Wales parts are hilly, rocky and lightly sprinkled with gum trees. Not much native wildlife visible, but I spotted a few roos hopping about.
The train is hardly the fastest mode of transportation, but well kept and pleasant. Students get about 50% off of tickets, so I 'splurged' for first class which is a bit nicer than regular seats back in the UK. In comparison to UK trains, I think the seats are a bit comfier with more space, and the aisles are definately wider.
In general, the service harkens back to a more relaxed, genteel time. The train ambles along at a respectable pace, stopping at lots of little towns. Unlike the UK, they've tenderly taken care of the old railroad stations, so in most towns you are treated to the site of genuine Victorian era stations, the detailed metalwork freshly painted in a panopoy of bright colors, planters full of cheery flowers. And for tea, breakfast, lunch and dinner, you get to reserve your choice of hot meal, then proceed later on down to the dining car to pick up the food & pay. At 4GBP for a hot dinner, it's a pretty good deal. Munchies are available the whole time.
Today I introduced myself to Melbourne. The sun was blazing, making me reget having worn jeans. Twas definately a shorts n' sandals kind of sun beating down on you day. It was shopping first, as one of the local guides mentioned a great little CD store in one of the shopping arcades. It turned out to be easy to miss - just a single door leading down to the stoor - and a wonderful place to find music. It has that Aussie relaxed feel, and the staff will happily play any disc on their special system which leads to individual headphones. Essentially, it means that you can preview just about any disc before laying down the cash. I splurged on two albums byMelbourne area bands.
Melbourne has great public transportation as it's crisscrossed by trains, trams and buses. For about 30 GBP, I could buy a week long all access pass for all three forms of transportation. Anyone who poo-poos the idea of trams in Edinburgh should come here - they're efficient, quiet and practical. Here you either validate your ticket on the tram or buy a new one from the on board machine so there's no queue-up trying to get in the door. Same goes for the trains, though I'm not sure about the buses.
My grand debut on the tram was a quick trip up to the Botanical Gardens. The Gardens are actually surrounded by other parkland, so it's a huge expanse of green, and pretty darn gorgeous under the clear blue skies. After meandering around myself, I took the free tour. Which further made it clear that you can escape Scotland, but not the Scots. Of the five people, there was me, a woman originally from Ayshire and her English husband who she'd met in Edinburgh and a Singaporean woman who'd done her business degree at Strathclyde in Glasgow. Itty bitty world it is out there. I enjoyed getting to know the highlights of the garden and getting to ask about the many plants and birds.
Apologies for the lack of pics, but I've not had internet access where it's feasible to upload many images.
posted by Scottish Missy at 4:49 AM
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