Cape Schanck, Victoria

Victoria, Australia is a beautiful place; Cape Schanck, the southernmost tip of the Mornington Peninsula, is no exception. Reflecting upon this, it seems I have been to not one, but two of the southernmost parts of Victoria (see: Wilson's Promontory). My friend James so kindly offered to drive down after discussing what I had and had not seen during my travels one evening. We went to his parent's farm and then to Cape Schanck. His parents treated me to a delicious vegan lunch and then we explored the farm. There is something charming about land and homes passed down through families; it seems to define childhood in a very special way and there's something incredibly natural about growing up on a farm. It was fun to get a bit of a tour and see all of the animals (which I loved to pieces, note the tiny kittens and the goats)!

The day was a bit overcast, but we had a nice time wandering about the cape and I enjoyed visiting a place in Australia that meant so much to someone else as opposed to visiting places in Australia that I sought out on my own or with other study abroad students/backpackers. The rocks and pools of water were most certainly my favourite, so tempting to jump in and swim around; however, it was quite chilly as it was winter in Victoria and it was easy to resist.

Overall, it was a very serene experience, especially in comparison to the night or morning beforehand. On my way back to Box Hill South from the city, I fell asleep on the Nightrider, the lovely bus that runs from 1:30am-4:30am. I will never fall asleep on public transportation again. I woke up in Belgrave, which is quite a distance away from my suburb; however, the bus turned around a bit and stopped at tram stop 75 (whereas, I live around tram stop 66). It was a bit unsettling because I realized that I was in a place where I had no one to call to ask for a ride home or help. I just had to deal with it and of all the situations to have to deal with, it really pales in comparison. I found a cab and arrived home much later than I anticipated seeing that I left the city around 1am and promptly added this to my 'small lessons learned abroad' list. The trip to Cape Schanck was a refreshing trip away from the city center. I never needed a 'break' from Melbourne, but after that night, it was nice to sit in a car, explore the more rural parts of Victoria, and catch up with a friend.

Built in 1859 & the second lighthouse in Victoria.

Catching up.

I have certainly fallen very far behind in keeping a digital account of my experiences here due to a lack of time and a fickle internet connection. I have, however, kept a tangible journal. I would like to have a decent and permanent record of all of my travels though so I will proceed to write out a few (probably very long) entries based on what I have written down in my journal. Catching up is not only an effective means of procrastination, but also a necessary means of preserving my memories, communicating with family and friends who do not have Facebook, and an attempt to persuade those of you reading to return to Australia with me someday!

Adelaide

When I left Adelaide the first time, I felt the desire to return. In fact, if I'm comparing Australian cities, I think I would be able to most successfully and healthfully sustain my life in Adelaide as opposed to Sydney, but Melbourne seems to be good middle-ground. Anyhow, I arrived in Adelaide on May 15th and Mike was kind enough to pick me up at the airport far too early in the morning. We went to the markets and bought a bunch of produce, drove to Mt. Lofty, but it was too cloudy to really see anything, nice though, and then returned to his house where we made the most delicious stewed apples with cinnamon and sultanas and guacamole! Generally, I don't try cooking anything beyond cous cous and veggie burgers so it was nice to actually create something quite yummy. Stewed apples are a-mazing. Eventually we went out and did things other than peeling apples and avocados. We saw Matt, Mike's housemate Bridget's boyfriend (whew, lots of possession there) play a gig at The Metro (and he sounded a bit like Bill Callahan and Will Oldham, cool!) and then went bowling, but ten-pin bowling as opposed to "lawn bowling." We finished the evening with a game of Scrabble! Spending time with a group of good friends was refreshing because it reminded me of being at home and although they weren't my good friends it was still comforting. I felt like a real person as opposed to merely a student meandering around Australia, in temporary accommodation, and riding in a car once every month or so. I'm finding that hard to articulate. I felt relatively grounded for the weekend.

The following day we went to Hahndorf, a little German town outside of Adelaide (which we reluctantly drove past on our way into Adelaide on the outback trip). It was quaint. We walked around and went to a museum, bought some candies, and returned to observe a fairly violent division one rugby game, which reminded me of my brief encounter with rugby a year ago; we went to a variety of parties, and ended up ultimately at The Metro to see a band: The Stabs. I enjoyed them, kind of Sonic Youth-esque, maybe.

On Sunday, while Mike had band practice, I strolled around the artsy/cultural district. I went to the Art Gallery of South Australia, The Museum of Southern Australia, the State Library, and the Flinders University exhibit. Afterward, I walked through the the Rundle St. markets and the Botanic Gardens. Although it was a bit of a foggy and rainy day, it was pleasant and I always enjoy walking around cities by myself, due to the fact that it's actually quite liberating. That evening we watched Waltz with Bashir, an animated film about the Palestine-Israel conflict, which I found a bit confusing, but maybe worth watching again after reading up on it a bit. We went to a cute cafe and then the Grace Emily, a rather cozy pub.

While at the Art Gallery of South Australia, I saw a wonderful portrait of Colonel William Light that stayed with me due to the fact that it was partially unfinished and in the bottom right-hand corner there was another self-portrait upside down and smaller. It was a little bit eerie. Anyhow, we went to see Colonel Light's statue, pointing over Adelaide, which he designed. A Lamington may or may not have been consumed. And St. Peter's Cathedral was visited; churches are always inviting and warm, at least as buildings. Overall, I enjoyed my time in Adelaide; by far one of the busiest weekends I have experienced in Australia and very pleasant thanks to my new and very kind friend!

Sydney

A few weekends ago, from May 7-11, I boarded a plane to Sydney with Jackie (from Marist) and Rana (from California). Oddly enough it was the first time since February 20th that I had been on an airplane. Somehow, I have managed to cover quite a lot of ground in cars, vans, buses, trains, and trams.

Most of the trip was unplanned and we only had a vague outline of what we wanted to see and do, but that seems to be the only reasonable way to go about traveling these days. Essentially, I'm learning to be flexible. We stayed with Eric Gentile (also a student at Marist) and his five friends from New York. Another North American-dominated weekend. We felt like we were staying in something that resembled a frat house superimposed onto a fancy apartment in Coogee Bay, but it was free and Eric was incredibly generous so there will be no complaints, just gratefulness. Plus, the couch was comfortable.

We arrived and got ourselves settled. We were pretty tired so we hung around the apartment that evening and the following morning we walked and ran along the 6km Coogee Bay to Bondi Beach coastal walk, which was absolutely gorgeous: lots of rocks, waves crashing, lap pools meeting the sea, and Waverly Cemetery (which reminded me of Poe's "Annabelle Lee," the 'kingdom by the sea,' 'sepulcher' bit). There was a lot of construction along the way so we were forced to take a number of detours through the streets, which Rana informed us reminded her of San Francisco: a hilly beach-town meets suburb appearance. We encountered a neat staircase that had little mosaics embedded on each level. We arrived at Bondi Beach and sat around for a while. The water wasn't too cold as far as I can recall, but we didn't swim. We just put our toes in it, sat around, and admired the beauty.

In the evening, we went to Darling Harbour where we met up with Amy Wheeler! In celebration of Darling Harbour's twenty-first anniversary there was a fireworks show so we watched that and caught up for a bit. We returned to Coogee with the intention of returning to the city, but we were overcome with a wave of fatigue and decided to stay at home instead and wake up early the following day.

We awoke with the intention of finding Sydney's oldest coffee place, but could not find it in The Strand, so we abandoned that plan and instead, went to the Glebe Markets and I met up with Kat (also from Marist, this was a Marist/NY-filled weekend). The markets were amazing: lots of handmade crafts, jewelry, scarves, clothing, etc.

Afterward, we grabbed coffee at a fair trade coffee shop and then headed to the greatly anticipated Sydney Harbour. The sight of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House seemed to confirm our distance from home and our presence in Australia. Although it is primarily a tourist attraction and we didn't walk on the Bridge or enter the Opera House, it was useful in placing us in the greater global context because it's such an icon and uniquely Australian. Most of the time when I said I was studying in Melbourne, people did not know where that was until I put it in relation to Sydney, so it was fun to take pictures, fully realise just how massive the Opera House buildings are in real life, and absorb the fact that I am actually in Australia and on whole different continent.

We walked through the Botanic Gardens for a bit and then around to the Museum of Contemporary Art, which is located in The Rocks, the historical section of the city. At the Museum we saw an exhibit by Yayoi Kusama, which is one of the most physically effective exhibits that I have ever seen. It's extremely powerful in person since most of her pieces consist of rooms filled with repetitive designs such as metallic balls the size of bowling balls lined up next to each other, a room filled with cloud-like pillows, and tiny rooms for entering and looking around, usually decorated with mirrors, Christmas-like lights, and bright lights with cushiony designs on the floor. It's really hard to articulate now that I am trying to. Kusama describes herself as an "obsessive artist" and a lot of her artwork is based on repetition and pattern. It is also autobiographical, psychological, and sexual. Although it is more meaningful to experience it first hand, it might be nice to check out her artwork. Soon after, we returned to Coogee and eventually went out. We went to Fortune of War, Sydney's oldest pub, which had a certain historical old world sort of charm and then we went to a variety of other places that were not very entertaining beyond being aesthetically pleasing, like The Argyle.

On Sunday, we intended to go to the Blue Mountains; however, in order to get there we would have had to rent a car or take the bus and since our day started later than we anticipated, we did neither and instead decided to enjoy the city a bit more. We went back to The Rocks, had coffee at a cute shop, and then meandered through the markets and eventually made our way to Newtown, an area predominantly filled with fun restaurants, where we ate Thai food, enjoyed wine, and where I found a shop called "Vegan's Choice" where I had vanilla ice cream on a cone! The word "Vegan" just brings joy to my heart.

The return journey to Melbourne took hours upon hours it seemed. We woke up around 7am and I arrived in my room by about 4pm thoroughly exhausted. Sydney was fun, but I am quite pleased that I chose Melbourne to study in. It just seems more fitting. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I think I'm happier here than I would have been there (but that's assuming a lot). My opinion of Sydney is directly related to the fact that I did not have enough time to explore the best parts. Either way, it was a good time and I think it would be silly to come all the way here and not see Sydney. There's so much to see here, so much. I think I'll have to return someday.