Thursday
Oct132005
I *Speeet* on You, Jet Lag
Thursday, October 13, 2005 at 04:22PM
Over to Australia time - October 11th. Arrival day.
People at baggage carousels are ANIMALS.
I'm just saying.
Anyways, I breezed through customs - which was good because I had 500 ml too much alcohol - wandered through the door and there were Matt's parents. Who are utterly adorable. Although Matt looks like his father so much that it's a bit disconcerting to look at him.
I can't stress how nice it is to have someone waiting for you at the airport, even if you've never met them before.
And Phil has forever endeared himself to me because he got a little lost on the way to my hostel.
Which is really old and really cool. And really huge. They "upgraded" me to a room with a fridge and a fantastic view of downtown Melbourne ( I'm in South Yarra), mostly I think because I showed up on time and they probably like to check out their guests before they decide on a room, so that must mean they found me acceptable.
We made arrangements for a time for Matt's parents to come for me the next day and since it was only 11:30ish, I unpacked a bit before heading out to find some food.
After walking around for a good hour and a bit and seeing nothing but a Subway and a McDonalds - which I REFUSE to eat at in another country - (other than a 7-11 or two and some pricey restaurants) I was despairing of finding a little grocery, so I figured I may as well turn around and head in the direction of 'home' and go a little ways in the other direction.
I tell ya, I could have wept with JOY when I came over a rise and before me lay entire blocks lined with shops. Noting a deli and a bakery to stop at on the way back, I passed them by in search of a place to buy a bottle of wine.
Hey, I know what's important, don't you worry. Besides, it's wine country man.
I came across a little shop that looked like a wholesalers but I couldn't quite figure out why it would be a storefront on a street so finally I just went in and asked.
A Canadian accent should get me some leeway for an aura of confusion and stupidity, I figure.
Anyways, the gentleman there - whose name is MATT, boys and girls, explained it all to me. The neato (did I just say neato?) thing is that you can sample the wines. So, yanno, yayy!
Matt (hey, Matt if you're here - I'm going to call you MelbourneMatt from now one because you're the third Matt I know and otherwise this all gets so confusing to my friends here, kay?) - has brought me up to speed on car insurance and registration and also took me shopping for cheese and pate and all sorts of lovely things to eat. In addition to providing some wine, of course.
Lots of wine tasting and a picnic later, (where I think the fruit fly visited me again) I wandered back 'home', had a shower, ate some more, drank some more, did a little bit of laundrey (because of course my favorite white t-shirt only stayed stainless for about 24 hours) took a gravol and crashed out at about 8 pm.
Up once about 3 am and up for good at 7 am, it is now 8:15 and I am going to get off my bed and out of my jammies and get ready to go before taking my little storage chip and seeing if anyone is downstairs to sell me some internet time so I can post these.
So, no jet lag and I'm all caught up to the day/night at the right time thing and I feel fantastic. So, there you have the secret - WINE and CHEESE!
Today, Matt's parents and I are heading out of the city to Werribee Park, which is described in my book as...
And Phil has promised to tell me about the "squatstocracy" and they've brought their maps so we can talk about their travels and I can get good ideas for my drive around Aus next year.
Cheers! Also new pictures are in here.
People at baggage carousels are ANIMALS.
I'm just saying.
Anyways, I breezed through customs - which was good because I had 500 ml too much alcohol - wandered through the door and there were Matt's parents. Who are utterly adorable. Although Matt looks like his father so much that it's a bit disconcerting to look at him.
I can't stress how nice it is to have someone waiting for you at the airport, even if you've never met them before.
And Phil has forever endeared himself to me because he got a little lost on the way to my hostel.
Which is really old and really cool. And really huge. They "upgraded" me to a room with a fridge and a fantastic view of downtown Melbourne ( I'm in South Yarra), mostly I think because I showed up on time and they probably like to check out their guests before they decide on a room, so that must mean they found me acceptable.
We made arrangements for a time for Matt's parents to come for me the next day and since it was only 11:30ish, I unpacked a bit before heading out to find some food.
After walking around for a good hour and a bit and seeing nothing but a Subway and a McDonalds - which I REFUSE to eat at in another country - (other than a 7-11 or two and some pricey restaurants) I was despairing of finding a little grocery, so I figured I may as well turn around and head in the direction of 'home' and go a little ways in the other direction.
I tell ya, I could have wept with JOY when I came over a rise and before me lay entire blocks lined with shops. Noting a deli and a bakery to stop at on the way back, I passed them by in search of a place to buy a bottle of wine.
Hey, I know what's important, don't you worry. Besides, it's wine country man.
I came across a little shop that looked like a wholesalers but I couldn't quite figure out why it would be a storefront on a street so finally I just went in and asked.
A Canadian accent should get me some leeway for an aura of confusion and stupidity, I figure.
Anyways, the gentleman there - whose name is MATT, boys and girls, explained it all to me. The neato (did I just say neato?) thing is that you can sample the wines. So, yanno, yayy!
Matt (hey, Matt if you're here - I'm going to call you MelbourneMatt from now one because you're the third Matt I know and otherwise this all gets so confusing to my friends here, kay?) - has brought me up to speed on car insurance and registration and also took me shopping for cheese and pate and all sorts of lovely things to eat. In addition to providing some wine, of course.
Lots of wine tasting and a picnic later, (where I think the fruit fly visited me again) I wandered back 'home', had a shower, ate some more, drank some more, did a little bit of laundrey (because of course my favorite white t-shirt only stayed stainless for about 24 hours) took a gravol and crashed out at about 8 pm.
Up once about 3 am and up for good at 7 am, it is now 8:15 and I am going to get off my bed and out of my jammies and get ready to go before taking my little storage chip and seeing if anyone is downstairs to sell me some internet time so I can post these.
So, no jet lag and I'm all caught up to the day/night at the right time thing and I feel fantastic. So, there you have the secret - WINE and CHEESE!
Today, Matt's parents and I are heading out of the city to Werribee Park, which is described in my book as...
The mansion at Werribee Park is a good bet, with serene sculptured gardens, an imposing billiards room, and an expansive nursery. From October to May, the bloom of 5,000 roses colors the garden. Animals from the grasslands of Australia, Africa and Asia give the 200 hectare open range zoo the feel of a safari.
And Phil has promised to tell me about the "squatstocracy" and they've brought their maps so we can talk about their travels and I can get good ideas for my drive around Aus next year.
Cheers! Also new pictures are in here.
in Melbourne
Melbourne 
Reader Comments (1)
I envy you Jen. :-)