Getting in the Groove

So,

Over the past few days, I have:

1) Seen a man get bitten by a shark
2) Watched a seagull try to ingest an entire slice of pizza without chewing (birds don't chew anyways, I know)
3) Snuck into a Museum because a local told me to

Not a bad run, I think.  We went to the Aquarium (Did you know that Australia owns much of Antarctica?  No, I don't know why.  Maybe they were just taking what was left, like the utilities on a Monopoly board...), which was very cool (Although I have found out that I really like the Boston one alot: They're the only aquarium that has an open penguin exhibit, instead of all sorts of plexiglass.  I like the penguin calls. And playing with them.).  While watching the feeding of the big sharks and rays in the main tank, one of the divers had is hand all the way in a shark's mouth to try and get them to eat.  All of a sudden the diver started swimming backwards towards the edge of the tank, and blood was coming out.  The girl talking said "I'm not sure what's going on...um...it looks like that's the end of the feeding session! Thanks for coming!"  We found out later that the shark had bitten the diver, and he was alright.  Still though, how often do you see something like that!

The next day (yesterday), I went for a walk South of the Yarra River, near downtown.  I walked through the Royal Botanical Gardens, a stunning example of how varied and planned a garden could be in a city.  It was a great place to meander through, and even just sitting and watching the black swans was a nice way to kill time (lots of birdcalls there).  Also, I visited the Shrine of Remembrance, a WWI war memorial honoring ANZAC spirit (Australia and New Zealand soldiers qualities of courage, brotherhood, loyalty...), finished in 1931 to make sure the war was never forgotten (And a few years later.. WWII!).  It is a very moving monument, and absolutely gorgeous to look at.  While in the main Sanctuary, there was a guy complaining about how the memorial should be about the horrors of war, yet the carvings in the sanctuary seemed to "glorify it." (Soldiers pointing majestically, holding up flags, etc..) I think he missed the point a bit, and it begins to illustrate one of the major traits of Aussies.  They love to bitch about things.  Most of the time it's all in good fun, but it's a serious matter for them as well.  There are countless shows on TV taking the piss (Making fun of) out of the day's news, celebrities, and anything else they can...

While walking around, I met a Tunisian Flight Attendant based out of UAE.  She was killing time before her next flight, and walking around.  I had nothing to do, could use the company, so I chatted with her for a while.  I got all sorts of great stories about rich people that take falcons on airplanes (They get their own seat, with no cage or anything), how doing an hour of makeup for a flight is because of safety, and other interesting stories (she was pissed that she only got one day in Melbourne, but she was getting 3 days in Italy in a few weeks.. what a life).

Today I decided I was going to the Melbourne Museum, a kind of big museum covering science, aboriginal culture, history of Melbourne, and other stuff.  I went to a little French Cafe/Takeout thing, and chatted up the (young) people behind the counter, asking for good places to drink/things to see.  This German girl who just moved to Melbourne told me I could sneak in through the cafe at the museum if I didn't have any money.  I had the money, but when a local (kinda) tells me something cool to do, I'm gonna do it!  There was a gigantic line for buying tickets anyways, so I saved time in addition to money (easily 200 people long..).  The museum was fun, I spent the majority of the day in there.  It was very modern, very informative...

I'm really digging this town.  I think this may be a very different trip than the one I did last year to Japan, in that I'm really getting to know one distinct area of the world, as opposed to traveling all over to see as much as I can.  I will still get around (planning my trip to the Great Barrier Reef and Sydney now), but I think I'll be in and around this city for a while, and as long as I can still find things to do, that won't be a bad thing...

Great Ocean Road. It's great. Really.

It totally deserves it's name.  Maybe they should change it to the Stupendous Ocean Road, because the views, waves, rock formations, and driving road all create this great experience.  I drove from the beach house in Wye River to the 12 Apostles, a rock formation created by water erosion on cliffs, creating different sized pillars just sitting off the coast.  And that was right next to the Loch Ard Gorge, where a shipwreck occurred about 30 years ago, with only 2 survivors, and it's this beautiful range of gullys and gorges through erosion-created islands, a sapphire ocean, and views that take your breath away.

That's just one part of the coast.  It's the kind of place where you want to get a really nice convertible, blast the stereo, and just cruise.  Or use a bike.  Lots of people on motorcycles were all over the place, and I can totally see why, except that if it was me, I'd be a smear on the road by now...

I also went on a tree walk through a temperate rainforest, which was pretty cool, but there was more fauna on the porch outside of the beach house (I saw koalas! They're lazy balls of fur, but with good reason. There's not many nutrients in Eucalyptus leaves...).  I tried taking a walk through another section of rainforest, but the path was closed due to a landslide, and the "big tree" which was one of the center attractions of the hike was completely toppled over.  I guess they're gonna have to change the pamphlet for that one...

I really don't know how to talk about it anymore... nothing absolutely amazing happened, but the experience of driving down that road, stopping at amazing sight after amazing sight is something that is unparalleled.  It's easily one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen in my life.  If you get down here, make it a top priority...

Now, back in Melbourne, I think we're going to the Aquarium today, and the trip marches on... only 10 days in... plenty of time yet...