Being a travel day, there wasn't a whole lot of excitement. Oh wait, I did break one of my cardinal traveling rules ("There's carry-on luggage and there's lost luggage!") and checked one of my two bags at the airport, and sure enough, it got lost. I've actually been checking my bags on most of my flights, and haven't had any problems. But today I left the check-in counter feeling a bit worried, as I hadn't gotten to see my bag move along the conveyor belt; it just sat there. Well, the airline had called my hotel in Melbourne even before I arrived to say they had located my bag and it would be dropped off for me late this evening. So no big tragedy (yet at least). And I always carry on my most important items: Paperwork, camera, laptop, book, medicine. And I wear two pairs of underwear.
I missed my noon photo today. I thought about it while enroute to the airport, but when noon itself rolled around, I completely forgot. And didn't remember until about 6pm when I was all comfy in my hotel room. I've only missed two or three days, and I know I shouldn't get mad at myself for missing them, but I do anyway. And I'll be mad at myself for hours. Today's self-loathing reminded me of this time I went out for brunch in Durham, North Carolina. I forget the name of the place, but it was kind of pricey for Durham -- and for students on a budget! -- but I could usually make their omelets last two meals. But one time I had half my omelet packed up then I left it on the table. I was mad at myself for a week.
Anyway, despite those two mishaps, my journey to Melbourne was easy. As always, in a new city, I had to learn to use the public transportation, but Melbourne's seems really good. I especially like that it has trams, which go even more places than the trains (the subway) and are above-ground, so I can view the city as I ride. I arrived later in the day, but had time to go out for dinner. One of the guys I met while touring the Red Center is from Melbourne, and he recommended some places to go, so I dined on the "Italy Street" (not its real name) then had a nice ride back to my place. Sadly, Adrian, who gave me the tips, won't be around this week to show me anything in person. But I just heard from Maartje, who will be in Melbourne in a few days and will stay at the same hotel as me (I wish I'd known, I could have smuggled her into my room for at least one night; it has bunk beds). That should be fun.
To make up for being such a homebody in Sydney (which I did like, it just wasn't very exciting), I will be quite busy in Melbourne. I've booked one half-day city tour for tomorrow and two full-day tours for my last two full days in town. So I should have a lot of photos and stuff to write about.
Finally, let me raise a toast to the unsecured wifi in some neighboring building! This hotel charges $8/hour for wifi (or $25/day), which I was not going to pay. So I thought I'd be scrounging for free wifi at cafes all over town. Instead, I get it in my room on someone else's network. I hope it lasts!
UPDATE: I got my missing luggage just after midnight on the night it was lost.
I missed my noon photo today. I thought about it while enroute to the airport, but when noon itself rolled around, I completely forgot. And didn't remember until about 6pm when I was all comfy in my hotel room. I've only missed two or three days, and I know I shouldn't get mad at myself for missing them, but I do anyway. And I'll be mad at myself for hours. Today's self-loathing reminded me of this time I went out for brunch in Durham, North Carolina. I forget the name of the place, but it was kind of pricey for Durham -- and for students on a budget! -- but I could usually make their omelets last two meals. But one time I had half my omelet packed up then I left it on the table. I was mad at myself for a week.
Anyway, despite those two mishaps, my journey to Melbourne was easy. As always, in a new city, I had to learn to use the public transportation, but Melbourne's seems really good. I especially like that it has trams, which go even more places than the trains (the subway) and are above-ground, so I can view the city as I ride. I arrived later in the day, but had time to go out for dinner. One of the guys I met while touring the Red Center is from Melbourne, and he recommended some places to go, so I dined on the "Italy Street" (not its real name) then had a nice ride back to my place. Sadly, Adrian, who gave me the tips, won't be around this week to show me anything in person. But I just heard from Maartje, who will be in Melbourne in a few days and will stay at the same hotel as me (I wish I'd known, I could have smuggled her into my room for at least one night; it has bunk beds). That should be fun.
To make up for being such a homebody in Sydney (which I did like, it just wasn't very exciting), I will be quite busy in Melbourne. I've booked one half-day city tour for tomorrow and two full-day tours for my last two full days in town. So I should have a lot of photos and stuff to write about.
Finally, let me raise a toast to the unsecured wifi in some neighboring building! This hotel charges $8/hour for wifi (or $25/day), which I was not going to pay. So I thought I'd be scrounging for free wifi at cafes all over town. Instead, I get it in my room on someone else's network. I hope it lasts!
UPDATE: I got my missing luggage just after midnight on the night it was lost.
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