Saturday, June 28, 2014

Last Visit to the City

Tomorrow is my last day in Melbourne, so on Friday I went with a friend to the city for a last minute souvenir shopping spree. There were a few things I knew I wanted to do, like go to T2 to buy some unique tea for my sister and mom, go to the Queen Victoria Market, and go shopping at Clear It.

Our trip started off slightly bumpy. Anna had planned to meet me at the bus stop on Normanby Rd to take the bus that goes to Oakleigh station at 9:30 am. I was there early, which was uncomfortable because I was really cold. The sun wasn't at its highest, and the wind was chilling even with gloves and a scarf. I realized, after checking my itouch for the time when it was getting close to 9:30 am, that there may be a bus stop further up the road closer to her hall. I was right. That whole time I was waiting for her at a bus stop, she was waiting for me a the other. I am glad I thought to walk down the road.

The bus and train were quick to arrive, but being that it was a Friday, we ended up having to stand for the entire journey there. Better off standing on the way there and not on the way back, though. We chatted about home and what we were thinking of getting for others on our outing, etc. I used a screen shot of the map of the city to find the T2 place that was on the way to a coffee shop she wanted to check out. I had been there once before, but it was brief. It was an olfactory factory. I had so much fun trying this smell and that. I had never realized how teas could smell syrupy, or flowery, or one that would smell like pungent perfume, while another gave me the sensation of floating on an aromatic cloud of bliss. I wish I had taken notes of each and every one I smelt and the observations I gave, because it was like wine tasting but for tea. I wanted to take some many home with me to brew. I decided on two.

We took our time heading out, yet when we finally were done, the receptionist was busy with other customers. It was bad timing. I could tell the receptionist preferred talking with us than the old couple, since we were interested in the tea, and they were only interested in the tea pots.

Our next stop was the coffee shop Anna had heard about. It was small, and intimate, and they had chairs hanging from the ceiling. We got our coffee to go after Anna decided she didn't want to purchase the coffee beans for her boyfriend's parents because they had weird things in them like lemonade flavor. That just sounds like too much acid in one cup to me.

We were both a little disappointed in the wears at the QV Market. Of course, much of the vendors were selling winter items, and we were heading back to the summer. The night market was much better, but that had ended months ago, when it was still warm enough to be comfortable at night. Many of the vendors were selling the same items as the others, we observed. We did end up finding a few places with items of interest. One particular vendor was selling an interesting thing--I cannot reveal it now because it is meant for a surprise to someone--and he was a very friendly and talkative fellow. He was surprised when we said we liked exploring Melbourne and thought it was an amazing place to visit because he thought that of the US. You always love and romanticize places you've never been, and not the one you are always in. He was the kind of guy who was perfect for the job of a salesman, but I would never want him as a waiter because he would end up overcoming his stay talking to the people at the table. Even as we walked a way, he had to get the last word in. He was a pleasant local, though.

We tried our best to stick around long enough to catch up with another friend, but she had slept in late, and was arriving just as we had the desire to leave. We stuck around long enough, though, to find the perfect local coffee vendor to purchase some coffee beans. We were lucky too, because soon after we got up to the counter, a line came out of no where. I guess we attracted customers (just kidding).

I regretted suggesting we walk down Victoria St from the market all the way to Brunswick St. We made it, though! And we realized that CleariT has great stuff, but only the top floor is priced for college students' pockets. There were dresses in the 100s on the main floor. The last time I was in there I didn't get to look that closely. We tried on a few things, then all of a sudden like a tone of bricks, exhaustion hit me in the head. I felt like I was going to collapse.

 You see, the night before I hadn't gone to bed. It had been an unusual Thursday. I woke up early, went for a run, spent my morning chatting with my Mom and grandparents on Skype over my breakfast at the local cafe. Only to have an epiphany that I should probably take the time to take photos of the hall for my sake and others who wanted me to share. I had wanted to take a nap right after I was done talking with my family, yet I wanted to use the good morning light while I still had it. Then, at noon, I laid down for an hour nap, and woke up right before midnight! I slept the entire day away! So, I got up and decided, I still needed to do some things so I may as well do them now. I went and did some laundry and got some needed nutrition in me. As I did so I ran into a big group that had obviously been drinking, since Cristian was teasing Jasymin. This lead to the guys throwing around her cereal box because it was funny how much it bothered her.

They invited me to watch the World cup match, USA vs Germany, and I consented. I planned to get a few hours of shut eye before 8:30 am when I needed to get ready. That never happened. Hence, the exhausting hostile take over of my body at 3 pm. We made it out okay, but Anna admitted to very little sleep for the same reason, she was watching the game (which we lost 0-1, but still made it to the next round on the default that Portugal won against Ghana - I honestly don't understand how the cumulative point system works in this kind of tournament, especially when Portugal won but didn't have enough points to move on while USA lost and got to move on). I have to admit, though, USA was on its A-game when it came to great defense.

The last bit of input on how Friday went is that for the first time ever, I was shocked by what the intercom system said at the train station. They announced that some trains would not be running on their normal course on account of a woman getting hit by a train! Anna and I were especially surprised that the announcement gave the reason for the delay. I know this is selfish, but I am glad it didn't affect us getting home. I was too exhausted to ponder over the tragedy of the situation.

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