Aquarium and Skydeck - Feb 28

Summary: rain in the AM, then the aquarium, then the skydeck

It was a drizzly morning, so we played go up and down the escalator with Alex for some time while taking turns sipping coffee. Aneta went shopping at her favorite store in Melbourne while Alex and I took on the aquarium. We all caught a so-so movie and then went up on the Skydeck. We're going out for sushi tonight with friends, but anything from that will post in tomorrow's story. I'll narrate a few photos, otherwise I'll let you figure it out.

Alex was in the open air section of the tallest building in Australia















Plane crash image at the aquarium















Aneta looking fashionably Asian















observation spot inside tank, for kids to pop up heads surrounded by fish














Our room, as viewed from a km away















Federation Square
















Next: more in Melbourne

Melbourne Night Market - Feb 27

Summary: in town, ready for some football, yet another great time with no pictures, Night Market

Aneta had some work to do, so today Alex and I were on our own - at least until nap time. One activity he enjoys is laundry (thank goodness for small blessings) and we were due for it. We asked the concierge where to find coin op laundry and he pointed us to one in Chinatown (yes it sounds like a cliche - no laughing out there!). I thought coin-op laundry was all the same until I started doing it every week or so - this was a nice place near some other shopping to keep us entertained between cycles. We ate en route and shopped in between - even had an amusing discussion with a guy trying to get me to sign up for a credit card - it was a good way to start the day.

Although the Aussie Football season does not start until Easter, their pre-season is well under way. Although the preseason means nothing, they still have a playoff and a quarterfinal is this Friday at the Telstra Arena - in Melbourne. I'll be there.

Yet again I left my camera in the room and yet again I was made to regret it. On our first day I was in some street performance - no pics. Yesterday early in the morning, Alex and I went for a walk while Aneta was on a call and giant hot air balloons flew right over us. I did not feel too bad as it was not fully light out, so the photos would not have been all that good. This time, Alex and I went to grab a quick lunch at Federation Square (all of 2 blocks away). What am I going to do, photograph him eating (again)? That's when a giant marching band of bagpipes comes down Swanston (the main street) followed by a trail of exotic cars and concept cars (think Ferrari and giant solar panel cars plus a dune buggy made by a well-funded engineering team). This parade was promoting the Melbourne Motor Show International - maybe the largest car show in the Southern Hemisphere and it starts tomorrow. Said parade turns towards us right up into Federation Square with the Lord Mayor of Melbourne (gotta like that title) in the lead car. Mayor jumps out and starts shaking hands and kissing babies maybe 15 feet away and there are not all that many people. I hung back, but you can be sure I would not have been shy and retiring had I brought the camera. Telling the story, I feel like a cross between Forrest Gump (stumbling into big things) and someone who claims to have seen a UFO (bagpipes and a mayor, huh?). Oh well - I do have a receipt from lunch, does that count?

On the way back from Fed Square, Alex fell and smacked his head on the sidewalk. He cried, he has a big bump on his head, and I am feeling guilty for turning down his request to be carried. Hopefully I will have no updates from that. He has been fine since his nap, but I still feel bad.

So Aneta rejoined us and we headed for the Suzuki "Night Market" - this is a series of weekly events in which the Queen Victoria Marketplace is open from 5:30 until 10pm every Wednesday of the summer from November 28 until February 27 - so we caught the last one. The event bills itself as world music, world food, and weird & wonderful wares. It more than overdelivers on food. Wow. Great time. We walked around eating great food and it was packed. The music was ...um... contemplative. Picture a coffee shop in Berkeley or Phoebe doing "Smelly Cat" on Friends. Either way, the drummer for the next act warming up was better. Note: The guy on the right next to Aneta, Alex, and the balloon appeared to be a photographer and he took a few pics of Alex rockin' out to the drummer, so maybe we'll be in the Age tomorrow morning or on some tourist guide we don't see next year. I can't wrap this up without saying that Alex walked the whole way back. He always asked to be carried at least part of the way, but he walked easily a kilometer (10 blocks?) on his own, playing with that balloon. In a related story, my shoulders feel great.

Next: got to get to that aquarium and tower on the South Bank.

Phillip Island - Feb 26

Summary: Queen Victoria Market, March of the Penguins, Nobbie non sequitur section, compare and contrast, the Legend of Phil, espresso yourself

Today we walked around town some more, went to Queen Victoria Market, and drove out to Phillip Island (in Gippsland!) to see the Penguin parade. First, Queen Victoria market is an amazing open market of everything from fresh fish and fruits to hats (preview of coming attraction) to t-shirts... you name it. Interesting place, must see as a tourist. We also took the tram around town (another free means of transport!)

Next thing you know, we are off for Phillip Island. Phillip Island is known for penguins and it also has several other attractions. Let me begin with the penguins. We can't take photos of the penguins (that's the rule), let me just say that it is a fascinating experience to sit in pseudo amphitheater seating with maybe 400 people as these 1 foot, 2 pound little penguins show up on the beach in teams of about 7, merge up with other comparable teams, and slowly walk from the water's edge to the grass and scrub of the dunes. They have deep blue backs and white bellies, which is great camouflage in the water, less so on the beach. So they wait until sunset and charge the beaches very cautiously, heading back to their nests. Some of the penguins had gorged themselves with enough fish to last 17 days as they molt their feathers, so they were so fat they fell over every 2 or 3 steps. It was extremely funny and cute to watch. I have a few photos of penguins, but they were taken in the daytime at the nearby "Nobbies", where all the other images are of the rocks in violently turbulent water. The Nobbies has an unusual visitor center with a great children's play area and headlines of every depressing thing that has happened there. Seriously, most of it is about the location and animals - the birds that nest there and the fish that swim there - the things you'd expect. Then it has this wall with a victorious picture & newspaper article of a smiling man who killed a Great White shark at Phillip Island along with a clear message that this is a bad thing. Then it has a photo of a guy smiling and a big wave in the background washing some people off a rock and apparently killing one of the people pictured. "that observation area is no longer available to visitors." Along with this there is a little note to the effect of "while the photographer asked her subject to smile for the camera, a man in the frame was being killed". No offense Nobbies, that is just odd. Seriously, it was a great place to visit and a "must see" while on Phillip Island, just don't do anything that could make their wall while on the island. We also had a little picnic, tasted some local wine (not entirely my idea this time), and hit the beach next to Cowes (pronounced like a very rare steak).

Everybody loves comparison pictures, so here are a few:

Jim with "wild Outback" hair or "genuine Aussie" hat

Time lapse as recorded by Aneta as Jim and Alex leave for Ice cream vs. return with ice cream

Alex eating Ice Cream or wearing Ice Cream? - do not adjust your screen, his bubblegum flavored Ice Cream was a radiation fallout shade of green (the color apparently will not fade as it passes through him - for the non-parents out there, let me promise that there will be no further updates on this matter)

Cute cuddly penguin molting its feathers or annoying yet attractive bird stalking us as we picnic, hoping to get a few crums?

Scary great white shark with cute, fluffy great while doll or cute, fluffy real penguin?

Next up, sultry model on yet another exotic beach photo shoot or harried executive fighting a losing battle with a crackberry addiction?

Cute kid standing on beach with big smile or slightly less cute dad standing around on the same spot looking like he's pretending not to notice the camera?

Alex annoyed at having to hold hands with mommy on the rock or happily running on the soft sand at the base of the rock?

Finally we offer contrast within one picture - which way to go? (I picked the Football Club, but that's just me)

One of the sadder stories of the trip was the saga of Phil. Phil was our Phillip Island penguin purchased at the Info place upon our arrival into town for a mere $10. Phil squawked kind of like a penguin and captured Alex's heart until we walked into the Nobbies tourist center. Somewhere along the line Phil was lost and was not to be found despite some effort on our part. Alex was not pleased with this outcome, nor was he impressed with the pricier (yet differently squawking) penguins at the Penguin Parade center. When we go back to the Queen Victoria market and again when we drive through Gippsland, we'll keep our eyes open for Phil's little brother. Otherwise, Phil will be reincarnated as a frog or koala or platypus between here and the Australia Zoo outside of Brisbane.

I want to ensure that I take Kel's advice to heart(Kel is our resident Gippslander and Melburnian commentator) and make it to a first rate Melbourne coffee shop. Believe me, the Starbucks in Adelaide was essential because I had missed it for a month. In Melbourne I have only swung by once even though it is attached to the hotel. I've seen Brunetti's and will make a point of getting there. I love that Lygon neighborhood (for those following at home, it is quite comparable to San Francisco's North Beach - great authentic Italian neighborhood).

Next: Melbourne aquarium, botanical gardens, who knows what else?