melbourne

I decided i dont like blogging i prefer writing an email it seems more succinct or maybe its because i had no one to speak english with in europe so i was desperate to talk and it all flowed nicely. Im feeling- though i havent read a word- a bit disjointed like 'wait did i mention that?' hmm then the dilemna do i risk repeating myself or not. its too much thinking thank god im almost home!

Melbourne is a pretty city but i still feel i only need three days to get the cityafter 3 i get it, the layout the feel the sights, I live in one its not that hard. if you dont live there, there is only so much to see and take in I want to go to a natural setting but i was not in melbourne to see sights i was visiting. another odd transition, going from travelling alone on your own agenda no one to say i dont want to, no compromises. to being a guest in someone elses house and on someone elses schedule its just a weird transition. I had a great time Ryan and I split the couch cusions and took up spots on the floor for a few nights. trent had the weekend off and his friend Paul from sydney who now lives in Uluru ( sp? - ayers rock) also stayed the weekend and our friend shanaz from adelaide who lives in NY but is visiting her Mum in Wooloongong (follow that!) we had dinner and drinks with her friends on friday and sat was birthday celebration which began of course with a drag show "Jack and jill" (Jacqueline and jillettee) They were fun silly cheesy and believe it or not it was mostly women(this is odd for me to see) as they were having a hen party (bachelorette - you have to love the language differences) I was told by paul we would be getting 'dead set maggotted' and that i was being a 'slaggy mole' (whatever!) he couldnt quite give me a good explanation for slaggy mole but i determined it was like an angry slutty jersey girl in a mall and although enjoying my interpretation, shanaz gave us ferrel, uhm i believe thats what i said. dead set maggotted was just sloshed thats the -someone else would have to put you in a cab mode. I put us in a cab! and it wouldnt take us all the way because it had a prior engagement and there was construction and taxis in melbourne cost 10 cents every ten seconds. public transport is the tram - not good not bad but difficult you need instructions and the people who give instructions are likely to contradict each other so its better to walk if you can. I didnt learn anything new except that birthdays in foreign countries are expensive. and I need another month because frankly im still a little mad i coulndt find a way back to the gold coast the sunshine coast uluru (esp now that i know someone!) and a bunch of other places. I considered hiding out at a strawberryfarm to work for keep and pretend i missed my plane when i lost track of time but I dont think the farms pay they just let you work so you can stay there. weird. but dont think i wouldnt have done it if my show closed tommorow! Apparently i have to come back and i think thats the irritating part, it sort of kills the idea that i could take in everything in one trip just in case i never made it back (I have a lot of other things to see!)
here is the other thing i did learn - ok i knew there were large bugs and spiders and snakes and all that and honestly i wanted to go to uluru very badly however it is possible Paul has made that impossible with his outback stories the first one which i will share now (and please remember that he works for a very fancy resort) he had a centipede this big (when i say this big imagine a good foot between his outstretched hands) it freaked him out so he chopped it in half with a kitchen knife and it screamed and then it ran off in two seperate directions!!! TWO DIRECTIONS! TWO! also he said you have to watch em cause they can sting you from either end and they are cannibals so if you kill one you have to clean it up quickly and thouroughly or youll get a bunch more coming out for the feast. oh yeah im dyin to go there. that story is a dream killer. but the beach and the reef are still on and if i forget i may still be able to go (although a foot long centepede would be hard to forget I keep looking at the shower drain at my hostel!)
tommorow im off to the blue mountain tourist trap (the city rail guy was happy id made it to byron apparently its the only good choice i made cause i got to see something that wasnt a city cause he thinks every western city is the same (i kind of agree) he wished i was going somewhere more interesting but with my time constraints he understood and conceded to help me by giving me train times reluctantly.
I hope i will be able to get around and see more than the average tourist so as not to dissapoint!
see you soon!