Halloween was spent on an airplane flying to Tasmania. We had planned a trip to Melbourne and booked the tickets... then saw great fares from Melbourne to Hobart so we decided to tack that on to our trip. Minor detail: Melbourne has two airports... Hint: They aren't close to each other. So we flew from Brissy to Melbourne-Avalon airport which turns out to be about an hour away from Tullamarine Airport. So Marisa and I got a $100 cab to the other airport to make it in time for our flight to Hobart! But we made it so everything was good. We went to our hostel (called the Pickled Frog) and checked in. We were assigned a room and went to check it out and found that we were living with two very messy boys who loved cologne just a little too much. After some cleaning/rearranging everything turned out fine and we went to find some dinner. Hobart was very dead at night and we ended up eating at a pub in town before an early bedtime.
Sunday morning we got up early and had an amazing breakfast (I am sincerely going to miss scones, jam and cream when I get back to the states) and then walked down to the harbour. We hung out at Salamanca Place which is a trendy area that used to be the warf warehouses. They are all made from convict cut sandstone because Hobart was really just a huge prison colony in its infancy. From there we went on a little tour of Battery Point where all the old colonial houses are and basically spent the rest of the day walking.
Monday we had the best pancakes for breakfast before we went to Cascade Brewery for a tour. Cascade is the oldest brewery in Australia and makes ciders and beers. Its really a pretty spectacular building (it too is made from convict cut stone). Because of its location Cascade is able to make a batch of beer each year with hops that are fresh picked that morning. Most beers are made with dried hops since you can only harvest them once a year... So this special release brew is called First Harvest and each year they only make 4000 cartons to be released throughout Australia. Monday evening we headed back to Melbourne but our flight kept getting delayed. I ended up making my hat for the Melbourne Cup in the airport with a pair of nail clippers... we finally made it to Melbourne around 1am and were back at the Choi's house around 2am. Long day.
Tuesday was CUP DAY! Everyone was dressed up in their finery and flocked to the racecourse. Seeing tons of people in suits and hats is quite something! We had a spot right on the rail and got to watch all the races right up front. Olivia Newton John sang the national anthem and all the famous people sat up high in the stands. I think we had more fun :) Sydney even won money on the Melbourne Cup itself which was won by a horse named Shocking. We got to hang out with him in the paddock after the race and some of the girls even were able to give him a pet. My only complaint for the day is that it was too windy to wear my hat the whole day :( Other than that... it was absolutely perfect. When we got back to the house we had a cake for Jacob's birthday and got to hang out with the family.
Wednesday Marisa went with the rest of the girls on a tour of the Great Ocean Road and I hung out with the Choi's. Miriam, Jacob's mom, took me to a flea market where I got lots of souvenirs. Then Jacob and I went into the city and I had a Mighty Melbourne cheeseburger. It had an egg and beet-root on it! Surprisingly I liked it... then we went to the State Library and toured around. I scheduled for classes there and got waitlisted for two :( After that we walked through the Crown Casino which was spectacular before we went to have some coffee and dessert on the Yarra river. DInner was Vietnamese prepared by Miriam. Dessert was Pavlova which apparently is a traditionally New Zealand dish and was served with kiwi-fruit :)
Thursday morning we woke up at o'dark hundred and went for a hike up a very steep track called the Kokoda Memorial. Clearly Marisa and I took a bit longer than Jacob... But it was really very pretty and we saw lots of kookaburras searching around for breakfast. We spent the rest of the day in the city and did some more shopping and sight seeing before we headed to the airport. It was nice to get back to Brissy (it was WAY colder in Melbourne) but now it is time for finals. Sad. Almost time to come home... Cant wait for the holidays! Miss you all!
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