Dealing with constant sickness since I got back from Australia means I haven’t been able to finish blogging about it. So without further ado, a recap of our short time in Melbourne.
On the flight from Auckland, Deborah made friends with a Finnish triathlete who lived in San Francisco. She shared our taxi with us to our hotel, the grand old Hotel Windsor. This hotel was cool. It was old and the hallways were hella creepy, but the rooms were updated and very clean. Plus, they had a menu where you could order different types of pillows for your bed. FANCY!
But the long hallways also reminded me uncomfortably of this:
Right?
More hotel pics:
After we were checked in, I went to go visit Deborah’s room, and from her window I spied a rooftop bar across the street with Pimms umbrellas. SOLD! So we went over there for dinner and a pitcher of Pimms.
We were pretty exhausted after that, so we went back to the hotel with plans to meet in the morning.
But the next morning, Deborah wasn’t feeling well, so I walked around the Central Business District by myself for a while. Went to Starbucks to get my mug (and coffee) and what did I spy across the street but…
TARGET!
Ahh, just like home, eh?
WRONG!
The Target in Australia isn’t even related to the Target in the US. Pretty awesome, eh? There were so many similarities, but once I was walking around, it was clear the Australia Target is inferior to our Target. It was a little cheaper-feeling (not in a good way.) (And no, it’s not illegal or anything. International trademarks and blah blah. You can read more about it here.
After I was done at Target, Deborah was finally awake, so we went and got breakfast. In keeping with my theme throughout the trip, I had stuff on toast. This time it was avocados with olives. Yum.
We got on a tram that circles the CBD (and is free, yay) and got off when we saw some cool shopping area. Melbourne is full of these laneways, which are narrow and full of cafes and shops. Pretty neat.
I bought George some Cuban cigars (I know, buy local, eh?) and the boys some local candy.
We headed to the Queen Victoria Market next where bought some cheap souvenirs (the requisite boomerangs, etc.) And then to lunch. And then Deborah was exhausted but I wasn’t done shopping, so she went back to the hotel to rest and I went to the grocery to buy all the Tim Tams I could find for the boys.
My feet were killing me by this point, so I went back to the hotel. I do have to give a shout-out to my shoes, though. I only brought two pairs of shoes for the entire trip. My running shoes and a pair of Mox. They’re like jellies, only very comfortable. Highly recommend. (You can see them in some of my pictures from this trip.)
That evening, we had an event at a local brewery, so I rested for a while and then Deborah and I headed south of the river. We grabbed some food at a restaurant on the river. So pretty! I really wish we could have spent a bit more time in Melbourne.
The event went well, we talked to a bunch of people about Automattic (we’re hiring, did you know?) and, well, that was about it. The next morning we headed to the airport. I went home, and Deborah went on to another event in Adelaide.
After a gajillion hours of flying later (thankfully the movies on the way home were much better) I made it home! Man, it was good to see my boys. I missed them sooooo much.
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