Continuing on..

So where did I leave you all? I believe I'm on Day Three of Melbourne I think. Sorry, Speed is on in the background and I'm getting increasingly annoyed at how high Sandra Bullock's voice used to be.

So Melbourne Day Three started out with breakfast in St. Kilda where we met up with my friend Tom, who I met when he was studying abroad at UCI. he took us to a cute little place called Las Chicas (Australians love their Spanish names despite the lack of Hispanic/Latin people around). Later on he drove us past Port Phillip bay and dropped us off at Ackland Street where we wandered down and checked out shops and bakeries. Apparently, the cakes on this street are well known, so of course we had to try some. I sadly picked a chocolate mousse cake that any normal chocoholic would have enjoyed, but I forget time and time again that I don't enjoy chocolate after two bites. That's all I need. I ended up sculpting my cake into a postmodern art piece and watched Jess and Maggie enjoy their aptly chosen treats. After that, we tried to find St.Kilda Road which was to bring us back to the city centre but we got Tom's directions confused (not your fault Tom) but ended up walking up a big hill and finally finding a tram.
We then got off at the National Gallery of Victoria, which was a FREE museum of art and sculptures. All the art museums here are free. Very nice. i like free things. I may not like what's in them sometimes, but I like free things. The building is an art piece itself, but very hard to navigate around. we finally found rooms of art, but only after a while. These rooms had everything from early renaissance art to modern video art. My favorite part was the dresses of Jane Austen's time exhibit. They're very pretty, even though they would not flatter anyone.
After that, we went on the hunt for the Chinese food place we saw on Anthony Bourdain's Melbourne show. it was supposed to have very spicy food, and I'm always up for a challenge.
We found the place which was located in classy alley with a dumpster and van in front of the entrance in Chinatown.
As we sat down, Jess noticed that we were the only white people in the restaurant. I didn't realize this; after all, two years in Irvine tend to make you forget that. But we were getting laughed at, mainly by the staff. Maggie and I ordered an apparently super spicy chicken entree while Jess wimped out and got some soup. Wimp out is a harsh word. We knew coming into this she can't handle her spice. In the end, the dish was not very satisfying. It was spicy, yes, but not as bad as we thought, and the chunks of chicken had bones in them and it was really greasy. In the end, Maggie and I triumphed over our sassy waiter who mocked us to the cooking staff, but the food wasn't worth it.

The next day we checked out of our hotel, put our luggage in storage and...walked to pick up our rental car. This was the moment we were all dreading. We decided to get a car to drive along Great Ocean Road because flying and taking the train were more expensive, plus we wouldn't be able to see some beautiful views. I volunteered to drive first. This meant driving the city streets and making weird right turns. Since the rams run through the middle of the street, people making right turns have to get in the farthest LEFT lane, venture out very far in the intersection, and pretty much wait until the light turns yellow to turn right. It sounded intimidating, but after taking notes from drivers on the street, my first and only attempt at one worked with little to no panic and no one getting hurt. Aside from backing up and turning on the windshield wipers instead of the turn signal and one panic-filled moment when Maggie told me to turn left when she meant right, it was easy. We got out of Melbourne safely, got on the Great Ocean Road safely, then after our first stop at a lighthouse, Maggie took over. Don't tell her, but it was slightly terrifying to be driving with her on the left side of the road. She kept going over the shoulder because the roads looked narrow to her, or maybe she didn't realize she was doing this, but it was scary. Especially when we were right along the ocean, on a cliff, and it was raining. Mom, stop worrying. We were fine.
After a quick stop in Apollo Bay and another at the Twelve Apostles cliffs, we stopped for the evening in Port Campbell and got a hotel room at a cute little inn that wasn't expensive at all. we were excited to have a good shower that night, not that we were deprived in our other hostels, but it is thrilling to not have to wear shower shoes.

I never thought I would know how to function without a cell phone or mapquest, but this trip is helping me find out. We devised a plan on a map (the old-fashioned way) and made our way toward Adelaide. Along our way, we encountered what seemed like hundreds of signs warning against fatigue. Australians don't sugar coat things. On the tram in Melbourne, I saw a sign the read "Hot water deserts the showers of fare evaders." A little harsh, yes. On the road trip, one McDonald's sported a sign "Fatigue Kills. Stop and Rest Now." Another: "Slowing down won't kill you." And my favorite "Drowsy Drivers Die." I think we got the message. The road was peppered with these signs, as well as ones for people crossing in remote areas where no one lived, and kangaroo and koala crossings. We finally got to Adelaide, checked in, booked our wine tasting tour for the next day, and passed out.

This morning, we woke up early and get on the Groovy Grape Bus (I kid you not) where our tour guide, Glen, took us and backpackers from other hostels up to the Barossa Valley for wine tasting. We stopped in an area along the way that housed a 20 foot toy rocking horse that Maggie, Jess and I climbed. We got a certificate as well that states that we did. It wasn't hard, and it had ladders, but we were the only ones to do so, so we like to see that as everyone else was too scared. There was also a petting zoo we could visit, and it had llamas, sheep, chickens, peacocks, and KANGAROOS! We got to pet them and they were very friendly. They could care less that humans were approaching them. the llamas were annoying, and the sheep was giving Maggie side eyes so we didn't get to pet her. After that, we went to three wineries, then had a break for lunch where we got to eat kangaroo. It was definitely on our list of things to do while in Australia, but we wished it wasn't on the same day we got to pet one as well. We went to one last winery before heading back to Adelaide. The wineries were cute, but nothing could compare to California wine. Nice try Australia.
Our group was fun until some idiots who couldn't handle their alcohol started getting annoying. One was a poorly dressed English girl who apparently had a love for the foo fighters, or as she said, "foo F*in' figh'ers." why do people I hate like the bands I love? She was with another gem who was Australian. He's the kind of guy who thought he was the comedian of the group, when he really was just a politically incorrect oaf that managed to offend multiple races and sexual groups in a matter of minutes. So much fun. On our way back, they kept yelling at two people in the front of the bus while getting drunker on bottles of wine they bought whilst yelling out suggestion for bands that the bus driver obviously didn't have on his ipod. that didn't stop them from trying. they kept calling the guys gay boys and poofters, and the Asian people Japan and Tokyo, even though one girl was from China. Quality people right there. Finally they were dropped off. We were the last ones left on the bus, but they could sense our hatred and didn't say goodbye.
Later on tonight, we walked to Rundle Street, which houses a lot of restaurants and clubs. It was popping off tonight. So many people were going out and getting super fancy. We also kept encountering zombies. I kid you not. There were a lot of people dressed to the nines in zombie makeup and costumes. We were a little confused, but before we started making a plan to fight back, I asked a couple of zombie nurses who were smoking outside of hungry jacks what was up. Apparently it's Zombie Wars tonight. I was informed of this in a very matter of fact way. Of course it was Zombie Wars! How could I forget? never mind that I'm from a different country. I will research and find out more later. I need answers.

So I believe you are all caught up. You lucky ducks. I apologize for procrastinating. I will never leave my work till the last minute again. Right.

And I know I haven't seen Speed the entire way through, but why can't Sandra Bullock die? She's making me angry.