Melbourne-Day Three

This morning we got up at 7 am, ate some brekky, and walked to the Queen Victoria Markets, which is one of the biggest markets in Australia. They aren’t kidding! When we arrived, we couldn’t even tell where they begun or ended, because they just kept going for what seemed like 50 blocks. Lindsey and Katie started at the souvenir-type stands, and Heather and I kept walking down farther because we can’t stand to see more of the cheaply made same souvenirs that are in every shop in Oz. We ended up by alpaca wools and hand-carved wooden stools and tables. The apparel, accessories and ‘stuff’ part of the market was a massive area that became pretty overwhelming after an hour. How is there that many things that people buy?!  I felt so happy with my belongings, knowing they are few but with quality and personal value. We moved on to the produce markets which I was impressed by. I’ve never seen so many colors of fruit and vegetables in one place, stretched out in such a big area. I looked for food items we didn’t have in America and couldn’t find many, but I found Buddha’s Hand to be interesting. 

I asked the seller what they were and he told me how they originated and that they are the first lemons to exist. They smelled exactly like a lemon and had the skin of a lemon, just in a hand-like shape. Maybe we do have those in the states, but I’ve never seen them before. We got to try many fruits along the stands and were taken aback by how a fruit can be so tasty and pure. Peering at all the vegetables, all I wanted to do was buy everything in sight and make a big stew.

 If I lived in Melbourne, that would be my shopping for the week, because the markets are open every weekend. I can just imagine coming down and buying all the fresh produce and supporting the local farmers so contently.

Many people I know here own or run their own farm and sell their food items at the markets around New South Wales. My visual culture professor has an organic farm with over 180 different types of fruit, vegetables and herbs. My host family’s friends own a macadamia nut farm and harvest the nuts to sell in the markets.

Heather and I looked at each other after both catching a wiff of a rank smell. We followed our noses and found the cheese market! I’ve never seen so much cheese in my life. Aged, spotted, white, yellow, blue, hard, soft, crumbled, hanging, in wheels, in sample trays, in wrap, stuffed with herbs… so. much. cheese. I took a little video on my camera for all my cheese-loving family members. I’m not one of those members however, so I got out of there after scoping out the 16 different types of feta cheese I saw. Whenever there is feta cheese on my meal when I go out to eat, I’ve noticed it has a very distinct taste, like goat’s milk. I’m pretty sure that is what they generally use in Australia for fine cheeses in general, but my taste buds could be mistaken. All I know is it is definitely different from the feta cheese or any cheese we have in the States.

We then continued on to the meat market. As much cheese as I just saw, there was more amounts of meat. SO. MUCH. MEAT. Hanging meat, slabs of meat, spiced meat, raw meet, cooked samples of meat, fish fillets, real fish, blue crabs, biggest shrimp I’ve ever seen. largest strips of bacon I’ve ever seen (seriously-they were over a foot long), butchers chopping meat in mid air, meat in buckets on the ground..

My Aussie friends say that they would never buy the meat we buy for sandwiches-in the pre-sliced cheese section, made by Kraft or whoever packaged the meat. They also have gone to the deli to spend a little more on ‘decent, proper meat’ and they say. You can completely tell the difference, too.

There were so many people and so much meat, that we felt a little out of place not standing at the counter talking over other people to get their kilos and slices of steak or fish or my favorite, ox kidneys and hearts.

We went on to the wines, honey and salsa dips. I tried a jam looking dip that said ‘Hell Fire’ and I experienced both of those things on my tongue for about ten minutes after I tried it. I hoped the harmless sounding ‘Mango Chili’ would ease the pain, but it made it that much worse. Now I know-do not underestimate the intensity of Australian dips and preserves.

We began to walk out of the markets and it started down pouring rain, so Heather and I seeked shelter under a café and got some warm drinks. After giving up coffee in the mornings, I have a new appreciation for the rare occasion that I do get a coffee-based drink, and can actually enjoy the one small cup.

 

A few hours of strolling around the markets had left all our senses in high alert and we felt highly satisfied with our market experience.

We walked around for a while longer and found the Melbourne Museum, which we wanted to check out. It was $12 to get in but it said ‘Concession’: free. We pulled out our ISIC cards and the lady at the desk gave us a smirk and said, ‘Nice try, these cards are expired.’ Well we hoped not considering they last two years and we got them in February. We told her that we are American, so the date is month/day/year, not day/month/year. She said that international cards always have the date the “right” way and so we weren’t telling the truth. It was the first time someone has challenged us on the cards expiry date, so I pulled out my driver’s license and said-‘this is my birthday and it matches the one on the ISIC card.’ After a few more remarks about how America needs to change their ways and just convert to the normal measures of time, she let us in for free. (YES, it was worth saving $12-we are on a budget here!)

The museum was absolutely incredible! There was a ‘Bugs Alive’ exhibit that I usually wouldn’t spend heaps of time at, but it was displayed with visual interest and really fun facts. My favorite part was the marine life section where they had all sorts of unique sea life in Australian waters. They also had a display explaining the first people who voyaged to the farthest dept of the ocean floor and survived. The water pressure was equivalent of 300 cars on top of a person’s head. Now that is dense.

Another amazing part was the dinosaur fossils and blue whale skeleton. I haven’t seen dinosaurs since I was in elementary school and when we went to a science museum for a school field trip. It made me miss my mom so much because she would always be a parent chaperone for those kinds of field trips.

There was an outdoor section called the Forest Gallery, which all native to Australia species of plants and flora. We walked along the Seven Seasons ribbon path which represented the Aboriginal seasonal calendar along the Upper Yarra Valley.

I really enjoyed the Old Melbourne exhibit where they had huge photographs of the same streets we had just walked on, but in the early 1900s. It is just amazing to me how much the world changes, yet how people seem to stay the same. There were business men in suits walking with briefcases, and woman and children hailing a cab. Real people from a real time in the same places crossing the same streets, just 100 years later.

There was another exhibit displaying the local high schoolers’ works in design and fashion. I loved seeing how different the fashion taste of young people is in Oz compared to other places in the world. On these particular displays, it seemed like as long as the outfit had more than seven miss-matched layers of clothing, it was seen as high-fashion.

Unfortunately, the Aboriginal exhibit was under construction so we missed out on it this time. There were plenty of paintings done by local Aboriginal artists hanging on the wall, which are always interesting to look at. The last exhibit was the Human Mind and Body, where they had astonishing displays, interactive models, and real human organs to observe. It was one of the coolest human exhibits I’ve seen in a long time.

After four hours of mental and visual stimulation, we were ready to find something to eat! We had coupons for the Pancake Parlour and decided to find it. It was in a mall apparently, and we knew what street it was on, but seemed to pass right by it several times. Finally we asked around and we were guided down the escalator on the street to the vintage-feeling restaurant area. (By the way, Melbourne people are truly the friendliest, most helpful, sincere people I have met in Australia so far. We walk down the street and if for a moment we look confused or lost, every time some one has stopped and asked if we need directions. Just SO nice!)

We sat down and ordered our short stack with whipped butter pancakes, as that was what the coupon was for. The other ‘fancy pancakes’ on the menu tantalized us, but the $18 price tag for pancakes diminished that desire. They were just plain, original pancakes, but some of the best I’ve ever had. The other girls ordered milkshakes, but I did not because Australia milkshakes are just milk, ice and the flavour. When I crave a milkshake, I want it to be as thick and ice creamy as possible. :)

 

After the delicious meal, we walked back across town to our hostel, and hung out with people there for a few hours as we waited for it to get dark. We did this so when we went to the Eureka Skydeck Tower, the city would be lit up against the dark sky. Derick and Kay joined us as we walked to the tallest residential building in the world, and we stood below it in awe of its grand stature. It usually costs $17 to go to the top skydeck, but with our handy ISIC cards, it was only $10. We read all the interesting architectural facts about the building, and learned it was built only six years ago. As we entered the elevator, they gave us a look of ‘good luck’ as we shot up 88 floors in 15 seconds. I’m not one prone to motion sickness, but I felt nauseous and slightly got faint from the intense upward motion. It went away after I stepped off to the fantastic view of Melbourne by night.

 Cars were tiny specks of dust below us and the Yarra River was more like a small creek running through the city. We stepped outside to this caged in platform and our adrenaline instantly shot up. I’m always the one to look down. Again and again. After a while, I got sort of used to being up so high, that is until I almost had a heart attack after Derick scared me and pushed me slightly forward. After a very heated discussion with him about how NOT fun I am about getting scared, he apologized and said he would try his best to not do it again. Oh, boys.

The city looked like an electric current of waves all interwoven to make an intricate pattern against a black background. It was spectacular. The skydeck itself was very swanky and chic, but intimate and romantic. Speaking of romantic, we were walking around the corner to get the whole 360 degrees of the city, when we saw a guy get down on one knee. He proposed to his girlfriend and she starting jumping and shouting and then I started shouting and jumping and everyone in the room was all excited. Eventually she calmed down enough to actually say ‘yes’ and they kissed and we took pictures of them for them. Well, I just took a picture of them for me, because they were so darn cute. Again, Melbourne is just the most romantic city and later that night, we saw a bridge and groom get out of a horse and buggy with her huge white dress and he in a sharp tux. It was straight out of a movie.

You could make reservations for a Degustation Meal on the 89^th floor that was $95 a person! Seems a little steep for me-haha, get it? :)

We stood up there, so far above the ground for a couple hours and realized it would be closing down soon, so we took our final pictures and got on the elevator. Down 88 floors in 15 seconds is even worse than going up. A few minutes of dizziness passed and we were back at ground level.

It was pretty late, so we decided to head back towards our hostel. We took our time enjoying the horse and buggy carriages, the late night café eaters, and all the people strolling about the streets downtown.