Another recap

Finally it is time to recap.
I've been bored in Sydney, staying in Glebe village which is known as a 'bohemian travellers retreat'- of course, the minute the word 'bohemian' gets slapped in there, it conjures all sorts of disgusting images of tanned european backpackers languishing on beanbags in chai cafes. Not far off. Perhaps it is envy that causes my distain, those people clearly have a lot more money to chuck at that endless road of thai resteraunts and quirky cafes and eco shops and feminist secondhand bookstores, and actually it is a very nice place. Especially compared to the mental Sydney central, which could be mistaken for Beijing if you are going on the chinese to western faces ratio. which is about 100:1.
In Sydney I have:
* hand fed a turkeyheron (real name, sacred ibis)
* seen in New Year
* gawped at the opera house and harbour bridge
* visited the Rocks market and Glebe market
* done lots of swimming in a salty swimming pool
* been dashed against the sands at Coogee beach
* met a really bloody huge stick insect
* been round the wildlife centre and the aquarium, and met a Dugong (sea cow) and many other fishy things

The flight from Sydney to Melbourne was relatively pain free except for the HUNDREDS OF CHILDREN on board, who invariably all wanted food/drink/to get off/to see daddy/to generally piss me and Keir off by kicking seats and snapping seatbelts. We are not having kids. A puppy will do just fine, and be far less irritating.
We met Soph and Gem in Melbourne and blagged free entry to the melbourne museum, cos we're students innit. We learned about the human reproductive system by looking at actual dessicated preserved testicle tubes and penises and vaginas which made Keir very upset. The natural history bit was easier on the eye, with wonderful aquatic specimins including a picture of a blobfish, which looks like a sad old man with a bulbous nose.
Oh, and we went geocaching with the girls- it's fun! This one was stuck with a magnet under a statue thing in the park.

Melbourne is a twee/secondhand/indie haven. We came across little cafes and pubs decked out with old rock and roll pictures and higgledy piggledy furniture, advertising live bands despite the seemingly impossible size inside. Today we came across a secondhand bookshop that sold Playboy mags from the 70's. I've got one for the amusing articles and classy porn film reviews, as well as the manly manly cigarette adverts. We stumbled on the Lost and Found market too, during a hangover/geocahe fail day, a three floored building chock full of old stuff, relabeled 'vintage' and sold on at well above charity shop prices, much to my annoyance. Inside it looks like the mother of all jumble sales, except everything is desireable on one level or another. I spent far too long drooling over old bicycles, typewriters and cabinets full of costume jewellery and old cameras. I do love old things.

I will get around to posting about my adventures in the wilderness soon, tomorrow we are setting off on the great ocean road, and I will be off the radar for another week or so. I will finish this off when I return. x