Erik Skye Travel Blog

27 Dec 2011 (updated 29 Dec 2011)

Here’s the map: Google Maps – Wizard of Oz

Melbourne feel like a city that everyone visits, but nobody really lives in. That has to be an exaggeration, but it’s how it seems to me. And for a city of 3.5 million or so, I’m left wondering ‘where is everyone?' They must have planned it out nicely, with many suburbs tucked neatly away.  The traffic flows well, the streets don't seem too busy, and you can get into and out of the city quickly.  Melbourne's also a nice blend of modern skyline, old history, and parks.  On a nice day, it's a lovely place to explore.

Adie and I took a walk down St. Kilda street today.  Its a highlight of the city in terms of food and specialty shops and is featured in the National Geographic book on Australia that I’m carrying. I noticed many bakery window displays and hoped to capture a scene similar to the one shown in the guide book.  I think I got it.

We stopped at a great corner restaurant for a few drinks and were waited on by a “typical Aussie”, so I thought. She asked us where we were from (I have an obvious accent, and Adie has a slight one – being that she was born in Peru and partially raised in Arizona). I politely returned the question, almost facetiously, thinking she was born and raised right here in Melbourne. Turned out she was a university student visiting for a few years from Sweden. Some people know how to adapt… 

The highlight of the day was meeting one of Adie’s best friends, Kerrie. We went to a local Indian restaurant (there are many of those here) and had a delightful conversation.  I can tell Kerrie’s one of those people who just makes you feel good to be around her. She’s an open book and kind natured. It turns out we have similar philosophies about life too.  We clicked, sharing our thoughts on subjects like Eckhart Tholle's book “The Power of Now”.

Many of the things I heard Kerrie talk about were endearing to me, such as this cute little story:  Kerrie was playing with her 10 year old son Simon recently. As they lay in bed, she told Simon ‘you know how a mother cat carries her kittens? She grabs them by the back of their necks with her teeth!’, and Kerrie proceeded to act out how she pretended to grab the back of Simon’s neck with her teeth. ‘And a mother elephant uses her trunk to carry her babies’ as she demonstrated by putting her arms together, pretending to lift Simon by a trunk. ‘But do you know how I carried you as a baby?’ continued Kerrie. ‘I lifted you by your feet’ and Kerri laughed as she demonstrated how she had grabbed Simon by the feet and lifted him high.  I think Simon's a lucky kid.

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