Arcades and Dali

Friday August 21, 2009
Today was my first full day in Melbourne, after my first full night sharing a room with strangers. They arrived last night at about 11pm, I was already in bed. They were as quiet as could be expected and then they went back out for a night on the town. I have no idea when they got back in... I was asleep. I got up at about 6:45am, to shower and get myself ready for the day. They were still sleeping. I tried to extend the same quietness for them, but it's hard to flush a toilet or have a shower silently. I did the best I could.. but I was a bit annoyed.. I had my clothes in plastic bags.. no way to keep them from crinkling and making a hell of a noise.. though by 8am, people were being noisy in the kitchen behind our room and there was a guy vacuuming just outside the door.. by then, I didn't feel as bad having to come back in to blow dry my hair. They finally started to rouse at about 8:45, and I left at about 9am for my walk about the city. Before I did that though, I booked my excursions for the next three days. I am doing the Great Ocean Road tomorrow which goes from 6:50am to 8pm, then on Sunday I'm up at 7am for Puffing Billy, then finally on Monday I'm going to be up at 7am for Ballarat and Sovereign Hill. That'll be all my time in Melbourne then I'm off EARLY on tuesday to the RED CENTRE. (I'm so going to need a job in Perth!!)

So my trip into the city... I walked down Nicholson st (where the hostel is) passed the Melbourne Museum (showing “a day in pomeii”), the IMAX, and the Royal Exhibition Bldg. kept going till I ran into the VICTORIA PARLIAMENT HOUSE. very pretty, looks like an official building. Continued on my walk down to Little Collins St (Collins St was a larger street beside it). Eventually, I found my way to an information desk (VERY HELPFUL IN MELBOURNE, as a homeless man instructed me to find) and the volunteers were very helpful. They gave me a route to follow through the arcades down to Southbank and the National Gallery of Victoria that was showing an exhibit on Salvadore Dali. GREAT!

The weather, being what it is in Melbourne, (unpredictable) began to shower. They've had a drought here for the past several years... I show up.. it rains! go figure! so the kind volunteer lady pointed me in the direction of what was essentially a dollar store. I got some provisions for the day and I was set to make my way through the quaint alleys and court yards and arcades. First stop was a great chocolaterie. YUM! bought one chocolate, just to say I did it! lol. Just a little ways down from the chocolate shop was a wiccan store, so naturally, I went in! It was filled with wonderful things. different coloured candles, incense, pendulums, cards, books, ingredients for spells, crystal balls, lots of great stuff. So naturally I bought a few things.. lol I got some Australian totem animal oracle cards and a few gifts for my aunt.
The ladies there were obviously practitioners of the Craft, as when I asked to see the library, she wanted to show me a particular book, (of which they were out) about the different celebration days here in Australia. As Wicca was started in the Northern Hemisphere, all the “feast days” are different in the South (season reversal and such). So this book she was explaining to me, did all the conversions for you. I thanked her for the information, and didn't tell her that I'm not a practicing wiccan in any case. So I left the lovely store and continued my route through the arcades.

I found several other chocolate places, even a HUGE store that sold Lindt (though out of my price range.. esp. after having bought the oracle cards). There were lots of old book stores too.. ooh.. they were tough to get me out of them! Not all the arcades and alleys were what you'd consider dodgy.. some had stores with crystal chandaliers and marble floors. Others, were little food places with the walls filled with graffiti. It was an odd area, but I just loved it. I didn't know what to expect around the next corner. Sadly, I made my way to the end of the fun and quirky arcades and out onto some of the main streets. Though I was greeted with the Flinders St Railway Station. Lovely building. so I continued along side the station, and over the bridge. I should have stopped to take a picture of the city while on the bridge.. but it was sooo bloody cold, the wind in some spots of the city is just unbearable. So alas, I didn't take the picture. I went on to the Salvadore Dali exhibit.

The exhibit was well done, I got an audio guide to help me through and below all of the items there was a really good explanation as to what was going on in Dali's head when he painted/created the item. The man, I have to say, was twisted. He and one of his buddies, made a movie in which he slices open a woman's eye, and his friend has ants crawling out of his hand. He continued a fascination with eyes and ants, I noticed, through a good deal of his career. He was also fascinated with sex and death. pretty messed up combination. I have to admit, he's done some cool stuff, particularly his short movie with Disney, but on the whole.. the guy was messed up. It was interesting to note his relationship with his wife, who was 10 years his senior and russian and also married when they met. Guess that didn't last because he and she Gala (I think) were married for 53 years or something, then she died in 1982 and then he died in 1989..I think. Crazy to think I was around while he was still walking the earth. He also had a thing for Freud, thought he was a genius (many agree). In his paintings, he depicts Freud as a snail with the goop as brains I think.. something like that.

I took a brief look around at the rest of the gallery which is free, then decided it was time to start meandering back home. I retraced my steps, stopping at a few churches and a creperie for dinner/lunch.

Finally walked back home, did laundry and am now relaxing and preparing for tomorrow.