Let's start with Saturday, Day 55- It was the day after Conception Day, and I woke up in a much better state than most others did. I had to be up and out of my room at DLC before 10 AM, and I managed. This day would also be the very first time I stayed in a hostel. But of course, I had to get there first. I knew where I was suppose to go. Let's just say.... it didn't happen the way it was suppose to.
Shoutout to Google Maps because I'm pretty sure I have to credit them for legal purposes.
See the Black X? That was where I got off the train. See the Red Circle? That's the hostel. See the blue squiggly line? That was the route I took to get there. Now that I think about it, it doesn't look squiggly enough. For the record, I checked out all of this beforehand. I checked it multiple times, and still got hopelessly lost. I never talked about this til now because if my Mom found out it probably would have given her an aneurysm when coupled with the fact that a few days after that I would be flying to a city I have never been to in a country I'm not from and have to travel even farther. Don't worry Mom, I didn't get as lost in Melbourne! But I'm getting ahead of myself. I need to talk about what I did on Sunday first.
Sunday, Day 56, I went and visited the Blue Mountains. The Blue Mountains are a mountain(duh) range that are located behind the Sydney area. They are called the Blue Mountains because due to some freaky effects with how light reflects and bends and all the oil eucalyptus trees give off, it makes it look like a blue haze floats all around the mountains.
See. Blue!
The train ride took 2 hours, each way. And I was quite impressed with myself because I was able to make the 7:18 AM train TO the Blue Mountains. I mean, thats a big deal. I had to wake up really early for that. Being the smart cookie I am, I planned it so I would get there for the first round of the Hop On, Hop Off explorer bus that takes you around the sites. Of course I had to pay, but y0iA0(you're only in Australia once that's the motto homie y0ia0). Now I can tend to be a loner sometimes, staying holed up in my room. Ask my family or Ashrew. They knew. But I've never really DONE anything on my own before. And especially nothing as big as taking a 2 hour train ride to the mountains and just walking around site-seeing. So this whole experience has been terrifying. And exciting. But mostly terrifying. But more on that later. Now, more Blue Mountains talk. Basically this part of Australia mixed foresty forest with rainforest, and it was amazing. I took some epic rides across the mountains and down to one of the valley floors, and it was incredible. It reminded me so much of some of the things my family would do when we did our little mini-vacations. Totally the type of place my parents and brothers would LOVE. While there, I saw a really important part of the local Aboriginal people's culture and spirituality, the Three Sisters.
Each of my fancy pictures takes like 5 minutes to upload here and now I regret uploading this one because I have at least 1 more from the Blue Mountains I want to get up ugh #firstworldproblems
I actually got stuck at this lookout point for a bit because it was lunch break for the bus drivers. Then I realized I missed the music/dance performance put on by some of the Aboriginal people from the local clan and cried on the inside not only because of the obvious reasons of missing something awesome but for the fact in a couple weeks I have a project about Aboriginal Art/Music/Dance so this was perfect. I made myself feel better by spending cash I shouldn't have on absolutely amazing gelato that I only got to eat half of because the bus driver wouldn't let me take a half eaten cone on the bus. Needless to say I was quite upset.
I could go on and on about how awesome the Blue Mountains were but my butt is starting to hurt from sitting on the ground so I'm gonna move on.
It's a backscratcher. Made out of a kangaroo paw. Just let that sink in.
Day 57 I stayed within the confines of Sydney. I was going to hit up Oceanworld at Manly Beach and Shelly Beach(solely because they were visited on The Amazing Race 18 but whatever), but the weather was kinda gloomy and rainy, so I decided to hit up the Australian Museum instead. And if you know me(wow I say that a lot), you know I love learning. Doing work, no way. But actually learning? I love it. So I love museums. Now the Australian Museum wasn't HUGE, but I still spent a good 3 hours wondering, exploring. Wow I thought I had more to say about the museum but I guess not.
I don't know why I keep uploading pictures this is taking forever.
Day 58, today, I flew to Melbourne. I got to the airport fine. The lax security measures surprised me. I'm use to expecting to take off shoes and take everything electronic out of the bag and get yourself patted down/checked out by TSA. And I got to Melbourne safe and sound... although I made an arm and a leg to get here to the hostel. And this time, I only got a little lost on my way. I just walked up and around. But I guess it speaks to my merit I keep finding my way... eventually.
So that leads me to here. Sitting on the ground. Now listening to some heavy Irish accents and catching only every 4th word and adjusting so I don't lose feelings in my buttcheeks. To be honest, the whole "staying in hostels on a solo trip" has pushed me out of my comfort zone. I mean, the environment just doesn't... I'm not sure. I think most of it has to deal with the fact that I'm alone. If I had a friend with me, I think I would enjoy this 10000000x more. That way I wouldn't feel so lost and alone. I also miss talking. I've hardly ever talked to anyone the last 4 days. It's weird, you know. Don't get me wrong, I love this whole travelling thing. I just don't think I like travelling alone.
Which leads me to my last bit, what I've been alluding to in the last post and in this post- In less than 10 hours I will be leaving for my trip through South Australia and the Outback!
This is the route. I'm so freakin' stoked.
11 Days, I will be traveling with Top Deck. Who was booked through Adventure Tours. Who I booked through STA Travel. Complicated, I know. Now this trip is hitting a lot, but 2 of my MAJOR, MUST DO items on my Australian Bucket List- Coober Pedy and Uluru. It's going to be interesting. It's a travel group/tour, and I think there will be 20-25 of us. And again, I will be traveling alone in the sense it's noone I know. Yet. I think this will be really good because I will get to know the people on the tour really quick- I mean we'll be on a coach bus traveling across the country. And it's an 11 day trip, which is a really long time when you think about it. So I'm crossing my fingers and hoping for the best. I'm excited and ready. This is one of the reasons why I wanted to study abroad in Australia. The idea of the Outback and Uluru played a major part in building my fascination with Australia forever ago.
But now, I need to get into bed. And I don't know how much Internet I wil have on the trip, or how much time I will have to make a nice post about it. But give me about 2 weeks, I will have something. I won't leave you hanging. I promise.
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