Fresh Start in Melbourne

I had a lovely sleep and never dreamed about missing my flight or anything horrid like that.  I got up, washed my face, and got ready for the big day that now lay ahead of me.

I was perfectly organized and had a lovely breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast and raspberry yogurt.

Wearing my backpack was quite the struggle because I hadn’t had to carry it for almost a month; only time I had to carry it after Sydney was when I brought it in to the hostel.  I made my 15 minute trek to the Brisbane Transit Bus Station, on the way there I passed two guys who offered to help me with my bags, I told them I was headed to the bus station and their reply was “Good luck, we’ll cheer you on from here”.  Not that I needed help anyway, I am a perfectly capable person.

Finally arrived at the train station and I was a bit sweaty.  An old Asian lady started talking to me right away about my travels, what she does and how people should start travelling at a young age.  We talked the whole train ride but I was so exhausted I had to sleep for a bit.

We got off the train and I scanned my transit card to pay, I was $6.60 short but no one was looking so I just kept walking like nothing was wrong.  I made it to the check in and I was so relieved to get rid of my bag.  I felt as light as a feather when I walked away to security.

Going through security was a breeze except for the minor incident of me forgetting to bring my aerosol cans out of my bag, which only resulted in a 7-minute delay.  Thank god for that delay because a security lady walked over with my Dalmatian that had Hari bought me, if I hadn’t got stopped I would have left it behind never to be seen again.  Funny how things like that work out.

I arrived at my terminal and rested for the remaining time I had.

The moment the plain started boarding I was up and ready to sleep in my seat.  For some reason though I had the most restless sleep I have ever had on a plane before.  Time change from Brisbane to Melbourne is about an hour, so when the captain said the plain was landing and I checked my phone and saw the time was 10:06 I thought, ‘oh god, I’m going to have to wait at the airport for an hour before Sharon and Rob show up’.

Luckily, by the time I turned my phone off ‘flight mode’ the time changed to 11 and I felt relived.  I was pretty much the last to get off the plane but the moment I stepped into the airport Sharon and Robin ran up to me and gave me a great big hug!  I was so happy to see a familiar face after so much travelling with people I didn’t know.

I told them about my adventures as we walked to the baggage claim and on the way we passed the café where I had my first beer… it was kind of like I was at the beginning of my trip again.

Rob and Sharon told me about the plan they had for me when I have to come back to Melbourne to catch my flight to Cairns.  Instead of Vince and Lyn (Lyn is Sharon’s sister) driving me to the airport in the morning, Rob and Sharon would put me into a hotel just across the street from the airport so I’m not as rushed in the morning to get ready.

After booking the hotel we jumped into the car and made our way to Vince and Lyn’s house.  I could barely keep my eyes open at the beginning of the drive so it was lights out for me until we reached Fountain Gate shopping mall.

The moment we arrived I woke up and was ready to get some fresh air and stretch my legs.  We stopped for lunch first inside the mall at a café called Twisted Sista and for some reason it reminded me of Devi and me, I can’t wait to see my sister again.  After eating we ventured into the mall to shop for Merve, it is his birthday on Monday and we are going to have tea (dinner) at their house.  We found him a lovely navy shirt that Sharon and I picked out; Robin didn’t know what to look for.  Further into the mall we ventured until we found a kitchen store and an ATM, then is was time to leave and head to where I will be staying for the next few days.  Before we left we bought some absolutely delicious cherries that Robin couldn’t keep his hands off.

We finally made it to Lyn and Vince’s house, I was more than excited to be in a house with family and friends.  I felt welcome the moment my foot went past the door, the only thing I wasn’t expecting was to find Vince holding a 6-month-old baby named Mason and wiping white puke off his shirt.

For the rest of the day Robin and I watched cricket while Sharon played with Mason and Vince read the paper.  Jenna (Vince and Lyn’s daughter) showed up with baby Eve and not long after Fiona or Fee came home from work as well.  By 3:40 I was exhausted and went to bed for a nap that lasted until 5:20.  Right before I went to sleep I got a call from Dad and Devi who were coming home from downtown.  They had just done a bit of shopping but the only thing I could concentrate on was the sound of the rain.  I could hear the wipers whipping backs and forth and the sound of the rain hitting the car. This may sound funny but I am starting to miss Canadian weather, mostly the torrential downpours of rain we get.  I was more than pleased to go to sleep after talking to Dad and Devi.

When I got up I felt well rested and it was just in time for vegetarian lasagna for dinner.  I devoured my first slice and salad, and then went back for seconds.  We watched the news while eating dinner and I learned about a recent murder in Cairns… a mother murdered seven children, six of which were her own.  Things like this don’t really get me excited for the next leg of my adventure.

We watched Mr. & Mrs. Smith before we went to bed, if it weren’t for all the commercials we could have been in bed by 10:30 but instead the movie ended at 11:30.  I was extremely happy to sleep in a bed I could stretch out in and to sleep in in the morning.