Jauntification ... the diary of the jaunt to Melbourne
The night before...
Dear diary,
Packing! I've never packed a bag where I will need to carry it around and onto the plane. We have cheap tix which means I don't have the luxury of a roll-on case. Should I take that extra underwear? That extra t-shirt? I have reduced my washbag down to a container 15cm long, 12cm high and 4cm deep. Is that a record?
What will the weather be like? Will it be hot? Humid? Cold? Wet? A quick view of the meteorology website helps me out. Probably will be good to have 3/4 length pants and a couple of t-shirts and a cardigan for the days. I think I'll choose comfy footwear, and take my boots (only slightly less comfy) for night to Wicked.
For Wicked I think I'll go with "earthy" witch type clothes. So in goes my long brown skirt and green jumper. I'm feeling very foresty.
I think I'll set the alarm earlier than 4.25am. It would be terrible to arrive late to Bec's and hold everyone up. So I yield and set it to 4.10am.
...
I'm trying to sleep. Thoughts of what's going to happen tomorrow crowd my mind... Will I wake up? Will the plane crash and everyone die? Will Wicked be worth this large expense to travel down? Will I get on with the others? Will I get too exhausted? What will I do?
Eventually I sleep about midnight.
4.10am.
Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. Ouch.
Damn early. Crazy. Reminds me of the times when I used to get up at 4.25am to go swimming training. It's very very quiet. I'm hunting rabbits.
No really. A shake from the wardrobe and a sneeze. A fluffy face appears! "Is it morning Mummy? Morning? Fun times?"
No, sorry my little pumpkin bear. It's not morning. I know you heard the alarm but go back to sleep.
(Snuffle. Rustle) and the other head pokes out too. "Morning???"
I resign myself to them being awake and duck to the shower. It's a good wake up and a bit of a cleansing thing as I feel icky.
Then a quick banana smoothie (using the bananas about to wither and die) and I'm out the door. Darling fuzzbutts are clambering to get out. Sorry bears.
I am so early I stop to buy chewing gum from the 7/11.
I get to the Bec's early still. K and Bec are still having breakfast. I carefully place my keys on the table, so that Bec's mum can move my car if she needs to.
I start to stress. The plane leaves at 6!! Will we get there in time?? I wander outside (to check my bag is still there, which it is) and see the taxi approaching.
We're off.
...
Sitting in the taxi, I wonder what? Why is the taxi driver going along Anzac Pde. I think that maybe he's going to go down Botany Road, but no. Man, if he doesn't turn onto Gardener's Road I'm going to say something.
Phew, he does.
And we head along Gardener's.
...
Airport. He asked if we're Qantas Domestic. I say yes. But actually, it's not. We're the other terminal. We're all half asleep and we blunder inside.
But YAY! Karen's already checked us in via the internet. So no queueing to drop our bags either.
We walk down to the metal detector and we're through. The shops are shut! I am so glad I've already bought my chewing gum.
...
We wander down to our gate. I begin to realise that this bag is NOT a good idea. Stupid thing is digging into my shoulder. Resolve to use those pesky abdominals I supposedly have from all my sit-ups, and stand up straight and keep walking.
We finally get to the gate. Not enough seats for everyone, so I perch on the floor. Jess offers me her seat, but I can't be bothered getting up.
...
Boarding! Yay! I normally wait until everyone else has boarded before joining the queue, but the others are there already so we go onto the plane. Experience another fun time clambering into the seats. Could they possibly make these seats with less legroom? But the plane's not very full so I sit next to Karen.
It's time to listen to Wicked! I downloaded it onto my IPod the previous night when I couldn't sleep. So glad I did. I get a general sense of what the musical is like.
...
Arriving in Avalon. Oh, so cold! And stupid bus company doesn't take EFTPOS or credit card, so I spend $2 and get money out of the non-Commbank teller. Stupid company. What century are they in honestly???
...
On the bus. Oh my goodness, I'm cold. Use the hoodie part of my hoodie and try to snooze. Not very successfully. End up hooking one of my legs through the seat belt.
Brrrraaaaaaaaaake! The bus shudders to a halt in the peak hour traffic. I am lolling so am jolted awake. Soon drift back to semi-conscious state.
...
Bus stops. Oh my goodness, we're here already!! Try to disentangle foot from seatbelt. Get bags. Now to drop our bags at our accommodation.
We walk to the end of Spencer St (bag digs into my shoulder again) and wait for the free tram. Melbourne PT is so great.
But alas, after questioning a tram driver we find out that the free tram doesn't start until 9.30am. Makes sense. Otherwise it would just be used by commuters.
So we look for breakfast. J later reveals that she was starving. I'm ok because I had my yummy smoothie.
...
We walk up the road. Not sure which road. K leads us towards food. But there's nothing around. We walk a couple of blocks. Bag is really digging in. We see a cafe on the other side of the road. YES!! Let's stop and then get the tram when it starts.
...
Breakfast!!! There's an expensive option with toast, tomato, mushrooms, bacon and eggs. I don't like eggs. Not since high school when we had to warm up pre-cooked eggs Mum had made in the microwave. Not a pleasant experience. Oh well. Won't hurt. Better to eat substantial breakfast now.
Two of the others just get a bacon and egg sandwich. I feel greedy. Later on, they are hungry and I am not.
Yum! Bacon and tomato and the eggs are a bit runny so nicer (less sulphurous). Chomp, chomp.
...
Free tram! YAY!
We go via the Docklands and those crazy sculptures. I still like the cow in the tree! What were they thinking? There's a playschool building with all primary colours. Looks stupid. Free tram gives commentary. So interesting!
...
Off the tram. Going past the Anglican Cathedral, where there's a plaque celebrating the visit of the Pope! Um, hello people? Anglican? Heard of the Reformation? Protestant? Clearly not a very theologically sound building.
...
Walking up the hill. Oh, this stupid bag. So heavy. I thought Melbourne didn't have hills? But this is definitely a hill. Though a small one.
...
Accommodation!!! YAY!!! Need to go to the loo. Descend into the bowels of the earth to look for 'staff toilet'. Doesn't have much to commend it. All the money is spent on the guests clearly.
Leave our bags (stupid bag) and just take handbag with camera etc. We wander over to Federation Square.
...
Weird place, Fed Square. Trying to be funky. Ends up being, um, grey. Very grey. Lots of greyness. But the sun is shining. The sky is blue. It's a beautiful day!!
...
Cool NGV shop. We wander around. I find a book Mum would love on 40's and 50's housing architecture. But it's actually quite boring inside. No interesting plans. Mostly really standard houses made of asbestos sheeting! Far out.
Resolve not to buy. Will look at Co-op bookshop for similar book for Mum. Good idea! This way I don't have to carry it around all day.
...
Visitor's centre. What to do?? We decide we'll buy an all day ticket tomorrow. But today? We'll just wander around the city area. I remember the lane-way tour L and I took last time I was in Melbourne. The others are in agreement. We start the tour.
...
Laneways! So European! Reminds me of old places. I love old places. So many interesting buildings. But these lanes weren't built for the numbers of people.
And everything's so small. Nowhere to go. Feel like a bull in a china shop so mostly stay outside. I'm too big for this small place.
...
Haig's!! YAY!!! Feeling quite weary so buy fudge to munch on. Yum yum yum.
...
Weird sculptures! The purse! The stairs hanging above the laneway. Strange.
...
Hmmm, lunchtime. The others are hungry, me not so much. We find a cafe that sells pies, chips and salad for $10. Bargain! Don't want to sit outside though. Smokers!!! In Sydney, no one's allowed to smoke near food. But here, they can outside. Yuck. Laneway traps smoke to make it smokier, so we opt for inside.
...
Mmm, lemon, lime and bitters. Good. Pie. Also good. They didn't have enough burgundy so go with Angus Beef. J illuminates us on how to eat a pie the best way. It's upside down. The mood is whimsical. We're all excited.
Great 80's tunes over the speakers. Match our demographic perfectly. We boogie away.
...
Almost 2pm. Can we check in now? Back to accommodation. Hill doesn't feel so hilly when you don't have a massive bag on your shoulder. Up to the flat.
...
Flat. Wow, luxury!! 2 bedrooms. 2 bathrooms. Kitchen. Lounge. Balcony. It amuses me that the brickwork outside is higher than our heads so we can't see anything. Great.
...
Bed so comfortable. Earplugs in as doors are thin. Sleep now.
...
Wake up - only 4.30pm! Cool. Perfect amount of sleep. Talk to others. J and I go down to Coles Express in search of fruit, chocolate and coke zero for me. B requests cough lollies. I forget. So pop into 7/11.
...
Getting ready. Have a quick shower. Hot now. Jumper too hot so all sweaty. Look terrible in the photo. Doesn't matter... WICKED!!
...
Where to dine? We're not particularly hungry, but show starts at 8. Need to eat something. There's a place called Yak serving Tapas across the road from our accommodation, but looks busy. We keep going.
Find the theatre. K gets tickets. Looks amusingly theatrical in her red cloak. We've all ended up with boots and skirts. But 4 definite styles. Others look better than me. This jumper is loose and not particularly flattering. But it was green!!
...
Wander down to main shopping area. Not much dining. Lots of really full places. Expensive. Or not liked. Eventually I suggest we go back to Yak.
...
Bad news. Yak says we're booked. Melbourne beseiged by people attending comedy festival. But if you can find a seat, you're welcome to sit in the bar area.
We look. Perfect seat! Low table. Feel very sophistimicated. Hehe.
Tapas!! We quickly choose - calamari (not rubbery!), meatballs (ooh, flavour), potato things (mmm, potato), and haloumi (awesome). Just enough for a small dinner. Feeling content, we wander down to the theatre.
...
Green!! So much green!!! I knew there was a reason I'd love this musical!!
But seriously, marketing is excellent. Green drinks with lights in the bottom. All the souvenirs are really expensive, and I've already bought the album on ITunes. So we sit.
...
Seats! So comfy. Legroom!! YAY!!! Sit on the aisle so I even cross my legs with no probs. Young male ushers very close. Are they uni students? Not sure. Maybe bit old.
Can I sneak a photo of the amazing set? There's a giant dragon. And an awesome map of Oz. We are in row H but sneakily there's rows AA-HH first so we're 16 rows from the front. Try to sneak a photo, but later turns out to be blurry. Was K more successful?
...
Show starts. Expecting an overture. But straight in. Great harmonies "WICKED". Singing awesome. Glinda hysterically funny.
...
Sadness of birth. I am green and therefore I am different.
I resonate a lot. I don't fit either. Too big. Too tall. Too... just too much.
...
Oh, so funny. "Loath-ing. Unadulterattted loath-ing" Great lyrics. WOW Amazing Voice. Truly fantastic breath control. Truly great tone. Could listen to Elphaba all day. Can't remember who she is? Better voice than Glinda.
...
Pop-you-oo-ler. I love that song. Do you wanna be popular?
...
Defying gravity. Great song. Interval. Check out the map. Incredibly detailed. Love the land of Oz.
...
Wizard. Silly old man. Like Bert Newton. Perfect casting. Apparently Rob Guest was playing him? But he died. I'd forgotten.
...
Elphaba is dead. I'm so sad. She was so misunderstood. So downtrodden. So undeserving of the dislike. Amazing what popular media can do for your image!
...
Surprise ending! Whoa. But not writing about here. I so hope it comes to Sydney. I want to see it again!
...
K wants to go have drinks at Sofitel. But so tired. Glands swelling up. Headache. Stupid illness. Go to bed. Fall asleep listening to Wicked.
...
8.30am Thursday. Completely dark. Where's B? She left my room in the middle of the night. Is she ok? Just feeling hot and stuffy. Our room is very dark. No windows.
Others slowly rise. We gather up all our belongings. Pour rest of coke down sink. I don't want to carry 2kg of coke around. Easier to just buy something later.
...
Breakfast. Laneway cafe! Want to have vegetarian breakfast but no baked beans. They are evil. I just don't like the bean texture.
There's no hashbrown! So we ask. It takes them 10 minutes to get hashbrown and multiple visits to our table. Almost like they don't believe us.
Our conversation is scattered with Wicked quotes.
What are we going to do today? Shopping! Chapel St.
But first, visitor's centre for tickets. And I see cross-stitch. Buy 2. One for my friend M. Will do after finishing Mum's cross-stitch for Mother's Day.
...
Tram out to Church St/Chapel St. Get a bit lost. But turn around. Love the all day pass. Melbourne's PT is about a million times better than Sydney's. So easy. So integrated. Great.
...
Chapel St. Ugh. Yuppieville. Fashionista central. I don't belong. Talk to the dog on the footpath - he agrees. I don't belong either he said. I'm too... furry.
Photobooth!! 4 of us squeeze in. Jess is left out of first set of pictures, so we do it again! So fun. Black and white shots. Classic.
...
So many shops. No dress for Jess. We go back to Church St end.
...
More shops. Amuse myself by reading Big Issue from cover to cover. Really good this fortnight. Article on war movie. Article on Annie Lennox from Eurythmics. I like the Big Issue. Even though it disparages Phillip :(
...
Oh no. Finished Big Issue. Dying to buy Alain de Botton's new book after K's been raving. Decide worth the investment. $45!! But he can write so well!!! FANTASTIC..
...
Lunch! We find a cafe and get pizza. Yum! Blue Heaven drink - weird blue "magical" colour. Captures the whimsy. Mmm. Crazy young people discussing vomiting at neighbouring table. Best bit? They're proud of it. Ew.
...
Back in city. To Koko Black!! Am looking forward to buying some more fudge.
Amazing cafe. Beautiful dark panelling. Comfy seats. But I am so very full. So don't indulge. The others have beautiful things to eat and drink. Looks fabulous. Resolve to buy some chocolate instead.
...
Looking at all the chocolate. Lots of nutty things. Don't particularly like that. But there's hand made chocolates. A couple spends ages getting about 20 chocolates. Costs them $27!! For chocolate! Crazy. Eventually it's my turn to get served. Weird lady doesn't move when I want to show lady what chocolate I want. Is she rude? Or just oblivious? Not sure.
...
Back to the accommodation for our bags. Get down to tram station and onto tram. Then a couple of stops later it just stops and says everyone has to get off. Weird.
Next tram takes us around to station. Another long walk with heavy bag. I am really going to buy a small suitcase on wheels. Truly. Would be way better than this.
...
Waiting for the bus. Still lots more Wicked quotes and Alain de Botton. Amazing man. Interesting book. Absolutely awesome writer. Inspiring. So glad I bought this book.
...
Bus back to Avalon. Crazy lesbian couple making out in seat in front. Guys, honestly. Underwear is showing. Underwear should never be showing. Oh well. "Love"
...
Airport. Waiting for plane! Hello Kitty! Crazy Karen and Bec decide to buy Hello Kitty - don't get Hello Kitty at all. Loathing. Unadulaterated loathing.
All very funny..
...
Plane. Packed. Everyone heading back to Sydney. Read more Alain. Sort of book which needs concentrated reading, unlike my normal skim approach.
...
Sydney!! YAY!! Ben meets us and drives us to Bec's. Thanks! Drive Jess home, get Macca's and get home to fuzzbutts. So sniffy!! So excited!!!
...
Melbourne trip: WICKED!!
Dear diary,
Packing! I've never packed a bag where I will need to carry it around and onto the plane. We have cheap tix which means I don't have the luxury of a roll-on case. Should I take that extra underwear? That extra t-shirt? I have reduced my washbag down to a container 15cm long, 12cm high and 4cm deep. Is that a record?
What will the weather be like? Will it be hot? Humid? Cold? Wet? A quick view of the meteorology website helps me out. Probably will be good to have 3/4 length pants and a couple of t-shirts and a cardigan for the days. I think I'll choose comfy footwear, and take my boots (only slightly less comfy) for night to Wicked.
For Wicked I think I'll go with "earthy" witch type clothes. So in goes my long brown skirt and green jumper. I'm feeling very foresty.
I think I'll set the alarm earlier than 4.25am. It would be terrible to arrive late to Bec's and hold everyone up. So I yield and set it to 4.10am.
...
I'm trying to sleep. Thoughts of what's going to happen tomorrow crowd my mind... Will I wake up? Will the plane crash and everyone die? Will Wicked be worth this large expense to travel down? Will I get on with the others? Will I get too exhausted? What will I do?
Eventually I sleep about midnight.
4.10am.
Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. Ouch.
Damn early. Crazy. Reminds me of the times when I used to get up at 4.25am to go swimming training. It's very very quiet. I'm hunting rabbits.
No really. A shake from the wardrobe and a sneeze. A fluffy face appears! "Is it morning Mummy? Morning? Fun times?"
No, sorry my little pumpkin bear. It's not morning. I know you heard the alarm but go back to sleep.
(Snuffle. Rustle) and the other head pokes out too. "Morning???"
I resign myself to them being awake and duck to the shower. It's a good wake up and a bit of a cleansing thing as I feel icky.
Then a quick banana smoothie (using the bananas about to wither and die) and I'm out the door. Darling fuzzbutts are clambering to get out. Sorry bears.
I am so early I stop to buy chewing gum from the 7/11.
I get to the Bec's early still. K and Bec are still having breakfast. I carefully place my keys on the table, so that Bec's mum can move my car if she needs to.
I start to stress. The plane leaves at 6!! Will we get there in time?? I wander outside (to check my bag is still there, which it is) and see the taxi approaching.
We're off.
...
Sitting in the taxi, I wonder what? Why is the taxi driver going along Anzac Pde. I think that maybe he's going to go down Botany Road, but no. Man, if he doesn't turn onto Gardener's Road I'm going to say something.
Phew, he does.
And we head along Gardener's.
...
Airport. He asked if we're Qantas Domestic. I say yes. But actually, it's not. We're the other terminal. We're all half asleep and we blunder inside.
But YAY! Karen's already checked us in via the internet. So no queueing to drop our bags either.
We walk down to the metal detector and we're through. The shops are shut! I am so glad I've already bought my chewing gum.
...
We wander down to our gate. I begin to realise that this bag is NOT a good idea. Stupid thing is digging into my shoulder. Resolve to use those pesky abdominals I supposedly have from all my sit-ups, and stand up straight and keep walking.
We finally get to the gate. Not enough seats for everyone, so I perch on the floor. Jess offers me her seat, but I can't be bothered getting up.
...
Boarding! Yay! I normally wait until everyone else has boarded before joining the queue, but the others are there already so we go onto the plane. Experience another fun time clambering into the seats. Could they possibly make these seats with less legroom? But the plane's not very full so I sit next to Karen.
It's time to listen to Wicked! I downloaded it onto my IPod the previous night when I couldn't sleep. So glad I did. I get a general sense of what the musical is like.
...
Arriving in Avalon. Oh, so cold! And stupid bus company doesn't take EFTPOS or credit card, so I spend $2 and get money out of the non-Commbank teller. Stupid company. What century are they in honestly???
...
On the bus. Oh my goodness, I'm cold. Use the hoodie part of my hoodie and try to snooze. Not very successfully. End up hooking one of my legs through the seat belt.
Brrrraaaaaaaaaake! The bus shudders to a halt in the peak hour traffic. I am lolling so am jolted awake. Soon drift back to semi-conscious state.
...
Bus stops. Oh my goodness, we're here already!! Try to disentangle foot from seatbelt. Get bags. Now to drop our bags at our accommodation.
We walk to the end of Spencer St (bag digs into my shoulder again) and wait for the free tram. Melbourne PT is so great.
But alas, after questioning a tram driver we find out that the free tram doesn't start until 9.30am. Makes sense. Otherwise it would just be used by commuters.
So we look for breakfast. J later reveals that she was starving. I'm ok because I had my yummy smoothie.
...
We walk up the road. Not sure which road. K leads us towards food. But there's nothing around. We walk a couple of blocks. Bag is really digging in. We see a cafe on the other side of the road. YES!! Let's stop and then get the tram when it starts.
...
Breakfast!!! There's an expensive option with toast, tomato, mushrooms, bacon and eggs. I don't like eggs. Not since high school when we had to warm up pre-cooked eggs Mum had made in the microwave. Not a pleasant experience. Oh well. Won't hurt. Better to eat substantial breakfast now.
Two of the others just get a bacon and egg sandwich. I feel greedy. Later on, they are hungry and I am not.
Yum! Bacon and tomato and the eggs are a bit runny so nicer (less sulphurous). Chomp, chomp.
...
Free tram! YAY!
We go via the Docklands and those crazy sculptures. I still like the cow in the tree! What were they thinking? There's a playschool building with all primary colours. Looks stupid. Free tram gives commentary. So interesting!
...
Off the tram. Going past the Anglican Cathedral, where there's a plaque celebrating the visit of the Pope! Um, hello people? Anglican? Heard of the Reformation? Protestant? Clearly not a very theologically sound building.
...
Walking up the hill. Oh, this stupid bag. So heavy. I thought Melbourne didn't have hills? But this is definitely a hill. Though a small one.
...
Accommodation!!! YAY!!! Need to go to the loo. Descend into the bowels of the earth to look for 'staff toilet'. Doesn't have much to commend it. All the money is spent on the guests clearly.
Leave our bags (stupid bag) and just take handbag with camera etc. We wander over to Federation Square.
...
Weird place, Fed Square. Trying to be funky. Ends up being, um, grey. Very grey. Lots of greyness. But the sun is shining. The sky is blue. It's a beautiful day!!
...
Cool NGV shop. We wander around. I find a book Mum would love on 40's and 50's housing architecture. But it's actually quite boring inside. No interesting plans. Mostly really standard houses made of asbestos sheeting! Far out.
Resolve not to buy. Will look at Co-op bookshop for similar book for Mum. Good idea! This way I don't have to carry it around all day.
...
Visitor's centre. What to do?? We decide we'll buy an all day ticket tomorrow. But today? We'll just wander around the city area. I remember the lane-way tour L and I took last time I was in Melbourne. The others are in agreement. We start the tour.
...
Laneways! So European! Reminds me of old places. I love old places. So many interesting buildings. But these lanes weren't built for the numbers of people.
And everything's so small. Nowhere to go. Feel like a bull in a china shop so mostly stay outside. I'm too big for this small place.
...
Haig's!! YAY!!! Feeling quite weary so buy fudge to munch on. Yum yum yum.
...
Weird sculptures! The purse! The stairs hanging above the laneway. Strange.
...
Hmmm, lunchtime. The others are hungry, me not so much. We find a cafe that sells pies, chips and salad for $10. Bargain! Don't want to sit outside though. Smokers!!! In Sydney, no one's allowed to smoke near food. But here, they can outside. Yuck. Laneway traps smoke to make it smokier, so we opt for inside.
...
Mmm, lemon, lime and bitters. Good. Pie. Also good. They didn't have enough burgundy so go with Angus Beef. J illuminates us on how to eat a pie the best way. It's upside down. The mood is whimsical. We're all excited.
Great 80's tunes over the speakers. Match our demographic perfectly. We boogie away.
...
Almost 2pm. Can we check in now? Back to accommodation. Hill doesn't feel so hilly when you don't have a massive bag on your shoulder. Up to the flat.
...
Flat. Wow, luxury!! 2 bedrooms. 2 bathrooms. Kitchen. Lounge. Balcony. It amuses me that the brickwork outside is higher than our heads so we can't see anything. Great.
...
Bed so comfortable. Earplugs in as doors are thin. Sleep now.
...
Wake up - only 4.30pm! Cool. Perfect amount of sleep. Talk to others. J and I go down to Coles Express in search of fruit, chocolate and coke zero for me. B requests cough lollies. I forget. So pop into 7/11.
...
Getting ready. Have a quick shower. Hot now. Jumper too hot so all sweaty. Look terrible in the photo. Doesn't matter... WICKED!!
...
Where to dine? We're not particularly hungry, but show starts at 8. Need to eat something. There's a place called Yak serving Tapas across the road from our accommodation, but looks busy. We keep going.
Find the theatre. K gets tickets. Looks amusingly theatrical in her red cloak. We've all ended up with boots and skirts. But 4 definite styles. Others look better than me. This jumper is loose and not particularly flattering. But it was green!!
...
Wander down to main shopping area. Not much dining. Lots of really full places. Expensive. Or not liked. Eventually I suggest we go back to Yak.
...
Bad news. Yak says we're booked. Melbourne beseiged by people attending comedy festival. But if you can find a seat, you're welcome to sit in the bar area.
We look. Perfect seat! Low table. Feel very sophistimicated. Hehe.
Tapas!! We quickly choose - calamari (not rubbery!), meatballs (ooh, flavour), potato things (mmm, potato), and haloumi (awesome). Just enough for a small dinner. Feeling content, we wander down to the theatre.
...
Green!! So much green!!! I knew there was a reason I'd love this musical!!
But seriously, marketing is excellent. Green drinks with lights in the bottom. All the souvenirs are really expensive, and I've already bought the album on ITunes. So we sit.
...
Seats! So comfy. Legroom!! YAY!!! Sit on the aisle so I even cross my legs with no probs. Young male ushers very close. Are they uni students? Not sure. Maybe bit old.
Can I sneak a photo of the amazing set? There's a giant dragon. And an awesome map of Oz. We are in row H but sneakily there's rows AA-HH first so we're 16 rows from the front. Try to sneak a photo, but later turns out to be blurry. Was K more successful?
...
Show starts. Expecting an overture. But straight in. Great harmonies "WICKED". Singing awesome. Glinda hysterically funny.
...
Sadness of birth. I am green and therefore I am different.
I resonate a lot. I don't fit either. Too big. Too tall. Too... just too much.
...
Oh, so funny. "Loath-ing. Unadulterattted loath-ing" Great lyrics. WOW Amazing Voice. Truly fantastic breath control. Truly great tone. Could listen to Elphaba all day. Can't remember who she is? Better voice than Glinda.
...
Pop-you-oo-ler. I love that song. Do you wanna be popular?
...
Defying gravity. Great song. Interval. Check out the map. Incredibly detailed. Love the land of Oz.
...
Wizard. Silly old man. Like Bert Newton. Perfect casting. Apparently Rob Guest was playing him? But he died. I'd forgotten.
...
Elphaba is dead. I'm so sad. She was so misunderstood. So downtrodden. So undeserving of the dislike. Amazing what popular media can do for your image!
...
Surprise ending! Whoa. But not writing about here. I so hope it comes to Sydney. I want to see it again!
...
K wants to go have drinks at Sofitel. But so tired. Glands swelling up. Headache. Stupid illness. Go to bed. Fall asleep listening to Wicked.
...
8.30am Thursday. Completely dark. Where's B? She left my room in the middle of the night. Is she ok? Just feeling hot and stuffy. Our room is very dark. No windows.
Others slowly rise. We gather up all our belongings. Pour rest of coke down sink. I don't want to carry 2kg of coke around. Easier to just buy something later.
...
Breakfast. Laneway cafe! Want to have vegetarian breakfast but no baked beans. They are evil. I just don't like the bean texture.
There's no hashbrown! So we ask. It takes them 10 minutes to get hashbrown and multiple visits to our table. Almost like they don't believe us.
Our conversation is scattered with Wicked quotes.
What are we going to do today? Shopping! Chapel St.
But first, visitor's centre for tickets. And I see cross-stitch. Buy 2. One for my friend M. Will do after finishing Mum's cross-stitch for Mother's Day.
...
Tram out to Church St/Chapel St. Get a bit lost. But turn around. Love the all day pass. Melbourne's PT is about a million times better than Sydney's. So easy. So integrated. Great.
...
Chapel St. Ugh. Yuppieville. Fashionista central. I don't belong. Talk to the dog on the footpath - he agrees. I don't belong either he said. I'm too... furry.
Photobooth!! 4 of us squeeze in. Jess is left out of first set of pictures, so we do it again! So fun. Black and white shots. Classic.
...
So many shops. No dress for Jess. We go back to Church St end.
...
More shops. Amuse myself by reading Big Issue from cover to cover. Really good this fortnight. Article on war movie. Article on Annie Lennox from Eurythmics. I like the Big Issue. Even though it disparages Phillip :(
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Oh no. Finished Big Issue. Dying to buy Alain de Botton's new book after K's been raving. Decide worth the investment. $45!! But he can write so well!!! FANTASTIC..
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Lunch! We find a cafe and get pizza. Yum! Blue Heaven drink - weird blue "magical" colour. Captures the whimsy. Mmm. Crazy young people discussing vomiting at neighbouring table. Best bit? They're proud of it. Ew.
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Back in city. To Koko Black!! Am looking forward to buying some more fudge.
Amazing cafe. Beautiful dark panelling. Comfy seats. But I am so very full. So don't indulge. The others have beautiful things to eat and drink. Looks fabulous. Resolve to buy some chocolate instead.
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Looking at all the chocolate. Lots of nutty things. Don't particularly like that. But there's hand made chocolates. A couple spends ages getting about 20 chocolates. Costs them $27!! For chocolate! Crazy. Eventually it's my turn to get served. Weird lady doesn't move when I want to show lady what chocolate I want. Is she rude? Or just oblivious? Not sure.
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Back to the accommodation for our bags. Get down to tram station and onto tram. Then a couple of stops later it just stops and says everyone has to get off. Weird.
Next tram takes us around to station. Another long walk with heavy bag. I am really going to buy a small suitcase on wheels. Truly. Would be way better than this.
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Waiting for the bus. Still lots more Wicked quotes and Alain de Botton. Amazing man. Interesting book. Absolutely awesome writer. Inspiring. So glad I bought this book.
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Bus back to Avalon. Crazy lesbian couple making out in seat in front. Guys, honestly. Underwear is showing. Underwear should never be showing. Oh well. "Love"
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Airport. Waiting for plane! Hello Kitty! Crazy Karen and Bec decide to buy Hello Kitty - don't get Hello Kitty at all. Loathing. Unadulaterated loathing.
All very funny..
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Plane. Packed. Everyone heading back to Sydney. Read more Alain. Sort of book which needs concentrated reading, unlike my normal skim approach.
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Sydney!! YAY!! Ben meets us and drives us to Bec's. Thanks! Drive Jess home, get Macca's and get home to fuzzbutts. So sniffy!! So excited!!!
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Melbourne trip: WICKED!!
Cool! Thanks for sharing your trip with us! :)
ReplyDeleteHee hee, that was like a travelogue in Twitter bites!
ReplyDelete"Amusingly theatrical"???
My photo of the set was marginally better. Still very dark though!
It was a theatrical coat. And it made me amused. Therefore "amusingly theatrical". Especially when you kept treading on it because it was so long. tehehehe
ReplyDeleteI loved this post if only for the word 'jauntification'. lol
ReplyDelete