Because of my fractured toe, I was not able to engage with my city the way I normally would. I missed out on many of the xmas decorations and activities that I wanted to see and do and had to navigate the medical system for an actual problem.
My wine group had its end of the year lunch and omg did everyone get drunk. Usually in wine group, we get tastings, nothing to make us drunk. This on the other hand, was full out drinking! So much fun.
I couldn’t do the walks for my walking group but what I could do was to meet everyone at the beginning of the walk and then go directly to where they were going to have coffee and chat with them without doing the walk. The photography group’s activity was something I could do though. We went to 3 of the 5 new metro stations to take photos of the architecture. On a separate day, I visited all 5 stations with a friend and it took us 4 hours (ok we did stop for sushi) to analyze the color schemes, ceiling structures, baffling, and lighting. We exited each station to see what the entrances looked like and I was exhausted at the end.
A GF from my walking groups has a sister who lives in the apartments above the W Hotel so she was able to grant me my wish to go on the Collins Arch. I’ve been wanting that for 5 years!! It goes to prove that you just keep asking for what you want because you never know who can fulfill that wish.
Datelines
- Lilydale – busy suburb. We met some friends at a hotel pub there to catch up.
- East Packenham – this was the first time we failed at having a date at the end point. It would have been a 30 minute walk (healthy toe) to the nearest Maccas. No thank you. So we had to train one stop back to Packenham for our lunch. Sweet chicken chili wrap with an amazing eclair.
- Sunbury – small but cute in a suburb-y way. I was happy it was sunny while we were in Sunbury, it seemed only right. A street musician was playing on a corner as we exited the train station. We walked the main street and settled on a bahn mi for lunch. It was seriously the best bahn mi I’ve ever had. On the way to Sunbury, we took the new metro train out of State Library Station but on the way back, there was a V line that only stopped once so it only took 25 minutes to get back to the city.
Townhall Side Quest
I’m done with my mall side quests, not because there aren’t more malls to see but because I’m ready to move on to town halls. I found a wikipedia page (yes, I’ve donated to wikipedia this year) listing the Melbourne related townhalls. I was originally going to visit them alphabetically but that fell apart due to life.
Box Hill Town Hall – City of Whitehorse 12/10 – Less than 500m from the train station, the town hall was open and I wandered around peering into the odd rooms. The art space exhibited pieces from a quilt competition with the theme of pathways. There were literal pathways through nature, bee paths, neural paths, and more. One quilt was constructed with squares that had been made by individuals whom had no knowledge what others would make but then assembled into one quilt. Quilts had a variety of materials and techniques. It was an unexpected surprise. I had a pork bahn mi for lunch on the train home.
Fitzroy Town Hall – City of Yarra – 12/18- I walked here after going to try to get my.gov to work at a services center. It was 90 degrees and everything was melting. On my way there, google maps informed me it was too hot and had to go into night mode. Then it decided it was done and asked for me to use it later. When I arrived, there were no open doors and no way in. I was spoiled by my great experience in Box Hill.
Stonnington City Centre (formerly Malvern Town Hall) – City of Stonnington – 12/23 closed. No door was open but it was pretty. It was situated on a corner of 2 tram intersections. I visited it on my way back from Cranbourne where I picked up a TS robe and pjs from someone from the Melbourne Swifties Facebook group.
Broadmeadows Town Hall – City of Hume – 12/30 closed for the holidays. Simple brick square building. The outside wall was decorated with the outline of a snake and kids had decorated tiles to fill in the outline of the snake.
Christmas
I may have bought some Taylor Swift merch for myself and DH2 got me a lychee martini set and a new down parka. On xmas eve, we did the Yarra cruise to see the city lights and on xmas day, we went to our GF’s house to spend time with her kids and grand kids.
Odds and ends
- I got my haircut for the first time in two years!
- I went on a Government House Garden Tour and spotted lorikeets feasting on the apples in the kitchen garden
- We went to a luau
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