Those Americans, they're weird!

The whispers must be flying! We must stick out at times, with our weird quirks, like asking for our check, asking for ketchup for our fries, getting stuck in the middle of a road with a trolley coming at us, and much more.  They call checks ‘receipts’, and didn’t even give us ketchup for our fries, and driving is still an adventure every day, especially with my Grandpa driving.  They have strange words here, like ‘overtake’ for ‘passing’, and ‘trolley’ for both the transportation and a shopping cart.  We asked for a ketchup bottle once and they looked at us blankly.  We said, "Tomato sauce?”  They understood, and then one man said, “The ketchup, they call it ketchup at McDonalds.”  Swell.  Still, it’s so much fun to hear these new things.  (If we're strange in Australia, imagine Singapore!)

There’s been so much going on since we last blogged.  We’ve done so much; it’s hard to talk about it all.  Wednesday we went to Sovereign Hill, which is a mining town that was recreated to show what it was like in the 1800’s.  It was a very cool experience, since every worker there dressed the part and told you about their job as a blacksmith, miner, teacher, etc.   We were able to go on a tour underground and see the conditions and hear about what they went through as miners.  Our tour guide was so entertaining, and everyone here in Australia is just pleasant!  You can see the Chinese Camps there, a soldier parade, and pan for gold.  It was a cute, factual little place.  I enjoyed going there!   



This is Sovereign Hill!



The next day we went to Werribee Mansion.  It is purely breathtaking!  The grounds are stunning with rolling green grass and tall trees – it’s so picturesque and perfect.  The Mansion is even better.  Grand and majestic, it towers up and is just as beautiful inside as it is outside.  The old, antique look of it was incredible.  I could only picture it lively with servants bustling around, girls with their huge gowns, and music and parties – it was a lovely thought.  I wish I could have lived back then at times. 

 

Isn't the mansion amazing?



Friday was a big day!  We went on “The Great Ocean Road” tour.  It’s a long bus tour that covers a great deal of the Australian Coast Line down by Melbourne.  It was an all day tour, and it was an amazing way to see Australia!  Australia is so diverse, it has rainforests, deserts, bush lands/prairies, mountains, pretty much everything.  You saw almost everything but the desert on this tour.  It was spectacular.   One of my favorite things to look at through my window was the picture perfect green hills.  It didn’t look real; it was so perfect, grassy and green!  We made a stop at Bell Beach which was famous for surfing, even in the winter.



We saw many surfers in the freezing ocean!



We were able to stop in the midst of trees and go koala hunting.  I rushed to the road along the trees and searched – but no koalas.  I thought it’d just be crawling with them, but they were sneakily hidden.  Finally, we saw one with its big rear end on a branch.  We kept walking and now knowing what to look for, we saw another one.  This one was easier to see and was leaning against a tree sleeping.  It was so cute!  We saw another one curled up on another smaller branch, I’m surprised it didn’t break!  These koalas have been rather fat.  We saw a fourth one almost completely hidden by leaves, but it was there.   Then we walked back when lo and behold – another one!  This one was the only active one, eating lazily on a branch.  I was so happy.  Five koalas in twenty minutes.

Isn't he adorable?

We were privileged to be able to walk on a trail through the rainforest, and that was an awesome experience.  It’s exceedingly green!  The trees made a canopy over your head at times, and you heard the birds, water trickling, soft wind; it was amazing. 

We saw this tree that was dead, and you could tell because it was completely hollow, it was cool to look up this enormous, tall tree.  It was just amazing, and the little trickle of rain was nice too.  The air smelled so crisp and fresh; that was one of my favorite stops.   The rest of the tour consisted of the Twelve Apostles (there’s only eight of them in reality) and Loch Ard.  Loch Ard was a place where a boat crashed, killing 52 of the 54 passengers.  It was quite depressing, but breathtaking all the same.  The views have been stunning!  It was a splendid day!



I love the cliffs.





The 12 Apostles!



Who would have thought that Melbourne would have a Costco?  It’s awesome – because they do!  That was laughable.  Their Costco looks the same on the inside, but looks much fancier and bigger on the outside, with nice plants and lights. 



Later, we were able to go to the Melbourne Gaol (jail) and Police and Court station.  The Melbourne Gaol is not in use anymore, but it held some of their famous prisoners and was a horrible place.  I decided that it was worse than Alcatraz.  You have these tiny cells with a mat, thin blanket, and if you were lucky, a desk and stool.  They weren’t allowed pencils or anything.  You sat there for 23 hours, and communicating/talking was strictly prohibited.  For an hour you were allowed to exercise outside – with a mask on in your own little section to limit interaction with the other inmates.  It was awful, and it felt dark and depressing having to be there.  After, we went on a tour at the Police station, where they held people until their trials.  I found out that on this tour, you got to be arrested.  The whole tour was arrested, and treated like a prisoner.  We were all given cards that said our offense and information about ourselves.  I was arrested for handling stolen goods, I was arrested at home, and I was angry when I was arrested, insisting that I was only borrowing the goods.  Brooke was arrested for possessing illegal drugs, and that made me laugh.  It was so much fun to be questioned, and then ‘searched’ and put into a cell.  That was an exciting place! 

Aborigine Status: They still elude me.           

~Kristen