November 21, 2013

We left Brisbane this morning and flew to Melbourne, which is on the southern extreme of Australia. 

We didn't think we were going to get out of Brisbane at all.  We had scheduled a pickup at our hotel for 8:50 am to catch an 11:00 am flight.  The shuttle driver showed up at 9:10 and then had about 5 more stops in Brisbane before he left for the airport.  One of the pickups was a no-show, so we lost about 10 minutes while he tried to chase down the passengers.  We got to the airport, finally, about 9:45 and the first stop was the International Terminal, where everyone except Pat and I got off.  Then over to the Domestic Terminal, where we arrived about 10:00.  We got off the bus and the driver went to get our two bags and came up with only ONE bag...Oh shit.  He thought that it might have gotten removed at the International Terminal, so he went back over there to look for it as we called the dispatcher to ask for help.  He did find the bag, sitting on the curb  in front of the terminal, and brought it back over to us at the Domestic Terminal.  (His excuse...someone must have grabbed it out of the bus...).  We ran into the terminal to get checked in at one of the checkin kiosks, and it couldn't retrieve our flight information.  By this time, it's 10:15 or so and we headed for the line to get to the agents at the check-in desk.  We told him we couldn't get checked in at the kiosk, and he told us he couldn't find any information on us being booked for Melbourne today.  In the meantime, of course, time's ticking away.  So, I dug our reservation information out of the suitcase (not going there anymore...carrying it with us for now on) and somehow or another, that was the info he needed to get us a boarding pass.  By now, it's 10:30 and we still have to go through security.  Got through there by about 10:40 and it's a 10-minute walk to the gate, where we were the last ones on board the plane.  And Pat wonders why I say I hate to fly!

In the end, anyway, we did get to Melbourne on time and into our hotel by about 3:00 or so.  The hotel is located in the "CBD", or central business district, much like we were in Brisbane, but it looks like Melbourne is going to be a lot easier to get around in.  There is a free tram (streetcar running on rails with an overhead electric line) that makes loops around the CBD, and there's another bus service that makes a larger loop around the downtown area that costs $5/day...a real bargain.  Tomorrow, we're headed to the Melbourne museum, where they have an exhibit titled "Designing 007, 50 years of Bond Style" that features a bunch of stuff, including some of the gadgets used in the films...should be fun.  We're picking up a car on Sunday for the duration of our stay here and will be going south down the Great Ocean Road to see some of the scenery to the southwest, and then up into the mountains the following day to see some more of the scenery...

Should be a good stay!  No pictures today, but promise we'll have pics tomorrow!

Pat's Paragraph............... Rog says he hates to fly and yet it's me that has to go through the entire pat down, with hands all over you, shoes off and even rubbing the bottom of your feet (not hard enough to make them feel better) and taking your shoes to a 'sniffer', (I make sure my socks are clean, no holes and shoe powder) because I set off all the alarms with my knee.
We've seen so many cute names for restaurants and stores. I wish I had been keeping a diary or note book.
On the way to the airport, a huge billboard, "The Worst Vegetarian Restaurant In Town."
Some other names I remember, "Thai-natown".
"Bean In", pronounced in Aussie 'been'.
"Hemmed In" a tailor and sewing shop.