I took my time getting up this morning, had a bit of a lie in, then got up and chatted to the Korean girl in my room, Jin. She was off on a trip and was really cold because she didn’t bring any warmer clothes with her, as it was sunny in Sydney where she lives and she had figured it would be the same temperature in Melbourne! I lent her my cardigan and she was ever so grateful!
Once up and ready, I headed to the City Baths – a beautiful old building, it and the swimming pool inside have been fully restored to their former glory, now with the addition of a sauna, spa and gym. Staying at the YHA entitled me to a free ticket, so I made the most of it! Not much is free in Australia (even the free wifi at Maccas always costs me a drink because I can’t stand the thought of being one of the cheeky gits who just swan in, sit down, surf, then leave – I always buy something!). Anyway, the pool itself isn’t massive and consists of lanes (in other words, it isn’t a ‘leisure’ pool – it’s for actually swimming in!) so I had a really good swim, which made me feel very healthy indeed! After about 40 mins swimming lengths, I decided to hop out and went and sat in the sauna - it was rather hot and a little boring, as it’s just a really hot room with benches to sit on and no one was speaking! I managed fifteen minutes in there before coming out and getting into the Jacuzzi. I also found that a little boring but I was kept entertained by watching a man trying to read a broadsheet newspaper in there, desperately trying not to get it wet and failing miserably in the process - how he thought it would be possible, I do not know, and the fact that he became particularly exasperated by it made the whole thing even funnier!
When I was out of the Jacuzzi, showered and changed, I went back to the hostel and collected my bits, then ventured on a real tram (with a ticket and everything!) to the city, where I even managed to change to a different tram and go to St Kilda to the beach! I was most impressed with myself for negotiating the transport system once again!
Next to the beach was Luna Park – a theme park identical to the one in Sydney. The beach itself was quite busy so I wandered along until I found a quieter beach, then realised it was the one people took their dogs on, but figured it would do. Like the beach I went to last week, the beach was really narrow which meant the path and road were right next to you. It was sunny and there was sand, so I couldn’t really complain though! I enjoyed spending the afternoon lying in the sun, chilling out and listening to my ipod. It was also quite a good place to people watch and dog watch!
When the sun started going down, there was a bit of a nip in the air so I made my way back to the tram stop, then to the city once again. Without getting lost! Woohoo!
Tonight was the night of the gig I was going to at a pub/alternative music venue just down the road from the hostel, so I went back to the hostel and got de-sanded , showered and ready for a night out. Jin came back from her trip and had thoroughly enjoyed it, saying that the cardigan had been a life-saver, as it had been really cold on the coach. She was so sweet and as a thank you, insisted on giving me a voucher for breakfast at the hostel!
I was a bit nervous going into the Arthouse by myself, but figured it would be ok and tried to be extra brave! The band I was due to see was ‘The Grain’ – my connection to this band being my colleague, Karen’s daughter, Deb’s brother in law, Vinny (how that bit should have been correctly punctuated is beyond me, apologies!). I had met Vinny at Deb’s wedding in 2008, he lives in Melbourne (as does his sister Vars, who I also met at the wedding) and Deb had helped he and I get in contact by the power of Facebook and it was then that he had told me about his band’s gig. Anyway, that is why I was there! So I went in, had a quick scan about the rather dim and sparsely populated room, but could not see anyone fitting the mental image I had from two years previous!
Brave face on, I went to the bar and ordered a drink, then stood there watching some people (who were definitely not Vinny) set up their instruments on the stage. I did the best impression I could muster of a look of ‘Yes, I am standing here by myself and I do not have a problem with that’ on my face. I am not sure if it worked or not, but before long I was chatting nonchalantly to a couple of people who knew the band that was about to play – The Impossible Cinema. They seemed quite cool, so I settled down and suddenly felt much less uncomfortable! This band started playing, they weren’t bad, but during their second song, a guy walked past me who I thought could almost be Vinny, only I recalled him as having facial hair and this guy didn’t.
When he walked back past me, I looked at him and said ‘Vinny?’ and he instantly said ‘Bonnie!’ and gave me a great big hug! Phew! I had come to the right place and found the right person! Turned out he had gone to a party at the weekend dressed in drag, so had shaved off his beard (you see, I knew he was supposed to have facial hair! Lol!). He then took me to meet his friends and other members of his band who were upstairs on the roof terrace and there I also found Vars. Soon we were all chatting together like we’d known each other for years and it was really nice.
I did have another OMActualG moment, when I was introduced to a Kiwi guy who asked where I was from and I gave my usual answer of ‘London, to the west, near Heathrow’ (I have learned that people have usually heard of Heathrow so find that easier to contextualise) and his response was ‘Not Uxbridge?’. OMActualG! The second Kiwi I have met with a connection to Uxbridge – how utterly mad! It turned out his mum was born and bred in Uxbridge, then met and married a Kiwi and emigrated years ago! Small, small world!
The Impossible Cinema finished playing and they came up to the roof terrace with the people I had been chatting to at the bar. Vinny and his band went off to set up for their set, so I carried on chatting to everyone and got on really well with them. I couldn’t believe how at ease I felt, compared to my feelings of trepidation earlier in the night.
We then went down to listen to The Grain and it was a really good gig. Lots more people were there than had been previously and the music was good. After they finished playing, we all returned to the roof terrace and continued our conversations long into the night, before I headed back to the hostel and crawled into bed exhausted but feeling like I had had a tip-top night and made a lot of new friends.
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