Day 4 in Melbourne 14/09/2012

Another day, another walk of shame to Coles to get my doughnut fix of the day. Then I got on today’s number one on the to-do-list, getting my train ticket for the rest of the journey. CountryLink has got an offer where you pay $275 for 4 weeks and can take their trains and coaches as much as you like. They’ve got connections between Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, Surfers Paradise, Byron Bay etc., so I can even do some additional day trips and see places I wouldn’t have any other way. Also, on the journey back to Adelaide, I will try to take as many day connections as I can, to see as much of the country as I possibly can this way. It took forever to get this ticket for both customers and clerks seemed to be extra incapable today. But I got the ticket, so I’m not gonna complain anymore.

It was overcast again today, but it stayed dry for the most part, which was good because on my sightseeing list, there were still a lot of gardens and parks left to go to. I started off at the Fitzroy Gardens which was the highlight of the day because of the smell of the gazillion flowers fresh in bloom. Especially inside the conservatory, it was almost intoxicating. In the Fitzroy Gardens, they also have the cottage of Captain Cook, which was taken down in England and then rebuilt here in Melbourne. It’s tiny, but very pretty to look at. I tried to walk on as many of the little paths in between the flower beds as I possibly could and then went on to have a look at the miniature Tudor village, which was very disappointing because it looked extremely cheesy, as if someone had built a smurf village in their home garden.

Next stop for me was St.Patrick’s Cathedral which is one of the most beautiful churches I have ever seen, including all the glorious ones in London. They have a beautifully arranged little water play with bible quotations, and the typical statues of saints and important people. The towers of the church are unbelievably high, everything about it is simply gigantic. The inside was the most pompous I’ve ever seen and I kept thinking that I’m kind of glad I’m Protestant, because how can the Catholic church justify having so much gold and glitter in their cathedrals while their sheep out there are still starving by the millions…When they started to prepare for some religious ceremony, I fled, because I don’t think I would survive a whole Catholic service, what with all the kneeling and standing up.

After that, I took photos of the Treasury building and then went for another flowery stroll through the Treasury Gardens, before moving on to the Parliament and its very own Gardens, which were a bit of a joke after the other two gardens, but hey, I’m not picky, I’ll take any gardens I can get. Also photographed a fancy, old theater and the Royal Exhibition Halls with their huge dome and fountain. The Exhibition Halls also have their own little park, the Carlton Gardens. They are very generous with their gardens in Melbourne, it seems. Since I felt like I’ve had enough gardens for the day, and my feet agreed, I went over for another stint at the library. Back at the hostel, I finally got around to cooking some pasta with tomato sauce, and now I’m ready to get ready for bed.