It’s sad when you are reminded how small minded some individuals can be. Nothing bothers me more than when this happens in my home country of Australia. Here is a video highlighting a bad decision by The New Albury Hotel’s management.
Great title, no? I’ll come up with something snappier as the days progress but for now, this will do. After arriving in Melbourne, we got to our apartment and found that it would not be available until after lunch (we landed in Melbourne around 8:30 AM), so we dropped off our bags and headed down the street to look around, and find some lunch. My first observation of being in Melbourne for just a short time. It was the same, but different.
We found a place to eat called “Alpha Cafe” which had an incredibly good Pumpkin and Pesto soup, and our first “latte” since being in Oz. Both were very pleasing. After we wandered around a little in the city, we headed back to our apartment to check in and get settled (and most importantly get a shower).
After wandering around a little more and reacquainting ourselves with some of the stores in the area, we meet up with my friend Richard for a drink over at the new Federation Square. One word describes this place for me, “Wow!” Where Federation Square is now, used to be an old railway station called “Princes Station” and as I later came to find out was where these two horrible looking buildings built in the 50′s were (the Gas buildings). Now it is a vibrant square with a totally modern look that appears to be a very popular place for people to meet and hang out.
After a couple of drinks with Richard, our friend Tony made an apppearance and we headed off to dinner and to catch up. We ate at the “Chocolate Buddah” (a noodle bar / Japanese style place), and the food was really good. The evening was getting a little cooler, but sitting out on the patio under the heaters was extremely pleasant and we had great company, so what did it matter.
At this point, I think I calculated that we’d been awake (for the most part) for approx. 48 hours and we were ready to crash, and after walking back to our apartment that is exactly what we did.
It’s been a while since I blogged, and I had hoped to blog more as I prepared for our journey back to Oz, but alas this did not happen. So in an effort to make up some lost ground, I am using my time (at 6:30 in the morning) wisely.
So for those that don’t know, Chris and I are in Australia for our vacation and to visit with family. It’s hard to comprehend that it has been just on 9 years since I was last home, which is another reason why I was prompted to blog.
After having our first flight cancelled, we left stormy Dallas on Wednesday. The trip from DFW to Los Angeles was somewhat uneventful, only just long enough that my butt was numb by the time I got on the ground. I’m not sure why, but I’m always more nervous when flying American Airlines, and I’m not sure if that is because they really just don’t care about their job (“we are here for your safety” (i.e. not customer service)) or if it is something else.
Arriving in LAX we were greeted with the hustle and bustle of people running trying to make connecting flights (our flight was late, and people had paper-thin margins of time to get to their next flight). We headed over to the Tom Bradley International airport to check in for our flight, and the way we got there was by shuttle that ran across the tarmac. I thought Chris was going to pee himself … he was that close to the planes. TBI is going through major renovations, so we arrived at a location that had wires hanging from the ceiling, and the air conditioning running at 300% (it was perky). We grabbed some dinner at The Daily Grill (quite good for airport food), and watched the few people with face masks wander around downstairs. We also took advantage of grabbing some duty-free booze, which was actually a bright thing to do, and then headed over to the gate for our flight.
On board the A380 we were really impressed with the layout, the style and the staff of Qantas 94. The plane was not completely full, and Texas Eric was able to keep his own seat between Chris and I. The “380″ is very well designed for the traveller. The seats are more comfortable (although after 14 hours, the butt does start to wonder what it ever did wrong to you to deserve this), and the personal entertainment system was brilliant. It even has the option of Sky Cam (which is not that exciting when you fly during the middle of the night for most of the night) which was great when we departed and landed, and pretty awesome when we were coming in for landing. Chris even snapped a video of the landing (post link) through the eye of the Sky Cam. The food was pretty good, and the new ‘Q bar’ is actually a very clever idea, as it gives you the opportunity to get up and wander, and get a drink or snack when needed. It seems to have kept the aisles clearer than other flights I have been on, as the staff only have to do a couple of trolley runs for the main meals.
After landing, we got through immigration (Chris actually took the same amount of time as me to get through, even though we were in separate lines), and then we had to wait a while for our bags and then to clear customs. Then we both walked through that sliding door, and we knew that we had made it home to cold Melbourne.
One of those stories that you are happy to see amid the misery that has been caused by the devastating bushfires in Victoria. “Sam” is a koala that was found after having survived the fires, and was treated to some much needed water by a CFA volunteer. (Watch the video.) Note, the picture was taken by Rebecca Michael.
While you are thinking about how lucky Sam is, why not remember that there are possibly thousands of other wildlife animals that are in need of care. Consider making a donation the Wildlife Victoria to help where you can. For those of us in the USA, there is even a way to make a donation through PayPal.
One of my main focal points over the last few days has been the devastation that has been occuring in my home state of Victoria (Australia) with the (what is now) worst bushfires in the country’s history. Since the fires first claimed their early victims, I have been monitoring the ABC news website for updates on where the bushfires are, and more importantly where they are expected to be heading. For those that have not heard all about me, and where I am from, and where I grew up, one of the major fires (as in size) was the Kilmore East fire. Kilmore is just south of where I grew up in Seymour, and I have many family members still living in that part of the country today.
As a side note, my mother lives in Melbourne, and was not affected by the fires directly, although no-one remains unaffected by the effects of the fires throughout the state. My biggest fear when I first started seeing the news of the fires, was whether my mother had gone to visit her sisters or brothers in the country. A quick text message back home concluded the mum had not ventured “up north” and was sitting out the heat wave (as was happening at the time) in Melbourne. Second side note, Melbourne had been experiencing a heat wave leading up to the fires, and the day before Melbourne had it’s highest recorded temperature at 113F (45C).
The death toll as of writing this entry is 173 confirmed dead with expectations that the number will increase above 200 over the coming weeks as more bodies are found in the aftermath of the fires, and in excess of 750 homes destroyed. Among the dead are people who just didn’t have enough time to get out of the path of the fire, or underestimated the ferocity of the fire and were unable to “stay and save” their homes. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has stated that the fires are nothing short of mass murder given that a number of the fires were deliberately started. In Victoria, the sentence for an arsonist that starts a fire that kills one person, is the same as murder.
The last few days have been, and will remain, one of the darkest days in Australia’s history. Nothing can be done to undo the death and destruction that these fires have caused, and as I’ve said to a number of friends, there really is very little that can be done to beat a fire that is as uncontrollable as the ones that ripped through so many communities. What can be done, and is being done, is the Aussie mantra of looking out for our neighbors. People all over the country, and world, are reaching out to assist and help those directly affected to get some form of assistance while they try to determine the answer to “where to from here?”
It is a sad day for my home country, but even with all the sadness that is occuring right now, I am more overwhelmed with each story about what people are doing to help others in need. It’s the true spirit of what being an aussie is all about.
After decades the Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, today formally apologized for the historic mistreatment of Aborigines by the Australian people.
“Prime Minister Kevin Rudd led the parliamentary apology to members of the Stolen Generations of aborigines, who were forcibly taken from their families and communities when they were young children under old assimilation policies.”
As one woman put it while being interviewed on NPR today, who would have thought that five letters would be so hard to say. I agree! This simple statement to say “sorry” is long overdue. I, for one, am glad that Australia can now move forward from a not so proud moment in our history.
Prime Minister Rudd made the apology during parliament, and said
“sorry” three times to the Stolen Generations and their families, saying the old policies were a stain on Australia’s soul which would never be repeated.
The article goes on to say that Rudd announced his intentions to “give aborigines constitutional recognition as the original owners of Australia.”
While I was checking out some of the Aussie Day related YouTube videos, I found this one featuring Kate Cebrano, Jack Jones, James Blundell (who my sister had/has a crush on), amongst others. It is the song “I still call Australia home” and was used by QANTAS (Queers And Nellies Training As Stewards) as part of their “pull on the heart strings” promotion.
I’ll always be an Australian, and every time I see those damn ads, it brings a tear or two to the eyes.
