Australia: Diary Entry One

We start the trip with a long flight. 14 hours in a plane to New Zealand. Movies and books. Sleep.

At 5 AM we land in Auckland. Two hour layover and noodles for breakfast.

 
Come 10 AM, we finally land in Aussie. Long lines for customs, long lines for baggage, long lines, long lines. Taxi ride through the outskirts and finally, our destination.

It is 12 PM in Melbourne. Lord knows what time at home.

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Day One is for exploring.

We head out for lunch and it’s not as hot as we expected. We stroll through the European-style alley ways lined with tiny eateries. The cobbled-stoned alley itself full of intimate umbrella topped tables. Everyone chatting. Everyone nibbling. Everyone sipping on coffee. On water. On wine.

We gulp down cool glasses of water and dine on delightful focaccia sandwiches. The pesto chicken in mine pairs nicely with the added avocado. Green on green. Tasty.

We walk some more, wandering in and around the Central Business District. Watching the locals. Watching the tourists. We stop in a funny souvenir shop to look for a plug adapter. We find ourselves immersed in rows of Uggs, koala keychains, over-the-top Outback hats and even a boxing kangaroo novelty pen. I box at Josh’s arm as he pays for the adapter.

We grab groceries and toiletries at the local Cole’s. (Cole’s! Like us!) We traverse back to the homestead with bags of goodies.

After a shower and a refresh, we head out again. Bronnie and Neil, our kind AirBnB hosts, are relaxing in the living room as we don our shoes. We chat with them about this and that. What to do in Melbourne. What we both like in travel. What our various experiences are with AirBnB – both travel and hosting. I keep reaching for the door handle. I keep getting pulled back into conversation.

We walk the streets of the CBD again, this time veering East toward Fitzroy Gardens. Green grass. Tall ancient trees. Old buildings from the 1800’s. History mixed with greenery. Our wanderings lead us up to some strange sights – a miniature Tudor town replica, a Fairie tree, and random fountains.

By now, the sun is setting and our stomachs are rumbling. We jut back Westward toward the plethora of restaurants. As we find one, we also find ourselves underdressed amongst the just-out-of-work diners clad in pin-stripe button ups, slacks and fancy shoes. We eat anyway – splurging on burrata, fresh pasta and wine. Cheers to our first night in Australia.

The wine abets gravity and pulls our eyelids closed involuntarily. Between blinks and sips, we decide to meander our way back to the homestead and fall quickly and heavily into bed.

Walking.

Walking, to me, is reflecting.
Exercising.
Exploring.

Gaining a new vantage.
Getting a new perspective.

Finding greenery in the midst of the concrete jungle.

Finding beauty in the everyday.

Appreciating the warmth in the fog that envelopes me.

Stairs.

Yesterday began with a disastrous potato salad.

Josh, Goober and I sat on the porch with the sun on our backs and a smoothie between us, when suddenly, I realized the potatoes had been boiling too long. A salvage attempt was made but my mood was still sour.

To remedy this, a destination was picked and a walk began.
Objective: Golden Gate Heights. 4 miles and 760 feet elevation gain.
Strapped on a new pair of shoes to break in, grabbed water and a sweater. And we were off!

I guess I should have guessed by the MapMyWalk that I was going to be headed uphill. .. But, as we walked up 24th, the grade of the street kept catching me off guard. By the last block before we reached Market, I had to stop twice within a block to catch my breath and take in the views.

The walk took a twist. We snaked under, around and up to get to Market.

Market morphed to Portola and we followed them both, mirroring traffic, gaining elevation. Step after step, we traversed the saddle of Twin Peaks.

We left Sutro Tower behind us.

Above this crest, we were treated to a whole new section of the city. Everything got a little more suburban. There was space. There were driveways. There were yards.  Hell, we even saw this place that looked straight out of a movie -- discarded play bike turned over and left on the grass.

More steps, more incline, more up.

We made it now to a beautiful wooded area of SF. I marveled over and over that we were still in the city limits. The trees were large, old and looming. The streets winding. I got lost in the getting lost.

Then, as we turned a corner, we were greeted by a man and his Labrador. The pup was too excited to be there, tugging and pulling at his leash. Dog controlling owner. 

And we were there.

Beautiful, forested. Full of great vistas, shady benches and friendly dogs.

With a stop for a little bit of swinging, we pushed on a bit farther to what we learned was Grand View Park.  They weren't kidding when they named it!

And, as we descended the hill, we were treated to one final surprise. From our vantage, we saw many people taking photos on the stairs we were descending. It seemed curious, but not unusual.

Only when we turned around, did we discover the city's last present to us.

All in all, I am once again thankful that I live in a city that surprises me on a daily basis.

Thank you, San Francisco!