In which I spend much time on the train...

Other Britishisms... the "look right" signs printed on the sidewalks (very helpful to idiots like me), toilets which say "engaged" rather than occupied, "posting" a letter rather than mailing it, "call outs" for fire alarms, and the breakfast I just ate which came with fried mushrooms, tomatoes, and spinach (actually very good since I didn't get the nasty bacon or sausage).

I hated my hostel in Sydney so much (and had seen most of what I wanted to see in the city) that I decided it was time to move on to Melbourne. I mean, this is a place where people are drinking beer and smoking cigarettes at 7:30 am on a Thursday morning. The entire place smelled like Armstrong late night. People are practically tripping over each other to get the wonderful free breakfast: which consisted of cornflakes and milk, or toast with margarine and Vegemite. If you have not been introduced to the wonderful world of Vegemite, consider yourself lucky. Why anyone would want to slather a dark brown extremely salty spread composed of fermented Brewers' yeast on perfectly good bread is totally beyond me.

So, I discovered that Sydney's central train station is indeed a wonderful place. I bought an overnight train ticket to Melbourne (12 hours), for only A$74.50, and was able to check my baggage at 8 am even though it was an evening train. Amtrak could learn a few things from the Aussies. I then bought a one day pass to the Blue Mountains, which consisted of a round trip train ticket to Katoomba, and the bus to get around the area. All the urban subway lines and suburban commuter lines start and terminate in this station as well. It's really very well constructed.

The Blue Mountains are a 2 hour train ride from Sydney, and were originally a holiday retreat for rich city people. There's a famous rock formation called "the three sisters" and something called echo point overlooking the valley. Katoomba is a cute, although touristy town, and you are able to get off the bus and do some trail walking, which is a great way to escape the crowds, although not a very loud couple from New York who insisted on talking the entire way.

There were also several good used book stores to be perused. You would not believe the price of new paperbacks in Australia; they regularly cost A$ 20-25. Even a lot of the used books cost $A 8-10, which I think is a complete rip-off. Mom, you could make a killing selling used books here!! I enjoyed Bill Bryson's book on Australia so much that I bought a used copy of Notes from a Big Country (about the US) and have been happily making my way through it. He's very popular here, but all the titles are published in the UK and then shipped Down Under. I also bought a copy of The Thornbirds, which I remember as a very bad US '80's miniseries, but is supposed to be Australia's version of Gone With The Wind.

Mom... yes, Aussies are just as guilty of shouting into their cellphones in public places as people anywhere else. A prime example were the group of teenagers on my return train from Katoomba who were on their way to "the Footy" (that's Australian rules football for the rest of us). It just proves that teenagers are obnoxious all over the world :)

The train to Melbourne was quite comfortable, if extremely cold. I am so greatful to have brought my sleeping sack with me, although I have discovered that I cannot sleep better with two seats instead of one. We arrived into a world of cold weather and rain (low of 10 deg C) ... i'll be wearing that pair of jeans at last. I took the tram to the hostel... here's hoping this one proves better than the last. I loved the places I stayed in Vietnam and Laos; I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong here in Australia.

The FINA (swimming, diving, syncro swimming, and water polo) world championships are all over the news, including the Aussie womens' swim team's prospects vs. the US and Germany. Apparently the Aussie men are in a rebuilding year, except for Grant Hackett. If I can get tickets, I'd like to see the opening night of swimming tomorrow. The open water swim is also held tomorrow at St. Kilda, which is where I'm staying. I'll have to see if you need tickets for beach viewing.

It is still pouring... I'm thinking this is a shopping and museum day. Oh well, it can't be sunny all the time. cheers.