I feel like I should say something significant. Tomorrow morning, we end this epic one year journey and begin the long flight back home. But the truth is, my mind and emotions are a bit too numb to have any clue what to say. We enjoyed our last day here in Melbourne fully, but in just a bit of a daze. We packed up our stuff tonight, just as we have done 107 times over the course of this year, and yet somehow it felt different in an intangible way, even though we know our nomadicness will continue on for some period of time as we re-integrate into life back in Canada. I think Ill leave my deep and conclusive thoughts on this trip for the time being (ha! as if I have any at this point-- give me a few days, or maybe a few months or even years, while I attempt to process it all). Instead, let me give just one last travel update, some parting thoughts on Australia: 1) Tonight we saw the most hilarious massage advertisement ever. Photo to come shortly. But know that it includes Obama. What?? Exactly. Youll love it. 2) We were seriously blessed by the meals that we ate these past two days at Lentil as Anything, Abbotsford and Lentil As Anything - Footscray. This innovative chain operates on the principle that all people ought to be able to enjoy eating delicious, nourishing food as a part of a community, regardless of their financial status. The food isnt free, but its a pay as you feel system. For us, it allowed us to put our meager food budget towards genuinely good, healthy food in a lovely casual restaurant setting, while enjoying a connection with the local community and some excellent conversations. We are thankful, we love what Lentil as Anything is doing, and we cant wait to come back to eat again when were able to be on the more generous side that helps to make this experience available for those who have less to give. 3) Our V.U.P. (very unique place). In an attempt to be incredibly cheap these last 3 nights, Ryan booked us at a place that worked out to about $74 per night, which is shockingly cheap for a family in Australia. He didnt know any details, except that it was cheap. So its been quite the experience to have our family boarding in a single room that is probably 8x10 ft at most, in a home owned by a super energy-conscious couple that have ripped out the drywall to replace the typical walls with a straw filling and a water/clay/sand mixture on top, grow hydroponic gardens all over their small lot, and have their own nifty inventions all over the place like a shower that minimizes water use and is meant for two people at once, a chest fridge (that you open like a chest freezer) to conserve energy, and large compost bins lining the sidewalk in front of their house (a neighbor kindly referred to him one day as the environmental guy). Now, I love eco-conscious kind of stuff, you know me. But the sand/clay walls that were disintegrating into our beds each night, no fans to run during weather in the high 30s and windows (without screens) in our room that lead to his honeybee hive in the front yard, and easels with wipeable marker drawings of future inventions and stacks of said inventions in progress all over the house and completely covering the yard (wherever the massive hydroponics garden isnt growing, of course) were rather, umm, interesting. :) 4) Ryan says that he loved not having any money. It was fun for him. I dont actually disagree. Occasionally stressful, but mostly an interesting challenge, and good to realize that we could get by and even have a great time regardless. 5) Melbourne is seriously the twin sister to Vancouver. If you just moved Vancouver 13,000 kms south to an sub-tropical location, had people say how you going? instead of hows it going? and cheers instead of thanks, inserted one much improved public transportation system, and added cool sounding places like Moonee Pond and Geelong, youd have Melbourne.
Posted on: Sat, 01 Feb 2014 12:45:17 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015