Australia 9/2/2019 - 9/22/2019

Thursday, 9/19/2019 - Uluru to Melbourne

We had the option to do a botanical walk with the group at 8:30 this morning, but we decided to skip it due to the fact that we had such a long and eventful day yesterday and we needed to fly to Melbourne later in the day. Instead we had a liesurely breakfast, checked out of the hotel, and took the 10:30 a.m. shuttle to the airport.

I checked out the gift shops in the small Ayers Rock Airport while Craig sat at the gate. He was seated next to a friendly young woman from Dubrovnik, and they had a nice chat while we waited to board our JetStar flight to Melbourne.

We boarded the plane for our 6th and final domestic flight of the trip. For some reason unknown to even Britney, some members of our group (including Craig and myself) were told by the flight attendant that we each had a $15 food credit. They insisted that we order food, and if it didn't total $15, they kept encouraging us to order more. Craig and I got a toasted ham and cheese sandwich, a soda each, some chips, some good quality chocolate, and some crackers and cheese. Not bad for a 2 hour 40 minute flight, especially since we had opted not to have lunch at the airport.

We were seated next to Sydney, and chatted with her about her knee replacement surgeries, as Craig's mom would be having a knee replaced in December.

When we arrived in Melbourne, a "buggy" (golf cart) was waiting at the gate. Craig planned to walk to the baggage claim, but when the woman saw his cane, she absolutely insisted that he and I ride in the buggy. We passed the rest of the group who were on foot, and they good-naturedly teased us.

Somewhere along the line, Alison got separated from the group and accidentally followed signs to a different baggage claim area. It is very strange that an airport would have a terminal with divergent baggage claim halls, and it was apparently quite easy to make your way to the wrong one.

Once we had all collected our bags and were on our way to the taxi stand, I noticed that Alison wasn't with us. Nobody remembered seeing her at our baggage claim area, so Eric went back to the terminal to look for her.

Half of the group took the first taxi to the hotel while the rest of us waited. Eric eventually emerged with Alison, and we all hopped into a second taxi with Britney. We were no longer in the Outback; we took in the urban landscape during the half hour ride downtown. We passed a large Ferris wheel, and noticed a mural of Aussie rock legends AC/DC on an underpass.

The weather here was cool, and Craig was relieved to have survived the two hottest legs of the trip (Cairns and Uluru).

When we arrived at the Rendezvous Hotel, we received an envelope containing our room key. A room number (#915) was crossed out on the envelope, and another was written in its place (#817). We thought this was odd, but proceeded to our room. It was absolutely tiny, and very strangely configured. There were two twin beds on wheels, and one was blocking the closet doors. There was a flatscreen TV on a wall mount across from the beds, but the mount was so bulky that it stuck out into the already narrow walkway between the foot of the beds and the wall.

The bathroom was ridiculously awkward. There was no shower curtain, door, or half-wall separating the shower from the toilet. The toilet was practically in range of the shower head. The vanity was so small that the sink was positioned sideways, with the faucet to the side of the basin. Craig, with his cane, could barely even turn around in the bathroom.

We wondered if we had someow been downgraded from our original room. I went down to the front desk and asked if the room number which had been crossed out was actually a bigger room. He said that it wasn't; that all of the standard rooms in the historic section of the hotel were the same size. (The hotel dates back to 1854, and like hotels of a similar era in Boston, the older rooms are all tiny). I asked if there was any way to get an upgrade, explaining that Craig was disabled and that he would have a hard time manouvering in the tiny bathroom. He apologetically said that the larger rooms were all at a higher price point, and we would need to pay for an upgrade. I thanked him and went back to the room.

We had a few minutes before dinner, and I got onto the hotel wi-fi. As you sign in, it asks you to rate your experience at the hotel so far. I'm normally pretty easy to please and I don't complain about things, but it caught me at a bad time. This was the tail end of one of the longest trips we have taken. We have had the time of our lives, but we are getting older, and perhaps it was just that time where we were feeling done and ready for our own beds. So I gave our experience an unhappy rating, explaining that Craig has MS and the bathroom is not accessible enough.

Now it was time to meet the group for dinner. We met in the lobby and walked to the restaurant. Along the way, everyone was comparing notes about their awkward rooms. Everyone's rooms were tiny, but had slightly different idiosyncracies. Some people's light switches or power outlets were hidden behind furniture. Everyone's bathroom was miniscule. We were heartened that it wasn't just us; all of the rooms were similar. At least we were a couple; we could only imagine how awkward this must be for roommates like Alison and Danielle.

After a short walk we arrived at our destination, The Bank on Collins. The restaurant occupies the former Bank of Australasia building, a Classical revival structure which dates back to 1875. The restaurant had a very cool ambiance, with high ceilings, tall columns, and a loft/mezzanine.It truly felt like stepping into a bygone era.

I ordered a Bank Heist cocktail, which contained Pampero Blanco Rum, ginger of the indies, banana fennel syrup, and lemon sorbet. It was absolutely delicious - it tasted like a lemon drop! I would order another before the night was through. Craig ordered a 4 Pines Pale Ale.

The menu was extensive, ranging from burgers to seafood to fancy steaks. As usual, we weren't in the mood for a big heavy meal. We opted for "burgers" (Aussie for basically anything served in a bun). I had a Classic (beef) Burger with fries and Craig had a Fried Chicken Burger with jalapeno slaw and fries. Everything was delicious. The service was amazing, and we enjoyed chatting with Alison, Brad, Mary, Allison, and Eric. Alison asked if we wanted to explore the city together tomorrow morning, and that sounded great to us.

After dinner, we walked back to the hotel, which is situated right across the street from Flinders Street Railway Station, a gorgeous Art Nouveau building which dates back to 1909. We took some photos of the station before heading inside.

As we entered the hotel and headed for the elevator, the man at the front desk with whom I had spoken earlier called me over. He said that he had tried to call us but we weren't in the room. He had talked to his manager and they were willing to give us a larger room at no charge. We were very grateful!

He took us up to the new room (#720), and it was perfect! It was a normal sized hotel room, with a full sized bathroom including a tub/shower combo. This would be so much easier for Craig. We thanked him and went to collect our bags from the other room.

We were both tired and overheated and just wanted to get to bed at this point. As Craig was getting settled in the new room, I went down to the lobby to return the key to the old room. When I got back to the room, Craig was already dozing. I was just getting into bed at 10 o'clock when I could faintly hear some kind of announcement. Our room was around a corner at the end of the hallway, and the sound didn't travel very well.

I went to the door so that I could hear better. They were announcing that there was a fire alarm going off somewhere in the building, and they weren't sure where or why. They said that they would investigate and that the best course of action would be to stay in our rooms and await further instructions. While I was at the door, I looked at the escape route map and noted that we were situated near the stairwell. I studied the map and then got back into bed.

My body was aching for sleep, but my brain wouldn't let me succumb. It was so hard to hear the announcements that should they announce the need to evacuate, I didn't trust that it would wake us up. Craig was apologetic, but he couldn't force himself awake. So I lay there in bed, listening acutely for the all-clear, keeping myself from falling asleep by focusing on memories of hotel rooms in China equipped with gas masks and a literal escape rope. Here we were on the 7th floor, and we were mercifully close to the stairwell if evacuation was necessary.

Luckily, the all-clear came just ten minutes later, when they said that everything was fine, apologized for the inconvenience, and told us all to go back to our normal business, which for me meant passing out.

Dinner at the Bank on Collins

Dinner at The Bank on Collins

Dinner at the Bank on Collins

Dinner at The Bank on Collins

Steph, Britney, and Craig

Steph, Britney, and Craig

Flinders Street Railway Station

Flinders Street Railway Station

See all photos from September 19





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