Oceania

Barbara, Mark, & Lisa

Barbara, Mark, & Lisa

This swing through Australia has been a remarkable opportunity to meet up with friends that we’ve made on the road. Before Australia, only once before – with Meg & Law in Bolivia – had we met other travelers at some point and then met up with them later on the journey. But already here in Australia we’ve reconnected with Piers & Charlotte (twice!) and Philippe and Mandi since meeting them in Fiji. St. Leonards, though, is the way it’s supposed to work: meeting up with friends we biked with in Myanmar three years ago!

St. Leonards was just a little two-day stop to visit with friends from that Grasshopper Adventures tour. There were only five others on the trip and two of them – Barbara and Lisa – were a couple from Melbourne. Well, sort of a couple, but not for long. Today they’re friends in Melbourne and Lisa invited us to spend a couple days at her beachside home in St. Leonards, about 65 miles southwest of Melbourne. So just a day into the new year Lisa and her dog Lucky picked us up at our hotel and drove us down. Barbara joined us the next day, with her dog Lucky.

The beach of St. Leonards, the reason people flock here

The beach of St. Leonards, the reason people flock here

It was a ton of fun to catch up with them. They’re both fascinating in their own way. Lisa, just starting a new job as an assistant principal in a prestigious public school, is finally finishing up a PhD in education and is passionate about the need to find ways to improve the teaching experience so teachers can be more effective. Barbara is a massage therapist who teaches other women in the field how to run their tiny businesses effectively. They’re fun, funny, interesting, and they both love their Lucky dogs.

One of the dogs named Lucky. Apparently it's just a coincidence that they both have Lucky dogs.

One of the dogs named Lucky. Apparently it’s just a coincidence that they both have Lucky dogs.

I, unfortunately, didn’t get to visit much. After the drive down and an evening visit with Lisa, I woke up our first morning there with a miserable sore throat, the certain onset of what would be a miserable cold. So for most of the time we were there I just holed up in our bedroom, sipping hot tea and feeling sorry for myself, listening to Mark and Lisa and Barbara hooting and laughing and having a great time.

Two days were barely enough time to renew our friendship so now we’re going to push either or both of them to join us in Sri Lanka next December, where Grasshopper Adventures is sponsoring another two-week bike trip. It’s a great way to spend time with new old friends!

Mark & Barbara, who certainly seems to enjoy life

Mark & Barbara, who certainly seems to enjoy life

And Lisa - soon Dr. Lisa - ready to grill us some dinner

And Lisa – soon Dr. Lisa – ready to grill us some dinner

Dinner with Philippe and Mandi out in Narre Warren

Dinner with Philippe and Mandy out in Narre Warren

And then we were off to Melbourne to ring in the New Year. We’d been to Melbourne, capital of the state of Victoria, in 2004 and remembered it as one of the great cities of the world. We were not disappointed by our return.

Melbourne is Australia’s second city, smaller than Sydney, younger than Sydney, without the stunning natural beauty of Sydney’s harbor or the iconic Australian images of Sydney’s Opera House or Bridge. So Melbourne has to try harder. And it succeeds. Great architecture. Vibrant streets and street art. Wonderful food. Amazing museums. Beautiful parks. We loved Melbourne 12 years ago and we loved it again.

Beautiful parks, beautiful skyline, and as a big bonus, jacaranda trees - my favorite! - in bloom

Beautiful parks, beautiful skyline, and as a big bonus, jacaranda trees – my favorite! – in bloom

And on top of that, we had friends to visit. We met Mandi & Jean Philippe on our boat cruise in Fiji and, although they were on it for just three days, we really hit it off with them. When they saw on Facebook that we were in Australia they insisted that we let them know when we made it to Melbourne. And so on December 30 we caught a commuter train out to Narre Warren, a suburban community about 25 miles southeast of Melbourne for a traditional Mauritian upside-down dinner (Philippe is originally from Mauritius). We got to meet their two kids and spouses who were around for the holidays. And for a big bonus they’d promised us kangaroos, so before dinner they drove us out to an area where he runs and sure enough we saw dozens of kangaroos in the wild, just out hopping around. Pretty cool.

There's nothing particularly interesting about this painting in the National Gallery of Victoria. But when I saw that it was a portrait of a guy named Richard St. George Mansergh-St. George, how could I leave him out? I learned that he fought in our Revolutionary War (though on the wrong side, of course) where he left part of his skull after being shot in the head.

There’s nothing particularly interesting about this painting in the National Gallery of Victoria. But when I saw that it was a portrait of a guy named Richard St. George Mansergh-St. George, how could I leave him out? I learned that he fought in our Revolutionary War (though on the wrong side, of course) where he left part of his skull after being shot in the head.

And speaking of friends, another couple that we’d met in Fiji, Charlotte and Piers, were passing through Melbourne at the same time so we had drinks with them, as well. When last seen Charlotte & Piers were in Surfers Paradise on their motorized excursion around most of the perimeter of Australia. Melbourne was their last stop before flying on to the Philippines, so we got to say goodbye to them over drinks on New Year’s Day. They’re starting to wind down their around-the-world trip, getting ready to head back to the world of apartments and jobs, but they’re such a fun and interesting couple I’m confident we’re going to find ways to meet up again soon enough.

The other thing we’ll remember about Melbourne is the amazing National Gallery of Victoria. I stopped in there when, on our first afternoon in Melbourne, I was headed to the park to read when it started raining. “Might as well duck in here,” I thought, and thus was lost for two hours in a remarkable collection of art spanning centuries and continents. I loved the way it was laid out and the combination of Australian artists mixed in with great European masters. And I loved the fact that the permanent collection is free, always my favorite price point.

Mark went on his own a couple days later, mostly to see a special David Hockney exhibit which he later described as one of the greatest exhibits he’d ever seen. It’s an exhibit of some 1,200 pieces just from the last decade, many of them created on Hockney’s iPad or iPhone. The exhibit was curated by the National Gallery of Victoria along with Hockney, so on top of it all it is a remarkable tribute to the NGV itself. I’d been reluctant to spend the time and the $20 or so they were charging but as I look at the pictures Mark took I obviously made a stupid decision.

Just a small part of the Hockney exhibit

Just a small part of the Hockney exhibit

And finally, the food. Early on we discovered a great bar/restaurant called Meatballs and Wine where, not surprisingly, they serve meatballs and wine. The owner is an Italian who loves meatballs and wine and found a way to transplant a bit of Italy to Melbourne. So after first trying them for lunch, that’s where we had our New Year’s Eve dinner before heading back to our hotel in the center of the city to watch the fireworks with a few thousand of our closest friends. Fun!

Finally, after weeks in Australia, we saw kangaroos in the wild. Very cool.

Finally, after weeks in Australia, we saw kangaroos in the wild. Very cool.

We inserted ourselves into a massive crowd just before the fireworks went off on New Year's Eve. It was as though they were shooting out from the tops of the skyscrapers.

We inserted ourselves into a massive crowd just before the fireworks went off on New Year’s Eve. It was as though they were shooting out from the tops of the skyscrapers.

Melbourne is famous for its colorful lanes, alleys with great street art. Here the art is combined with ... suitcases.

Melbourne is famous for its colorful lanes, alleys with great street art. Here the art is combined with … suitcases.

Mandi & me

Mandi & me

Mark & Philippe

Mark & Philippe

Mark, Mandi, and daughter Isabelle on our kangaroo-hunting expedition

Mark, Mandi, and daughter Isabelle on our kangaroo-hunting expedition

This is a small portion of one piece of the Hockney exhibit titled 82 Portraits and 1 still life, all people Hockney knows, done in separate  three-day periods between 2013 and 2016. Impressive output for someone well into his 70s.

This is a small portion of one piece of the Hockney exhibit titled 82 Portraits and 1 still life, all people Hockney knows, done in separate three-day periods between 2013 and 2016. Impressive output for someone well into his 70s.

More Hockney

More Hockney

A picture with a story. The museum bought this in 1940 thinking it was a Van Gogh, the first and, until 1990, the only Van Gogh available to the public in Australia.  In 2007, though, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam determined that it was not in fact a Van Gogh, that it was merely by some unknown contemporary. Alas. Further research, though, determined that the painting had belonged to a Jewish collector in Berlin who had been forced to sell it to the Nazis. The museum agreed to return it to the original owners heirs - a cynic would observe that it wasn't after all a real Van Gogh - who then loaned it back to the museum (since it is not, in fact, a real Van Gogh).

A picture with a story. The museum bought this in 1940 thinking it was a Van Gogh, the first and, until 1990, the only Van Gogh available to the public in Australia. In 2007, though, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam determined that it was not in fact a Van Gogh, that it was merely by some unknown contemporary. Alas. Further research, though, determined that the painting had belonged to a Jewish collector in Berlin who had been forced to sell it to the Nazis. The museum agreed to return it to the original owners heirs – a cynic would observe that it wasn’t after all a real Van Gogh – who then loaned it back to the museum (since it is not, in fact, a real Van Gogh).

This 18th century "Banquet of Cleopatra" is one of my favorite stories from antiquity. The Egyptian ruler Cleopatra has heard of the legendary feasts sponsored by the Roman Mark Antony and bets that she can outdo him. At the end of a sumptuous meal she then takes off a huge pearl earring, dissolves it in vinegar and drinks it. Now that's extravagant. She won the bet and with it Mark Antony's heart. Until they lost their war for Roman supremacy - and their lives - to one Octavius, known to history as Caesar Augustus.

This 18th century “Banquet of Cleopatra” is one of my favorite stories from antiquity. The Egyptian ruler Cleopatra has heard of the legendary feasts sponsored by the Roman Mark Antony and bets that she can outdo him. At the end of a sumptuous meal she then takes off a huge pearl earring, dissolves it in vinegar and drinks it. Now that’s extravagant. She won the bet and with it Mark Antony’s heart. Until they lost their war for Roman supremacy – and their lives – to one Octavius, known to history as Caesar Augustus.

And finally, I don't know why, but Melbourne has a status of St. Catherine of Siena. What's cool about this is that we saw her head in a church in Siena and the rest of her body in Rome. Just a fun little memory.

And finally, I don’t know why, but Melbourne has a status of St. Catherine of Siena. What’s cool about this is that we saw her head in a church in Siena an the rest of her body in Rome. Just a fun little memory.

Australia's modern Parliament building, opened in 1988

Australia’s modern Parliament building, opened in 1988

Canberra, Australia’s capital city with fewer than 400,000 people, was a radical change for us: after consecutive four-night stays in Mossman, Palm Cove, Surfers Paradise, Brisbane, Fraser Island, and Sydney, we only stayed three nights in Canberra. Big change, but not big enough: Canberra wasn’t worth three nights.

We arrived in Canberra on December 27 when summer holidays are in swing, the parliament is out of session, and government offices are closed. In the best of times Canberra is a pretty sleepy place and this was about the worst time to be here. Kind of like August in Paris if that were coterminous with Chinese New Year. Most of the restaurants were closed and pretty much all the stores were closed. Dead.

Quick history. Australia achieved “Dominion” status inside the British Commonwealth – essentially independence – in 1901. Up until then, the six Australian states had been separate political entities, but once they federated as a single country they had to pick a capital. Sydney and Melbourne both wanted the capital but each had effective veto power over the other. The compromise, reached in 1908, was that the capital would be in New South Wales – Sydney’s state – but in a separate jurisdiction called the Australian Capital Territory or ACT (not unlike the District of Columbia) and that it would be located at least 100 miles from Sydney. Ultimately Canberra was selected as the site, with Melbourne serving as the seat of the government – but decidedly not the capital – until the new city of Canberra was finished in 1927.

Today the Australian Capital Territory, like D.C., is not formally a state. It does have a degree of self-government that D.C. lacks, however, and the people living there have full representation in parliament. So yeah, a little more democracy than the citizens of Washington experience. And, like D.C., Canberra is a planned city with all the weaknesses that entails especially regarding the lack of any organic older city feel to it. And lacking the population and density D.C. has achieved makes Canberra – at least at Christmas time – kind of a big nothing burger.

Now there were a couple bright spots in our little detour through the capital. One, we went there by train which just hasn’t worked for us anywhere else in Australia. Sure, a slow train – this is no China, after all – but train travel beats flying by a big margin. And as Americans we can hardly complain about other countries not having great train networks.

A bust of Caesar Augustus whose statues always portrayed him as young even after he'd served as the First Citizen for decades

A bust of Caesar Augustus whose statues always portrayed him as young even after he’d served as the First Citizen for decades

There were two museum exhibitions while we were that had great potential. The National Museum of Australia was hosting A History of the World in 100 Objects from the British Museum. Great potential but there was one big problem: the exhibit was absolutely packed. It was the last thing we expected. How could the museum be packed when the city was empty? But it was packed; you really struggled to get close to most of the objects. It was an impressive collection of items: a coin showing Alexander the Great’s profile, a bust of Augustus, some Greek, Mayan, Chinese stuff … pretty comprehensive. But they needed some serious crowd control.

This soccer jersey was the 99th of 100 items to tell the history of the world, and it has a great story. The player, Didier Drogba, is from the Ivory Coast but grew up in France. He plays for Chelsea FC, a London team that is owned by a Russian and sponsored by Samsung, a Korean company. It's a knock-off rather than the official jersey, made in Indonesia and purchased in Peru. Thus it is a pretty impressive representation of today's global interconnections.

This soccer jersey was the 99th of 100 items to tell the history of the world, and it has a great story. The player, Didier Drogba, is from the Ivory Coast but grew up in France. He plays for Chelsea FC, a London team that is owned by a Russian and sponsored by Samsung, a Korean company. It’s a knock-off rather than the official jersey, made in Indonesia and purchased in Peru. Thus it is a pretty impressive representation of today’s global interconnections.

Then the National Gallery of Australia was hosting an exhibit called Versailles: Treasures from the Palace. So off we schlep to the Gallery … only to find a line with probably 100 people waiting to get in. And we were told that once you got in it was really crowded in there, too. So heck, we just decided to go to Versailles next spring and see the stuff there ourselves.

But – and it’s a big but – we loved the rest of the National Gallery. Loved it. There was some great Australian and aboriginal art, mind-blowing Chinese art, a couple rooms of geometric abstraction, and a nice collection of 19th and 20th century European stuff. All with great descriptions and all the space you need to enjoy it without the crowds who were all waiting in lines to see Versailles. While Canberra was mostly a big miss, the National Gallery helped redeem our time there.

This is Zhang Huan, a contemporary Chinese Artist. He had three calligraphers spend a day writing on his face and neck relating family and traditional stories about fate. It starts slow until his entire head is just glossy black. You had to see it.

This is Zhang Huan, a contemporary Chinese Artist. He had three calligraphers spend a day writing on his face and neck relating family and traditional stories about fate. It starts slow until his entire head is just glossy black. You had to see it.

Zhang Huan a little further in the process

Zhang Huan a little further in the process

Oh, and our hotel room had a washer/dryer in it, too, which certainly counts for something! Meanwhile Mark continues to do massive planning for our summer months through Europe. To make sure we get the hotels we want, and as long as the dollar is so strong relative to the euro, we’re booking things pretty tightly for the summer. From here we’re off to Melbourne to see a bunch of friends and ring in the new year.

One room was entirely dedicated to 27 pieces Sidney Nolan painted in the mid-20th century about Ned Kelly. Who is Ned Kelly you ask? Well then, you're obviously not Australian. He was, I learned, Australia's most famous "bushranger", a legendary symbol of Australia's lawless frontier. Sort of Jesse James, I guess. Amazing what you can learn from going to an art museum.

One room was entirely dedicated to 27 pieces Sidney Nolan painted in the mid-20th century about Ned Kelly. Who is Ned Kelly you ask? Well then, you’re obviously not Australian. He was, I learned, Australia’s most famous “bushranger”, a legendary symbol of Australia’s lawless frontier. Sort of Jesse James, I guess. Amazing what you can learn from going to an art museum.

A broader shot of the various pieces in the Zhang Huan exhibit. You had to see them.

A broader shot of the various pieces in the Zhang Huan exhibit. You had to see them.

And finally, this was amazing. Xu Zhen is another contemporary Chinese artist. When you first walk into the room you can't figure out exactly what this is. Then you get closer and you see it's a castle. Made of leather. With all sorts of spikes and studs and handcuffs and ropes and chains. In other words, more provocative than Chinese authorities might allow if they realized what it was all about. You could spend hours contemplating all he was trying to say about contemporary Chinese society in this piece.

And finally, this was amazing. Xu Zhen is another contemporary Chinese artist. When you first walk into the room you can’t figure out exactly what this is. Then you get closer and you see it’s a castle. Made of leather. With all sorts of spikes and studs and handcuffs and ropes and chains. In other words, more provocative than Chinese authorities might allow if they realized what it was all about. You could spend hours contemplating all he was trying to say about contemporary Chinese society in this piece.