Melbourne Day 2 (Monday)

When I got up, I grabbed a muffin at the 7 11 down the lane, and had it for breakfast in my room with the coffee provided. Spent much of the morning catching up on blog entries, and fighting with Blogger to get my photos in the way I wanted. Also did some research on where to get Aboriginal art, which I'm interested in picking up while I'm here. I think the prices were better in Alice Springs...

I grabbed a quick lunch at a nearby food court, and then stopped in at the first Aboriginal art gallery. The prices blew me away, so I looked politely and moved on. Walked to Hosier Lane, a famous art-filled laneway, where school children were getting their photos taken in front of the grafitti and painted walls.

I crossed over to Federation Square, and checked out the Atrium, a covered by open-air area in fromt of the art gallery there. The gallery was closed today, but there were some nice shops in the Atrium, including a small bookshop with its shelves dedicated to the writers who are appearing at this week's Melbourne Writers Festival. Just outside was the box office for the festival. I stopped by to ask a few questions, and was able to buy a ticket for one session that showed as Sold Out online, featuring Dave Eggers. I was glad I had stopped by!

The Olderfleet Building, on Collins St

I like how the Intercontinental Hotel squeezed itself in

between the Olderfleet Buildings in a way that works.

(And I have no idea where the 1960's border effect came from;

there must have been a roll of old film in my iPhone...)

I took a tram to another Aboriginal art gallery, but when I got there I was told they had recently moved (without having updated their web site). So I hopped another tram and headed up to Victoria Market, finding it closed and abandoned. There was one shop nearby with some Aboriginal art, but I didn't see anything I loved. Another shop nearby was closed today, along with the rest of the market. I'll return another day! I grabbed a beer in a nearby pub (no worries finding an open pub when you need one here!), and read up on the writer's festival.

Took a couple more trams back to my hotel for a little siesta. Had a yummy pizza at Panned Pizza down the street, and luckily couldn't find the waffle shop I had smelled on my way there. Instead I got a pint of Cooper's Pale Ale at a comedy club just around the corner from my hotel, and watched the first set of their free Monday night comedy night (with my $10.50 beer). The show was good, and the place was completely jammed; I was standing in a crowd at the back. The set (which the MC called a "bracket" - another addition to my Australian vocabulary) ended with Fiona O'Loughlin, whom everyone there but me knew of well.