Hot and bothered

Trip Start Nov 06, 2003

Trip End Jan 24, 2004

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Flag of Australia Melbourne, Australia
Sunday, November 30, 2003

We catch another train into Melbourne early and amble around the arcades and markets of downtown. A terrifically realized Grinch Who Stole Christmas, complete with mechanized singing Whoos, stretches the length of Myer's display windows. The muggy day cries out for air conditioning, so we plunge into department stores and train stations to cool down. I actually book a haircut at Kings Hairdressing, part of the newly renovated Melbourne Central station.

Without a firm grasp of distance in the city, I convince everyone we can walk and likely catch a trolley to the Melbourne Museum. We melt down a few times en route and resort to dipping Lucy's feet and our heads into a water fountain in Carleton Gardens to cool off.

The museum's angular bulk contains a stuffed Phar Lap and cases of taxidermy

1. Whoville

. We push through glass doors into a living forest, at odds with these toe-tagged critters. We spend enough time in the Museum roaming the Bunjilaka aboriginal centre and its maze of curated exhibits that it's pretty much time to wade back through the humidity to the train station. So much for my haircut appointment.

Sticky and bothered, we arrive at Spencer Street station for an almost-non-stop train to Kyneton. As we're snacking on our left-overs, counting down to the 5:57 departure, a voice comes on the PA announcing that the train will be departing immediately for Geelong. Geelong!! Is Kyneton on this route? A flurry of arms grab Lucy, the carrier, the stroller attachment, the camera bag, the purchases, the small containers of olives and bread, the diaper bag. We make it off the train just before it chugs out of the station going the entirely wrong way. Turns out there were 2 trains at the same platform. We wanted the front one, that left 2 minutes before.

The next train arrives in Kyneton about 8 pm where Emma T's father kindly picks us up and brings us to a family barbecue. Lucy for once fails to smile, instead crying and generally playing strange with everyone. Between our late arrival and high-maintenance babe, we're somewhat absent as guests of honour.

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