So back to Melbourne.
I went out on Friday night to a Burlesque club. My dad warned me not to post details so I'll spare you. I will say, though, that it's not what you think. It's not a strip club. There's no nudity. I will say that it was some of the best entertainment I've seen in a long time. It was really, really eye-opening and very artistic. As interesting as the show was, the crowd was. It wasn't a bunch of sleazy guys getting off work with a pocket full of one dollar bills. It was friends, couples, old couples, guys in three-piece suits and, of course, some of "my kind" of people, with tattooed hands and holes in their face. There was a girl in the crowd about my age and her hair was shorter than mind. And she was absolutely gorgeous. Anyway, the show was fantastic, the acts were incredible, and the food was tasty. If you want to know more, I'll tell you, and if you don't, I'll still tell you when I see you in person because it was so amazing and had such hope and power. The last thing I'll say about it is this, the best act, was a guy who had won Mr. Boylesque Australia 2012. I am definitely straight, and wouldn't necessarily choose to see a boy burlesque dancer, but it was by far the best act of the night. Now that's art.
I met some people at the show. Garreth and Maddie. Garreth was an artist--a painter. He was 37 and celebrating his half birthday, as he had been given vouchers for the venue for his birthday and was finally cashing them in. He was one of many wearing a suit at the venue. He had two children, 11 and 7. He was divorced. Maddie, was a friend of his. They were from the same, small town, and had more or less grown up together. Maddie was 21, in a committed four-year relationship, and an art student, studying in Melbourne. They were delightful people. After the show, they invited me to spend the rest of the evening with them. After a little convincing, I agreed, and we headed to Garreth's favorite hole-in-the-wall bar, Gin Palace. It was a small place, but had an incredibly classy feel to it. Dim lighting revealed small pockets of coffee tables and old-looking but very comfortable leather chairs and velvet stools. It had a very old sort of look to it. Garreth described it as the type of place you might have expected Oscar Wilde or Hemmingway to be seen in back in their day. Smooth jazz and swing music played softly in the background.
We spent nearly four hours there sipping Winston Churchills (which Garreth so generously treated us to and I learned was said to be the world's greatest martini in 1959) and having fantastic conversation. We talked of children, parents, parenthood, art, history, literature, culture, right vs left brains, music, the changing of the times, religion, and various other topics. It was never a dull conversation. At the end of the night, we exchanged contact details and I promised to tell them the next time I was in the city. Maddie has family in Ballarat and I told her to let me know if she was in town. Garreth is from Warrnambool and told me if I ever found myself there, that I had a place to stay. We shook hands and said our goodbyes.
I'm glad I met them.
I'm glad I met them.
Now, as promised, here are some photos from my time in Melbourne.
Federation Square.
Melbourne has some fantastic architecture.
Some skyline and sunset.
(This was the bluest the sky was the whole time I was there. Rain rain and overcast)
Also, that's the aquarium at the bottom.
Happy Feet.
Coolest thing.
Moon Jellyfish. Could've watched this for hours if a group of first graders didn't come in and start screaming.
Eureka Sydeck. 88th story. Highest viewing platform in southern hemisphere.
Fourth highest in the world.
An Andy Warhol in the National Gallery of Victoria
I've been having really vivid dreams about being back home. They all have two things in common: driving my car and seeing my brother. I really miss him.
I can't wait to see my family and spend time running around AU with them. Not too much longer now.
~D
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