bus, bus, train, bus, bus.

Today was an exhausting travel day. Fortunately, we did not have to wake up too early since we didn’t have to leave until 8:45 am, so we got to enjoy a nice and relaxing last free breakfast at the AIS. Our first bus arrived at 8:45 am. It was the nicest bus we took all day: clean, comfortable, and we each had our own row to ourselves. However, that lasted all of 15 minutes because this bus was just taking us to the bus station in downtown Canberra. Lucky for us, this next bus was not arriving for another 45 minutes after we arrived and it was raining and cold outside, so we all huddled underneath the awning of a closed café. Once this bus arrived, it was not so comfortable, but we only had to ride in it for an hour before we got the train station. When we arrived at the train station, it had stopped raining so waiting for the 30 minutes that we waited was not so bad. This train was also not as comfortable as the train we had taken to Canberra because we did not have our own car and had to share rows. I did not mind it as much and managed to sleep the whole four hours. After the train ride, we boarded another bus for about another four hours to take us to Melbourne. Also not as comfortable, but we managed. And when we finally arrived at Melbourne, we had to take yet another bus to the hostel which is located in North Melbourne. 

Although it was about 9 pm by the time we were all settled in, we were all pretty hungry so we decided to try to find somewhere to eat. To make it easier we split into smaller groups. My group was headed to Lygon Street, which is Melbourne’s version of Little Italy. However, we were given wrong directions and ended up on a random street where most things were closed since it was a Sunday night. We managed to find a small Italian bistro that was open until 10 pm, but when we walked in they informed us the kitchen closes at 8 pm (not sure what was supposed to be open between 8 and 10 since there was nothing else there…), but that they would still be able to make pizzas. When I asked if they could make me a salad, they said no. When I asked if they could make me a vegetable salad with no cheese, tomato sauce, or crust they still said no. Since I was not that hungry, a couple of us went to the grocery store next door and came back to the bistro with food. Lexi and I just split an avocado and that was perfect. It was definitely an exhausting travel day and I feel asleep the second I hit my bed.