Life Down Under (Part 13): Brunswick, the Melbourne Royal Show, and A Week of Meetups in Melbourne

- September 20-24, 2022, Tuesday to Saturday.

- Coming back to Melbourne from Canberra, I knew I needed a bit of excitement since things were a bit quiet in the Australian capital. Fortunately, the days that followed were full of meet-ups and some new experiences.

- On Tuesday I had a short visit to Brunswick (Tram 19 to Brunswick Road / Sydney Road stop) to check out what's there. Sydney Road was a major hub for Gold Rush immigrants in the 1800s, so many stores and houses were built along the street. This explains the many historical buildings along the street. Eventually, the buildings were occupied by Asian and African migrants who have set up their stores. Sydney Road is also known for plenty of thrift stores (known as "op shops" in Australia). It actually reminded me a little bit of Smith Street (see here)!

Sydney Road.

Sydney Road has a lot of churches.

Town Hall.

Another church.

My best haul from Sydney Road!

- Thursday the 22nd was a holiday to observe the death of Queen Elizabeth II. However, for many people, the 22nd was the start of a long weekend as Friday was also declared a holiday because of the football finals (yes, football is that big of a deal in Australia.) On Thursday I met up with my kindergarten - and eventually, grade school Chinese computer teacher - Teacher Margaret and her husband, Teacher Caslon. They were kind enough to invite me to visit the National Gallery of Victoria to see a special exhibit on Picasso and his peers.

So many people!!

With Picasso's "Portrait of a Woman"

With Picasso's "The Weeping Woman."

He apparently had a painting about the Korean War!

Picasso really explored different forms of art!

- After lunch, we rode the train to the Melbourne Showgrounds to attend the Melbourne Royal Show. It is an agricultural show that happens every year, during spring. The event was the first of its kind that I attended in person, and would normally just see it on TV. I also often see them on American television. The Melbourne Royal Show has been around since 1848, and has a number of events, mostly competitions. These include animal competitions (dog, cattle, alpaca, horse, etc.), art, craft and cooking competitions (baking, pickling, weaving, drawing, etc.), and sports competitions (a variety of woodchopping competitions). On top of these competitions, there are animal-petting pavilions, shopping pavilions, and countless rides and games. 

Melbourne Royal Show.

A tractor, because why not.

Woodchopping competition.

Another kind of woodchopping competition.

Animal petting pavilion.

Alpacas!

Baby sheep omg they're so cute!!

Baby ducks.

A goat with questionable parents.

DID YOU KNOW....that MasterChef Australia is filmed in the Melbourne Showgrounds - where the Melbourne Royal Show is!

The cow's "sweater" matches my colors.

Hey look they have The Mystery Machine here!! (Please tell me you know which show this is from.)

OMG I LOVE THIS LITTLE TRAIN.

Having dessert after dinner to cap off the day!

- I enjoyed the Melbourne Royal Show so much but it was quite overwhelming, so I spent the next two days taking it slow, and showing another new-comer colleague around Melbourne. I also had the good fortune of meeting a friend I haven't seen in more than 10 years - Chia Chen!

OMG HELLO AFTER MORE THAN A DECADE.

Bingsu after samgyupsal because why not.

- It still surprises me to know that I know so so many people in Melbourne alone (what more the rest of Australia!) I still feel happy that I get to experience many new things with them as well! However, a lot remains for me to explore here in Australia, and trust me when I say that there is more (a lot lot more) to come!