Day 11: cough drops & champers

I'm fighting it hard but I just don't seem to be feeling any better. My holiday doesn't allow for sick days! :(

Couldn't sleep too well last night - trucks were loud outside the window & my pillow just felt so uncomfortable; of course that doesn't help my health either. Once I was awake, that was it & I had to get up.

Amy had to work; Rosie & I took the tram to the botanical gardens & walked around there for a while. We were both a bit out of it so we were good company. :)

Went to the Shrine of Rememberance - more interesting than I expected. Really some neat info about WWII, including a letter of dismissal that read: "you're a Jew so in the eyes of the law you're dead" - gave me chills & brought tears to my eyes to read.

Walked thru the gardens, which were beautiful but not as exciting as the gardens in Sydney - maybe bc I've already seen some of the wildlife. There was a tree that looked like the whomping willow from Harry Potter, tho!! (Pictured)

Then we ventured into the city & stopped off at the NGV (natn'l gallery of Victoria, I think) for some art & culture. Saw some really beautiful stuff but after an hour of being followed by a group of schoolchildren (not on purpose), we were hungry & over it, so we headed to Chinatown.

We got a bit lost. Thank goodness the aussies are a friendly bunch.

By the time we got there, we were STARVING & stopped at the first restaurant we saw. It was pretty good, luckily. Chinatown itself was crap. Just a bunch of kitchsy shops & restaurants with weird unappealing food pics in the windows.

Took the tram back & both of us were REALLY looking forward to a nap. I crawled into my bunk & slept for a good hour & a half. So nice with the cool breeze thru the window & the birds singing. I love naps. :)

Felt a bit better after that. Amy, Rosie, Wilhelmina & I got dressed up (as much as a backpacker can be) for a girls night out to celebrate Rosies last night in Oz & Amy's new job. Nice dinner at a posh-feeling Italian restaurant. FYI: scallops here are NOT the same as scallops at home - not sure what they were...

Then went to the hostel bar for the over-advertised free champagne for ladies all night. Turns out by free champagne they meant free orange juice with a splash of champers. Oh well.

Met some funny Irish guys dressed as girls so they could get the free drinks. It was so hard to understand their accents, even for the brits. One of them (pictured) told me I looked like J.Lo. Ha ha! Someones got his beer goggles on. Hilarious.

Early night in & I'm glad for it. Took a tylenol cold night & my eyes are closing. Later lovelies.

Today I am so happy & grateful for:
~ friends on my same wavelength
~ a nice dinner
~ learning some history
~ naps

Xo! n.