On the move to Melbourne to meet Murphy (Day 153)
A torturous session with Sean was squeezed in before being on the move to Melbourne where we meet Murphy.
An early start to be at the Gym for 7am. Alix had told us a bit about her sessions with her gym instructor Sean. She built up a picture of this tyrant who yelled all the time and you got flogged if you slowed down on the exercise bike. Whaaa! Why on earth was I going? We met Sean, his steely blue eyes stared at us as if he could see our inner fat. No chatting, straight upstairs on the exercise bikes.
Off we went, cycling away. He told us to turn the dial to increase the resistance, next to turn it all the way round and stand on the pedals. Aaargh! Both Tim and Alix thought my dodgy knee was playing up. No – it was the whole of my legs! Muscles had suddenly seen the light of day after about 25 years! Next we used exercise machines and sit ups using a large gymball. The pain in my eyes must have reached his empathy button as he was gentle and encouraging with me. Perhaps he realised I am motivated by the carrot, not the stick. I quite enjoyed my time in a weird way – did feel a bit lightheaded at times though. Is that normal?
We got back home and Alix got the dogs ready. Off to pick up Milly (or was it Molly or Mandy) and down to the beach. What’s this? Rain? We got out of the car to a light spitting, the waves were crashing down with big surf, unlike the millpond the day before. Tim found some plastic on the beach so picked it up to dispose of properly. If we all did that, hopefully others would follow suit and this epidemic issue of garbage killing the ocean wildlife will be decreased.
After throwing the balls about and watching the 4 dogs playing on the beach and Milly swimming in the sea, we hopped back in the car. We had a flight to catch. A quick shower, finishing packing our bags, Alix drove us to Sydney domestic terminal, big hugs and see you in a month, we went off to catch our flight. As we were queuing to get onto the plane, we could see a bit of a commotion. The flight attendants were weighing people’s bags and three ladies were not happy. They obviously didn’t weigh their items and calculated the total weight on a spreadsheet like us!
We arrive in Melbourne. It was 28 years ago that I was last here and straight away I could see the change that has taken place, the skyline is a lot higher now! The temperature was a lot lower than Sydney at just 16 degrees! A bit different to the 34 degrees we had been experiencing, so jumpers were put on. Luckily the temperature is due to get warmer on Friday – Phew! After our Skybus ride into the city, buying a Myki train card, we caught a train east of Melbourne immediately to Seaford. The third stop was Richmond, were I lived for three months. Will definitely be revisiting the area. Very happy memories.
Our Airbnb for the night was found, as was the nearest supermarket, which was over one of “Victoria’s 50 most dangerous and congested level crossings.” There is a Level Crossing Removal Project across metropolitan Melbourne where these 50 level crossings are being eliminated by 2022 by elevating the rail lines plus upgrading stations and making lots of rail improvements. We sat chatting to Neville, our host. Such an interesting man, obviously done lots of travelling so I asked him about Japan. He and his wife Liz had been there recently and shared their experiences of staying in Airbnbs. Also when he was a lot younger, he decided to climb Mount Fuji on his own from the base, walking through forest in the middle of the night, he wondered if there were any wild ferocious animals around, finally reaching the top, freezing cold and damp, he got there just before sunrise. Oh the foolishness of youth!
It was time for us to meet Murphy. We walked towards the beach, past the main shops of Seaford, crikey – what a lot of food places – 3 fish and chip shops, pizza, Tapas, Chinese etc in just 2 small parades of shops, Well, we won’t go hungry! We finally found the house to be greeted by Murphy jumping up at us. Yes, he is a dog, a Maltese Cross who we will be looking after for the next two weeks. Owners Amy and Braydan showed us around their home, explaining how things work, various commands for Murphy, his routine etc. A quick chat later, we returned to our Airbnb for the night.
