A day away from my ferrets.

The other day I went into Melbourne for the first time in a very long time.
I had to go do some things and also met up with a friend which was nice. 

I started the day by waking up early in the morning, around 5AM, because where I live it takes about 1h and 55m to travel into the city.  I was also expecting it to take longer because apparently they had planned on doing work on the train line I intended to travel on. 

It wasn't raining when I left to head to the bus stop, so I was thankful at the time.

Incredible Scenic View From The Bus Stop. (LOL)

I did walk one way for about 3 minutes, up a hill-- then realised I had forgotten something important, so I rushed back, also grabbed my asthma inhaler because along the way I did start having some breathing issues. Once I had all I needed, I went the back way, which didn't take all too long now that the bus stop was moved closer to my house. I did have to walk through a dark area and that was quite frightening. But I survived! Once at the bus stop, It was quite dark since the sun doesn't rise until around... 6... or 7... around that time. At the time I began thinking about my dumplings. Being away for a whole day caused me to be a little anxious.  



Bus ride wasn't all too bad. I actually quite enjoy traveling early in the morning. I ended up asking about the trains once I got into the Station and to my luck, the one I needed to take was NOT a coach!! Yay! So I would be traveling by train. I was excited--  At least until I saw the train coming in. IT WAS PACKED. I ended up having to stand in an overpacked train for 1h 55m. It was torture, especially when I have a bad leg, which likes to tense up and cause me pain in my tendon after standing for prolonged periods. Time felt like it was going by so slowly, and when I have pain (which was not only in my leg but my jaw, I have TMJ) and no coffee, I get real grumpy. I can't help it either, Pain really makes me want to bite someones head off. When we finally made it into Melbourne, Southern Cross Station, I got off and went straight to get some hand sanitiser.   There was NO WAY in anything that I would go a day in the city without hand sanitiser. I also picked up some breakfast and met up with my friend. 

The first thing on my list of things to do that morning, was to walk to a bank. It was around 8 something something so by the time we got there we had hoped it would be open. Then we find out it opens at 9:30. That was a bummer. But rather than stick around, it was better to go to my second place, a post office. Once wasn't all that far from where we were so we walked there and had some passport photos done. On the way back, we waited about 5 minutes for the bank to open, and then I grabbed a statement and we began walking to our next destination. 


I don't particularly enjoy the shortcuts we walked through. Some back streets smelled horrid, so we had to hold our breath and walk quickly.  Once we arrived at our next  destination, victorian registry of births deaths and marriages, I grabbed a ticket and we sat down and prepared ourselves for the LONG wait. The reason as to why I was there is because I was putting in an application to have part of my name legally changed. :) This was something I was meaning to do for a very long time, like 5 years. I was very anxious. Excited and nervous all at once, and I had to sit here for so many hours. We got in at like 9:20am I think, and waited until 11:29am.Very long time, but it was worth it. My friend and I played a couple of games while we waited, because we got very bored, very quickly. First we played eye spy,  then some Hangman, through text, which worked out surprisingly well however that got boring too quick.

I left all happy and satisfied. Still nervous, but happy and HUNGRY.

For lunch, which thank goodness we got out before then, we decided to go to Fo Guang Yuan Art Gallery. We have to walk again, through all these back streets, horrible just as much as the first time round. It began to rain, just a drizzle which we didn't mind all that bad.  This place was very new to me, and being Buddhist + Vegetarian and this place being Buddhist and had vegetarian/vegan food, I was very excited and keen. As soon as we found the location and walked up the stairs, I was instantly met with a very calming sensation. This tends to happen everytime I enter a buddhist place. I remember it happening when I used to visit a temple in Bendigo. It was fantastic.

I thought that it was beautiful. I loved the overall layout of the gallery and lunch area. The people were very friendly and very helpful. When my friend and I began looking over what we would like to try, we noticed how fairly cheap the prices were. We did expect alittle more, but this was nice. 

We weren't sure on what to get Tea wise, so we asked for a recommendation. Oolong and Sweet Osmanthus.

Tea was the first to come, and the little cups were so cute. We also loved the look of the tea and the tea pot. The tea was very hot, so we poured some and let it sit for alittle bit. Once it cooled slightly, we had a try and both agreed that it was a light flavoured tea. Very subtle flavour and not too over empowering. This was something we liked a lot in a tea. Quite a lot actually.

Just talking about this tea makes me want some more. We asked about the tea and may come back and buy some so we can have it fresh at our places. It was delightful.

The first meal to arrive was mine.  
I don't like to eat before everyone has their own meal, so I wait patiently for her meal to arrive before we start eating. I didn't get any photos of her meal, maybe next time I will remember to do that. As for my meal, I got a Vegetarian Curry Udon, which was incredible. I love curry, and I ADORE udon. I have had many types, and this was by far the most lovely udon meal I had ever had. At first taste, it was mildly spicy. Something I LOVED.

After we ate and finished up, my friend payed because it was easier than splitting the bill. I agreed that I would pay for what ever we decided to do next. :) We looked around before leaving. There was no way that we could eat and not look around. Especially at the gallery which was my most eager place to look. 


There was this one artwork which both my friend and I enjoyed. 

I wrote down the quote:
"Things can be difficult and more complicated than we ever expect. Yet, in most situations, it's our attitude that matters." - from a Buddhist artwork called, it's our attitude that matters.

I looked at, and read all artworks and enjoyed seeing all the ink and painting on rice paper. It was done with such skill and even the simple artworks had such a huge meaning behind them.

My friend noticed a ball, I thought it was pretty funny. I wonder how that got there!

There was also this little shrine, where you can go and offer a flower to the Buddha.
I thought it was beautiful, so I had to get a quick photo before I left. They also do Meditation classes here. I'm going to try and talk my friend to come along with me to one, one day.

On my way out, I said goodbye to the little Shishi Statue.

Shishi are Chinese Guardian Lions. They kind of look like a dog x lion and are ususally in pairs, this one seemed to be a single Shi. They are believed to have powerful mythic protective benefits, which can ward off evil spirits, thats why they are mostly seen at gates, entrances or doors. The circular object often shown beneath their feet is the Tama, (sacred Buddhist jewel), a symbol of Buddhist wisdom that brings light to darkness and holds the power to grant wishes. 

After we left we walked back to the station. Along the way it began to rain, again. Although I enjoy the rain, I don't particularly enjoy the rain in Melbourne.

 It began to rain more heavily so we had to stop every so often so that we wouldn't get too wet. There was one place where the rain made it appear like a mirror on the groun. It was so wet that you could see reflections. I thought it was pretty cool so I took a photo of it along our way.




When we got to the station we decided to go see a movie. So we got a train to Melbourne Central and waited for the next movie. We had about an hour, so we got a drink and I charged my phone. We watched "How to be single". Had a drink, a little tiny chocolate ice cream each, and shared a popcorn. This was my shout since my friend payed for lunch. :) It was a fun movie, and I liked a lot of the actresses in it so it was great.

I did find myself thinking of my ferrets here and there but other than that, I really enjoyed meeting up with my old friend and doing something fun for a change. 

After realising the time, I would have missed my train and last bus so I had to stay at my friends house for the night. I was alittle upset because I wanted to go back to my ferrets, I was alittle anxious about leaving them alone for one whole night, so I planned on leaving early in the morning. My dad actually came and picked me up, even though the place was an hour and a half away. That was good, at least that way I got home quicker than going through public transport.

Once I got home, I babied them so bad. They got a free roam day to make up for a no play day the day before. I also gave them some fresh whole prey, so I think they were quite happy about that. :)

I missed my little dumplings so much.