Jaunts

Reading in the Treasury Gardens

I'm excited to be taking a little jaunt into regional Victoria on the Australia Day public holiday this Wednesday. I decided it would be nice to do something with the day off rather than sleeping until 11.00am, so I'm catching the train to Castlemaine, which I'm is (I'm told) a lovely little town with cafes, galleries, shops, an old theatre, botanic gardens, walks and a lot of gold mining history.

Visiting three towns in regional Victoria that I've never been to before is one of the things on my list of 101 Things To Do before I'm 40. I've been through Castlemaine many times, but never to it, so I am counting it as the first of  the three towns.  Yay. I'm looking forward to fresh photographic pastures too.

I took a little sojourn on my way home today too. I'm hoping injecting a little novelty into work days might help them seem less dreary and a teeny tiny bit more like a weekend, so today I walked home through the Treasury and Fitzroy Gardens, and the back streets of Richmond. I bought mixed lollies at the Rowena Parade Corner Store and wandered little streets I've never ventured into before. (Due to enthusiastic sub-dividing in the olden days, Richmond has a lot of little streets.) The walk home took twice as long as usual, but it was a sunny afternoon, I like the exercise and love exploring my neighbourhood.

To the nunnery, the photo exhibition and the movies

Hoddle Street and Collingwood Town Hall from

the overpass

I did indeed go to the Abbotsford Convent today - thanks to the GPS on my mobile phone. I forgot to look up exactly how to get there before I left home. Yay for technology.

Although the convent's numerous buildings have been rescued from ruin, many of them are still in a shabby state. Of course, I didn't mind at all. There was a market on, but I was more interested in the buildings than the wares on offer. (See Girl in Melbourne for photos)

After I left the convent I walked up Johnston Street to visit the Centre for Contemporary Photography (CCP) in Fitzroy...only I turned left when I should have turned right into George Street. But I didn't mind because George Street has so much character  - an appealing mix of lovely old terrace houses and grunge. Sometimes being on the wrong path has its own rewards...

Look at that fabulous brick and bluestone! (Stupid light pole)

The exhibition I saw at the CCP was US photographer Taryn Simon's An Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar, a series of photos taken in places in America that most people never get a glimpse into (if they even know they exist). I really enjoyed it - it was fascinating, but also a little disturbing.

Today I learnt that there's a Braille edition of Playboy. I guess the vision impaired are the only ones who can genuinely claim to read it for the articles.

From there I walked to Carlton and decided on a whim to see Boy, an independent New Zealand film I'd heard good things about. It was funny and a little sad, with beautiful cinematography. I loved the shot of the old, ramshackle house overlooking the beach near the end -  it fit the theme of my day quite well.

I walked into the city and then trammed it home, very tuckered out.

In the gardens