it's raining it's pouring

it poured all day yesterday. it is hard to be upset about that, seeing as these peopl havent seen rain in months, they are going through a drought, and every one of them i talked to is EXCITED about the rain. even though it has been raining for the last few days and may have adverse affects for the melbourne cup - a horse race that is a national holiday. i am leaving melbourne before the race - simply bc i assumed it was sold out and bc i got a supercheap plane ticket. however i discovered yesterday that it isnt sold out and that i could go... but plans are already made.

i went to the queen victoria markets and was not superimpressed. i guess markets are never what i expect. there were maybe only three vendors that didnt have someone else selling the exact same thing on the next row over. i was expecting more crafty things and more unique things... mostly it was the same clothes over and over, socks, the same cheap 'aboriginal' boomerangs, and produce.

i went to a couple of art museums and enjoyed an exhibit of art from india. i dont think i have ever seen art from there. all the paintings were computer monitor sized but they were all very detailed.

i also went to a horse racing museum that was interesting. i was on the tour but it soon became apparent that the tour was really only interesting for people who knew anything about the owners, jockeys, and horses. i do not. so i wandered a bit on my own and moved on.

a tradition of the melbourne cup is that lots of girls go. some bloke a long time ago used to give two tickets for women with every purchase for a male - to attract even more males to buy tickets. smart man. for the women it became a fashion thing and a social event. the fashion bit of it is spring dresses and goofy hats - hilarious. i saw some hats at the market but the ones at the museum are tons more extreme. i can imagine the entertainment tonight/magazine critiques of these hats after racing day. if i were staying, i would have gone to get a silly hat. :)

i did a walking tour of melbourne that essentially took me through all these alleyways and arcades that i normally wouldnt have walked through - there are millions of them and they are all lined with cafes and shops.

i came back early,, took a shower, finished a book, and went to bed. today i am taking a tour of the great ocean road and heading to the airport.