The Nunnery, an Irishman, a Roo Steak, and Wicked! - Oh, My!

Day one in Melbourne. This day was just so good, it deserves it own individual post!

First, The Nunnery. It's where I stayed in Melbourne. Seriously. All of those jokes about joining a convent...well, in Melbourne I kinda did. The Daughters of Charity resided and worked here until 1990 when it was sold and became a home for travellers from around the world. The staff refer to themselves as Nuns, the rules are commandments, pictures of the Virgin Mary cover the walls, and the resident cat is named Brother Francis. Awesome! (pictures to be posted at a future date)

Second, The Irishman. Within minutes of my arrival, I met Gary O'Keeffe from Ireland. Despite my wanting to be at the Victoria Street Market, which is only open one day a week, we ended up sitting and talking for about an hour-and-a-half. He was great fun! Then we ended up going for lunch, where he insisted I try the Roo (as in kangaroo) Steak. I decided to live on the edge and give it a go. And it was actually pretty good! (It's not that different from beef.)

It was also here that Irish Gary discovered that I don't drink. Being Irish, he couldn't imagine anyone not drinking and nearly fell off his chair. I could tell he wasn't sure what to do with me at first and I figured this friendship was over as soon as he could swallow his roo steak. However, he surprised me - recovered from his shock and insisted we explore Melbourne together that afternoon.

We wandering the streets of Melbourne all afternoon. We laughed all afternoon! Late afternoon, we ended up in front of the Regal Theatre, where the show Wicked is currently playing. For those who don't know, Wicked is the story of the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch, before Dorothy drops into Oz. Now, this is currently my favorite musical, and I've seen it twice on Broadway, but out of curiosity I decided to stop and see how much tickets were (fyi: they're comparable to B'way). The guy at the box office also informed me that they were about to start the Wicked Lottery (you submit your name into a drawing and if your name is picked you can have one or two front row seats for $30! - vs the +$100 ticket elsewhere in the theater). So this time I insisted we stay and attempt a win even though Irish Gary had no idea what the play was and no desire to go to the theatre.

Now, I have to take a moment here to explain that I have a history with the Wicked Lottery. No, my name has never been drawn. BUT, three times previously, I have been with friends who HAVE won (Jeanette! The Halversens! Sunny & Jason!). I've decided that it is my presence that insures the win. ;) So with complete confidence, I informed Irish Gary that his name was about to be drawn.

And it was!!

[Don't we look like we're related? :) ]

We had front row tickets to Wicked in Melbourne!! Irish Gary told me later that when I said that (that he'd win), he just KNEW his name would be drawn. He was a little astounded, but thrilled to have won something, and as it turns out, kind of excited to attend the theatre.

We made a quick trip back to The Nunnery to change, then back to the theatre.

The show: Definitely five stars!!!!! As good or better (in some instances) as on Broadway! (And I even saw it with the original cast!)

The day: also five stars! And while Irish Gary's path has taken a different turn from mine, he will not forgotten. :)