Titanic Expedition

Yesterday's adventure started calmly enough, with a fifteen minute walk to the train station around 4:30pm.    The plan was to meet up with Ross after work just outside the Melbourne Museum in time for our 6pm tickets into the Titanic Artifacts Exhibition.  Figuring that it takes about 15-20 minutes to ride the train into the city center, I planned plenty of extra time to reach our destination, definitely enough for a coffee stop at the very least.   The Melbourne Museum website made getting from the train to the museum itself look very easy so I didn't bother to bring a map.

The children still have perfect confidence in me as we set out.

We were able to get right on a train that said it stopped at all locations.  Before the train arrived at the station we needed, however, I thought I heard the loudspeaker say that everyone needed to get off (rush hour combined with the Australian accent meant that I wasn't sure exactly what I heard, but off we got).  Katie immediately started worrying.  I did my best to reassure her, and marched all of the children straight to the information desk in the station. The helpful lady there told us which tram to board, and importantly, in what direction.  Why I didn't think to ask at which stop to get off, I am not sure.  I must have thought it would be obvious.

We made it safely across to the middle of Flinders Street, where we sat down to wait for the tram.  You can see that the older two are not at all sure that we are going to end up where we need to be, and I must confess that their lack of confidence in me is not entirely unfounded.  They have been with me too many times in the past when I have been, well, never lost entirely, but not exactly sure of where I am going.

Sophie, apparently, did not get the worrying gene, or she just hasn't been with me enough times in her short life to know that I have absolutely no natural sense of direction. James is still blissfully ignorant.

I eventually coaxed Cameron and Katie into smiling for the camera.  There were about to board a tram, for the first time ever in  Australia, I reminded them, so they should be showing some enthusiasm.


Here is Cameron about to board the City Circle Tram, a free tram that runs in a giant cirle around the Central Business District.

James has been begging to ride a tram pretty much since our first day here, so we enjoyed his excitement.
We rode the tram for a while.  I was pretty sure we were heading in the right direction, and began to study the map on the tram hoping the Melbourne Museum would be marked.  It wasn't, and I couldn't begin to understand the recorded voice explaining to tourists where to get off for various destinations, so after a while, I informed everyone it was time to get off.  As we exited the tram in the middle of a very busy street, the skies opened up, giving us a good drenching.

We followed the crowd for several blocks, and somewhat amazingly, Katie spotted signs for the Titanic Exhibition in the distance.  With a giant (but concealed) sigh of relief, I herded everyone in the direction of the museum, finally feeling comfortable enough to take a few pictures.

The Royal Exhibition Building, just next to the Melbourne Museum, seemed the place to be last night, so I did some research when we returned home.  Taste of Melbourne is the event of the weekend, and I'll include the link especially for my sister-in-law Karin, who may want to plan her trip to visit us the next time it comes to Melbourne.

We made it just in time for our 6pm, timed, entrance (albeit minus Ross who was twenty minutes late).  A quick look around, and I realized that we were a bit out of place in the crowd of well--heeled, mature adults speaking in hushed tones.  Next time I will leave the younger ones at home for an expedition like this, but I determined to make the most of our visit.  Cameron managed to set off an alarm within the first five minutes by getting too close to an exhibit, further adding to my discomfort, but fortunately (or unfortunately I thought once or twice that evening) no guards appeared to drag him away.

We made it through the rest of the displays without incident, marvelling over the perfectly preserved au gratin dishes, the beauty of the replicated grand staircase and first class rooms, and the misplaced confidence so many had in the invincibility of the Titanic.

Katie, our resident Titanic expert and enthusiast, claimed to have learned nothing new from the exhibit after we exited.  Upon seeing "The Look" starting to spread across my face, however, she hastily reassured me that she was very grateful for the opportunity to see the exhibition.  She was on the computer first thing this morning ordering more books from the library about the ill-fated journey.

Once outside the museum and faced with a forty minute walk back to Ross's car, I again was forced to admit to my failure to properly plan this visit.  We had with us one very hungry husband and two boys desperate to crawl into bed.  We walked for a while, tried to hail a cab, and eventually stopped at a tram stop, not sure if the City Circle Tram was still in service.  Much to our relief, it did come, and deposited us close to the Lord of the Fries food stand at Flinders Station.  Deep fried, hot potatoes, complete with American ketchup, helped everyone make it the rest of the way back to the car.  Having put Katie in charge of making sure we never again leave the house without a map, and vowing to make more detailed preparations in the future, I crashed into bed, grateful we had nothing planned for the following day.

Comments

[Amy Smith]

What a day! I would need a couple of days off after that adventure. I am pround of the way you handled it. When I lived in Luxemburg, I once boarded a bus that I presumed would take me home. Instead I was transported to the outskirts of an industrial section of town where the driver insisted I deboard. I had gotten an inkling that this might happen as I had been the lone passenger on the bus for some time as all others had long ago found their stops. After trying to flag down buses that raced by over the next hour, I ended up hitchhiking. Praise God the good samaritan who picked me up informed me that he was on his way to church!

[Amy Smith]

By the way, I love the double entendre in your post's title. Brilliant!

[Deborah]

I died laughing when you mentioned "The Look"! I do the same thing when planning outings w/ the kids, although they're pretty much used to my slap-dashery way of following my nose for directions. However, this drives Carl crazy. Note to self: plan better when spouse is accompanying. (p.s. bring map, too!) I will give Brianna that job!

[Shanda]

Christie, I am continually amazed at how much you are getting out of the house and having adventures of all kinds!!! I loved reading this story about your day....and can sympathize with the nervous feeling you get when you don't quite know where you are going!
The Titanic story has always fascinated me. Good for Katie for becoming an expert on the topic. :) I'm glad you had fun and those fried potatoes sounded yummy.

[Afamilyofvegans.blogspot.com]

Wow! You certainly had an adventure!! I still find it VERY easy to get lost here and I've been here over 2 and a half years!

Lord of The Fries is my favourite junk food - It's 100% vegetarian, with all menu items veganisable!Love those home made fries!