H decided it was in his best interest not to make the effort to go home after his work Christmas party. He booked us a hotel room closest to the venue, which was in the City Hall, and made a short holiday out of it. It was an opportunity for both of us to find things we had not seen or done in a familiar and well-traveled environment.
In the morning to cater for his transport needs, I drove him to the station. As I took the bus in when I left, that solved the parking question.
I actually missed the bus I wanted to catch by a few minutes, so instead of waiting in the sun for the next hour, I returned home and put some extra things in the bag. Even with this opportunity I forgot the hotel itinerary and the bank details, that I only remembered halfway there on the train already. However the concierge and H was fine with it and managed to get into the room before H finished work and then for him to pay when the extra key got picked up by him. It was a relief.
Planning worked out as such that a friend could come by at the same time H arrived walking from work. We all hung out together in the room until it was time for her to leave. She brought a Care Bear for baby's early Christmas present and we all had a good time watching her explore this new thing. H got ready for his function, and I left to find food.
King George Square was packed with people there for the lighting of the Christmas Tree. I was more interested in looking for somewhere I had not eaten at or from, so I made my way through the crowds to Queen Street Mall. It was an especially popular Friday night with long queues for many places, I ended up in a Night Owl ordering a toasted sandwich and a coffee, as "I had never been to that particular one before." I headed back towards the hotel thinking to continue baby's nap time peacefully. That of course did not happen as the carols on the loud speaker woke her up and she did not sleep until just before H came back. In the meantime she played on the bed, sometimes with the new bear, sometimes with the ball of yarn I was crocheting from. I found it hilarious how this little person could take up an entire queen-size bed.
H told me how he left the group after just 1 vodka shot, and also feeling anxious about a presentation that he got roped into for next year. I reassured him that it's not happening until next year so don't worry about it. I also recounted how I used to be very nervous about oral exams and was a poor presenter, until I realised that if I could survive a black belt exam, a short speech on a well-researched topic was not such a big deal in comparison. That I enjoy public speaking now because of that realisation. He finally agreed that his black belt exam was grueling but survived in one piece, He was just glad he could be horizontal now instead of in an hour's time.
The headache from the previous day subdued to background issue for the entire day, which made things run more smoothly than I had imagined and was worried about.
Saturday morning we ended up at the hotel's restaurant for a buffet breakfast. We reminisced our honeymoon trip's breakfasts, how delicious they were, except for that one place with ham-flavoured orange juice. We then strolled the mall before anything opened. Window shopping sans crowd.
I had to return back to the room to get my phone, to contact my friend to confirm our brunch at 10am. It was a great pick as H and I had never been to that cafe before. H was starting to get agitated that she was running late, going by the record that she had not arrived on time for her doula appointments earlier in the year. She is moving to Sydney in the new year so it was nice to catch up with her before her move. We also exchanged Skype details so she could see one of her assisted babies grow up on camera, like my dad does when he calls.
We strolled through Myer center and the aircon next. Baby napped on my back and unlike a backpack the weight is not easy to adjust. H had his turn at the display massage chair in the electronic section, and I watched in envy. I had my turn when he offered to put a coin in for a 5 minute paid one when we sat at one and I took baby off onto the couch where she dosed for a few more minutes before the posture got uncomfortable enough to wake her.
For the rest of the afternoon, after the cleaner had left, and I had a shower and baby had a sponge down on the basin, all three of us napped for 3 solid hours. I forgot to mention to please replace the milk we used up so that was the end of having coffee until we got back home. I also dripped blood all over some of the towels which I felt bad about, and got baby's poo on top of it for a nappy change, which erased my guilt. The bath mat got flipped over instead.
One of the popular places I noted the previous night was a dumpling specialty restaurant that had opened while I had not visited the city. Harajuku Gyoza had an obnoxiously friendly and fun atmosphere. One table ordered sake shots and the wait staff encouraged the whole shop to cheer for them. The meal was delicious, baby munched on edamame husks and the black serviettes (which made it look like she ate nori), and fried Nutella and banana gyoza with ice-cream a memorable desert. The kind of place mum would have hated for being loud and immature, both in decor and volume.
We returned to the room for the last time for the day. H discovered the Sound of Music on TV, from the Lonely Goatherd puppetry scene. It was on for the 50th Anniversary special. Watching the movie while commentating on scenes from places we visited in Saltzberg and the tour, as well as the World War II memorials, gave the story a fresh perspective.
Sunday Morning I woke at 6.30 and H woke from my rustlings. Baby on the other hand took much encouraging to wake up, but it also meant we could pack most of the bags before leaving for breakfast. We decided on a place from around the block. Unfortunately a place that was short-staffed and one of two only places open for trading, we got our meals but we had to leave before our drinks arrived. There was no need to add to our frustration of watching other people that arrived after us get served before us. Then it was just a matter of going back to the room to picking up our luggage, checking out, and heading for the station. For some reason the trains were only running once an hour instead of every half-hour, we had McDonalds orange juice as coffee substitute while we waited. It worked out at the other end though as the bus to get home left just as we got on it.
The timing was also great that about an hour later it rained for a little bit, and then storm came at night. Traveling is better in sunny weather than wet.
I finally got the coffee I wanted at night as we got a new bottle of milk for our groceries.
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