I’m not sure if it’s just me, but when I was in primary school (or around that age) and learned all about the Great Wars, Remembrance Day, and the men and women who went off to fight in wars, I would think, “wow, what brave older people,” just as I was taught. I respected them, and knew they had done a great thing for my country, but to me they were older people, older braver people, and I didn’t really relate much.

In my teens, I can’t say I thought too much about it. But soon after, I hit my twenties.

And suddenly? Suddenly those men and women who went off to fight for their countries weren’t just ‘older braver people.’ Oh no, suddenly their age was put in perspective for me. Suddenly, I related to them. Suddenly, I realized how young they were. Suddenly, I understood just how huge the sacrifice they made was. And suddenly I was overcome with a massive realization of just how amazing and brave these (very, very) young people were, and I saw how important it was to honour and remember them.

I took a long walk this afternoon to Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance. It’s a beautiful memorial, built in 1927 to commemorate the men and women of Victoria (the state Melbourne is in) who served in World War I.

It’s been on my to-do list for a long time, and finally today I made the beautiful walk there.

The memorial stands tall upon a hill in the botanical gardens, and overlooks Melbourne. It’s free to enter (donations welcomed), and an absolutely ‘must-do’ if you’re ever a tourist here.

Besides the obvious beauty of the shrine, it’s (in my opinion) remarkably built because it’s designed so that on November 11, at 11am, a ray of sunlight beams through the roof, and falls onto the word “love” on the Stone of Remembrance (below). Pretty neat, eh?

(Side note: I spoke to a retired old woman who now spends her days volunteering there (she was so lovely!) and she told me that due to daylight savings, the light now passes at noon, so now they use mirrors to reflect the light onto the word.)

For tourists, however, every half hour The Last Post is played, and an artificial sunbeam moves across the stone. It was just me and the woman in the shrine when this happened, and I got quite emotional standing there when the light came down, listening to The Last Post.

I just can’t get over how young those people were who went to war. How scary it must have been. How brave they were!

You can also walk up to the top of the shrine to get magnificent views of Melbourne. I stood on the lookout for well over an hour, admiring the shrine, and, of course, good old Melbourne.

I’m now actually a little annoyed at myself that I didn’t visit it sooner, because I think I would make the shrine my ‘thinking place,’ well, if I had a ‘thinking place.’ It’s so peaceful and calm up there, and a beautiful way to spend an afternoon.

Lest We Forget

I know the above memorial is about WWI, but here are my thoughts on Auschwitz and Birkenau Concentration camps from my visit to Poland, and here my thoughts on Remembrance Day. 

One of Melbourne’s defining qualities is its street art. The city was one of the first in the world to embrace street artists, and today artwork can be seen throughout the inner CBD (central business district), and inner suburbs (like Carlton, Fitzroy, Richmond).

There are several alleyways throughout the city designated specifically to street art, but Hosier Lane is certainly the most famous. It’s a narrow lane way that connects two of Melbourne’s major roads (Flinders Lane & Flinders Street) and can be found in a very posh, high-end area of Melbourne.

Here my photos from today’s walk.

With my upcoming departure next Tuesday I’ve become a little camera-happy, but Melbourne never disappoints. Oh boy, what a beautiful city I was lucky enough to live in.

And with that, my second last weekend is done and done. Very bizarre to think a week from now I’ll have *one sleep* left in the beautiful city of Melbourne (truth be told, I’m not quite sure it’s hit me yet), but hush you, we shall not speak of that, but rather…Saturday night!

Saturday evening was my ‘Liz is Getting Deported’ party, which was all sorts of fun. I’m not a huge party-for-me type of person (too much pressure, and I hate making people feel obligated), but nonetheless I agreed when Anna offered to plan it, and I’m really pleased I did!

I have to admit, it was a little bizarre seeing all the people I’ve met in the past year, from all the different aspects of my life, come together (I remember it being weird in Toronto too). but I was so thankful friends took the time to come and say bye. I really am going to miss this little life I’ve created for myself Down Under.

So as they do, the night started off all classy & jazz hands. I finally had a reason to pop the champagne my work had given me, and my-oh-my, was it tasty, or was it tasty? (note: it was).

Lots of CrossFit people rocked up, looking all toned ‘n fit, ‘n smokin’ hot. (Kids, do CrossFit, it works), and some work friends, blog friends, and then random friends who I’ve met along the way.

      Sam, me and Amy!

The night ended with, ummm, shall we go there? I suppose it technically ended when I dove into my bed at 5am, but not before a delicious trip to Hungry Jacks (Burger King), and then Maccas (McDonalds) (JUDGE AWAY) and a lot of champagne, laughter and catching up.

Thank you Melbourne, it’s been simply wonderful.