Parents Visit Part 2/3

Now that my exams are over I have ample free time to produce the posts about my parents’ visit.  First, though, a note about the exams here.  Most of them are in the 19th century Royal Exhibition Building, about 15 minutes from the campus.  It’s a huge, ornate building that has basically one gigantic room inside.  Lined up in endless rows are thousands and thousands of desks and there are multiple exams going on in both the mornings and afternoons.

Both times I walked to the building for an exam I started out with one person next to me.  At every stoplight, however, we joined up with more and more people as we got closer to the REB.  About one block from the building I was in a group about 50 deep and more students joined until it turned into a steady stream entering the building.  It was kind of like the beginning of the Drew Carey show, but without the singing or dancing. Or happiness.

But exams are over now and I have time to write about the Yarra Valley Wine Country.  It was my third vineyard/wine tasting day in Australia so I’m basically a pro now.  We drove to three vineyards sampling all varieties of wine along the way.  My parents bought a few bottles, one of which we enjoyed during our picnic lunch.  At one winery I learned that sparkling wines like champagne get the sparkles in the bottle when they put more yeast in and a second fermentation occurs.  Then they turn the bottle upside down until the yeast settles, freeze the neck, pop the yeast ice cube out, then top off the bottle.

Dandenong Ranges after the jump...

After lunch we drove over to the Dandenong Ranges.  The guidebook took us to this William Ricketts sanctuary.  After viewing his sculptures scattered through the densely forested grounds we watched a short video about his life.  He supported a worthy cause—reconciliation with Aboriginals—but some of the sculptures were pretty out there: crucified Aboriginal men and the like.  He seemed very eccentric but when I learned his mother cared for him his entire life his persona made more sense.

We spent a short time there and then tried to find hiking trails in the Dandenong National Park.  This task proved to be way more difficult than we expected but eventually we found a path that bordered backyards on the right and dropped down to a gully on the left.  It was a nice walk, about 2 km long, and a good way to end a full day.