Being enrolled in grad school means that I will no longer be able to accompany Ben on his work trips - at least, not for a while. But it sounds like his work-related travels will start winding down in August anyway, and pretty soon we'll find ourselves actually living at home together, which will be a nice change. Anyway, in the past 6+ months we've covered a lot of ground in Victoria, as well as a few places in New South Wales and South Australia. To illustrate our journey thus far, the red dots on this map mark the places we've visited, and the blue dots are areas Ben has worked/visited alone:
we're all over the map. |
I'm so glad we took advantage of the opportunities to travel together while we could! I've thoroughly enjoyed exploring various places, tourist and non-tourist attractions, staying in some areas for up to a few weeks at a time. No matter how small a town, there's aways something unique and fascinating to learn about and experience.
A few weeks ago, I had the chance to spend some time in Shepparton, about two hours north of Melbourne. Historically, it was once a sheep station, then a railway town, and now it's a fairly large city of just under 30,000 people. The main area of the city has a lot of stores, cafes, restaurants, and a movie theatre.
war memorial |
The Shepparton Art Museum (also known as SAM, just like the Seattle Art Museum!) is free and very enjoyable. There are two floors of unique and diverse collections: historical and contemporary Australian pieces, an Indigenous ceramic art collection, and a powerful exhibit by Bindi Cole - an Indigenous Australian activist who converted to Christianity, after imprisonment and a struggle with drug-addiction.
Shepparton is also known for its series of playful, colourful fibreglass cows, which are painted by local artists and displayed around the city. The appropriately titled "Moooving Art" celebrates and represents the strong local dairy industry. Dinosaur-cow is probably my favourite.
Shepparton is also known for its series of playful, colourful fibreglass cows, which are painted by local artists and displayed around the city. The appropriately titled "Moooving Art" celebrates and represents the strong local dairy industry. Dinosaur-cow is probably my favourite.
The city is full of other fascinating art pieces, including various sculptures, murals, and an awesome painted tunnel that leads to a beautiful walking/biking path.
There's also a Heritage Centre, which wasn't open during my visit, but it looks cool from the outside.
Shepparton was a lovely place to end my random travel adventures of the year. It's a great area for hanging out, going on walks, and of course - hanging out with fibreglass cows.
CK*
*It's for real now - I finally have an official document supporting my new name! Let the eternal paperwork changeover begin...
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