Tales From a Female Traveller

How many people can you pack into a photo booth?

http://au.blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-a6zLd1M9bqXYFufi8VqDDClTLg--?cq=1


"Hello. Where are you from?"
"Australia?"
"MELBOURNE!!??"
"No, Sydney."
"Oh. Well I like Melbourne more."
"Yeah, so do I!"

This is a typical conversation I've had after meeting quite a few people in different countries. I love this response because even though Sydney is home I do really like Melbourne and this answer just confuses the hell out of people and gives me a good old laugh at their expense.

Anyhoo.. the answer to the Title's question is 4. Me and 3 friends crammed ourselves into a black and white photo booth on Chapel Street in Melbourne when I visited in August to photograph a wedding. Between going from Thailand to Dubai I flew back through Sydney to Melbourne. After the wedding B, me and a couple of old friends from highschool decided that we would have a night out on Chapel street, so Kate and Nicole met B and I at the Yarra train station and we all headed out for dinner at a fancy Italian restaraunt.

I was surprised by the weather in Melbourne as it didn't seem to be as cold as I had expected. Although the previous night B and I took a bus/train trip to a big shopping centre and I was so cold I had a zip jumper, my green jacket and B's huge coat on and I was still cold, but once the rain stopped and the sun came out it was actually quite pleasant and the wedding went over smashingly. Kelly looked so beautiful and Cliff looked just as handsome in his Tailcoat suit.

So that night, after years of not seeing each other, was catch up night, and it was almost as if no time had passed at all. We chatted constantly and laughed like old times so when we were walking down Chapel Street and saw the black and white photo booth (and after some wine with dinner) we all decided that we would have our picture taken together... so... in we cram, with B going first and me, Nicole and Kate heading in afterwards. It was a tight fit but we managed pretty well. When we all got out... or rather... fell out of the booth... and looked at the photo, it had turned out so well that we just had to have a strip each. So.. 3 more times, we packed ourselves in, rearranging every now and then to make sure everyone got prime position in front of the camera.

We had been taking such a long time at the booth and had been laughing so hard at the results when a crowd started to gather. First up was a lovely gay couple we all teased like school kids as the made out in the booth and next up was a bunch of local guys who I ended up having a "longest hair competition" with... I won of course...

After we had all gotten over the laughter at all the photos and chatted with the local guys a little we decided to head to a local bar where I refused to drink the stale wine they served me and it was getting on a bit in the evening so we decided to call it a night and go and get some sleep since we were all exhausted from the wedding.

As we walked along the street we took photos of anything and everything, including a guide on how to cross the road, the window display of a store that was showcasing a massive handbag and we also had our picture taken with a busker who I'm quite sure was certafiably insane... but nonetheless funny as he chased after someone across the street suddenly...

The next day B and I went into the city and took a ride on a carriage and found a fantastic vintage store an had an all around great time. I really liked Melbourne and once I'm done with the world (which will probably be never) I will go back there for more than just a few days.

posted by Lucyspeak @ 7:40 pm