Heart of the Confederacy

We kept driving South, deeper into Virginia.

We were now well and truly away from the American North East.  The buildings and scenery were changing.  The people were different and spoke differently as well.  Even though it still looked to be relatively "North" on a map, I was learning that Virginia really was culturally "South" for the purposes of America.  It was an uneventful drive, going down more highways that needed refurbishment and seeing nothing of note along the way.  Had we had more time, we probably should have taken some back roads so that we could have seen nicer things.  The weather was turning a bit when we finally drove into Richmond.

By the time we reached our hotel, it was late and the weather was awful.  We went and got a quick dinner before we went to bed.

The next morning, everything had changed and the sun was shining brightly.  We went outside and walked around the city a bit.  Richmond is a beautiful place.  It is a small city, but we later looked into it further, and found out that it's the home of numerous Fortune 500 companies.  So it turns out this relaxed little city still provides a plethora of high quality jobs for the local population.  It explained a lot.  Even though it was a bit smaller, the city centre seemed clean and relatively well developed.

We went over the Tredegar iron works, which had been turned into a museum full of old Confederate memorabilia and artefacts.  It was a lovely old building and the grounds of the place were spotless.  We went for a walk around the area before going inside.  The parklands were deserted so it was a quiet walk.

Inside the museum itself, there weren't too many exhibits.  It was quite small and definitely geared more towards a younger crowd than us.  There were interactive displays and games to be played.  We found a "dress up" section (which was again geared towards kids) which had a Confederate officer's uniform.  I of course decided that this would be hilarious to try on.  I wonder if I was causing anyone to roll in their grave?  An Asian dude, wearing the precious uniform of a racism driven cause.  There were several exhibits which seemed to make a little bit too much light of the Civil War and didn't seem to be as open about the causes as should be appropriate.  This would sadly be a bit of a recurring theme we would experience.  That being said, there were still several incredible exhibits on display.  The highlight was probably a copy of General Lee's surrender.

We jumped into the car and drove towards the centre of Richmond.  Within the grounds of what is now a university hospital is the "White House of the Confederacy".  I couldn't take any photos inside, but I was a bit shocked by how lacking it was in comforts and how simple all the furnishings were.  The whole building felt like it had been built on the cheap, and even the "marble floors" were actually imitation.

As part of the complex, there was a museum. Inside there were a huge range of different things to see, including the uniforms and weapons of many of the famous leaders of the Confederate forces.  I was able to see up and close the uniforms worn by individuals such as Longstreet, Jackson and Stuart.  In addition to those were flags.  Lot and lots of flags.

There was still clearly a great deal of pride for this flag, the symbolism of which still sharply divides.  There museum seemed to give a reverence to these flags which I found slightly uncomfortable.  A lot of time had past, but there were clearly still many wounds which hadn't healed.  Sadly, it seemed as though the lack of healing was to an extent intentional.

This day of wandering around different Confederate sites had been very eye opening.  It had been very interesting to see, but it had also taught me a lot.  It was a miracle that the Confederacy had lasted as long as it did, largely it seemed, due to the early ineptitude of the Union.  In particular, I questioned deeply the wisdom of the Confederate leadership in launching into a war with the industrial powerhouses of the Northern states.  We had learnt that Tredegar had been the largest and main steel work for the entire Confederacy.  I had also see first hand that these states were not by any means capable of manufacturing capacity, seeing the pathetic state of their "White House".  For their leadership to have launched into conflict with an opponent so much stronger was quite simply irresponsible.

We went back to the hotel to rest for a bit, on our way up we asked the concierge where we should go for dinner.  Without hesitation, he told us to go to "Comfort", a restaurant not too far away from us.  When we arrived, the restaurant was completely full.  We sat inside the restaurant at the bar and I ordered a local IPA from the bartender.  During our travels, I had been trying as many local IPAs and rye whiskeys as I could.  I had never been too much of a fan of IPAs in the past, but I had developed a taste for the intense flavours.  The ryes I had been given varied greatly, but all seemed to have the sharper flavour which I liked.  I looked through the menu and I ordered what I thought looked to be the most "Southern" dishes.  I got a plate of fried catfish, cheese grits and deep fried okra.  The plate brought to me looked like a waiting heart attack (albeit a delicious one).  It was all delicious, though I needed another drink to wash it down.  The fried foods all had a lovely crunch, the grits were creamy and rich.  There was no pretension to any of it and it felt homely as you would expect of this type of food.

For dessert, I ordered a banana toffee style of dessert which also seemed to be a bit of a throwback to the past, even if not so far back as during Confederate times.

I left feeling very satisfied.  This meal was the most "Southern" I think I had ever had and I enjoyed it immensely.

Smithsonian and chicken

Reh was asleep and being lazy.  I didn't want to waste any of my precious time, so I went back to the National Mall.

There are so many "Smithsonians" along the National Mall and I we didn't have anywhere near the time to see them all.  I went quickly into the Smithsonian Natural History Museum because I wanted to have a look.  The inside was as grand as the other buildings along the mall, but the exhibits weren't as awe inspiring as in some of the other places I had been.  I like animals and the natural world, but I think that we are now beyond the point of looking at stuffed versions of the them in an old museum.

I went next door to the Smithsonian's museum of American history.  This was a building filled with the treasures of America's history, ranging from colonial era treasures all the way through to more contemporary items.  When you first walk in, you are greeted by a large metal sculpture that moves and shimmers in the light.  Behind it is the "Star Spangled Banner" which inspired the American national anthem.  Standing in front of the tattered old flag, you feel a strange sense of connection to not only this incredible piece, but to the very foundations of the country itself.

Further inside the museum, there are incredible items to be found almost everywhere.

I found a case containing the gloves that Mohammed Ali wore in one of his famous fights.  They looked fairly pristine given they were used by him to pummel his opponent into submission.

I found Kermit the frog!  He appeared surprisingly lifelike sitting there, staring into the distance.

I found a death mask of Abraham Lincoln after he was assassinated.

I even found Don Draper's suit from Mad Men.

Before I left, I accidentally stumbled past one case which I had managed to miss.  Inside were Judy Garland's ruby slippers from "The Wizard of Oz".  I looked at these now slightly faded slippers.  They encapsulated the entire golden age of Hollywood which helped to create the entire image much of the world has had of America.  Without any context, these slippers meant nothing, but with the benefit of their story and their connection to the movie and their wearer, these shoes helped to tell the story of modern America.  They were simple looking shoes, but these were indeed a treasure worthy of any museum in the world.

I went back to the Airbnb and packed up.  Reh had woken up and was tottering around the apartment.  It was time for us to head to our next location.  Before we left DC, we had one more stop to make to meet Reh's cousin.

It seemed like a pretty nondescript chicken restaurant on the outskirts of Arlington.  The moment I arrived it felt a bit "weird".  I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but I almost felt like I had been here before.  That was of course impossible, because this was my first time to DC.  Still, there was a familiarity to this chicken shop that I couldn't place.

I walked into the restaurant and I was advised to order the chicken with rice.  The whole restaurant was filled with the smell of roasted chicken.  There was a slight hint of the spices that the chicken was cooked with and I was hungry.  I was still having the strangest feeling of deja vu as I took my tray of food and walked over to the table.  As I sat down, I suddenly had another flash of memory and I asked our host "did Bourdain come here?"

That was it!  This was the Arlington chicken shop that Anthony Bourdain had been to on an episode of "No Reservations".  Our host thought about it, and said "you know, I think it might be".  He hadn't brought us here because this was on some celebrity food tour, he had just brought us here because this was a beloved chicken shop for people who live in DC.  Bourdain's visit didn't change any of that.  The chicken was as good as Bourdain seemed to think it was.  The meat was juicy and succulent, the skin was crispy with a deep and peppery flavour. I've always been a fan of Bourdain and this was the first time I had been able to go to one of the restaurants he had visited!

Capitol Hill

Washington DC is one of the best places I have ever visited.  I'm not sure what it would be like to live in this city, but for a tourist it has an abundance of things to see and do.  Within the area around the National Mall, it may in fact have the most concentrated amount of things to do for a tourist anywhere in the world.

We woke up early, such was our excitement to explore more of the city.  We jumped on a bus which took us directly into the heart of the mall. We started off our trip by going straight up to Capitol Hill.  This was where Congress was.  We managed to sign up for the tours early and so we didn't have to wait at all when inside.  The first thing we were taken to see was the hall of statues.  This was weird.  It was as it's named.... a large area filled with statues.  There was no particular rhyme or reason to the statues, with each state being able to place two statues of their choice in the area.  The figures chosen to represent the states ranged from historical figures reaching back into the distance past, to slightly racist figures from the Confederacy, all the way through to more modern political and entertainment figures.  It was an odd collection, the confusion of it all seemed to say a lot about the nature of America and the differences between the states.  Even with all of that in mind, the sight of Confederate figures within this building still seemed extraordinarily strange given these were people who had actively worked to topple the very foundation on which the building existed.

We walked through the rest of the building and we got to see both the Senate and Congress.  There was a slightly surreal feeling, sitting there looking at both floors and thinking that this was where some of the most important decisions of the last two hundred years had been made.  The whole building now felt stately and grand, but I couldn't shake the feeling that it was all a bit tacky to an extent as well.  There was a clear attempt by the designers to imitate the great structures of classical European architecture, but it was all slightly off.  It wasn't European anymore, but rather "American" classical design.  This seems to be a style in and of itself now, but I'm not entirely sure that was intended.

We moved to the back of Capitol Hill and the Library of Congress.  This building felt even grander and more opulent than the Capitol building itself.  The dome above the library floor was ornate and the room was filled by the light from its aperture.  We weren't allowed down the floor, which was filled by people diligently working and studying, but we could see clearly the beauty of the place from up in the balconies.

I'm not sure how effective I would be working if I was in a location like this.  I think I would be constantly distracted by the grandeur of the place.  Every direction you look, there are intricate designs, colours and lights to look at.

Within the building was also a section dedicated to the Jefferson Library.  I had always read about how Thomas Jefferson lived his life having financial difficulties.  Looking at his enormous personal collection of books, it became quickly clear to me where many of his financial problems stemmed from.  This huge collection of books would cost an enormous amount of money in the modern day.  In his time, each booked would have been far more expensive so this library would have been worth a small fortune, even without the association to his famous name.

We went back to the share bikes and rode down the hill towards the Washington Monument.  We had tickets booked for that as well so we were able to go straight to the viewing level at the top.  One side of the mall was being renovated, so the grass and surrounding areas were completely ripped up.

The other side of mall, towards the Lincoln Memorial looked pristine.  The views stretched out far into the distance and you could see far more clearly the amount of water that was in the area.  Washington DC always had a reputation for being a "swamp" politically, but this wasn't just metaphorical, as the area was actually built on swamp land.  It all looks pretty and picturesque now, but I'm sure this would be created torturous and mosquito filled times for people in the past.

We spent the rest of the day riding around on our bikes, looking at the various monuments around the mall.  One of the newer monuments was to Martin Luther King Jr.  It is a far more modern style of sculpture in comparison to the other more classical sculptures.  I liked it a lot.  There's something incredibly powerful about seeing Dr King, standing there within the stone itself, like he is pushing his way out from being encased.

Around the water, there was a smaller bronze sculpture of FDR and his dog.  It was nice seeing the dog there, it seemed to bring an additional level of humanity to the man.  There was a pathos to the scene presented as a whole.  FDR seated in his wheelchair, covered in the coat with his small friend there to his side.  This was the man who led his country against two facist empires and yet here he was.  Covered to protect him from the cold, being watched over.

It had been a few years since I had ridden a bike so much.  I was tired from the peddling, but I was still enjoying myself.  Riding around the National Mall and all of the different monuments wasn't something I had expected to do, but it was a fantastic experience that I would recommend to anyone who is able to.  Once you start riding, you often find yourself in calm and peaceful surroundings, yet everywhere you look you are still able to see lovely views of various monuments and buildings.

As it got later, we went to the final monument on our list, the Jefferson Memorial.  I've always found Thomas Jefferson to be an incredible figure in American history and the world as a whole.  The words he wrote in the American declaration of independence still strike a chord with me as ideals that everyone should aspire to.  Whether or not they are ultimately reached is another story entirely.

We had started out our day near Jefferson's library, so it seemed fitting for our last stop to be standing in his shadow.  He stands straight and resolute, looking out into the distance.  Compared to some of the other monuments, this one seems to closest in every respect to what you would describe as being "classical".  It seems like the right way to honour this man, who held lofty ideals of Athenian democracy, is to have him placed in this modern temple.

DC

We didn't stay in Baltimore.  A few hours there was more than enough.  I was depressed and shocked by the city, so I was very glad to leave.

We kept driving down the highway towards our next destination.  The roads became much busier and we were eventually bumper to bumper with other cars.  Even trying to get across lanes to get to a petrol station proved to be a difficult task.  The drive wasn't too long and after we drove through the Capital Beltway, the traffic almost immediately eased up.  We were in Washington DC.

Rehan and I are both fairly nerdy, so we were very excited to visit DC.  The monuments, sights and museums are famous around the world and we wanted to see them.  We had arrived fairly late, so we went to sleep so we could enjoy a long day of exploration.  When we woke up, we went straight to the most famous of sights, the White House.  The building is surrounded by tourists, all reaching their arms through the metal fence.  We looked at the building, and from the distance it was a bit underwhelming.  From such a distance, it looks quite small and if it wasn't so famous I don't think it would really get a second look.

We walked back to the National Mall and signed up for the share bikes that were available.  This seems to be the best way of getting around the National Mall.  The area is enormous, and there is quite a bit of distance between the different sights.  From various vantage spots, you can see all along the distance of the National Mall.

The National Mall is an impressive place.  I've seen it many times before on film and television, but being there in person, you are able to appreciate the sheer enormity of it all.  The mall covers a truly enormous area that includes the reflection pool, surrounding forests, monuments, galleries and museums.  The size of it means that there's actually quite a lot of distance between everything.  Walking around the areas is a lovely experience, but it's not something that can be easily accomplished given the need to then also walk around the monuments and museums as well.  If you were to try to do everything on foot, I think it would take you weeks to be able to see everything you wanted to see.

We went over to the Lincoln Memorial at the far end of the Mall.  Sitting inside was Abraham Lincoln.  He looked out from his chair, along the entire length of the National Mall.  The size of Honest Abe was also unexpected.  From a distance as you approached, you could already see that this was a large statue, but once you stood at his feet you felt truly small and insignificant.  The statue is immense in not only its height, but just in its mass and scale as well.  The long limbs of Abraham Lincoln seem to stretch him out and make him appear even more imposing.  What amazed me the most was the incredible artistry of the sculptor.  Standing close to the statue, looking at the face of Abraham Lincoln, the sculptor had captured a look of deep thought and contemplation.  You could almost feel the stress and strains that must have tormented the great man through the tough years of war.

We stayed a bit longer at the Lincoln Memorial and waited for the sun to set.  Once it was dark, lights came on and illuminated the statue.  The memorial is permanently open, which seems to be a fine tribute to a man who gave so much for his country.  People kept walking in and out during this time to gaze upon the statue.  In the light, it almost seemed to glow.

As we walked away from the memorial, we turned for one last look.  In the light, the statue was far clearer than during the day.  It stood out like a beacon looking out across the entire length of the National Mall.  People sat on the steps and looked out at the mall and back towards Lincoln himself.  There was a reverence for the place with all who were there and it was almost completely silent. 

We went back to the Airbnb we had booked near Howard University.  Apparently the area used to be a bit dodgy.  I looked around to see if there was any evidence of that when two young mums with strollers went jogging past in active wear.  Clearly the reports I had been given were a bit out of date. 

Baltimore

I woke up hungover in the hostel.  It wasn't too bad a hangover, but it was enough to give me a headache.

Rehan was nowhere to be found.

After we had split up the night before, he had gone to a party while I had fallen asleep inside the hostel.  I walked around the enormous old house and he was nowhere to be found.  I decided to make some breakfast and wait for him.  Still he didn't turn up.  I went for a walk through the local forest and then went back to the house.  Rehan was now in his bed in the hostel dorm.  He hadn't been able to get back into the locked hostel building and so he had fallen asleep in the car.  I was by now feeling much better, but Rehan looked like a guy who had slept in a car....

Eventually, we gathered the necessary strength to drive off.  Rehan drove at first and we immediately headed to the drive through of a McDonalds.  We were driving through West Philadelphia, and everything was as rough as you would expect.  The image of "West Philly" from Will Smith is a saccharine dream compared to the neighbourhoods we drove through. 

The hangover was too much for Rehan and we switched over so that he could rest in the passenger's seat.  We pulled into the carpark of a Walmart somewhere in Maryland.  I had never been to a Walmart so we thought we'd go have a look inside.  It was everything I expected and a little bit more.  It was truly enormous.  We have large department stores in Australia, but I really hadn't been to anything of this size.  There was an enormous amount of products on offer, but I was quite shocked by the sheer space.  The aisles were incredibly wide and honestly there was just a lot of "space".  I'm not sure if it necessarily had more than a K-mart or Bunnings back in Australia, it was just that everything in here was so spaced apart.  However, nne thing it definitely had which was very different to Australia was guns and ammo!  So many guns and so much ammo!

We swapped seats and I drove.  I had practiced for a few minutes in the car park (which was unsurprisingly enormous) and I was surprised by how quickly I was able to adjust.  It didn't take too long to get used to being on the other side of the road or to even be seeing the cars coming towards me on the other side.  As we drove down the highway, the only thing that I found I had to adjust to more consciously was the tendency to drift a bit towards the right.  Rehan mentioned that he had the same issue when he started, so it's probably just the mind being too used to where you as the driver should be within a particular lane.

The drive to our next destination was short.  After driving through the terrible neighbourhoods of West Philly, I wasn't expecting too much as we entered into Baltimore.  The outskirts were bleak, but the further into the city centre we reached, the prettier the city became.  The inner city was full of brown stone terrace houses, much like in New York and there were small cafes and restaurants all along the waterfront.  Nearby was the famous Camden Yards. 

The Orioles were sadly not playing that day, but it did mean that we were able to walk around the ground and look at the field.  It is a lovely stadium and it has done an excellent job of combining the historical and modern elements together.  Out behind the outfield, there were numerous little brass plaques to commemorate the landing spots of some of the bigger home runs that had been hit over the years.  I walked around and managed to find one that had been hit by my favourite player, Jim Thome, a monster shot of 440 feet.

We drove away from Camden Yards and through some lovely neighbourhoods in the vicinity of Johns Hopkins University.  It wasn't too surprising that the area around this famed university were full of historic and well preserved buildings.  Rehan wanted to see something different though.  He was a huge fan of the Wire, and so he wanted to see some of the places where his favourite characters were murdered.  We drove into the projects and the scenery changed dramatically.  Surprisingly, the buildings remained quite beautiful.  They were all still old brick and brownstone buildings, but there was almost no upkeep and there seemed to be no services or amenities anywhere.  Building after building was boarded up and many were covered in graffiti.  There were even a few which were burnt out husks.  Some of those burnt out husks looked recently burnt out as well.

We stopped at a corner to look around a bit more.  In hindsight it probably wasn't the best idea.  The area was rough.  A group of guys were milling around a local corner store.  It had been the only store we had seen for several blocks.  They saw us park and get out of the car and started to walk towards us.  They were all holding bottles in paper bags and they were much bigger than us.  Initial impressions were not great, so I thought I would take the front foot approach.  I walked straight towards them and offered my hand and greetings.  Their collective demeanour completely changed as they all smiled and shook our hands.  I was curious about this place and started to ask them about it.  The buildings were still lovely, but it was clearly a problem area.  All of the men agreed.  They spoke with a degree of sadness about how there was nothing there for anyone.  There were no public spots for people to gather.  The community centre had been shut down.  Even public transport into the area had been cut.  I asked them about work and jobs.  They referred back to the public transport.  How could anyone get to a job if there was no transport?  It seemed to be a cyclical tragedy that had been created through lack of a care and resources.  When I asked them who's fault of this was, they were unanimous, the mayor.  There was a hatred for the mayor.  We said our goodbyes and we drove off to another one of the projects that was famous in the Wire.  There too, all I saw was squalor and a complete lack of any people.  I think what shocked me the most about some of these areas was how empty they were.  There were no people walking on the street, and there just seemed to be almost no sign of life or activity at all.

For a final stop, we went back to the area around Johns Hopkins and went to a bar that was apparently quite famous in the show called "The Brewer's Art".  It was a beautiful old building and the interior was classically decorated, with lots of deep dark coloured wood and brass fittings.  It seemed a complete world away from the projects we had just driven through, which were sadly not far away at all.  I had never been to a city where there was such a sharp divide between the good and bad parts of town.  It was all in such close proximity and there was a racial element to the divide which also made me feel extremely uncomfortable.

Philly

We arrived in Philadelphia and it was strangely quiet on the roads.  For a city this big, it didn't feel right that there was so little traffic.  It turns out we hadn't chosen the best time to be traveling through this city at all.  We had arrived the day before Pope Francis was meant to be visiting the city with President Obama.... we're both geniuses who have done nowhere near enough research.

Still, it helped that there were so people out and about in the city as it meant that we were able to get to our accommodation quickly.  People were clearly worried about the huge rush of people the next day as the city did feel largely deserted.  We hopped on the local train and headed into the city centre.  There we found more people, and we were told by some friendly policemen that cars had been banned from the entire city centre.  It made for an eery walk around the streets of Philadelphia.  We made our way towards Independence Hall, where the declaration of independence was signed.  As we got closer, there were more crowds and by the time we arrived there were huge throngs of people all looking to see some history like us.

The line for the Liberty Bell was painfully long, and we didn't have the time, so we skipped it.  Instead we went straight into the historic halls and rooms where the most powerful country in the world was born.  In the hall where the constitutional convention took place, the guide pointed out where all the famous founding fathers sat, and pointed towards Benjamin Franklin's seat on which his cane still rested.  Whether this was actually his cane is probably up for debate, as I can't imagine something like that being left out in the open for all to see and potentially steal.

We walked through the whole area and soaked up the incredible history and importance of the place.  This was where it all began.  This was the location of the creation of "America".  For all of its problems as a country, the ideals that this country was founded upon are truly incredible and should be lauded and strived towards to this day.

Outside and away from this area, the streets were still incredibly calm.  The city really had been completely emptied of its inhabitants, even though the shops and restaurants were all still open.  We sat down for a coffee and looked out towards the emptiness.  The city was so peaceful and calm, it almost looked like a stage set that was out of use.

We wanted to go up to the museum where Rocky ran up the steps, but the whole area was shut down in anticipation of the Pope's visit.  Instead, we decided to go for a walk across the Benjamin Franklin bridge.  There were some cars driving across (not many) and there was the occasional person also wandering around.  One young guy was happily taking photos and he was nice to enough to take a photo of Rehan and I as we stood on the near abandoned bridge.  The bridge took us all the way over to a different state!  On the other side we were in Camden, New Jersey.  Camden is effectively a suburb of Philadelphia, albeit a poorer and less affluent one.  It was literally walking distance, but that bridge kept two worlds apart.  The central part of Philadelphia is beautiful and modern, but over in Camden we were standing in front of government housing and a generally run down neighbourhood.  As we stood around looking at our phones to read more about where we were, we found that Camden is considered to be one of the murder capitals of the US.... lovely.

After finding an uber who would take us back to Philadelphia, we circled continuously around the city.  The driver's GPS kept resetting as he tried to get us to where we wanted to go when it was painfully obvious that the roads were blocked.  Eventually we convinced him to stop so that we could get out and walk.  The city was still open, and we walked down the middle of deserted streets of an otherwise "living city".  Other people seemed to also revel in this strange sight as they lounged around the middle of the streets and took photos like we did.

As it grew later, we got hungry.  I new exactly what I wanted.  I wanted a cheesesteak.  I had read all about them since I was young and I had even tried to make them on occasion, but I had never actually "had" one, not a genuine one.  Everytime I made a cheesesteak at home, following a recipe, I was ultimately only making the dish to my own personal taste and preferences, rather than what it should be.  We went to South Street, the bar district of Philadelphia and went into the famous Jim's.  There was a huge operation set up for the creation of hundreds (if not thousands) of cheesesteaks a night.  Tonight, it was almost empty and Rehan and I were able to get our cheesesteaks without having to lineup.  I went for the classic and went upstairs to eat.  With the first bite, I knew that this was different to anything I had ever made.  The bread was softer, the meat saltier and the cheese was greasier.  It was fantastic.  This was junk food.  It wasn't something that was meant to be fancy or eaten in any fine dining manner.  It tasted real and like something that was made on an old grill, with all the flavours of that grill adding to the sandwich in front of me.  I ate it quickly and went downstairs to get another one.

We walked back along South Street.

This was seemingly the only lively part of town.  There were bars everywhere and people inside laughing and screaming.  It seemed to be on the edge of rough and grunge.  Inside of the different places we looked at, the people were dressed in rock and roll t-shirts and scruffy jeans, but it was hard to tell whether they were trying for a hipster vibe or if the places were actually dive bars.  We found the place with the best vibe and started drinking.  The atmosphere was great and the bar staff were actively engaging with all the patrons in a way I've never seen in Australia.  They were part of the party and they were having a great time.  One of the bar girls was a redhead dressed in a rockabilly style which seemed ideal for the location.  She seemed to be enjoying herself as much as anyone else there and was clearly the main attraction for most of the guys there.

We stayed there most of the night.  The beers were cheap and party kept getting louder as more and more people came in looking for something to do in this otherwise quietened city.