Melbourne has been the best city so far, it feels like home. I've spent 7 weeks here, I've made some amazing friends from all over the world and I'm leaving with the best memories :) I'm really sad to leave Melbourne, but i'm heading back to Adelaide for a night, then I start a 2 week tour through the Red Centre to Darwin, the land of the crocodiles!!
I stayed at the yha hostel in the city for 2 nights, which was alright, but then I moved to St Kilda, to a hostel called Habitat HQ, which I loved! I'm walking distance from the beach, which is perfect when its sunny. Most of the people there are long term too, so I there was always someone about to hang out with.
One of the first things I noticed about Melbourne was the European feel. All the little lanes and bistros and stuff make you feel like you're in France or Italy, and the guy who designed the main shopping street designed it how he imagined Paris to look. I think this is why I loved the city so much, because it does feel like Europe, it feels really homely.
So I spent my first few weeks doing touristy stuff in the city with my fiend Melissa, from California, and my friend Sophie from Wales. I went to the ACMI Centre, which I loved (beacuse everyone knows I'm a film geek, and this is a Moving Image gallery). I was in there all day with Melissa, it was so much fun (and free!). They had a games room, so we were playing on the wii against each other. We also made our own mini matrix clip and a flip book of ourselves. It was really good fun! We'd been in there so long that it was dark outside when we left, but the whole of Federation Square, and the rest of the city was lit up. It was so pretty.
One of the first things I noticed about Melbourne was the European feel. All the little lanes and bistros and stuff make you feel like you're in France or Italy, and the guy who designed the main shopping street designed it how he imagined Paris to look. I think this is why I loved the city so much, because it does feel like Europe, it feels really homely.
So I spent my first few weeks doing touristy stuff in the city with my fiend Melissa, from California, and my friend Sophie from Wales. I went to the ACMI Centre, which I loved (beacuse everyone knows I'm a film geek, and this is a Moving Image gallery). I was in there all day with Melissa, it was so much fun (and free!). They had a games room, so we were playing on the wii against each other. We also made our own mini matrix clip and a flip book of ourselves. It was really good fun! We'd been in there so long that it was dark outside when we left, but the whole of Federation Square, and the rest of the city was lit up. It was so pretty.
I went to the Melbourne Museum with Melissa too, we were in there all day (again) and all we had was an orange for breakfast. We were both starving when we left the museum, I genuinly thought I was going to die! So we went and pigged out at Nandos :) -its not as good as the ones in england though!
I went to the old Melbourne Jail with my friends Riccardo (from Perth) and Welsh Sophie, it was really interesting, we went back the next day to do the Jail Experience, where they locked us in a cell and we took mug shots and stuff. It was one of the best touristy things that I did in Melbourne. We found out all about Ned Kelly and all the other aussie criminals, most of them were hanged in the jail, and there was a really creepy feel about the place.
I've been exploring down all the laneways in Melbourne and discovered some amazing grafitti and art work. It was so cool! I had a little laneways map, so I followed their directions. I had one shocking sight down one of the lanes, there was no grafitti but a half naked tramp (half naked on the bottom half...). Kind of ironic seeing as it was called Cocker Lane...
My friends and I even discovered this wicked bar called The Croft Institute down one of the lanes, its all medically themed and they serve your drinks with a syringe inside, so naturally everyone ordered red drinks so it would look like blood. There was even a hospital bed in the loos. I loved this place, I thought it was so cool! It used to be a mental insitute, which explains why its all medically themed. Its so hidden away as well. Its tucked away down this tiny lane in China town, behind all the restaurant bins lol. Apparently there is a similar bar in Singapore, but the medical theme goes further by having wheelchairs for the seating. I really wanna go!
I went to the ballet with a girl called Claudia, who was from Germany. We saw The Merry Widow, which was great. We got chatting to the couple sat next to us too, who were from Persia. They were lovely, they bought us both a coffee afterwards and they were telling us how bizarre they thing the Australian accent it. It was a really nice evening.
My friends and I even discovered this wicked bar called The Croft Institute down one of the lanes, its all medically themed and they serve your drinks with a syringe inside, so naturally everyone ordered red drinks so it would look like blood. There was even a hospital bed in the loos. I loved this place, I thought it was so cool! It used to be a mental insitute, which explains why its all medically themed. Its so hidden away as well. Its tucked away down this tiny lane in China town, behind all the restaurant bins lol. Apparently there is a similar bar in Singapore, but the medical theme goes further by having wheelchairs for the seating. I really wanna go!
I went to the ballet with a girl called Claudia, who was from Germany. We saw The Merry Widow, which was great. We got chatting to the couple sat next to us too, who were from Persia. They were lovely, they bought us both a coffee afterwards and they were telling us how bizarre they thing the Australian accent it. It was a really nice evening.
After I'd explored the city and did most of the tourist stuff, I decided it was about time I found a job. This is when I became a milkman. I hated every minute of it. Basically, it was a bit of a con. I wasn't actually a milkman, I just worked for a company supporting Aussie farmers and I had to go round knocking of people's doors, trying to get them to sign up to having a milkman and place an order through me. I had one really really shit day and was determined to quit the next day, but I stuck it out for one more day (making it a week) and then I quit. I've never been happier!! The pay was awful, it was $300 base rate per week for the first 2 weeks, after that its all commission based. So most of the time, I took my ipod and just sat in a park to kill some time. It was such a long day, we had to arrive at the office for 11am, then they'd drop us off at our streets and we'd have to knock on doors til half 6 in the evening. Most days I didnt get home til about 8pm! It was crap! But they did give us a BBQ on my 3rd day!
So, once I quit my job I decided to do the Great Ocean Road, and buy a tiny laptop with my earnings lol.
The Great Ocean Road and the Grampians were amazing! I saw the 12 Apostles, London Bridge, loads of kangeroos and koalas. And I got attacked by parrots! It was so much fun. We stayed in a place called Halls Gap, which has more kangeroos than people! We had to meet our tour guide at 6.30am and he drove us to a mountain. So I climbed a mountain before 9am, its insane. I'm surprised no one if our group died or broke a leg, we were actually rock climbing lol, it was so dangerous. Unfortunately there are no tragic stories to tell from the early morning mountain climb and the weather wasn't that great (it was bloody freezing), but I can imagine in the summer it would be sooo nice! The Loch Ard Gorge was stunning and so was this other place called The Grotto, which had a little salt water pool. It would be so nice to go swimming in both these places if the weather was nice.
I saw the famous Bells Beach, where the Ripcurl surf competitions are held, its such a small beach! I also saw the lighthouse where they filmed Round the Twist.The tour guide didnt stop though, cos no one knew what that programme was! I was so dissapointed lol.
My room mate Mike invited me, my friend Olivia, and my friend Tom to a house party just outside the city, which was Lady Gaga themed. It was such a laugh, we made last minute costumes out of newspaper, bin bags and 'fragile' tape - we got some interesting looks on the tram! When we got there, we looked like tits. Everyone else actually looked like Lady Gaga, with the blonde wigs and skimpy outfits! Olivia and I (the poor backpackers that we are) stole loads of food from the party lol. We wrapped chocolates, cheese and cake in napkins and shoved it in our bags lol. It was sooo worth it!
Unfortunately I didnt get round to doing the neighbours tour. I was going to do it for my birthday but I thought it would be a bit sad if they found out it was my birthday and that I was doing the neighbours tour on my own...so instead, I got my hair cut and spent the day at the local pool using the hot tub and sauna :)
Unfortunately I didnt get round to doing the neighbours tour. I was going to do it for my birthday but I thought it would be a bit sad if they found out it was my birthday and that I was doing the neighbours tour on my own...so instead, I got my hair cut and spent the day at the local pool using the hot tub and sauna :)
All my friends from the hostel went out in the evening to a backpackers bar, the hostel gave me loads of free drink vouchers and a $50 bar tab! Pretty sweet!! It was a really good night!!!
My friend's Olivia, Tom, Mike and Kate recently moved into a flat so they threw a house warming party the weekend after my birthday. My cousins Simon and Emma, and her boyfriend and their friends came to Melbourne that weekend too, so I invited them to the party. It was such a good night, there were loads of people at the house party and everyone was really drunk!*cough couch..Simon* Standard house party!
So much has happened in Melbourne, there is so much that I've probably forgotten!
I didn't plan to go to Melbourne but I'm so glad I did, and I'm really sad to leave. I think I'm gonna have to have a Melbourne pit stop before I go home!
