Melbourne Life... finding my feet!

Now that I'd been in Melbourne a week, the boys had gone home and I was back in a hostel, it was time I took things into hand and sorted out my living and working sitch... I had 6 weeks before Kate arrived and we headed off up the coast and having avoided checked the dreaded bank balance for a while, I had a bit of a wake up call about how far all that money I saved will actually stretch... answer... not all that far!! oops!

So, I figured not much could be done on a Sunday and resolved to start the search for a job and flat then next day. I then got a call from Mithra, a guy I met at the hostel in Perth who's from Melbourne.. he was heading back to Uni in Geelong that evening but wanted to catch up beforehand... well, it'd be rude not to really so he came over and the rest is obvious... we all whiled away the rest of Sunday in the pub! Well, it was my last day before having to be responsible and proactive.. a hangover would obviously help my productivity the next day!!?! ;0) It was fun and good to see Mithra again, we resolved to keep in touch and catch up again but as I'm totally unorganised that didn't quite happen before i left Melbourne.. sorry Mithra, but if you're ever in England be sure to come say hello!

Anyway, Monday morning came and to tell you the truth, given that I've lost my diary, my memory of the next 2 weeks is a little sketchy... I know a few things though; I know Lindsay and I had agreed to look for a place to live together, was easier to find a room to share and nice to know the person you'd be sharing with. I know we viewed a gorgeous flat and several complete dives and were praying that we'd get the nice one, obviously. I know that Russell (of Malaysia appearance) and his mate Toby arrived to Melbourne that Monday evening.. obviously we had to go out... I hadn't seen Russell since I left Singapore so it would've been rude not to really (anyone spotting a pattern here!?! ;0) Was a good night, the 3 of us and Lindsay and Stacey, had a few drinks at the hostel then headed up to Fitzroy Street to the Elephant and Wheelbarrow (where they hold the infamous Neighbours night) and had a comedy evening of silliness, cheesy dancing and a few comedy 'flirt divert' moments, if only there was real number for worldwide travellers, I think someone should suggest it to Radio 1!!)

Once back at the hostel, Toby was sensible and headed to bed in their posh room as they were off to do the Great Ocean Road early the next day, while Russell, Lindsay, Stacey and I grabbed a cheeky bottle of Vodka, pack of cards and headed downstairs to the kitchen to waste a few more hours... all I really remember from the rest of that evening was giggling til my tummy hurt with Lindsay and the glazed look of sheer boredom on Russ' face as Stacey regaled him with tales of god knows what!!

The next morning - or technically afternoon - was I believe spent recovering and doing my CV... at some point that week I visited a couple of agencies in the city and spent several hours looking for bar/waitressing work to no avail... most people wanted someone that was sticking around longer than 6 weeks... I was getting the impression it was time to start 'fibbing' a little!

However, despite not yet having found a job or flat, I was having a ball and feeling really at home in Melbourne. xxx

My first - and only so far! - AFL match!

While we were taking in the city views from the Dandenong Ranges, Mat's mum called and invited me to go see Mat's brother play football (that's Aussie Rules I mean not our football back home) the following day. The 'official' AFL league starts at the end of March so this was the NAB cup, some kind of pre-season cup I believe. Before I left home I'd been told that something I had to do in Oz was see an AFL match so I was really excited about this - even more so as it was Chris' team and I had a real reason to support them! So, after chilling out in the hostel and having a wander down Acland street in the morning, Saturday afternoon saw me venture into the city in search of the Telstra Dome. The match was between Hawthorn and Richmond Tigers (Richmond being who we're supporting guys!). I did manage to find myself a little confused as to my whereabouts but then I spotted a few peeps sporting Richmond scarves so I befriended them and made my way to the ground. Once there I called Gwen and she came out to meet me, she'd driven down for the day from Barooga - about 3 hours north (i think) of Melbourne, with a couple of friends also. So, given that i knew next to nothing about AFL I had a quick briefing from Gwen and the others on the rules of the game and spent the next hour or so thouroughly enjoying myself and cheering them on. Unfortunately Richmond were cruelly robbed of a win but it was a fantastic afternoon, I was most impressed seeing Chris play (he's the one in the foreground of the pic above), especially knowing how proud Mat is of his brother, and it was also great to see Gwen again. After the match I said goodbye to Gwen and the others and left them to their long drive home then headed back to the hostel where i found the others and spent the evening just chilling out in the bar with them. All in all, a fab day! I definetely recommend taking in an AFL match to anyone that visits! xxx

Hostel Life... Alone again..

...for all of 5 mintues that is!! I'd already spoken briefly to one girl, Stacey, in my dorm the previous evening and on waking up on my first morning there, i got chatting to 2 other girls in there... Laura (Irish) and Lindsay (Scottish). Lindsay and I ended up heading out for food at the same time so went for lunch together and found ourselves still at the cafe, gossiping, a few hours later! We've been friends ever since! What i didn't realise then was that my life was to become overrun with so many Irish and Scottish peeps in the next few weeks - with the odd Welshman thrown in for good measure! ;0) After we tore ourselves away from the cafe we made it back to the hostel but only got as far as the bar, Laura joined us, then John (a welsh guy, also in our dorm) somehow we ended up deciding to go on a little road trip.. we settled on the Dandenong Mountain Ranges, an hour or so outside Melbourne.. John had a car so we all hopped in and somehow, due to be foolish admittance that I'd been to Melbourne before and been driven to the Yarra Valley i somehow ended up as Navigator! We got lost!! oops! I maintain that i recovered the situation well and we did make it to the Dandenong Ranges while it was still light. We stopped in one of the little villages on the way up to the lookout point and found ourselves in the local RSL club... we'd been looking for a pub and this was the closest thing to it... we'd thought it was closed and were walking away just as a friendly local shouted to us and beckoned us to join him... so off we went. It was so comical.. it was basically, for those of you who know it, a bit like Newick Community Centre, with a little bar in the corner and lots of friendly old guys gathering for their monthly town meeting - we had a ball, the prices were cheap and everyone revelled in us 'travellers' being there. It was great! Once we'd quenched our thirst and been given tips on the best place to see sunset over the city, we headed up to the lookout, where the views over Melbourne were amazing... on our way back down we stopped for another drink, this time in an Irish pub before making our way back to Base! We didn't get back there til late and after a quick drink in the bar I headed to bed, the others - hardcore drinkers that they are - headed out and rolled in about 6am I think!! I'm clearly a lightweight! Was a fab day all in all and my fears of being on my own had been eased! xxx

Melbourne... again!

Well, it seems I can't keep away from this place, it just keeps drawing me back! Although i have to admit, i was a little apprehensive about going back to Melbourne.. I wondered how different it would be to the first time and whether I'd feel strange without Mat being there. I shouldn't have worried, i still loved the place! I reluctantly left the lovely Whitsundays on Saturday afternoon and arrived into Melbourne early evening.. this time I didn't have the luxury of being met and found i had to fend for myself in terms of transporting myself away from an airport for the first time in Australia... I handled it well i think!!!??!! I'd booked myself into Coffee Palace Backpackers in St Kilda and had to get a bus and a tram there, the bus i managed fine but once deposited at Southern Cross station in the city I got a little confused.. after a few pointless wanders with my stupidly heavy backpack on my back i did find the right tram and eventually made it to the hostel by about 10pm... I immediately wished i hadn't!! They stuck me in a room right next to the bar, it was noisy, dirty and just plain horrible... It was too late to do anything about it so I resolved to sleep there (not an easy task given the noise) then first thing in the morning find myself a decent place. Don't get me wrong, the atmosphere at the Coffee Palace is wicked, for a night out, but in my opinion, you just wouldn't want to stay there!! I left in search of another hostel the next morning, didn't come across any by wandering the streets so got myself on the internet... unfortunately everywhere i called was fully booked for at least 3 or 4 days, the thought of staying at the Coffee Palace another second was not appealing... so I resorted to throwing myself on the mercy of Mat's lovely best mate, Dan. Now, really I'd wanted to get myself settled then call Dan and Mat's brother and Peta and meet them for a few drinks... following me having to scoot under the bed at the Coffee Palace to retrieve my book and coming out with a very sticky arm, I was disgusted enough to decide this was emergency enough to abandon the original plan and call for help!!! Dan was brilliant and immediately agreed to rescue me, thank god!! Once again Mat, your friends have been very good to me! So, a few hours later, i found myself safely stowed at his and JJ's house in the leafy suburb of North Carlton... as luck would have it, their other housemate was away so they kindly gave me her room for as long as I needed it. You have no idea how grateful i am to you guys! By way of thank you I got Dan, JJ and I a pizza that night and we all sat and chilled out in front of the TV... bliss! The guys had done a triathalon that day so were in need of some chill out time too. That was Sunday, both Dan and JJ, unlike me, have real lives and have to go to work during the week... how rude!! ;0) So, on Monday, after agreeing to earn my keep by doing JJ's washing, i set off into the city to meet the boys and Walsh's girlfriend, Nic - who's from Melbourne but had, until now been living in London - for lunch. I met them at a cool bar, hidden away down a little alley and we had a nice much before heading to St Kilda to spend the afternoon lazing on the beach and looking round the shops on Acland street. This turned out to be a good move for me, I discovered i loved that area... Acland street has a cafe culture about it and is famous for its cakes.. naturally we felt it'd be rude not to sample one of these famous cakes ourselves so after pigging out on a lush caramel slice we had a wander (where i spotted a decent hostel) and then headed to the beach.. where Huggs found it highly amusing to bury my flipflops (my only pair) in the sand and even more amusing when he could remember the spot he'd buried each of them in!!! Luckily, for him, he found them eventually!! Child!! ;0) Once the flips were safely back on my feet and it'd got a little to chilly to stay on the beach, we naturally headed to the pub... The Esplande (aka: The Espy) a bit of a St Kilda tradition.. for a few drinks. Early evening I left the boys and Nic to go for dinner with Nic's family and headed back to Dan and JJ's... another nice evening chilled out was enjoyed. I didn't want to take advantage of Dan and JJ's hospitality so checked out the hostel I'd come across near Acland street and found it was full until Thursday - both of the boys said i was welcome to stay as long as I needed to.. i was really grateful but didn't want to overstay my welcome. They said thursday was fine so I booked into the hostel for then. I spent the next couple of days attempting - unsuccessfully - to sort out my CV and make some progress in the whole getting a job thing - I had about 6 weeks in Melbourne ahead for me before Kate joined me and we headed up the east coast. Although the whole CV thing was proving a tad difficult, mainly cos I'd forgotten to email myself a copy of my CV... oops!, I did discover Brunswick street, a fab street full of cafe's, bars and eclectic little shops and whiled away a fair bit of time there as well as exploring the city a little more. Gwen had shown me a lot of it on my first visit so i re-visited a lot of places and got to grips with the place. I pretty much felt comfortable in Melbourne from the word go, probably due to having such a lovely welcome the first time but even aside from that, it's a great city, really relaxed and with a very friendly feel... I love it! On Thursday, having said my thanks and goodbyes to Dan and JJ - although planned to see them before I left Melbourne again obviously - and done a mad dash into the city to get my stupid phone fixed - I left their lovely house and my own room and headed down to St Kilda to book into Base... the hostel that was to be my home for the next few weeks. Although a little more expensive than some of the other hostels, it was a decent place with bathrooms in all the dorms and a good central location. I'd arranged to meet Huggs for the afternoon as he and Walsh were leaving for London the following day. Once I'd checked in and stowed my bags safely in the dorm, we headed for lunch and then lazed on the beach for a bit. Afterwards we headed up to ........ street, the main street in St Kilda with all the bars, clubs etc on it and settled ourselves in the Cushion Lounge for a few beverages and some silly conversation... we set the world to rights over several drinks then Huggs treated me to a nice dinner at one of the restuarants before heading home to get an early night in preparation for his flight the following day. I tried to convince him to stay out and get even more drunken with me but he was being sensible and off he went to lay his head! I headed back to Base and did the same thing! I have to admit, I was a little daunted to be on my own again but it was also exciting, knowing I had to start over again and meet new people. xxx Again... don't have the pic's back yet for this entry but they'll be posted as soon as I have the CD back xxx PS: Unfortunately, thanks to the rubbish service from the backpackers i left my CD at in Magnetic Island, the CD with said pic's is no longer... why they even bothered to send it back to me when it was clearly wrecked (I'm guessing from being left on a desk and chucked about for a few weeks) I can't quite figure out... I'm obviously gutted as I can never get these pic's back but hopefully Huggs and Walsh have some so if they do, I'll add a few them! At least, as my flatmates says, I have the memories in my head.. no-one can wreck them!