Melbourne

I was unfair on Melbourne when I first arrived; I had left an Asian wonderland for a city that on the surface felt far too familiar, too much like home. It was as if my adventures were over and I was back to reality. It didn’t help that I was staying in a money making machine of a hostel (one in one out flat type) the one advantage was that you could cook your own food, and you need to in Australia because everything is soo damn expensive ($6 for a Scooner of beer, that’s not even a full pint) We resorted to drinking ‘Goon’ something that every frugal Backpacker will get well acquainted with (it’s basically bottom of the barrel wine bladders that also function as a handy pillow when the alcohol hits). The temperature here is on a par with our autumn back home, a far cry from the tropical climate I had become accustom to. Of course I am acting like a spoiled brat who has eaten desert before dinner. I am in Australia, the other side of the globe and I am complaining, however the longer I stayed in Melbourne the more it grew on me.

Melbourne is similar to London; a cultural meltingpot with things always happening but it differs from the big smoke with it’s laid back feel. There is room to breathe here, but if it still feels like too much then the beaches of St Kilda are a ten minute tram ride away. I would liken it to a scaled up version of my Uni city of Plymouth. Guided by local knowledge I really got under Melbourne’s the skin I saw the city's sportcentric side, plenty of runners, rowers and stadiums devoted to cricket and Australian Rules Football, I sampled North Melbourne’s music scene, we were treated to a meal in an Italian neighborhood that has seen it's fair share of Mafia shooting. I even went to Ramsey Street and saw Neighbours being shot, I had never seen a episode in my life so didn’t really get what was going on (it looked to be a jubilee special episode so look at for some trampy looking extras in the background). But my favourite parts of Melbourne are the most easily missed; the laneways are tucked out of sight of the gridded main streets, they bustle with European style cafes, buskers and street performers. I soon realised that my initial annoyance with Melbourne’s familiar feel was also what was drawing me in, I feel comfortable here, it’s probably the first city on my travels that I could live and work in.

Enjoying some Goon in one of Melbourne's more secluded parks

We stayed with Andy’s family who lived in the suburbs. It’s amazing how much space there is out here, most of the houses have large footprints and are single storied. Further away from the epicenter into the hills even more space is available with tailored buildings perched on hills looking back towards the city. Ann and Les put us up for many nights and made us feel at home, it was actually strange to be inside a home for the first time in a long while. they were seriously generous in letting us borrow their Toyota Corolla for a roadtrip around Greater Victoria.