Last weekend we went to Melbourne (pronounced Melbun by Australians). I have been looking forward to this trip so much because of everything I have heard about it. People all over told us we would like Melbourne more than Sydney, that it had better shopping and better sights. They weren't lying. I have never seen so many shops lined up right next to each other and, lucky for us, most of them were womens clothing shops! We got in at around 9 and had to take a 55 dollar cab ride to Joel's, where we were staying for the weekend. Joel is a friend from St. Mary's who is studying at a school in downtown Melbourne. We got pretty lucky having somewhere free to stay. After we finally got to Joels we were all anxious to get out and see the city for the first time. We were a little tired from the trip so we decided to just go somewhere quiet and have a few drinks. After drinking a little at his house, it was pretty late and a lot of places were already closed. A few of Joels roomates came home and said they knew a place we should all go. We ended up in a really nice, really fun club- completely underdressed. I am so glad I have no pictures of that place because I am embarassed of how I looked. We had a drink or 2 there and decided it was time to leave. Joel wasn't sure what else would be open at that hour so we wandered until we found a bar that looked like fun called the Lucky Coq (yes, the "Lucky Cock"). I'm not sure why we didn't immediatly figure this out, but it was obviously a gay bar. Of course we didn't figure it out until we were upstairs. We decided to make the best of it and get a drink. Laura and Chrissy just had water but Joel and I decided to had to try the bar's specialty beer: Blond Coq and Black Coq. The picture above is us cheersing our beers. It wasn't a bad beer. but the bar was a bit much so we decided to head home after that. We spent a lovely night on the couches and got up around 9 to begin exploring. The first place Joel said we had to go to were the Victoria (which is the state Melbourne is located in) Markets. It was a HUGE flea market complete with everything from a fish market, seafood market, meat market, veggie market, fruits, catci, souvineers, clothes, candles, fake hair, and anything else you could think of. Before the market we had breakfast (really it was brunch at 11:45am) in a cool little alley filled with outdoor cafes. I think Chrissy got a picture of this place. I loved it so much. It reminded me of Europe, and apparently Melbourne is the most European city in Australia. I loved this part of town and I'm sad we didn't spend more time there.
There were some adorable baby chicks, ducks and other animals for sale, but something tells me they weren't to be taken home as family pets.
We stumbled upon a candy stand with foot-long ropes of sour candy, which we obviously had to try. It was delicious but a little bit too much food.
Next, Chrissy and I got stopped by a woman who wanted us to try out her hair extensions. They matched my hair EXACTLY and I LOVED them, but they were $75 and too much work to put in. I have decided however that I will be growing my hair out as long as possible now (sorry Mimi).
After spending close to 4 hours wandering around looking at everything there was to offer, we headed to the food sections to pick up food for the gourmet dinner we were planning to cook. We got a bunch of cheap, amazingly fresh veggies for side dishes, then headed to the meat and cheese sections of the market. There was a shop for fresh deli foods (such as the olives above, which I took just for you mom and dad) TONS of cheese, fresh baked breads, and dozens of other delicious spreads and foods we were dying to try. Then we headed into the seafood and meat shop. I wanted to make prawns (they dont call them shrimp here) and we all agreed we would have steak and maybe sea scallops. We couldn't find the scallops but we got an amazing cut of fiet tenderloin (I think thats what it was called). After a stop off for some alcohol and finishing touches to the meal, we headed back to Joels to start cooking.
Joel, who is one of the most easily distracted people I have ever met, playing his guitar.
Chrissy planning our next day in Melbourne!
Laura helping make dinner, or eating the delicious nachos we made as an appitizer.
Joel, Bella, Liv, Laura and Chrissy enjoying our homeade meal. We ended up having steak (WONDERFULLY marinated and cooked), shrimp, asparagus and garlic bread.
Joels plate of amazing food. I don't think I have mentioned this yet, but I have developed a love affair with garlic bread. I ate it like 3 days in a row (I have since cut myself off) but Chrissy and I decided we would show off our skills by making the garlic bread for everyone. It didnt turn out as we had hoped, and I learned that there actually was such a thing as TOO MUCH garlic. That was pretty disappointing, but the rest of the meal was great!
After dinner we headed to Chinatown to a bar Joel was dying to take us to. I can't remember the name of it, but this place was awesome. It was 3 floors all decorated like a creepy old hospital/science room (the bathroom had a hospital bed in it) and it was down a twisty alley that I would never have found on my own. A lot of the best bars and clubs in Melbourne are hidden way in these alleys, and if you don't know the right people you will never get to them.
Joel and I decided to try their specialty martinis. I got an absinthe martini (because the bartender told me I wouldnt need another drink after that) and Joel got one that tasted like cough syrup. Neither of us were sure which one of the menu it was, but it was horrible. I was glad to have my licorce tasting, mud looking, deadly drink after trying his.
Melbourne is COVERED in graffiti. It is everywhere, and it is done really, really well. This is some of the graffitti outside of the creepy old hospital.
The entrance to the creepy old hospital turned bar/club.
Chrissy in the alley that lead to the bar. I didn't think Joel was serious when he led us down this way to take us to a bar. It was an amazing night and such a cool place to start out the trip!
The next day we vowed to get up early and see everything in Melbourne we wanted to get to see. We started out in Federation Square. The picture above is of the Eureka Tower during the day. This will come up later in the trip (and the pictures)
One side of Federation Square.
The other side of Federation Square. The architcture was so cool. We went inside and checked out a museum with some Australian art. It was cool, but I totally don't get art. Other than a few peices that I really respected I just couldn't get it (like a "piece" with 4 chairs. what does that mean? there was no explaination. I just do not understand it).
The train station, which we all considered the center of town. No matter where we were, when looking at a map or a view of the city from above, we looked for that as a point we recognized.
Joel also took us to Hosier Lane, which has some of the most amazing graffitti I have ever seen. It wasn't shitty stuff people put up just to have their name on a wall, it was something they did just to have their art showcased. Joel said half of the stuff he saw there hadn't been there a week before because people contantly paint over other peoples work.
A picture from the top of Hosier Lane looking onto Federation Square.
After Hosier Lane we took a tram (Melbourne has an AMAZING tram system- no buses!) down to the Shrine for the soldiers who had fought in WWI. The shrine was pretty cool, but similar to stuff we have in America.
View of the city from the shrine.
After the shrine we walked to the Royal Botannical Gardens. This place was huge and very cool. It kind of sucked to be there in autumn instead of spring when stuff was blooming, but it was still gorgeous.
These are the cacti gardens in the California Gardens.
Just a really pretty shot of a tree.
We got a different view of the shrine after leaving the gardens.
Finally, we headed to St Kilda. We heard so much about it from other people we had met in Hostels who had already been to Melbourne, so we were excited to check it out. We had been told about the great shopping there, plus some amazing pastry shops. We had also been warned about the druggies there, and that hookers roam the area at night, so to not be there after the sun went down. Luckily we didn't see anything shady and had a great time all during the lovely daytime. Above is the St Kilda peir with a little restaurant at the end where we had lunch.
Melbourne from the St Kilda pier!
Again
St Kilda from the St Kilda Pier.
After lunch we headed to this amusement park, which is well known in St Kilda, and wanted to go on a scenic roller coaster that gives you amazing views of that part of town. Sadly, the roller coaster was closed for repairs, which was kind of a relief because of how shitty the whole amusement park looked.
The group getting ready to head in (with the famous clowns mouth about to eat us)
Laura and Chrissy goofing off in the mirrors
There were tons of these pastry shops lined up in a row. Chrissy got a cupcake that looked delicious, bue she said she wasn't impressed. I got a tiny white chocolate truffle that I thought was amazing. We spent a little more time walking around and shopping before heading back to Joels before the sun started to set. That night we decided to check out another part of town, called "Little Italy" in our guidebooks, but that no one who lived there had ever heard of. It was just a city block filled with Italian places and Gelato shops. Every restaurant owner stood outside of his store barganing with us to eat at his place. After being offered a lovely table outside plus a free drink, bottle of wine champagne or beer at almost every place, we all finally agreed on one.
We got a ton of food here. Our entrees (which are appitizers) was garlic bread (of course) and oysters kilpatrick. If you have never tried these, you must do so immediately! We even convinced Laura to try one, and she liked it!! I don't know if I have ever talked about Laura's eating before, but she has a very limited palate when it comes to food. She claims she doesn't like seafood, even though until the picture above was taken she had never tried it, and one of her favorite restautants is McDonalds. I have vowed to change her eating habits and make her love more foods before she leaves. After the oysters came our main courses. Laura got spaghetti bolognase (see what I mean?), I had spaghetti carbonara (which was amazing) Chrissy got some kind of extremely spicy spaghetti that was also amazing, and Joel got the best dishes of all: a margharita pizz a (which here is just cheese, not the kind I am used to) and pesto gnocci. His food was amazing. After a free glass of champagne plus me and Chrissys 2 bottles of wine we brought with us- most places here are BYO as well as fully stocked bars- we were feeling pretty good. In fact, Chrissy was the funniest drunk I have ever seen her. She was so giggly and happy it was infectious. We got some tasty gelato and walked down to our next destination for the night: the rooftop bar.
One of the views from the rooftop. This bar was at the 7th floor of a building filled with bars and clubs. As we walked back down the stairs when we were leaving we saw all different types of places to party. It was really cool. Part of the rooftop was covered in grass, which was so cool, and the other part was a little bungalo type thing where the bar was located. It was small and cozy and I loved it.
Laura Chrissy and I trying to show off the city behind us.
The view of the street below us.
After leaving there Joel said there was one other place he HAD to take us to called Section 8. The picture above is right by the entrance. That stuff that looks like laundry hanging on a line is actually another graffitti drawing just on the otherside of the fence. Upon walking in, Joel descried it jokingly as "urban chic," but I dont think there is a better description of this place. Section 8 is nestled in yet another alley and is housed in an old open-air carpark (though fortunately you don't need to check in your car keys and pay $9 for the privilege of drinking there). The decor, at its core, looks decidedly like it slipped off the back of a truck. As the name suggests, the bar itself operates out of an old shipping container; awnings are cut out and propped up, forming serving windows, while the "doors" of the container are left open at the end. The container is daubed with graffitti pieces, except for a charming community service notice on one end, advising artists not to draw over the tare information.
The rest of the venue is an airy courtyard; the carpark effect is lessened by a large Laserlite pergola of sorts, underneath which are scattered benches, seats and even a few trees. Most of the seating arrangements comprise stacked wooden pallets (seen above) topped with flat cushions in bright colours - comfortable despite their rustic appearance, which would surely scare off the more touchy patrons. Lit with Chinese lanterns (appropriate considering its proximity to Little Bourke Street-or Chinatown where we were the night before) and decorated with silk flowers and graffiti, the sprawling seating avoids the claustrophobia-inducing nooks and crannies of many other laneway bars.
We called it a night as early as possible that night (1 am) because we had a big day ahead of us- The Great Ocean Road! There are a few ways to tour this amazing place, and we decided the funnest and cheapest would be a rental car. In Australia you only have to be 21 to rent at most places- which to me seems completely insane to be handing over the keys to a brand new car to ME of all people, but they did it. We got a lovely new Toyota Corolla and I had a freaking BLAST driving it. The morning we rented the car, we had to take a tram to get to the car place. We had bought tram tickets for the past 3 days and decided we didn't want to spend money on the ticket for a one way ride, and we hadn't been stopped by cops the whole weekend, so we risked it. OF COURSE cops got on at the stop we were planning on getting off at. They found us with no tickets, an wrote up reports for us. That part really sucks, but we apparently don't have to pay the fine ($176) as long as we don't plan on going back to Melbourne- which I don't anymore. That part kind of sucked, but I wasn't going to let it ruin my day- this is what I had been looking forward to the whole time! The Great Ocean Road is a 243 km stretch along the south-eastern coast of Australia and most of the drive hugs the coast closely offering amazing views of the Southern Ocean. We all REALLY wanted to see the 12 apostles, so we took a back road up there and decided to take the Great Ocean Road back.
The 12 apostles are a collection of limestone stacks that are in extremely close proximity to one another. There are only 9 left now, with the most recent one having fallen in 2005 (the first little crumble of rocks in the picture above).
The 13th apostle.
They were breathtaking
2 apostles on the other side of the lookout. The lookout, which gave amazing views of all of the remaining apostles, will eventually become another one. The rough ocean beats at the rocks constantly, causing them to eventually break off from the rest of the land. Apparently they deteriorate at a rate of 2 cm a year, which is why some of them have collapsed altogether, and why there will be new ones constantly created.
We later walked down the only beach accessibleto tourists to get a different view of everything. The picture above is the stairs we had to walk down, with Laura standing just to the right of the stairs. You can tell how huge the cliffs are by seeing how small she looks next to them.
I could probably get arrested for this, but I carved my name into to the rock.
a picutre from the top of the beach we had just been walking on.
This is when I started the drive. That sign proven extremely helpful because I was terrified. It was sooooo much fun and I want to do it again before I leave (drive, not go to the Great Ocean Road since I can't go back to Melbourne). I didn't realize how much I missed driving until I got into the drivers seat on the right side of the car and pulled out into traffic driving on the wrong side of the road.
I was lucky to get to drive during the coolest part of the trip, which was all along the coast line. To my left were huge cliffs and to my right was ocean as far as the eye could see. The road wound up and down mountains and cliff tops, through tiny beach towns, through rainforests, and dangerously close to the edge. It was a lot of like the Pacific Road in California, but I think it was a lot cooler. Along the way I got stopped and breathalized. It was a total random check point right before the roads got so twistey and windey that at some points I had to go 35 kph around the turns. By the way, yes, I passed the breathalizer.
At one point we saw signs telling us to be careful when driving because of wild Koalas. When we saw a few people pulled over and taking pictures of the trees we decided to pull over as well, because this was obviously where the koalas were. The 2 pictures above are of the koalas we got to see. I have more, but they are pretty similar so I just added those 2.
After the koalas we raced (I had a lot of fun going very fast) to to get to the golf course that has wild kangeroos. We made it just before sundown and got to see TONS of them. I don't know how people even play golf here with how many there were!
I can just imagine my dad trying to play around one of these guys.
I tried to get one so you could see the sandtraps and the greens, but I'm not sure you can even see the koalas now.
When we finally made it back into the city, we had one last thing to do before we headed home: the Eureka Tower Skydeck. Above is a lego model of downtown Melbourne that was on display on the ground floor. It was pretty freaking amazing. The Eureka Tower is the tallest building in the southern hemisphere and the tallest residential building in the world.
This is a picture I took from the top of Eureka of a ferris wheel we saw a lot while in Melbourne.
Chrissy and I at the top!
The Melbourne cricket ground (called the MCG by locals).It is the largest staduim in Australia and holds the world record for highest light towers at a sporting venue. It was also the home of the 1956 Olympic games.
View of that train staion I mentioned earlier. We had such a good time at the top of the tower even though we only had about an hour to spend there. We got out onto the Skydeck which was open to the air, and it was a surprisingly mild night.
After leaving there we went down to the river Yaffy to get a different view of the city. We spent a while here taking pictures and enjoying the night before taking a long walk along the river and getting gelato (again).
2 more pics of the city from above.
We were smart enough to ask if we could return the rental car the next morning at 5 am (our flight was at 6:40). Since we took the car out at 9 am the day before we were still only charged for a day and didn't have to pay for the cab back to the airport. A good investment if I have ever heard of one. We had a BLAST in Melbourne, and luckily made it down there after the worst of the bushfires had ended. Joel told me that when they were really bad he could smell the fires burning from his balcony. So, the final question: did I like Melbourne more than Sydney like everyone predicted? No. Laura and I had a long talk about this and I decided I don't think I can chose between the 2. I don't like picking favorites and I don't think I should have to. Both cities have amazing qualities to them and I love them both in different ways. I wish I had tons of more money so I could experience more of Melbournes shopping (it is not NEARLY as expensive as Sydneys was), but other than that I had a blast. If I was allowed, this would definetely be on my list of places to go back to if I ever make it back to Australia.
Last weekend we went to Melbourne (pronounced Melbun by Australians). I have been looking forward to this trip so much because of everything I have heard about it. People all over told us we would like Melbourne more than Sydney, that it had better shopping and better sights. They weren't lying. I have never seen so many shops lined up right next to each other and, lucky for us, most of them were womens clothing shops! We got in at around 9 and had to take a 55 dollar cab ride to Joel's, where we were staying for the weekend. Joel is a friend from St. Mary's who is studying at a school in downtown Melbourne. We got pretty lucky having somewhere free to stay. After we finally got to Joels we were all anxious to get out and see the city for the first time. We were a little tired from the trip so we decided to just go somewhere quiet and have a few drinks. After drinking a little at his house, it was pretty late and a lot of places were already closed. A few of Joels roomates came home and said they knew a place we should all go. We ended up in a really nice, really fun club- completely underdressed. I am so glad I have no pictures of that place because I am embarassed of how I looked. We had a drink or 2 there and decided it was time to leave. Joel wasn't sure what else would be open at that hour so we wandered until we found a bar that looked like fun called the Lucky Coq (yes, the "Lucky Cock"). I'm not sure why we didn't immediatly figure this out, but it was obviously a gay bar. Of course we didn't figure it out until we were upstairs. We decided to make the best of it and get a drink. Laura and Chrissy just had water but Joel and I decided to had to try the bar's specialty beer: Blond Coq and Black Coq. The picture above is us cheersing our beers. It wasn't a bad beer. but the bar was a bit much so we decided to head home after that. We spent a lovely night on the couches and got up around 9 to begin exploring. The first place Joel said we had to go to were the Victoria (which is the state Melbourne is located in) Markets. It was a HUGE flea market complete with everything from a fish market, seafood market, meat market, veggie market, fruits, catci, souvineers, clothes, candles, fake hair, and anything else you could think of. Before the market we had breakfast (really it was brunch at 11:45am) in a cool little alley filled with outdoor cafes. I think Chrissy got a picture of this place. I loved it so much. It reminded me of Europe, and apparently Melbourne is the most European city in Australia. I loved this part of town and I'm sad we didn't spend more time there.
There were some adorable baby chicks, ducks and other animals for sale, but something tells me they weren't to be taken home as family pets.
We stumbled upon a candy stand with foot-long ropes of sour candy, which we obviously had to try. It was delicious but a little bit too much food.
Next, Chrissy and I got stopped by a woman who wanted us to try out her hair extensions. They matched my hair EXACTLY and I LOVED them, but they were $75 and too much work to put in. I have decided however that I will be growing my hair out as long as possible now (sorry Mimi).
After spending close to 4 hours wandering around looking at everything there was to offer, we headed to the food sections to pick up food for the gourmet dinner we were planning to cook. We got a bunch of cheap, amazingly fresh veggies for side dishes, then headed to the meat and cheese sections of the market. There was a shop for fresh deli foods (such as the olives above, which I took just for you mom and dad) TONS of cheese, fresh baked breads, and dozens of other delicious spreads and foods we were dying to try. Then we headed into the seafood and meat shop. I wanted to make prawns (they dont call them shrimp here) and we all agreed we would have steak and maybe sea scallops. We couldn't find the scallops but we got an amazing cut of fiet tenderloin (I think thats what it was called). After a stop off for some alcohol and finishing touches to the meal, we headed back to Joels to start cooking.
Joel, who is one of the most easily distracted people I have ever met, playing his guitar.
Chrissy planning our next day in Melbourne!
Laura helping make dinner, or eating the delicious nachos we made as an appitizer.
Joel, Bella, Liv, Laura and Chrissy enjoying our homeade meal. We ended up having steak (WONDERFULLY marinated and cooked), shrimp, asparagus and garlic bread.
Joels plate of amazing food. I don't think I have mentioned this yet, but I have developed a love affair with garlic bread. I ate it like 3 days in a row (I have since cut myself off) but Chrissy and I decided we would show off our skills by making the garlic bread for everyone. It didnt turn out as we had hoped, and I learned that there actually was such a thing as TOO MUCH garlic. That was pretty disappointing, but the rest of the meal was great!
After dinner we headed to Chinatown to a bar Joel was dying to take us to. I can't remember the name of it, but this place was awesome. It was 3 floors all decorated like a creepy old hospital/science room (the bathroom had a hospital bed in it) and it was down a twisty alley that I would never have found on my own. A lot of the best bars and clubs in Melbourne are hidden way in these alleys, and if you don't know the right people you will never get to them.
Joel and I decided to try their specialty martinis. I got an absinthe martini (because the bartender told me I wouldnt need another drink after that) and Joel got one that tasted like cough syrup. Neither of us were sure which one of the menu it was, but it was horrible. I was glad to have my licorce tasting, mud looking, deadly drink after trying his.
Melbourne is COVERED in graffiti. It is everywhere, and it is done really, really well. This is some of the graffitti outside of the creepy old hospital.
The entrance to the creepy old hospital turned bar/club.
Chrissy in the alley that lead to the bar. I didn't think Joel was serious when he led us down this way to take us to a bar. It was an amazing night and such a cool place to start out the trip!
The next day we vowed to get up early and see everything in Melbourne we wanted to get to see. We started out in Federation Square. The picture above is of the Eureka Tower during the day. This will come up later in the trip (and the pictures)
One side of Federation Square.
The other side of Federation Square. The architcture was so cool. We went inside and checked out a museum with some Australian art. It was cool, but I totally don't get art. Other than a few peices that I really respected I just couldn't get it (like a "piece" with 4 chairs. what does that mean? there was no explaination. I just do not understand it).
The train station, which we all considered the center of town. No matter where we were, when looking at a map or a view of the city from above, we looked for that as a point we recognized.
Joel also took us to Hosier Lane, which has some of the most amazing graffitti I have ever seen. It wasn't shitty stuff people put up just to have their name on a wall, it was something they did just to have their art showcased. Joel said half of the stuff he saw there hadn't been there a week before because people contantly paint over other peoples work.
A picture from the top of Hosier Lane looking onto Federation Square.
After Hosier Lane we took a tram (Melbourne has an AMAZING tram system- no buses!) down to the Shrine for the soldiers who had fought in WWI. The shrine was pretty cool, but similar to stuff we have in America.
View of the city from the shrine.
After the shrine we walked to the Royal Botannical Gardens. This place was huge and very cool. It kind of sucked to be there in autumn instead of spring when stuff was blooming, but it was still gorgeous.
These are the cacti gardens in the California Gardens.
Just a really pretty shot of a tree.
We got a different view of the shrine after leaving the gardens.
Finally, we headed to St Kilda. We heard so much about it from other people we had met in Hostels who had already been to Melbourne, so we were excited to check it out. We had been told about the great shopping there, plus some amazing pastry shops. We had also been warned about the druggies there, and that hookers roam the area at night, so to not be there after the sun went down. Luckily we didn't see anything shady and had a great time all during the lovely daytime. Above is the St Kilda peir with a little restaurant at the end where we had lunch.
Melbourne from the St Kilda pier!
Again
St Kilda from the St Kilda Pier.
After lunch we headed to this amusement park, which is well known in St Kilda, and wanted to go on a scenic roller coaster that gives you amazing views of that part of town. Sadly, the roller coaster was closed for repairs, which was kind of a relief because of how shitty the whole amusement park looked.
The group getting ready to head in (with the famous clowns mouth about to eat us)
Laura and Chrissy goofing off in the mirrors
There were tons of these pastry shops lined up in a row. Chrissy got a cupcake that looked delicious, bue she said she wasn't impressed. I got a tiny white chocolate truffle that I thought was amazing. We spent a little more time walking around and shopping before heading back to Joels before the sun started to set. That night we decided to check out another part of town, called "Little Italy" in our guidebooks, but that no one who lived there had ever heard of. It was just a city block filled with Italian places and Gelato shops. Every restaurant owner stood outside of his store barganing with us to eat at his place. After being offered a lovely table outside plus a free drink, bottle of wine champagne or beer at almost every place, we all finally agreed on one.
We got a ton of food here. Our entrees (which are appitizers) was garlic bread (of course) and oysters kilpatrick. If you have never tried these, you must do so immediately! We even convinced Laura to try one, and she liked it!! I don't know if I have ever talked about Laura's eating before, but she has a very limited palate when it comes to food. She claims she doesn't like seafood, even though until the picture above was taken she had never tried it, and one of her favorite restautants is McDonalds. I have vowed to change her eating habits and make her love more foods before she leaves. After the oysters came our main courses. Laura got spaghetti bolognase (see what I mean?), I had spaghetti carbonara (which was amazing) Chrissy got some kind of extremely spicy spaghetti that was also amazing, and Joel got the best dishes of all: a margharita pizz a (which here is just cheese, not the kind I am used to) and pesto gnocci. His food was amazing. After a free glass of champagne plus me and Chrissys 2 bottles of wine we brought with us- most places here are BYO as well as fully stocked bars- we were feeling pretty good. In fact, Chrissy was the funniest drunk I have ever seen her. She was so giggly and happy it was infectious. We got some tasty gelato and walked down to our next destination for the night: the rooftop bar.
One of the views from the rooftop. This bar was at the 7th floor of a building filled with bars and clubs. As we walked back down the stairs when we were leaving we saw all different types of places to party. It was really cool. Part of the rooftop was covered in grass, which was so cool, and the other part was a little bungalo type thing where the bar was located. It was small and cozy and I loved it.
Laura Chrissy and I trying to show off the city behind us.
The view of the street below us.
After leaving there Joel said there was one other place he HAD to take us to called Section 8. The picture above is right by the entrance. That stuff that looks like laundry hanging on a line is actually another graffitti drawing just on the otherside of the fence. Upon walking in, Joel descried it jokingly as "urban chic," but I dont think there is a better description of this place. Section 8 is nestled in yet another alley and is housed in an old open-air carpark (though fortunately you don't need to check in your car keys and pay $9 for the privilege of drinking there). The decor, at its core, looks decidedly like it slipped off the back of a truck. As the name suggests, the bar itself operates out of an old shipping container; awnings are cut out and propped up, forming serving windows, while the "doors" of the container are left open at the end. The container is daubed with graffitti pieces, except for a charming community service notice on one end, advising artists not to draw over the tare information.
The rest of the venue is an airy courtyard; the carpark effect is lessened by a large Laserlite pergola of sorts, underneath which are scattered benches, seats and even a few trees. Most of the seating arrangements comprise stacked wooden pallets (seen above) topped with flat cushions in bright colours - comfortable despite their rustic appearance, which would surely scare off the more touchy patrons. Lit with Chinese lanterns (appropriate considering its proximity to Little Bourke Street-or Chinatown where we were the night before) and decorated with silk flowers and graffiti, the sprawling seating avoids the claustrophobia-inducing nooks and crannies of many other laneway bars.
We called it a night as early as possible that night (1 am) because we had a big day ahead of us- The Great Ocean Road! There are a few ways to tour this amazing place, and we decided the funnest and cheapest would be a rental car. In Australia you only have to be 21 to rent at most places- which to me seems completely insane to be handing over the keys to a brand new car to ME of all people, but they did it. We got a lovely new Toyota Corolla and I had a freaking BLAST driving it. The morning we rented the car, we had to take a tram to get to the car place. We had bought tram tickets for the past 3 days and decided we didn't want to spend money on the ticket for a one way ride, and we hadn't been stopped by cops the whole weekend, so we risked it. OF COURSE cops got on at the stop we were planning on getting off at. They found us with no tickets, an wrote up reports for us. That part really sucks, but we apparently don't have to pay the fine ($176) as long as we don't plan on going back to Melbourne- which I don't anymore. That part kind of sucked, but I wasn't going to let it ruin my day- this is what I had been looking forward to the whole time! The Great Ocean Road is a 243 km stretch along the south-eastern coast of Australia and most of the drive hugs the coast closely offering amazing views of the Southern Ocean. We all REALLY wanted to see the 12 apostles, so we took a back road up there and decided to take the Great Ocean Road back.
The 12 apostles are a collection of limestone stacks that are in extremely close proximity to one another. There are only 9 left now, with the most recent one having fallen in 2005 (the first little crumble of rocks in the picture above).
The 13th apostle.
They were breathtaking
2 apostles on the other side of the lookout. The lookout, which gave amazing views of all of the remaining apostles, will eventually become another one. The rough ocean beats at the rocks constantly, causing them to eventually break off from the rest of the land. Apparently they deteriorate at a rate of 2 cm a year, which is why some of them have collapsed altogether, and why there will be new ones constantly created.
We later walked down the only beach accessibleto tourists to get a different view of everything. The picture above is the stairs we had to walk down, with Laura standing just to the right of the stairs. You can tell how huge the cliffs are by seeing how small she looks next to them.
I could probably get arrested for this, but I carved my name into to the rock.
a picutre from the top of the beach we had just been walking on.
This is when I started the drive. That sign proven extremely helpful because I was terrified. It was sooooo much fun and I want to do it again before I leave (drive, not go to the Great Ocean Road since I can't go back to Melbourne). I didn't realize how much I missed driving until I got into the drivers seat on the right side of the car and pulled out into traffic driving on the wrong side of the road.
I was lucky to get to drive during the coolest part of the trip, which was all along the coast line. To my left were huge cliffs and to my right was ocean as far as the eye could see. The road wound up and down mountains and cliff tops, through tiny beach towns, through rainforests, and dangerously close to the edge. It was a lot of like the Pacific Road in California, but I think it was a lot cooler. Along the way I got stopped and breathalized. It was a total random check point right before the roads got so twistey and windey that at some points I had to go 35 kph around the turns. By the way, yes, I passed the breathalizer.
At one point we saw signs telling us to be careful when driving because of wild Koalas. When we saw a few people pulled over and taking pictures of the trees we decided to pull over as well, because this was obviously where the koalas were. The 2 pictures above are of the koalas we got to see. I have more, but they are pretty similar so I just added those 2.
After the koalas we raced (I had a lot of fun going very fast) to to get to the golf course that has wild kangeroos. We made it just before sundown and got to see TONS of them. I don't know how people even play golf here with how many there were!
I can just imagine my dad trying to play around one of these guys.
I tried to get one so you could see the sandtraps and the greens, but I'm not sure you can even see the koalas now.
When we finally made it back into the city, we had one last thing to do before we headed home: the Eureka Tower Skydeck. Above is a lego model of downtown Melbourne that was on display on the ground floor. It was pretty freaking amazing. The Eureka Tower is the tallest building in the southern hemisphere and the tallest residential building in the world.
This is a picture I took from the top of Eureka of a ferris wheel we saw a lot while in Melbourne.
Chrissy and I at the top!
The Melbourne cricket ground (called the MCG by locals).It is the largest staduim in Australia and holds the world record for highest light towers at a sporting venue. It was also the home of the 1956 Olympic games.
View of that train staion I mentioned earlier. We had such a good time at the top of the tower even though we only had about an hour to spend there. We got out onto the Skydeck which was open to the air, and it was a surprisingly mild night.
After leaving there we went down to the river Yaffy to get a different view of the city. We spent a while here taking pictures and enjoying the night before taking a long walk along the river and getting gelato (again).
2 more pics of the city from above.
We were smart enough to ask if we could return the rental car the next morning at 5 am (our flight was at 6:40). Since we took the car out at 9 am the day before we were still only charged for a day and didn't have to pay for the cab back to the airport. A good investment if I have ever heard of one. We had a BLAST in Melbourne, and luckily made it down there after the worst of the bushfires had ended. Joel told me that when they were really bad he could smell the fires burning from his balcony. So, the final question: did I like Melbourne more than Sydney like everyone predicted? No. Laura and I had a long talk about this and I decided I don't think I can chose between the 2. I don't like picking favorites and I don't think I should have to. Both cities have amazing qualities to them and I love them both in different ways. I wish I had tons of more money so I could experience more of Melbournes shopping (it is not NEARLY as expensive as Sydneys was), but other than that I had a blast. If I was allowed, this would definetely be on my list of places to go back to if I ever make it back to Australia.
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