So the next few weeks in Melbourne were fairly standard with work and gym in the evenings, but I went to one of the suburbs with my friend Dani one Saturday afternoon, we went to Prahran which has lots of cool shops and bars and coffee shops. It made a change to be outside of the CBD for once. we had a really nice lunch in a posh restaurant and had a good wander down Chapel St where all the shops are. On the sunday I went to Fitzroy (another suburb just outside the CBD) and went to the artists market and a look round Brunswick Street (again lots of quirky shops and eateries). Then I headed over to the Melbourne Museum for a nose around there. I spent loads of time in the geological section - they had a massive collection of gemstones which were really nice to look at. I only got round half of the ground floor before my feet started to ache!
The next weekend was my friend Mikenna's last weekend in Melbourne and it was also her birthday. We went out for some free drinks we managed to wangle and on the Saturday, we had a nice walk around the Botanical gardens which I hadn't yet managed to visit. It was a really beautiful day (a rareity for melbourne at that time of year) so we sat out in the sun by the pond eating our lunch before going for a drink by the side of the Yarra river - very nice :)
That evening, me and Dani and her friend Rachael went to another AFL (Australian Football League) match. This one was against 2 more local teams, Richmond and Essendon. (AFL is very much dominated by Melbourne, where it was invented. Most of the teams are from the surrounding suburbs with a couple in SA, WA, NSW and QLD, but out of the 14 or so teams that there are, about 11 of them are from VIC). This was very different from the match I went to with Anna a few months earlier - we were 4 rows from the front in that match - this time we were 3 rows from the very back - and since the stadium holds 100,000 people, that was pretty high up! there were about 85,000 people at this match so it was a good atmosphere. The game was quite a good one, although it was hard sometimes to be able to see the ball - I kept mistaking seagulls for the ball because we were so high about the action!
On the sunday I went round to my friends Catherine and Chris's lovely flat for food and mariocart which was brilliant! It had been ages since I'd played last! Needless to say I was still as rubbish as I was back in the UK, but it was still great fun :)
The next week i had a bad cold so was feeling pretty rubbish, but I made myself do something touristy on the weekend so I booked myself onto a 'Puffing Billy' tour. This is a steam train that goes through the Dandenong Ranges out to the West of Melbourne. The Dandenong Ranges start the great big chain of mountains that go all the way up the east coast of australia. it was very green and lush around there - quite similar to New Zealand. The tour included what they called a 'Traditional aussie tucker' which was actually a devonshire tea when we got there! But it was nice anyway (although it wasn't clotted cream - boo!) and there were loads of birds by the cafe in the forest and the bus driver got a bucket of feed so we could have them come and eat out of our hands which was really nice. Lots of parrots, gallahs and parakeets - which are pretty heavy when they land on you!
From there we headed onto the train. we were in an open carriage and we were encouraged to sit on the window sill and dangle our legs over the sides which was lots of fun! Plus you then get that really authentic experience of getting ash in your mouth! We were on the train for maybe half an hour and got off to go to a little village called Sassafras before heading back to Melbourne. I found a little square hidden away from the main street of Sassafras that had some free marsh mellows next to an open fire along with some toasting forks and a sign saying 'help yourself' - so I did! That afternoon I finally found a cafe I'd been hunting for in melbourne. the cool thing about Melbourne is that you really have to go hunting for the fun places to eat and drink. there are some places that you have to walk down back alleys or climb staircases and ring a doorbell to be let in - its great fun!
The next week I met up with a few friends in the evening and went out for a lovely mexican meal in Fitzroy with Chris and Catherine (my friends from Warwick), complete with cocktails which was delicious and very filling!
The next weekend was my friend Mikenna's last weekend in Melbourne and it was also her birthday. We went out for some free drinks we managed to wangle and on the Saturday, we had a nice walk around the Botanical gardens which I hadn't yet managed to visit. It was a really beautiful day (a rareity for melbourne at that time of year) so we sat out in the sun by the pond eating our lunch before going for a drink by the side of the Yarra river - very nice :)
That evening, me and Dani and her friend Rachael went to another AFL (Australian Football League) match. This one was against 2 more local teams, Richmond and Essendon. (AFL is very much dominated by Melbourne, where it was invented. Most of the teams are from the surrounding suburbs with a couple in SA, WA, NSW and QLD, but out of the 14 or so teams that there are, about 11 of them are from VIC). This was very different from the match I went to with Anna a few months earlier - we were 4 rows from the front in that match - this time we were 3 rows from the very back - and since the stadium holds 100,000 people, that was pretty high up! there were about 85,000 people at this match so it was a good atmosphere. The game was quite a good one, although it was hard sometimes to be able to see the ball - I kept mistaking seagulls for the ball because we were so high about the action!On the sunday I went round to my friends Catherine and Chris's lovely flat for food and mariocart which was brilliant! It had been ages since I'd played last! Needless to say I was still as rubbish as I was back in the UK, but it was still great fun :)
The next week i had a bad cold so was feeling pretty rubbish, but I made myself do something touristy on the weekend so I booked myself onto a 'Puffing Billy' tour. This is a steam train that goes through the Dandenong Ranges out to the West of Melbourne. The Dandenong Ranges start the great big chain of mountains that go all the way up the east coast of australia. it was very green and lush around there - quite similar to New Zealand. The tour included what they called a 'Traditional aussie tucker' which was actually a devonshire tea when we got there! But it was nice anyway (although it wasn't clotted cream - boo!) and there were loads of birds by the cafe in the forest and the bus driver got a bucket of feed so we could have them come and eat out of our hands which was really nice. Lots of parrots, gallahs and parakeets - which are pretty heavy when they land on you!
From there we headed onto the train. we were in an open carriage and we were encouraged to sit on the window sill and dangle our legs over the sides which was lots of fun! Plus you then get that really authentic experience of getting ash in your mouth! We were on the train for maybe half an hour and got off to go to a little village called Sassafras before heading back to Melbourne. I found a little square hidden away from the main street of Sassafras that had some free marsh mellows next to an open fire along with some toasting forks and a sign saying 'help yourself' - so I did! That afternoon I finally found a cafe I'd been hunting for in melbourne. the cool thing about Melbourne is that you really have to go hunting for the fun places to eat and drink. there are some places that you have to walk down back alleys or climb staircases and ring a doorbell to be let in - its great fun!The next week I met up with a few friends in the evening and went out for a lovely mexican meal in Fitzroy with Chris and Catherine (my friends from Warwick), complete with cocktails which was delicious and very filling!
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