Melbourne Moments

So here I am in Melbourne. What have I been up to? Not a lot if I'm honest! When I first got here I was a little homesick, but I pretty much got over that after my first night alone. I've moved into a smaller hostel which has 2-share rooms, so I only have to share with one other person. I figured I'd be more likely to meet other lone travellers that way, and sure enough, along came Nina but not until after a night on my own.

Nina is from Croydon and was lovely. She's just done a tour of Australia and has now left to do a tour of New Zealand. She had a friend over here, Nicky, who has looked after us brilliantly the last few days, taking us out to all the best places for dinner and making sure we didn't get lost! Ok, so we only went out 2 nights, but prior to that I had been too scared to leave the hostel at night! More on that later...

The hostel is a little further out of town but still accessible by tram. It's North Melbourne and I've met some slightly interesting & scary characters on the trams, so I wasn't convinced about the area! The great thing about Melbourne is how easy it is to get literally everywhere. You're rarely far from a tram and the tram network is excellent. Melbourne city (and much of the surrounds I believe) is set up in blocks, so it's perfect for someone like me who easily gets lost. Perhaps this is why I liked it so much the first time round!

I have a hopeless sense of direction on foot, and I've discovered it's only got worse since I've been left to my own devices. I thought I was doing really well when I got off the tram at Bourke Street (one of the major shopping areas) with the intention of getting a connecting tram to St Kilda, where I stayed a few weeks ago. The problem was, I headed the wrong way up the road and ended up going round in a big circle (or block)! So I gave up on St Kilda for the day and headed for the shops instead. Didn't buy anything, just had a look around at prospective office clothes and jeans. Turns out, with all the shops it has, Melbourne is rubbish for shopping! I remember it being excellent last time, but I must've had more money to spare!

The fashions have all changed (oh my, I'm so old) so any cheaper shops had nothing I liked, and anything I liked cost a pretty dollar or two hundred. Grr! I really needed new jeans, but they're impossible to get over here as they don't seem to have long/short/standard leg lengths, just extra long. So you spend lots on your clothes, and then you spend lots getting them adjusted to fit! Either that or apparently everyone is a size 6 and 7 ft tall - I've not seen anyone like this, but it appears that's who the jeans are made for!

After my unsuccessful shopping trip, I headed back to the hostel for the evening. Because of the interesting characters, and the location, I didn't like to go out at night on my own. Plus, while I've been here someone has had their car broken into, so that has put me on edge a little. But the news is full of that kind of thing here, so I'm not too worried now.

The next day, Nina & I decided to go and do something. We headed to St Kilda to see if we could spot any Neighbours celebrities as that seems to be where everyone hangs out. No such luck, we saw no one famous. Booo! So we went for a walk along the beachfront and pier instead, before heading for a typical Melbourne-oversized snack.

In the evening we met Nicky and an old school friend of Nina's, Anna, who she hadn't seen since school (she's my age). So that was great and another small-world coincidence as Nina hadn't known that Anna was in Melbourne until she arrived. We went to the trendy suburb of Fitzroy (I can't remember the street, but I think it may've been Brunswick St).

The next day was a very relaxing day, sorting out washing and doing some food shopping, as well as looking for possible work (no luck - nothing appealed) before heading out in the evening for Nina's last night in Melbourne. This time we went to Chapple Street (not sure if I've spelt it right, but it's another trendy area in Melbourne). We then had to go get coffee to warm up as it was so cold... I feel for you people back home! We don't have a hint of snow but the evenings can get a bit chilly. The weather can get a bit warm in the day though so I guess it's a trade off.

Anyhow, after we'd said our goodbyes to Nicky, we headed back to the hostel for an early night as Nina had to be at the airport by about 5.30am. Nina has now left for New Zealand and as yet, I've not had a new roomie. I thought I was going to have to move hostels as this one was fully booked for the weekend, so I spent the day yesterday looking for an alternative, but nothing appealed. Fortunately today they've had a cancellation so I'm able to stay a few more days at least.

I have now found a pair of jeans (expensive and way too long, but all I could find!). However, I've held off buying the work clothes as I think I've finally made up my mind that I'm a born traveller, not worker! The idea of working here now and settling down in one place without any friends or family around has lost its appeal, so plan changes are afoot... watch this space!

For now, take care y'all.

xXx