Oh, Melbourne. You beautiful, trendy, energetic, endlessly awesome city. I was in love from the moment I first saw Federation Square.
I really hadn't planned for my next step when I first arrived there before the Great Ocean Road. I didn't like Sydney, but I thought I might go back there since that's what everyone I'd met was doing. However, you are either a Sydney person or a Melbourne person, and it is a preference that defines you as a human being. It took only a few hours of being in Melbourne for me to know that this is where I needed to be.
The atmosphere is lively and chilled out and there is always something happening. The architecture ranges from super-modern and sleek to experimental to old-fashioned, all on the same street. It's full of art and character. There is no cooler city that I have been to.
The Sights
Federation Square
To start with, Federation Square is the absolute standard that all city squares should strive to live up to. It's so awesome and unique. Look at these buildings! That is design.
Here's a good example of the contrast between old and new architecture.
And these buildings aren't just inaccessible government buildings. The one on the right holds the Victoria National Gallery, a free art museum (there is a larger, better one across the street as well). There are sculptures, indigenous art, and contemporary exhibits.
The building in the middle has cafes and shops.
And the building on the left is the Australian Centre for Moving Images (ACMI). It has a neat setup with lots of features and lights that show the evolution of film, another room with movie props and costumes, and an interactive section. There was a Matrix simulator where you could get a panoramic video of yourself doing something in slow motion, a pitch black room that created a creepy environment with a single bright light and fog, a white screen where your shadow would grow monster claws and spikes, and more. Also free.
Along with all of that, there's a large video screen outside in the square which shows sports, political addresses, and other televised events, and there are often street performers as well, so there are always people around and a great energy about it.
Step up your game, other cities!
Hosier Lane
Right next to Federation Square, you will find a back alley full of the coolest street art in Melbourne. Graffiti artists visit frequently and keep it updated with new works to look at. Absolutely worth a visit and some awesome photos.
Victoria Market
Although it may seem like your typical market, it's in Melbourne, so it's automatically special. There's a large indoor area with vendors everywhere selling their shirts and jewelry and whatnot, a grocery area with cultural foods and every type of cheese you could want, and an outdoor area with fruit and veggie stalls.
Old Melbourne Gaol
I took a mini-field trip on my own one day to see this old jail that was only a few blocks from my apartment. First, you're put through an entire fake booking process with a group where they pat you down and lock you in a holding cell with the lights off.
That area has the communal yards, padded cells, and a photo op for your own mug shot.
Afterwards, you're on your own and can walk across the yard to the large prison for the serious lockups.
This is where Ned Kelly, Australia's most infamous outlaw, was kept and executed. Despite being a murderer, he has a bit of an icon status in Oz. You can see his death mask, gun, replica of his armor, and the gallows where he was hanged.
The cells are pretty grim. They each had informational signs about various prisoners and what life was like in the jail. I found it extremely interesting and spent about two hours there reading everything I could. Totally worth the entry fee.
Melbourne Cemetery
This cemetery is gigantic. There are sections for different religions and some areas that are well over a century old. They even have an Elvis memorial.
Southbank
Melbourne is so incredible that I haven't even gotten around to mentioning its river yet.
It's called the Yarra River and there is a whole pedestrian street with bars, restaurants, and the Crown Casino alongside it. There's also the Queen's Bridge with its metal figures.
Every night in Southbank there are pillars that shoot fire into the sky. How many cities have you seen with nightly fireball shows?
Swanston St./St. Kilda Rd. Shrine of Remembrance, Botanic Gardens, and more
My recommended tour of Melbourne involves starting from Flinders Station and just walking straight down Swanston Street towards where it becomes St. Kilda Road.
Flinders Station
You will pass all sorts of wonderful sights on the way. There's a fountain, a clock made of flowers, and the Victoria Department of Defense building that wins my personal vote for prettiest building in Melbourne with its multi-colored ivy growing all over the front.
You will eventually reach the Shrine of Remembrance. There's a long, wide walkway lined with giant pine trees, and the building and eternal flame are at the end.
You can go inside and up to the top for fantastic views of Melbourne.
Afterwards, if you head to the side away from the road, you'll see the Royal Botanic Gardens. I love these gardens and this big pocket of perfect nature right inside the city. My three must-sees are the wetlands...
...Guilfoyle's Volcano...
... and the Temple of the Winds, which is my personal sanctuary. It rises out of these grey and green gardens like it's straight out of a fantasy novel. It's so peaceful. I returned on numerous occasions to sit under the dome with a book or my journal.
Finding an Apartment
As I mentioned in my St. Kilda entry, I'd gotten a job in the city, and luckily I'd met three friends who also wanted to get a place and earn some money- Mike from The Netherlands and Karl and Calleigh from England. We spent weeks in St. Kilda hunting for flats online and scheduling viewings in the city. We had seen this one place in the Docklands that was unbelievable. It was on the 13th floor with a full wraparound balcony outside of its floor to ceiling windows with the most gorgeous view of the city and waterfront. Needless to say, we were not in a position to afford that. It was $650 a week, and although I was totally willing to sell myself to pay for that dream apartment, not everybody else shared my impractical enthusiasm.
We actually ended up in this tiny little flat on Lonsdale Street. We had one common area that doubled as kitchen and living room, no freezer or oven, and two bedrooms.
We also had a small concrete balcony that mostly overlooked other buildings, but it faced the sunset as well as Chinatown- we could even see a Chinese New Year celebration one night. The location was perfect, it was only $490 a week, and most importantly, we were living in the Melbourne CBD. I sat on that balcony every night with a cigarette and my iPod and had to convince myself that this was real life. I was wildly happy.
Working Life
My job was also going well. I only worked around 20 hours a week, but pay in Australia is high (to match the insane price of living), and I was making around $18 an hour. I loved walking to work every day. I just couldn't get over how lucky I was that my daily commute was through the greatest city in the world. I would walk along a pedestrian street, Bourke, which was always full of performers, and on the way home would pass through Chinatown.
Cajun Kitchen was on Elizabeth Street, and I just made sandwiches and wraps up front or did dishes in the back. The front of the shop was open to the street, so fresh air came in all day, and we got free meals. Both the tofu wrap and the mushroom po'boy were great. On some days, Geeti would bring homemade desserts, and on Mardi Gras we even had sweet tea which made me very happy and very ill after downing three gigantic cups and two peanut butter slices in one shift.
Part of the job was also vending at festivals, sometimes in other towns. I spent weekends away at the Port Fairy Folk Festival and the Stewart Island Superbikes event, and I worked local fests like the flower show and Laneway concert.
The biggest event I got to attend was the Formula 1. The hilarious thing (to me) was that we had a ton of people up visiting for it and all of my roommates and friends had paid hundreds of dollars for tickets, and I got this handy little service pass and got to attend every day for free with zero interest in racing.
The event was huge. Just walking around the track and seeing all of the various areas, bars, and stalls was overwhelming. I tried to find my roommates after my shift the first day and gave up.
On the last day, since nobody was ordering food during the main race, we were each allowed turns to go up into the bleachers and watch.
Seriously, how boring can a sport be? You can barely see the cars because they're going too fast, so all you have are indistinguishable blurs zooming past you again and again. I appreciate that I got to see something that is so big for so many people, but nope. I don't get it.
Going away for weekend festivals could be fun, although the hours were exhausting. We'd pitch the stall, set up tents and camp out with the other vendors, work ridiculous days, and then pack it all back up at the end. Sometimes it was a bummer to see the customers out having a great time while you were under a tent, but we also had little breaks and could see bits of what was going on while earning money for being there. One day at the folk festival I honestly worked nonstop from 9 AM to 1 AM with the exception of a 20 minute break. That's a 16 hour day.
But it had its perks. I particularly loved the food alliances. We'd make swap deals with other stalls since everyone was tired of their own food. There was an Italian guy who gave us pizza and slushies, a great ice cream place, Owen's noodles with their awesome noodle cones complete with various Asian sauces, and the amazing coffee guys who actually made runs over to our stand throughout the day to ask if we needed anything and deliver coffee directly to us. Also, going back to the campsite after a long day and sitting around in a field with a couple of beers was always rewarding. It wasn't a bad job.
Life at the Flat
Our flat was small and crowded and we had our arguments, but overall we were pretty happy. Calleigh shared my room to start with, but she actually moved out after just one week because she couldn't find a job, and she got an American named Michael to take her place. That turned out very well actually, because he is one of the most positive, chilled out, friendly nomads you could meet. I couldn't have asked for a better roommate.
All four of us would hang out and have a few glasses of goon at the end of our workdays, sit on the balcony, share books (we were all trading around Game of Thrones and that Monk Who Sold his Ferrari book near the end there), and sometimes hit the town.
I've got to say, depressingly, as much as I love the city, I have had very few decent nights out there. Twice I headed out with groups and we couldn't even get into a club. Watch for the Melbourne bouncers. If they think you've been drinking at all, or you're wearing the wrong shoes, or the guy to girl ratio of your group is too high, or they just don't like your face, you won't get in. I showed up with three others to PJ O'Brien's at midnight on St. Paddy's Day where it was very busy inside and they told us they were closing. What kind of Irish bar closes at midnight on the biggest Irish holiday of the year? Sometimes it just wasn't worth the effort.
One day I discovered a miracle of a food stall. It's just a little shop along Swanston called Lord of the Fries. It opens up to pedestrians on the street, and at first glance, you would think it's just your typical fast food joint. But you would be wrong. Everything on the menu is vegetarian. I mean, burgers, hot dogs, chicken patties... all meat-free. And it's delicious. I even sent some meat-eaters there to confirm how good it is. I had the best veggie hot dog of my life. Melbourne is good to us vegetarians.
We never ended up getting Internet in our apartment. We would usually head to the Victoria Library just down the road and use the wifi there, but the library put restrictions on how many megabytes you could use and what sites you could visit, so if you were doing anything more than browsing, that wouldn't cut it. A lot of times I would take my laptop and walk the 10 minutes or so down to Federation Square. ACMI had free wifi with no limits, so I could catch up on some shows (although with very slow loading times). If it was a nice day, I might even sit on one of the recliners outside in the sun and Skype home. Life was good.
We had some great times at the flat too. As I mentioned, Formula 1 weekend was mental. We had NINE visitors staying at our apartment. That's plus the four of us who live there! So overall, 13 people in our tiny miniature flat. This was partially because all of the hostels were booked up in Melbourne and partially because we like a good party. Which it was. What a fun weekend.
We also celebrated Easter together. Michael and I had gone to the Victoria Market the day before, and we all made a big dinner including these bright purple mashed potatoes.
Near the end, we had movie nights, went to a house party, and actually sprung for a dressy group dinner out in our Chinatown neighborhood.
Look at us at a sit-down restaurant like fancy people.
On the last night just the four of us- Mike, Karl, Michael, and I- crowded into my room and said our goodbyes. That was sad. I miss those boys!
However, after almost three months, my job had cut my hours as we were moving out of high season, and all four of us were moving our separate ways. It was about to be winter and beginning to get chilly. I knew I needed to keep traveling and find work somewhere else, preferably up north. I was only in Australia for one year, it was already April, and I'd been to just two cities. All good things must come to an end, I guess.
After all this time, I still deeply and passionately adore Melbourne. It really is just the best city. I am so unbelievably fortunate to have gotten to actually live there, right in the middle of it all!, and am feeling all sorts of emotions writing about it again. Dammit, Melbourne, why do you have to be so wonderful? If I ever get the chance to go back one day, I will probably cry tears of joy in the middle of Federation Square. (Edit: I did go back. I teared up.)