30th November – 4th December

Sightseeing on the Run

On the Friday morning Masha and I got up and went for a run! It was a lovely day but a lot cooler down there than Sydney, plus it’s flat – perfect running combo! We ran along the Yarra river, the view of the city skyline rising before us. We also ran through the botanical gardens and up to see the Shrine of Remembrance. It was a little longer than we intended, but we’d done some sightseeing along the way! After showering we grabbed a coffee and got the tram into the city centre. We did a bit of sightseeing, wandered in the shops and stopped at the river for a drink.

A Very Messy Night & The Hangover from Hell

Eventually we went our separate ways, Masha was part of a an Iranian travel meet up group and had arranged to go for a drink and dinner. I, on the other hand had arranged to meet up with Emily’s next Aussie contact, Bernie. I went to meet her at Richmond, a neighbourhood just outside the city centre. Bernie and her friend Sharon were already on the vino when I arrived at 5pm, I could feel a messy one coming on…… 🥴

These ladies could drink me under the table, we had such a fun and messy night, which I proceeded to suffer badly for the following day 🤢. Extremely kindly Sharon offered me to come and stay with her during the rest of my stay in Melbourne. Boy was I grateful, I haven’t had a hangover like that in yeeeeeeears! I practically couldn’t move off the sofa all day and threw up a couple of times, which is very unlike me on a hangover. Happy first of December! I couldn’t wait to wake up the next day!!!

TIP: Don’t come back really drunk when you’re couchsurfing, it’s very likely to piss off your host, and even more so when it’s not even your couchsufing contact 😬.

St. Kilda

The 2nd December was a bit better. I had told Joseph on the way down that towards the end of the following week I would be looking to do another road trip from Melbourne up to Adelaide via the Great Ocean Road, so a couple of days later he took it upon himself to advertise for 3 more people to join the 2 of us for a road trip to Adelaide, and then on to Perth as he’d decided to go back home for a bit. A group was formed with 5 of us heading to Adelaide and discussing when to go, how many days and where to stop along the way (with 5 there was a fair bit of conflicting opinions, but the date was finally set). We decided to try and meet up in advance to get to know each other. I went off wandering towards town when Joseph decided to come and meet me. I thought he meant in town, but before I knew it I was picked up and we were on our way to pick up Karl, another group member. Karl is from Kent, a really nice laid back bloke, we got on well. The three of us headed down to St Kilda, the UK seaside looking suburb, with the weather to match the image! We went to see the St Kilda penguins – so cute! Had a wander and ended up having a rather expensive pint in the Hotel Esplanade (hotel is often the name of a bar in Australia, I think because they’re old hotels that were converted into bars 🤷‍♀️).

I promised to cook Sharon a stir fry that night to A – thank her for having me, and B – apologise for my state the day before! 🤣🙈. We had tea and watched a bit of tv together.

Brunswick & Fitzroy

The following day I went to the on site gym and then a wander into the Fitzroy gardens. We met up with the other 2 road trippers today, James and Alexandra, in the neighbourhoods of Brunswick and Fitzroy. I was beginning to love Melbourne, with all the green spaces, street art and alternative vibe it reminded me very much of my beloved Bristol! (Which i’d been told to expect already by both Emily and Ellen, who have both previously lived in Melbourne). It’s probably one of the only places I could see myself living in Australia.

We went for a drink at the Black Cat, a recommendation from Ellen, went thrift shop shopping and ended up at a cool burger place. Melbourne is also one of the only places in Oz big of dietary requirements and I had the most amazing vegan burger!! Top off the day, Joseph and I met Karl in the city centre at a really cool bar called Storyville – decked out storybook style, is say most resembling Alice in Wonderland. All the cocktails were named after things from famous fictional books, such as Polyjuice and the Golden Snitch from Harry Potter Geppetto’s tipple from Pinocchio and Through the Looking Glass, which Karl & I shared. It smoked with dry ice and everything!  😮

Walking Tour of Melbourne

If I’m not mistaken I believe this was my first city walking tour, first of many. It had been recommended to me by James, who was part of the next road trip crew, as a great way to see the main and hidden sights of the city and to learn about it’s recent history. So after another morning gym session and some lunch, I went to meet the afternoon group. The tour took us round the city centre, we learned about the architecture of the buildings, about the two gold rushes that at one point made Melbourne one of the richest cities in the world and how that brought about they’re big coffee culture (Melbournians love they’re proper coffee so much that when Starbucks struck the city many of their coffee houses had to close shortly after opening as no one would go there 😂).

A main focal point of the tour was also Melbourne’s infamous street art – originally many pieces were destroyed by the council, but have now become a loved feature of the city. It was cool to hear that Banksy had ventured over here and left his mark in various places, none of which remain today. Although the sun was out, I was in and out of shops & public places with Christmas trees and decs, making it feel a wee bit Christmassy.

TIP: I’ve done plenty of walking tours now and I really enjoyed most of them. When your by yourself and unsure what to do in a city, it’s a great way to spend a few hour with a group and maybe meet people to hang out with. Plus it give you an idea of places you’ll enjoy in the city, from museums and tourist sites, to restaurants and shops. You can usually find a walking tour for ‘free’, but most work on a tip basis – you tip depending on what you thought the tour was worth.

I gave Sharon a bottle of Fizz to say thank you for putting me up and we said our goodbyes, as she was up early for work the following morning. She’d been amazing to me and I’m very fond of her, I won’t forget her kindness and hospitality.