The setting up of base

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Melbourne is a little bit of an enigma to me – in a pleasant way of course! I say that because walking down the streets here feels like being in Chicago downtown with a little bit of Europe thrown in. There are so many things that strike me – for a big city it is amazingly clean and organised; people are so friendly, helpful and it’s like a cosmopolitan of the East. The one thing that really raised our eyebrow is that due to the strength of the Aussie Dollar, things are so expensive. Looking at prices, you can’t help but convert them into British pounds and think “damn that’s steep for a cup of coffee!” Nonetheless, I feel as though I get more for my money; a mushroom pizza we had at a small pizza place in Carlton is exactly that – piled high with mushrooms, Pizza Hut take note!!

The first days in Melbourne have been bazaar to say the least. Day one was all about bank accounts, mobile phones and finding our bearings. Day two was more phones and looking to sort out accommodation for when we get back from travelling in the New Year. Day three was finalising an amazing house share for six weeks and meeting some friends for brunch and chill-axing with them. Today – day four – is about the first visit to the beach and beach front!! Boy, I am so looking forward to the height of the summer; it is going to be amazing here.

The housing market here is shocking! We had the privilege of going to see an inspection of a 2 bedroom house some friends of friends were looking to buy before it went up for auction. The auction price ranged from AUD $650-700k and blimey it so wasn’t worth it! The place was run down and the layout had been changed into a mish-mash of interconnecting rooms. An outdoor toilet that even pre-world war Britain would be ashamed of! There was damp through out the house, it stank and it probably would have been better to knock the whole place down and restart from scratch. However, it was an eye-opening experience into real estate in Australia and how far your dollar goes.

I’m sure many of you guys will sit there and smile at the next sentence. The weather here has been no better than what we’d get back at home over the past couple days. We’ve seen Melbourne experience the hottest day of the year so far and a downpour which was rumoured to cause the first flooding in central Melbourne in thirty years! Thank god that didn’t happen because that would have been right outside our hotel.

Melbourne has it all. In a few kilometres you can cover a residential area which seamlessly becomes the central business district (CBD) and a few minutes later you are staring at the beach and ocean. St Kilda is a funky beach district of Melbourne with streets lined with Sunday market stalls and little cake shops that will pile on the pounds as you stand with mouth watering, looking in from the windows. A half hour leisurely tram ride takes you to a quaint organic café in Carlton North were you will feast on a very healthy portion of brunch. We merely made a dent in the Vegetarian Feast after twenty minutes! The coffee culture is alive and kicking – I’m sure they would have it from the taps if they could – all the better for us!!

Overall, Melbourne has grown on me these past couple days. I had a moment of doubt – but a moment is all it was. Relaxing with friends yesterday and seeing the city today means I am already looking forward to getting back. We have an amazing house to crash at as soon as we get back and the city is beautiful. By the time we’re back we’ll be basking in the Aussie summer and beginning the rest of our year in a great little district called Carlton North with café’s and shopping precinct that have that 1960’s feel to them.

What a way to start the adventure; a rollercoaster that has left me on a high looking forward to more! In the mean time, bring on the sightseeing of the Great Barrier Reef and Gold Coast not to mention New Years on Harbour Bridge!!

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