Advertisement
Published: August 6th 2007
Edit Blog Post
The new, the old and the gold
The many archicetural styles of Melbourne Matt & Carla
The new, the old and the gold
The many archicetural styles of MelbourneWhen we began our travels and in particular the Australia section we knew very little about which stops we would make within the countries. Melbourne never really figured in our plans until we met Tania and Chris, themselves from Melbourne, on our journey to Pai in Thailand back in September. From them, other Melbourne residents and fellow travellers we heard nothing but good things about the city and by the time we arrived in Australia in mid January we had decided we definitely had to pay it a visit.
Matt's ever increasing fear of flying saw us boarding a train to Melbourne from Sydney, the overnighter, we were told, would take about 11 hours, what we weren't prepared for was just how cold the train would get. As we settled into our seats we noticed other passengers had brought pillows and dooners (duvets to us; though even more strange is the Australian word used by department stores for bedding generally which appears to be 'Manchester'). It got so cold at one point that I ended up sticking my feet in 'Coles' shopping bags in
Why we love Melbourne
A back alley with Graffiti art and a Portishead-esque band playing an impromtu set without any hassle from the police. an attempt to keep warm.
Tania and Chris finished travelling at the end of October
Why we love Melbourne
A back alley with Graffiti art and a Portishead-esque band playing an impromtu set without any hassle from the police.and had only been living in their new St Kilda flat a week, they very kindly agreed to put us up and even came to collect us at 9am from the train station. Their flat was gorgeous and showed no signs that they had only just moved in, huge ceilings, art deco features and individual furniture along with a great location in walking distance to trams and nearby Acland Street with its trendy bars, cafes and shops all making it a great base for our stay in Melbourne.
The day we arrived was race day of the Formula 1 Championship (located in Melbourne) and a picnic in the St Kilda park gave us a vantage point to see some of the air demonstrations taking place alongside it, later whilst watching the actual race on TV at the flat we were able to hear it live in stereo as we were so close to the track.
An early night helped
Nice cup of tea
with Australia having more coffee shops than kangaroos, it's nice to have a brew when you get the chance us catch up on sleep missed on the cold train and meant we were relatively refreshed for the 'Neighbours' tour we had booked on the following day along with Matt and Dawn. Back in the day I was a
Nice cup of tea
with Australia having more coffee shops than kangaroos, it's nice to have a brew when you get the chancehuge Neighbours fan and though I no longer watch it I was really excited at the prospect of walking down Ramsay Street. The day started pretty well when 'international superstar' Kym Valentine (a.k.a Libby Kennedy) jumped on the bus to say hello and pose for some pictures, although technically no longer in the show it was better for me and Matt then one of the more recent cast members whom we probably wouldn't recognise. After a quick chat with Libby we learnt not only has Bouncer died but his dream sequence featuring a girl dog was just Bouncer cross-dressing with the aid of a ribbon (something which Matt and his brother Chris have always suspected and still discuss to this day).
Next stop was the school where the only rule was to avoid taking photos of the real
school children as there would be a slight possibility of arrest, then on to the actual set where we only got to see a few outdoor sets (Grease Monkeys, the garage and wait for it..... the bus stop and phone box they use on the show) suffice to say Matt and I recognised none. The final stop was Ramsay Street, the
Melbourne architecture
Brunswick streetdriver informed us that a wedding scene was being shot and therefore we couldn't actually get on the street but could watch, well, maybe we could have watched if the screens and articulated lorries hadn't been in the way. So the hallowed tarmac of Ramsay Street (or Pinewood to its real inhabitents know it) remained untouched, though we did get to snap ourselves leaning against the home-made Ramsay Street sign, the most entertaining part of the day was the giddy and overexcited woman lurching over the barrier squealing we love you Harold whenever old Jelly Belly came into view.
Quite a lot of our time in Melbourne was spent pounding the streets, everywhere we went there seemed to be beautiful buildings and tucked beside them small laneways (alleys to us) with tiny cafes and bars.
Its not often that Carla stands the tallest in a crowd
Looks like a new Russian girl band - like TATU only less gay (Brunswick street, melbourne) There is an artsy feel to the city whereby even the graffiti looks stylish and no-one seems too quick to cover it up, local bands play improptu sets in alleys surrounded by rubbish crates and there seems to be almost always something happening (International Swimming Championships and the F1 when we were there). There is an abundance of nightlife options from tiny bars including
Its not often that Carla stands the tallest in a crowd
Looks like a new Russian girl band - like TATU only less gay (Brunswick street, melbourne)one we visited one night with Matt, Dawn, Rob and James (the Milton Keynes Massive) called Hells Kitchen to larger venues hosting artists such as the Kaiser Chiefs, Lady Sovereign and Jarvis Cocker whilst we were in the city.
There are two really good shopping areas, Brunswick Street and Chapel Street with a mixture of hight street and boutique stores as well as loads of places to eat and drink. Whilst walking along Chapel Street on our 4th day, two women got out of a car beside us, having seen Kylie on the weekend's Formula 1 coverage Matt recognised the pop princess' hair from from the back, as she
Views of St Kilda
The famous Luna Park entrance and the Palais theatre, both a short sunny walk from our St Kilda base turned to walk into a nearby cafe we noticed two overwhelming things about her, she really is absolutely tiny and she has amazingly perfect skin. We have seen a few 'celebs' since we have been away but I think it's fair to say Kylie beats Coolio and Brandon Block hands down!
Melbourne seems to have it's fair share of crazys, our favourite of which started talking to us as we waited for a tram. After realising we were from England he told us that he was descended from an
Views of St Kilda
The famous Luna Park entrance and the Palais theatre, both a short sunny walk from our St Kilda baseEnglish Christian family but 45 years ago whilst at the fairground nearby he was kidnapped and was 'still missing' before launching into a loud speech on how great Pink Floyd are, we didn't need to get the same tram as him and as he boarded we sat at the stop to the sounds of him asking no one in particular "and what about AC/DC??".
Staying at Chris and Tania's was a great way to recharge our batteries away from hostels and camp sites, we could sit and
Flinders street station
Melbournes second, more attractive train station has a real 'rendevous under the clocks' feel to it watch TV when we wanted, make a cup of tea without having to queue for the kettle and it generally gave us a bit of home comfort, Matt even ended up playing football with Chris' team one night. On the Thursday night we took Chris and Tania out for dinner to thank them for having us and got to meet some of their friends before packing our bags for our roadtrip to the Great Ocean Road.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.055s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 11; qc: 24; dbt: 0.0326s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 2;
; mem: 1.1mb
chris parry
non-member comment
Wow Libbie Kennedy!! Was doc kennedy there doing an impromptu acoustic gig?? ps that big sign looks like WATSONS!!!!