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Published: February 24th 2013
G'day Everyone
Me again with another update about my adventures Down Under.
When I last left you, the Australian Open had just finished and I must admit I was feeling a little bereft without it. However, I soon got my act together and resumed the business of the day - exploring this great country. Melbourne is a great city, different to Sydney in many ways, the obvious being the lack of such a magnificent harbour, but I think it has a more European feel to it with its tree-lined streets and cafe culture.
I took some time out to decide what I wanted to see and do in Melbourne and how I would travel further afield. The challenge of this type of travel is the endless decisions about where to go, what to do, where to stay, how to travel, whether to join a tour or go independently, whilst always considering the budget. I have found Australia to be very expensive in nearly all aspects so although I haven't missed anything I wanted to do due to money, I have got through a lot more than I'd hoped to at this stage.
I decided to spend just
Melbourne Sights
Flinders Street Station - people often arrange to meet 'under the clocks'over a week more in Melbourne, then hire a car for a week to take myself to the Mornington Peninsula and the Great Ocean Road, hopefully with a detour at some point to see friends Viv and Kev in Ballarat. I would then drop the car off at the airport before jetting off to Adelaide for the next leg of my trip.
Before I set off from home I had asked friends and family to put me in contact with anyone they knew in Australia who might be willing to meet me for a drink so that I could firstly have someone to talk to ;-) but also someone local who might be able to give me tips about getting around, what to prioritise and what the guide books don't tell you. The first person I met up with in Melbourne was Susie who is a friend of my friend Annie. She had spent a few years working in the UK. We went for an Italian meal in Lygon St which is famous for all its Italian restaurants. The food (and wine!) were great and Susie gave me some great tips about places to visit.
The next day
Neil
By a lake on our way to the coast I took care of some phone and wifi technical issues and bought myself a weeks pass for my Myki travel card to give me the freedom to travel around the city on the trams and buses as I please. I then went along to the Melbourne Museum but was disappointed to find that the section about the Aboriginal people which I particularly wanted to see, was closed for refurbishment. The museum was smaller than the Sydney one and the only other different exhibit from there was the section about human psychology which I found quite interesting.
My next new friend was Neil, who is an old friend of my brother Paul and his wife Caroline from when they worked together at BA some years ago. Neil had emigrated last October with his partner, Mark, who is Australian. We met up outside Flinders St Station (Neil had sent me a photo of himself and I confirmed that I do bear more than a passing resemblance to Paul!), then took a very long walk through the south of Melbourne, via the large war memorial and out to the coast.
It was lovely to see the sea again and we walked
along the prom and ate our sandwiches whilst getting to know each other and swapping stories about Australia. We're both on a budget so ate our sandwiches on the seafront before carrying on to St. Kilda, a suburb of Melbourne with a reputation of being quite bohemian. I knew it as the setting for one of the Australian shows I'd enjoyed called The Secret life of Us so it was on my list of places to visit as I'd liked the look of it. The seafront there is lovely and there were various people out and about enjoying the sunshine and the beach. Neil and I hit it off and he invited me to dinner the next evening which was great as I got to meet Mark and see the house they've just moved in to. While I was there we also Skyped (is that a word?!) Paul which was an added bonus as I haven't been using Skpe due to the download/upload limits I have.
I visited the Immigration Museum in the city which told the story of all the nationalities who have moved to Australia, the trials they faced in each decade and how they were treated
Neighbours Tour Bus
Think they'll see us coming?! depending on their origins and skills. It was really interesting, and I was struck by how some of the same issues remain today and go to inform how Australia deals with its immigration policies as an ongoing challenge. I also spent some time just walking around the city getting to know the different areas of the city and getting a feel for the place. It has a large shopping area and some parts reminded me of the lanes in Brighton. There are also some interesting buskers and pieces of art dotted around if you take the time to notice.
Next came another day out compulsory for any self-respecting UK visitor to Melbourne - the Neighbours Tour!! It is run daily and most of their customers are from the UK and Ireland. We visited the outside sets which are all within a compound in a suburb in east Melbourne not too far from the street they film in. We saw the outsides of the various businesses, the community centre, the school and university and we went to Sonia's Nursery. We also saw Lassiters Lake (not that big) and the area where they have built some sets to be the houses'
back gardens which have not been in the show for a while but are starting to be used in the episodes being shown in Australia at the moment.
The next stop was Pin Oak Court, also known as Ramsey Street. It is a normal cul-de-sac with privately owned properties (except for Kyle's which is now owned by the studio). The residents are paid for the use of their homes in the show and agree not to change anything without consulting with the producers. They often stay in their homes during filming but are asked to park their cars on the main road to avoid interruptions to filming, and accidents. Our tour guide had a couple of Ramsay St street signs and we all took photos holding them outside the various houses! By the way, Toadie's house is up for sale next week, so if you're interested in living in Ramsay St, check it out on the web!
We got back to the city mid-afternoon and I realised I was quite close to the Yarra River which I'd wanted to see more of, so I walked along the northern bank of the river for a bit. It was a
Saturday and the south bank was quite busy so I crossed over the river so that I could enjoy the buskers and street entertainers. I then came across the Crown complex which is an entertainment centre with casinos, hotels, bars, restaurants, shops and a cinema. On the spur of the moment I decided to go and see 'The Impossible' which is a dramatization of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami told from the viewpoint of one western family caught up in it - very well told and filmed. The effects used to portray the wall of water, its power and the devastating impact on people and buildings etc. were amazing. My only criticism would be that there was a distinct lack of commentary on the effects on the locals as opposed to the tourists, but maybe that's more for a documentary than a movie.
Another day I went back to the seafront to see Port Melbourne and walk around to St Kilda again stopping off along the way whenever I fancied a break and to sit and enjoy the view. It was another hot day but with the sea breeze it was very pleasant. Back in St Kilda I walked
around some streets to see if I could find anywhere that looked familiar from the program I liked (see above!). When I was in a street that felt vaguely right I stopped to sit on a bench and look up the locations used for filming on my IMDb app. Would you believe I turned out to be sitting right in front of the building used for the apartment block in the show?!?! What a coincidence - I really hadn't noticed the building but once I looked at it properly I recognised it. Brilliant!!
I had one more day left in Melbourne and Neil and I had agreed to meet up once more before I left, but he was stuck at home waiting for deliveries and phone company people to install a line. So I did a few jobs I needed to do before the next leg of my journey then went round to Neil's for lunch - another lovely meal he bravely prepared for this fussy female ;-) We caught up and he helped me out with some research for my next trip then we bid each other a fond farewell and I went back to my apartment to
St Kilda Building
Location for filming of 'The Secret Life of Us' pack. I was due to check out the next day, pick up a hire car and venture out to see more of the state of Victoria. More of that next time...
Jo :-)
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Pam
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I got a good feel for Melbourne from this blog Jo. Put together with the Grand Slam fortnight I felt as though this would be my other choice of city when visiting Australia. You seem to have found the right places to visit and had quite a rounded visit. I enjoyed the photos and look forward to hearing more about your preferences on return. You seem to be finding your way around very well, and seeing all the main places I had heard you mention before you set off. Did you ever assemble the flat packs?