A Melbournians Life

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Geo: -37.8143, 144.963

Melbourne has given us a lot of activities to enjoy over the months, so it's hard to think of what to talk about first. In short we went to the AFL, rugby, a Ben Howard gig as well as finding our way back to Wilsons Promontory and enjoying the sights of Melbourne City.

First up AFL; An Iconic Australian cultural game which is huge in Victoria more than anywhere else in Australia. Anna and I, accompanied with our neighbours, Xavier and Pauline and a good friend of mine, Nick, headed to the MCG to a Friday night blockbuster with Reigning premiers Collingwood taking on the equally favourable Geelong. The attendance topped 75,000 in a very exciting game. It was great to be able to go with Anna, Xavier and Pauline as it was their first game ever.
Not long after was the Rugby, Australia vs Wales at the Ethiad Stadium. Not as packed at the AFL game but just as close and exciting. We were joined by my brother Richard and enjoyed the Australian Victory.

A gig at the renowned Corner Hotel in Richmond is an old Melbourne favourite. Well known bands still play here which is displayed on the blackboard months in advance. Needless to say that some of the tickets are snapped up within days.
This was the case when we found out that the lesser known British Artist, Ben Howard, whom of which Anna and I are big fans of was to be playing in a splendour sideshow, but the tickets had been booked out by the time we found out which was still two months prior to the performance.
This was sad news as we had never thought that Ben Howard would make it to Australia in his early career, and yet here he was and we weren't able to get tickets.
That didn't stop us trying to see if we could get a peek of him in the street on the day of the gig. Amazingly we timed it perfectly as we rounded the corner, Ben and his band had just arrived fresh from the airport to the Corner Hotel.
We summand the courage to go say hi and get a photo and were rewarded unexpectedly when he offered to put our names on to his guest list, well Anna's name, I was the plus one. We were pretty stoked and thankful and in hysterics afterwards with only hours till the gig.
Naturally we lined up pretty early and managed to get to the front and middle of the stage. Ben was second in line and it was an unbelievably stunning performance, his voice live was incredible. Afterwards we went back stage and thanked him for putting us on his guest list and enjoyed a chat with not only Ben Howard, but Julia Stone, who happened to be there too. It was an incredible day of nothing turning in to something, and something which we will remember for some time to come.

More excitement was yet to come when I took the trip up to Brisbane to join my good friend James for his Birthday which conveniently landed on the weekend. I flew up to a warm and sunny day, quite the contrast to dreary Melbourne at the time. After lunch, James and I went to kick the footy when he dropped me with the bombshell news that he was going to be proposing to Hayley the next day, on his birthday, the last day she would expect. We immediately started planning how we were going to get Hayley out of the house for 15 min while he set up. That night we enjoyed a Chinese dinner followed by the new Batman movie shown on a 25 metre screen. The Saturday saw James Birthday one to remember as he played a great game of footy and proposed to his partner, she said Yes of course, followed by a nice dinner out in the city I felt happy and honoured that I was able to make it up there and to be able to play a hand in the proposal and weekend.

We found our way back to Wilsons Promontory as well. We had a change of date to our hut booking from the first time due to horrible weather. We were luckily upgraded to a cabin which was too big for two people but very luxurious compared to the tent from the first trip.
The weather was much nicer the second time round and we managed to get up to the top of Mount Bishop for some great views. We also headed to the infamously named Squeaky Beach but not one squeak was heard, possibly due to the wet sand. I guess we will have to take peoples word that the sand squeaks.
I also found myself taking some more pictures of good old Melbourne City, enjoying some of the sights while walking back home. And finally after 2 years and two months, Anna and I had our first date. We didn't quite get to that stage in the way we met and ended up together. A romantic night which saw us spending an hour trying to find a nice restaurant to eat in due to the first restaurant being closed and the second being turned in to a Japanese restaurant. Luckily it wasn't a real first time date, which could have been awkward. It was a gorgeous night at a Mexican restaurant and I hope she will accept a second date.

So it's curtains closed for Melbourne for a bit, it has been a rollercoaster with highs and lows.Seeing all my friends has been fantastic and settling with Anna in a great little place in Richmond has been wonders. We bid farewell to an action packed 7 months in Australia and look forward to the future.

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