My Aussie friend had work the next day so I took the time to
do the exciting business of laundry and catching up my blog. One of my
housemates from Jindy has move on to Melbourne for a few months to find work
over the Christmas and New Year period so I also contacted him and arranged to
meet up to watch the rugby the next day. I did leave the apartment briefly to
get some lunch from one of the many excellent cafes in the Brunswick area. Not
only was the pork and pumpkin lasagne tasty but it was much more reasonably
priced than any place I had been to in Australia before. Once my Aussie friend
was finished work for the week we took a quick trip out to do some more noise
readings and get some dinner. I managed a quick skype back home before a small
group of us headed out to one of the local pubs which specialised in whisky. We
had a couple of wee drams there before heading to a sports bar which was a lot
more pleasant than it sounds. Once the pub closed we all returned to the
apartment to listen to music and discus life the universe and everything, as
you do after a drink or two. All in al it was a very pleasant introduction to
life in Melbourne.
The next day my Aussie friend and I enjoyed a long lie so
once we did get up it was straight in to the city centre to meet up with my
other friend. We did take time to stop by a different cafe and pick up a wee
snack. If you do visit Melbourne I highly recommend the Brunswick area for the
food if nothing else. We made it to the CBD with enough time for a mini tour of
the main streets and sights such as Federation Square, Flinders street and Degraves
Street to name a few. On my first visit
to Melbourne CBD I was met by a giant demonic baby and a man cracking a flaming
whip which so far makes it the most interesting introduction to an Aussie CBD
so far. Demonic baby investigated and whip cracking man avoided we made our way
to the pub and the rugby via one of the many cafes on Degraves street for a
late lunch. I feel that I missed an important part of Melbourne by failing to
sample any of the coffee but I was impressed by how seriously they take their
coffee making there even if I don’t enjoy the stuff myself.
Typically my English friend found us and English pub to watch
the games. The Ireland-Wales game was disappointing as I was supporting Ireland
who lost. The second game was very hard as I had promised to support England
but they played so poorly it was hard not to sheer on the French and sadly I
feel that in both games the better team won. Despite the fact it was an English
pub there were a fair few French supporters there so at least I wasn;t alone in
my support. As we were in the pub the games were accompanied by a few pints and
it was after 9pm when we left the pub to check out a bar in St Kildas where the
band of a friend of a friend was playing. It was a fun if somewhat blurry
night. We ended up play pool (badly) and a Sega racing game (also badly) and
getting a taxi back home between us. I may not remember much of the end of the
night but I remember that it was fun, even if I did need my photos to remind me
of some of the highlights!
Sunday was unsurprisingly a lazy day whilst we recovered from
our drinking. The girls made it too Ikea and offered to take me with them but I
opted to stay at home and plan my week ahead; which somehow ended up with me
reading instead though I did manage to book a wine tour for myself and friend.
My first weekday in Mlebourne was mostly spent at the
International building of the National Gallery of Victoria. On my way I stopped
to take a few photos and admire the city and on one of these instances I was
approached by a Chinese girl who shook my hand then took my photo with as she
was recording 100 handshakes to celebrate 100 years of friendship between
Australia and China. She didn’t seem bothered that I wasn’t Australian and I
thought it was a pretty cool thing to do so it was a good start to my day. I
was welcomed to the gallery by yet more demonic babies which I stopped to
admire before heading in to the gallery itself. I visited the early European
pieces first before investigating their upstairs cafe for my mandatory gallery
hot chocolate and cake/lunch break. On my way round the gallery I was particularly
taken with their funky stained glass ceiling. I was also pleased to find many interesting
artefacts to practice my photography on. The collection was impressively
extensive and I managed to spend the whole day wandering round the maze of
rooms exploring the different exhibits. I managed to leave the gallery with plenty
of time to get back to Brunswick and do some shopping. I took great pleasure
that evening in attempting a vegetarian chilli as a way of saying thank you for
the use of their couch. I reckon it didn’t turn out too badly and the girls
seemed to agree so I shall hang on to the recipe for future reference.
Tuesday was wine tour day. We went
with a company called ‘A Tour With A Difference’ and were not disappointed. Having
taken a tour of Sonoma and Napa the previous year I was curious to see how
Australia would compare. First of all they are much better value for money on
quantity as we were given many more wines to taste. I found the staff more
friendly too; not only did they not mind me taking photos of my stuffed
companions they actively participated in the silly photos. Wine wise the
quality was more impressive. Where as in Napa I found the wine lacking compared
to the Virginian wines I had tried here I was tempted to buy more than one
bottle from various wineries. It was also nice to have company in the form of a
friend who also appreciates a nice glass as we could discuss our opinions without
me feeling too pretentious. An added bonus was the break for lunch which
involved a beer tasting. I’m not a big beer fan but I do enjoy trying different
things so I liked this twist. All in all it was a fun day out and we finished
the day nicely by meeting up with my Aussie friend for dinner and a drink or two
before we got an early night, after all there is only so much one can drink
when one starts at 10am.
On Wednesday I visited the NGV Australia building and the
State Library. As always I was impressed by the Drysdale pieces but it was a Gleeson
paining that really caught my eye and had me returning again and again. What was most interesting for me was tour
round the Aboriginal exhibits as it helped me to understand and appreciate the
art more. I am not generally a fan of aboriginal art and now I think I know
why. Their art tells a story. They understand the story and I never will. I
think non-aboriginals who enjoy the art do so on an aesthetic level and for me
it’s just not my thing; having said that I now have a lot more time for it now
I understand some of the basic principles. Where as before I had it with
Picasso in the I know it’s good but I don’t get it I will now take the time to
look at it more closely and try see some of the story even if I don’t
appreciate the aesthetics as some do. I
think I enjoyed this gallery more as a once off visit but I can see me
returning more to the international gallery if I lived there as I think it
would take longer to tire of.
On my way to the state gallery I passed yet more demonic
babies which were of course an city wide exhibit. The library itself was an
impressive building which had the right feel of gravity and age about it. I was
very excited to be able to explore and take many photos.They also had two
exhibition space which were showing the history of Victoria sine European
settlement and the history of books. Both were fascinating in different ways. I
loved seeing the old books. They had everything from ancient religious texts copied
by hand to novels printed when mechanical printing made reading accessible to
the masses and children’s books and even the evolution of the graphic novel. I think
it’s fair to say I was in a very happy place on Wednesday. I once more headed
back to the flat to eat with my friend and her flatmates and have a quiet
evening sorting though my many photos from my visit so far.
My last day on my own started nicely with a long lie then brunch
at a cafe known as Greens. I had their most amazing breakfast stack and would
recommend a visit there to anyone who is visiting the city. After brunch I took
the tram into town with the intention of wandering about and seeing what I
could see. If I had any destination in mind at all it was one of the gardens as
it was yet another sunny Aussie day and perfect for appreciating them. I left
the main streets and ended up walking past Parliament House and towards Fitzroy
Gardens. I sat in the Treasury Gardens for some time listening to my music and writing
in my book: I think I will try type up the pages I wrote and publish them next
as it feels like a ‘thoughts’ post. Once my writing was finished I got my
camera out once more and headed in to Fitzroy Gardens which surround Captain Cooks
Cottage. I had been told it wasn’t worth paying to see the inside of the
cottage felt no inclination to find out for myself as I was enjoying the
surroundings too much. After taking many photos I decided to head back to the
main shopping streets and pick up some chocolate cake to take back to my Aussie
friends apartment. Knowing she was planning on going to an exercise class I got
a quick pub meal before heading back. Apparently the pub was more interesting
than the class though as on my return I was directed to a nearby pub. One of
the plus points of Melbourne of Sydney is the predominance of local pubs which
Sydney is sorely lacking. We had a quick drink with my Aussie friend and her
friend and his adorable pug before returning to the flat. The rest of the
evening was spent chatting and drinking wine with the chocolate cake. It was a
fabulous end to my first week in Melbourne and I hope they were serious when
they said I could stay again as I am looking forward to my return visit
already!
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