Queen Victoria Market.
We arrived into Melbourne around 11am on Thursday, October 27th. Our flight out of LAX on Tuesday night was delayed about 2 hours - there was a runway down. At one point I looked at Allie and asked 'are we driving there?!' We taxied for a verrrry long time. We landed in Auckland, New Zealand first and (along with a big group of other people) sprinted to our gate to make the connecting flight to Melbourne. So - 14 hours to Auckland, 4 hours from Auckland to Melbourne and we made it! Once arriving in Melbourne we decided to walk from the bus station to our hotel - it felt like Everest. Only about 1 km (is what the guy told us), however he failed to mention we would be on a slight incline the whole time. Allie and I hugged the right side of the sidewalk (me with my HUGE backpack, her with her huge carry on), and could not figure out why people kept dodging us - we thought it was because of our huge packs. About 10 minutes into our walk Allie realized we needed to be walking on the LEFT hand side of the street! DUH. So good thing we got that figured out.
Our first day in Melbourne we walked down to Federation Square and into the Birrarung Marr park. Several people had told us it was an artsy city - this was evident by many public art displays - statues, artwork, etc. At about 4pm Aussie time, both Allie and I felt like we were drunk/got hit by a truck. Both of us were in a total daze - welcome to jet lag. We went to a greek restaurant for dinner and then went to bed at about 7:30pm.
The second day in the city we ventured out to Queen Victoria Market, which is the largest open air market in the Southern Hemisphere. And it was huge. We first entered into the fish and meat market which was totally overwhelming at 9am. Through the endless supply of meats, we found the fruits/vegetables first, then the clothing and gift items. After getting a cappuccino and a pastry, we walked around the market for a couple of hours and found jewelry, flowers, fresh fruit, eggs, vegetables, home goods, clothing, we even saw someone selling baby chicks and ducks! (Friends, anyone?). We ended up eating lunch at the market and took in the full lunch rush hour experience - tons of people everywhere and we sat down and took in all the sights with our meat pies. We saw a lot of school kids at the market, all of whom looked like they were straight out of a Harry Potter movie - full jackets and fancy shorts and matching socks. We later learned that all kids in Australia wear uniforms to school (public and private schools). Once people found out we were from the U.S., what was their first question to us? Who are you voting for? We couldn't believe it! We met people native to Australia, a couple ladies from the Philippines, New Zealanders, and they all had the same question. Too funny! After the market we walked to the library and then Carlton Gardens. From there, we went to Hosier Lane - a large alleyway filled with all kinds of different street art. There was a lot of amazing graffiti type art, beautiful portrait paintings, poetry - years and years of art piled on top of one another in this alleyway.
After exploring the sights of the city for a couple days we headed a bit north to see Allie's friend, Scotty, who plays professional soccer for the Melbourne City Soccer Club. She lived near La Trobe University, in a smaller town called Ivanhoe. It was fun to explore with Stotty because she was able to take us to some of her favorite cafes and shops a little further outside the city. This was also our first experience riding as passengers - and boy was it an experience. Stotty drove a teeny tiny Fiat - our big bags barely fit in it when she picked us up. But she gave us our first taste of what it will be like to drive on the other side. Luckily, Stotty also taught us how to say the town names properly so we only sound like tourists - not dumb tourists. So, it's pronounced Melburn (not born) and Can-bra (not bear-a). While visiting Stotty we were able to see one of her games, check out the university, meet some of her teammates at a house party (yes, they play Kings Cup over here too) and go to a wildlife sanctuary. Driving around the university with her was the first time we saw a kangaroo. We went back to the sanctuary in search of them (apparently there are 60 kangas in the sanctuary) but all we saw was an emu! We actually were in an emu off with a big old guy. We were close to the exit, had to get out before a certain time, and a thing the size of big bird was standing in our way blocking the path. Out of fear of getting pecked to death, we went around on another path, temporarily getting lost, reliving our childhood fears of Jurassic Park (there was barbed wire and high electric fence all around us you guys!) but we made it out with about five minutes to spare until closing.
Melbourne is considered to be the most livable city in the world. It is very walkable, clean, diverse, the people were friendly, there was a lot to do, and there were unique art displays and architecture everywhere. There was also a lot of graffiti - on buildings, shops, alleyways. Allie and I asked Stotty why there was so much vandalism. Stotty said they didn't consider it to be vandalism - to them it was an expression of art. A very unique perspective.
Highlights in Melbourne (in no particular order):
1. Melbourne Public Library - great architecture and design - the place made me want to go back to school just so I could study there.
2. Queen Victoria Market - an overwhelming experience of sights and smells - but great food and great people watching.
3. Federation Square - again a great place for people watching - it really seemed to be the heart of the city, with restaurants, bars, and the river walk close by.
4. Hosier Lane - an amazing collection of street art.
5. Carlton Gardens - a beautiful park with spectacular trees and gardens.
6. Brunswick street - slightly outside the city center - was a very unique area with a lot of art and cool shops and restaurants.
7. Wine! We got a 7 dollar bottle of wine at the grocery store - and it was delicious.
Lessons Learned:
1. Aussies not only drive on the left hand of the street - they also walk on that side too.
2. Everyone here is speaking English - but not really. We have heaps (lots) and sunnies (sunglasses) and mates (friends) and car hire (car rental) and trading hours (store open hours) and long black (black coffee).
3. All the food here has been very fresh and there are a lot of organic options (although we have managed to find heaps of chocolates and candy).
4. There are a ton of birds here - the most common kind seem to be these crow looking things - only they have white markings as well. When they chirp it sounds like a crying baby....not so pleasant.
5. They have kangaroo crossing signs here - no joke.
6. We haven't seen anyone throwing a boomerang yet - will keep you updated.
Thanks for following along!
Hosier Lane.
Downtown Melbourne.