Well a ridiculously long time has passed since the last entry, I have no excuse, I've just been preocupied.
So to bring anyone who is bothered up to speed we made it to Melbourne in 1 piece (or 2 pieces as there is 2 of us!) So end of the holiday and back to reality (kind of) in the hope of finding a job and somewhere to live.
We headed straight to St Kilda as we knew nothing about Melbourne really and thats also where our friend from Darwin lived so we thought it would be the best starting point.
St Kilda is quite a small tourist town, lots of little shops, bakeries and restaurants. The beach isn't much to shout about but that's probably because we where spoilt with the beaches we saw on route here. However you can walk for miles along it and there are some much better beaches to see as you do.
So to bring anyone who is bothered up to speed we made it to Melbourne in 1 piece (or 2 pieces as there is 2 of us!) So end of the holiday and back to reality (kind of) in the hope of finding a job and somewhere to live.
We headed straight to St Kilda as we knew nothing about Melbourne really and thats also where our friend from Darwin lived so we thought it would be the best starting point.
St Kilda is quite a small tourist town, lots of little shops, bakeries and restaurants. The beach isn't much to shout about but that's probably because we where spoilt with the beaches we saw on route here. However you can walk for miles along it and there are some much better beaches to see as you do.
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| Luna Park in St Kilda |
We made the decision to keep living in the camper until we found a place to stay but unfortunatly all the camp sites are miles out of the city which would have made finding work impossible so we ended up living on a side street next to the travel shop that our friend owned. (Cheap AZ Travel - you all need to book your trips through them!!!) Free rent but not much fun when you need a pee in the middle of the night. Fortunately we were able to get showered and have a caffine hit at Cheap AZ Travel of which I am forever grateful!
Finding a job with your address being "Side of the Road in St Kilda" was not easy so after hours of trawling Gumtree we spotted a studio apartment (bedsit for you Blighty folk) to rent in St Kilda. After a quick viewing and complete desperation for an address we handed over the deposit and moved in 2 days later.
Finding a job with your address being "Side of the Road in St Kilda" was not easy so after hours of trawling Gumtree we spotted a studio apartment (bedsit for you Blighty folk) to rent in St Kilda. After a quick viewing and complete desperation for an address we handed over the deposit and moved in 2 days later.
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| RIP Bob Hoskins |
The apartment was teeny tiny with the bed and kitchen in one room and the shower and toilet in the other. But it was a place to live and at least we could stand up in it which was a huge step up from the camper.
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| Our Beautiful Apartment |
One of our first exploring days of Melbourne was a visit to the film and TV museum which was pretty awesome. It showed the history of TV, film and computer games and there was so much to see and do. My favourite was probably making the bullet time matrix film with Wal. You could also play on old computer games and Wal was a happy man checking out the Mad Max car. A lot of it was based around Australian TV and Film so I was in my element learning about Prisoner Cell Block H! Ha!
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| I am the Monster |
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| Wal with the Mad Max car |
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| Loving 'The Freak' |
We went to see Future of the Left in Richmond which was cool. Pretty small venue with a good atmosphere. I didnt really see Wal through it as he got lost in the mosh pit but I'm pretty sure he had a good time!
St Kilda was proving difficult to find work in (mainly because its full of backpackers who also want work!) and a lot of places only wanted to employ locals so we had to start looking further out. The main problem with living i St Kilda is you are quite cut off from the rest of Melbourne and the buses/trams dont run that late which made finding hospitality work even harder. Luckily my friend Ruth who I worked with in Darwin put a good word in for me at a pub she was working at. Although it took nearly an hour to get to on the tram, it was pretty straightforward to get to and they where happy to let me go early enough to get the last tram home.
St Kilda was proving difficult to find work in (mainly because its full of backpackers who also want work!) and a lot of places only wanted to employ locals so we had to start looking further out. The main problem with living i St Kilda is you are quite cut off from the rest of Melbourne and the buses/trams dont run that late which made finding hospitality work even harder. Luckily my friend Ruth who I worked with in Darwin put a good word in for me at a pub she was working at. Although it took nearly an hour to get to on the tram, it was pretty straightforward to get to and they where happy to let me go early enough to get the last tram home.
The pub is called The Great Northern Hotel and its quite a traditional style pub, nothing fancy. They have good food and a great beer selection from all over Oz plus a couple of handpulled beers which is rare over here although you actulally pull them backwards?? (It was either fitted worng or the Aussies are just odd at pulling beer.......probably the latter)
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| The Great Northern |
I also managed to get a job at a mens shoe shop but I lasted a month before I quit......1. it was just the dullest job I have ever had and 2. it was taking me 3 and a half hours travel time for a 3 hour shift. Not for me.
Christmas and New Year pretty much came and went with minimal fun. Without sounding too miserable I can honestly say it was the worst Christmas I have ever had. We couldn't leave the apartment as we had hailstone the size of golfballs going on (Yes, weather can actually be shit in Oz!) and the TV signal had also gone because of the weather so I couldnt fullfil my one christmas wish that was to watch National Lampoons Christmas Vacation...... and I ran out of booze. (Stupid mistake never to be repeated again)
Christmas over here really isn't for me.....without friends and family it really does suck! On a lighter note we enjoyed our christmas dinner of sausages, mash, yorkshire puddings, gravy and best of all.......mushy peas! Yum.
Christmas and New Year pretty much came and went with minimal fun. Without sounding too miserable I can honestly say it was the worst Christmas I have ever had. We couldn't leave the apartment as we had hailstone the size of golfballs going on (Yes, weather can actually be shit in Oz!) and the TV signal had also gone because of the weather so I couldnt fullfil my one christmas wish that was to watch National Lampoons Christmas Vacation...... and I ran out of booze. (Stupid mistake never to be repeated again)
Christmas over here really isn't for me.....without friends and family it really does suck! On a lighter note we enjoyed our christmas dinner of sausages, mash, yorkshire puddings, gravy and best of all.......mushy peas! Yum.
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| The Tiniest Christmas tree in the World |
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| Wal's Christmas Beard.......its for the kids! |
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| Wal's Post Christmas Beard.......it now scares the kids |
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| Merry Christmas! |
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| Mmmm......mushy Christmas peas............ |
New Year is a vague vodka filled memory that I dont really recall except I think I was a fun killer as I got way too drunk way too quickly and then just wanted my bed. My last memory is feeling very clostrophobic in Federation Square and desperatly needing a pee.
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| Vodka is Baaaaaaad |
In the New Year Wal was still really striggling to find work, and as it seemed all the pub work was at the other side of the city, working until the wee hours in the morning, and as he had no way of getting back to St Kilda afetr about 12pm we decided to move into a room above the pub where I was working as the location was a lot better.
We had a good old battle with our landlady who was so sweet and innocent when we moved in and then a total witch when we wanted to move out. Im not going into detail as it will only get me mad but being screamed at (and I mean SCREAMED at) by a Lebonese psychopath at 11pm about a t-shirt that was hanging to dry does not make for a good landlady.
Anyway, within about an hour of us moving to the pub Wal had bagged himslef a full time job as a bar man at a bar called Sentido Funf (which means five senses in case you where wondering) in Fitzroy. It was a good move!
We had a good old battle with our landlady who was so sweet and innocent when we moved in and then a total witch when we wanted to move out. Im not going into detail as it will only get me mad but being screamed at (and I mean SCREAMED at) by a Lebonese psychopath at 11pm about a t-shirt that was hanging to dry does not make for a good landlady.
Anyway, within about an hour of us moving to the pub Wal had bagged himslef a full time job as a bar man at a bar called Sentido Funf (which means five senses in case you where wondering) in Fitzroy. It was a good move!
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| Sentido Funf |
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| Home in Carlton |
So since then things have been ticking over nicely, we have been finding more and more of Melbournes secret hang outs (which there are a lot of!). Melbourne is like a maze of alleys and hidden doorways so it can be quite difficult to find things unless someone tells you where they are but at the same time they don't seem to want to, it's like its all a hush hush little secret to the tourists.
There are some amazing weird pubs though when you eventually find them. My favourite being -
1. The Berlin Bar - Based on the divide between East and West Berlin, you have to ring the bell to get in and get past 'Checkpoint Charlie' then the bar is split in 2, The East Side side being run down with bunk-bed seats and bathtubs for tables and the West Side being an upmarket swanky cocktail lounge. Much fun.
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| Me in East Berlin |
2. The Croft Institute - Hidden down a long winding dark alley full of rubbish bins and graffiti, The Crofts groundfloor bar is based on a Chemistry Lab where you can buy test tube shots and has a very sterile, mental institution feel, the bathrooms have hospital beds and the top floor is an old gymnaisium. Very cool.
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| The Croft |
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| Having a lie down post pee! |
3. Curtin House Rooftop Bar - A huge Rooftop bar that is also an outdoor cinema. Its right in the middle of the city and you would probably just walk right past it not knowing it existed. Being on a rooftop and having fake grass it has a very open festival type feel to it.
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| Rooftop Drinking with Wal, Dunk and Julian |
4 .Section 8 - A bit of wasteland down an alley thats been converted into a bar. The bar itself is a converted shipping container, its has wooden pallets
for seating, old barrels for tables and Chinese lanterns, parasols and grafitti to make it look pretty. Not sure if its much fun in the rain though......
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| Section 8 |
5. Ponyfish Island - A floating bar right in the middle of the Yarra River underneath the footbridge. It's decked out with shipping palettes for seats, recycled bits and bobs, plants and whatever they could find I think!
Initially Melbourne seemed quite pretentious but its a really cool place to live and the longer I live here the more I have grown to love the place. Asthetically, its not a patch on Sydney but its just a great place o live....lot's of places to hang out, great shoppping and some of the best eateries you can find...... just generally a laid back and amazing place to be.
People always seem to complain about Melbourne weather but its been great for us. Summer was sunny and hot, Autumn was warm with the odd day of rain and now Winters kicking in its getting cold but the sun still shines. These Aussies don't know bad weather!
So other things to happen in the last 6 months.......Dunc flew over from Brisbane and we went to see Soundgarden and The Bronx which was awesome. Its always great seeing friends and family from back home. We got free tickets to Soundwave Festival courtesy of Col (Thank You!) and met up with him for beers and such.
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| Ponyfish Island |
People always seem to complain about Melbourne weather but its been great for us. Summer was sunny and hot, Autumn was warm with the odd day of rain and now Winters kicking in its getting cold but the sun still shines. These Aussies don't know bad weather!
So other things to happen in the last 6 months.......Dunc flew over from Brisbane and we went to see Soundgarden and The Bronx which was awesome. Its always great seeing friends and family from back home. We got free tickets to Soundwave Festival courtesy of Col (Thank You!) and met up with him for beers and such.
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| Reunion |
It's a strange thing seeing people from back home as it feels like you only saw them yesterday not over 18 months ago! Its also nice to be able to have a laugh without constantly being asked "What did you say?". An English person trying to be witty out here does not work.
Saran moved to Melbourne about 2 months back so we have another Yorkshire pudding to share the experience with which has been great. We are all looking to find a house to live in for the last 6 months we are here which will be fun. As cheap and easy as it is to live above the place you work I miss having a proper kicthen and a seperate living room. Also we have a crazy neighbour who has black teeth, steals our food and drinks at least 4 bottles of wine a day. Not fun.
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| Grrrrr......... |
I had a lovely visit from Mrs Mac in April. 4 days of drinking, fun and sightseeing, Although I had been here for 5 months we found hideouts even I hadn't seen. We took a trip along the Yarra River, visited the old Melbourne Gaol, the Botanical Gardens and visited a few of the quirky melbourne pubs. As awesome as it is to see people I hate it when they have to leave so felt quite sad after.
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| Me and Mama Mac |
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| Lynn and Steeeeve |
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| Getting arrested at the Gaol |
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| On a cruise on the Yarra River |
So happenings more recently, me and Wal booked a weekend off work and went to the Rites of Passage Tattoo convention which was great and made me want more work done! We had a good weekend of drinking, food and fun. A rare thing for a hospitality worker. Tuesday nights out are generally where its all at!
I also went to my first AFL game which was great fun. I didn't really have a clue what was happening half the time but I just cheered when everyone else cheered which seemed to work!
I also went to my first AFL game which was great fun. I didn't really have a clue what was happening half the time but I just cheered when everyone else cheered which seemed to work!
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| Me and Amy at the AFL |
I have done so much in the last few months I can't even seem to remember half of it which is terrible. I really need to keep on top of this. I have made some really great friends here too, naming Ros, Amy and James (Boob!) and the longer I stay here the more I don't want to leave!
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| Me Ros and Amy looking hot in the beloved Bruswick Hotel. |
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| Boob, Ros and Me (and shots.......and rum......and beer....) |
However, the Aussie Government doesn't seem to want me and Walster to stay so we will be leaving in October. Naturally I miss everyone back in the UK and am so excited to see everyone but you guys keep scaring me with how hard it is in the UK at the moment! Tell us positive stories to make us want to come back!
Note: Cols positive story on how beautiful Norfolk is strangely made us look forward to coming back! Cheers dude.
Note: Cols positive story on how beautiful Norfolk is strangely made us look forward to coming back! Cheers dude.
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| Norfolk......A beautiful place apparently |
So that's it I think. Im sure I've missed out a million stories but I'm getting old and my memories not what it was. I'm gonna try and keep on top of this like I used to so I don't forget anything.
Speak soon people..................
Speak soon people..................