Baths, Beach & Bands

I took my time getting up this morning, had a bit of a lie in, then got up and chatted to the Korean girl in my room, Jin. She was off on a trip and was really cold because she didn’t bring any warmer clothes with her, as it was sunny in Sydney where she lives and she had figured it would be the same temperature in Melbourne! I lent her my cardigan and she was ever so grateful!

Once up and ready, I headed to the City Baths – a beautiful old building, it and the swimming pool inside have been fully restored to their former glory, now with the addition of a sauna, spa and gym. Staying at the YHA entitled me to a free ticket, so I made the most of it! Not much is free in Australia (even the free wifi at Maccas always costs me a drink because I can’t stand the thought of being one of the cheeky gits who just swan in, sit down, surf, then leave – I always buy something!). Anyway, the pool itself isn’t massive and consists of lanes (in other words, it isn’t a ‘leisure’ pool – it’s for actually swimming in!) so I had a really good swim, which made me feel very healthy indeed! After about 40 mins swimming lengths, I decided to hop out and went and sat in the sauna - it was rather hot and a little boring, as it’s just a really hot room with benches to sit on and no one was speaking! I managed fifteen minutes in there before coming out and getting into the Jacuzzi. I also found that a little boring but I was kept entertained by watching a man trying to read a broadsheet newspaper in there, desperately trying not to get it wet and failing miserably in the process - how he thought it would be possible, I do not know, and the fact that he became particularly exasperated by it made the whole thing even funnier!

When I was out of the Jacuzzi, showered and changed, I went back to the hostel and collected my bits, then ventured on a real tram (with a ticket and everything!) to the city, where I even managed to change to a different tram and go to St Kilda to the beach! I was most impressed with myself for negotiating the transport system once again!

Next to the beach was Luna Park – a theme park identical to the one in Sydney. The beach itself was quite busy so I wandered along until I found a quieter beach, then realised it was the one people took their dogs on, but figured it would do. Like the beach I went to last week, the beach was really narrow which meant the path and road were right next to you. It was sunny and there was sand, so I couldn’t really complain though! I enjoyed spending the afternoon lying in the sun, chilling out and listening to my ipod. It was also quite a good place to people watch and dog watch!

When the sun started going down, there was a bit of a nip in the air so I made my way back to the tram stop, then to the city once again. Without getting lost! Woohoo!

Tonight was the night of the gig I was going to at a pub/alternative music venue just down the road from the hostel, so I went back to the hostel and got de-sanded , showered and ready for a night out. Jin came back from her trip and had thoroughly enjoyed it, saying that the cardigan had been a life-saver, as it had been really cold on the coach. She was so sweet and as a thank you, insisted on giving me a voucher for breakfast at the hostel!

I was a bit nervous going into the Arthouse by myself, but figured it would be ok and tried to be extra brave! The band I was due to see was ‘The Grain’ – my connection to this band being my colleague, Karen’s daughter, Deb’s brother in law, Vinny (how that bit should have been correctly punctuated is beyond me, apologies!). I had met Vinny at Deb’s wedding in 2008, he lives in Melbourne (as does his sister Vars, who I also met at the wedding) and Deb had helped he and I get in contact by the power of Facebook and it was then that he had told me about his band’s gig. Anyway, that is why I was there! So I went in, had a quick scan about the rather dim and sparsely populated room, but could not see anyone fitting the mental image I had from two years previous!

Brave face on, I went to the bar and ordered a drink, then stood there watching some people (who were definitely not Vinny) set up their instruments on the stage. I did the best impression I could muster of a look of ‘Yes, I am standing here by myself and I do not have a problem with that’ on my face. I am not sure if it worked or not, but before long I was chatting nonchalantly to a couple of people who knew the band that was about to play – The Impossible Cinema. They seemed quite cool, so I settled down and suddenly felt much less uncomfortable! This band started playing, they weren’t bad, but during their second song, a guy walked past me who I thought could almost be Vinny, only I recalled him as having facial hair and this guy didn’t.

When he walked back past me, I looked at him and said ‘Vinny?’ and he instantly said ‘Bonnie!’ and gave me a great big hug! Phew! I had come to the right place and found the right person! Turned out he had gone to a party at the weekend dressed in drag, so had shaved off his beard (you see, I knew he was supposed to have facial hair! Lol!). He then took me to meet his friends and other members of his band who were upstairs on the roof terrace and there I also found Vars. Soon we were all chatting together like we’d known each other for years and it was really nice.

I did have another OMActualG moment, when I was introduced to a Kiwi guy who asked where I was from and I gave my usual answer of ‘London, to the west, near Heathrow’ (I have learned that people have usually heard of Heathrow so find that easier to contextualise) and his response was ‘Not Uxbridge?’. OMActualG! The second Kiwi I have met with a connection to Uxbridge – how utterly mad! It turned out his mum was born and bred in Uxbridge, then met and married a Kiwi and emigrated years ago! Small, small world!

The Impossible Cinema finished playing and they came up to the roof terrace with the people I had been chatting to at the bar. Vinny and his band went off to set up for their set, so I carried on chatting to everyone and got on really well with them. I couldn’t believe how at ease I felt, compared to my feelings of trepidation earlier in the night.

We then went down to listen to The Grain and it was a really good gig. Lots more people were there than had been previously and the music was good. After they finished playing, we all returned to the roof terrace and continued our conversations long into the night, before I headed back to the hostel and crawled into bed exhausted but feeling like I had had a tip-top night and made a lot of new friends.

Andrew's Last Day in Melbourne

Had another slow start to the day, gathered things together, met Andrew and we headed out to have a look around Victoria Markets. It was a cloudy morning and there was a bit of a nip in the air, but it looked like it might clear up.

The markets themselves are no different to the markets you get in big market towns. It really reminded me of the big undercover Leicester market (ok, so you were kind of right JJ about Melbourne being like Leicester, but I like Leicester so it’s all good!). The inside bit was all meat, fish, cheese, bakery and confectionery, but the undercover outdoor bit was slightly more random, apart from the massive fruit and vegetable section.

The cloud started to burn off and we headed to Maccas for a spot of wifi, before continuing our wander into town. We took the City Circle tram for a bit so Andrew could see some of the bits of the city that he hadn’t already seen, but he kept falling asleep! Seeing as the tram was not conducive to staying awake, we decided to hop off and walk for a bit.

Our wandering ended up in the area near the town hall, where we were promptly pounced upon by people who wanted to harass us about going to see their show, as part of the Comedy Festival. We had various leaflets shoved at us, but we got accosted by two separate comedians, then after a conflab about what to do that evening we decided we’d give the comedy thing a try. As we hadn’t previously thought about it, so hadn’t researched, we couldn’t decide what to see, but it seemed like a good idea to go to one of the people we’d spoken to. This meant we flipped a coin between the person who had accosted me, and the guy who had done the same to Andrew. My comedian won, so after a bit more wandering, we headed to where he was going to be – the Portland Hotel – and had a drink in the bar.

The venue was unusual; they’d created a mini (very mini) triangular shaped room by using partition walling to section off the corner of one of the function rooms – they had done a couple of these in the same big room. It meant the stage was in the corner and the seats (maybe 40 max?) were all tightly packed in, to build up the rest of the triangle. So it was very cosy, to say the very least! Mark Trenwith was, to be honest, largely underwhelming. Some good comedy ideas but it was all a bit disjointed and a little awkward, especially seeing as we were practically sat on the stage with him. Either way, it was something to do, so we figured it wasn’t the end of the world and the tickets had been cheap.

On our way out, I spotted a poster that looked really cool, it was for another show that was on as part of the festival. We looked it up and it was starting five minutes from then. We had a decision-making moment, then plumped for legging it to the venue and seeing if we could still get in. It was a bit of a race against time, but we eventually arrived at the Swiss Club and got our tickets. We were amongst a bunch of latecomers and we were let in at an appropriate moment, so I think we only missed about 5 mins of the show. This did not matter. The show was ace! Josh Earl vs The Woman’s Weekly Birthday Cake Book. Classic! We laughed really hard and it made us forget about the fact that the first show was a bit pants.

When we left the show, we found a Mexican restaurant that looked pretty cool and had a delicious dinner, before staggering back in the direction of the hostel, full to the brim – but stopped off at Maccas first for a bit of wifi! Once back at the hostel, I bade Andrew a safe journey to NZ and went to bed, whilst he stayed up to make his way to the airport.

Neighbours Night!

A slow start this morning, got up a bit later than usual and went for a walk, ended up at Maccas and had a surf online. Meandered back to the hostel, got my bits and pieces together and collected Andrew for our afternoon walk to Brunswick Street.

It was a fair walk away from the hostel and meant we got to walk past the Melbourne Museum which is quite a pretty looking building. Brunswick Street is in an area of Melbourne known for being quite ‘boho’ because of its unusual shops, coffee shops and music/art scene. It was indeed quirky, but nothing that exciting, just good for a wander about really.

We stopped for a coffee and cake in a rather quaint coffee/chocolate shop and then continued mooching down the street and some of the other surrounding streets, before heading back to the hostel in a bit of a rush, so as not to miss our 5.45pm pick up.

Sure enough, at the given time, the Neighbours bus was waiting for us outside the hostel, it was very exciting! We hopped on the bus (Andrew in some form of disbelief at what he was about to do!) and the driver, Gerry, took us on a micro tour of the nearby hostels, picking up other patrons, before heading to St Kilda, to the Elephant & Wheelbarrow pub for the legendary Neighbours Trivia Night! Woohoo!

We all headed to the bar and grabbed a drink before queuing up expectantly outside the function room door and being seated. We were put on a table with two girls from Cornwall (Vicky and Mel), a girl from Oxford (Tammy), a guy from Ireland (whose name – alongside everything else he said – I couldn’t understand as his accent was waaaaay too thick!) and two guys from York (Tony and Biffo). We chatted about Neighbours and our different Oz experiences, we got on really well and were all very excited about the evening (even the guys were super excited!). We had to come up with a name for our quiz team and this took absolutely ages. I really showed my age (*cough*) when I suggested ‘Home James’ (the name of Helen Daniels’ limousine company) and all I got was a load of blank faces looking back at me – I don’t think the people on my table were even born when Helen Daniels was in the show! In the end we decided it had to be a name that ended in ‘fish’ (as in Toadfish, Stonefish etc), so we went with Buttonfish, as homage to Jenson’s win!

Eventually the host of the evening, Safari Pete, came out and got everyone all stirred up for Neighbours related fun. He then welcomed the special guests – Stu Parker (the really hot policeman who lived in the ‘House of Trouser’ with Toadie and Connor a few years ago), Janelle Timmins (a mum of a relatively recent family that I can hardly remember) and DR KARL KENNEDY!!!!! Very very exciting indeed! They answered some questions from the crowd and then Safari Pete got on with hosting the quiz (general knowledge with a few Neighbours questions thrown in for good measure!), whilst the stars floated around the room, meeting people, signing autographs and being photographed!

Our table was uber excited about meeting the stars (well none of us were that fussed about Janelle – it was all about Stu and Dr Karl! We did manage to answer the questions on the sheet whilst we were waiting, but then we all swooned when Dr Karl came to our table. It was very exciting! We all got our photos taken and also got autographs, we almost melted with excitement so then had to calm ourselves down! (I am aware that I have used the word excited a lot here, but it really was that exciting!) When Janelle came over, we all got her autograph and had photos with her, although we didn’t really want to, but thought it might hurt her feelings if we had not done so! Then Stu Parker (mega-swoon!) came over to our table, I think all the girls at the table dissolved into gibbering wrecks, only just about having the ability to say hello and smile for the camera!

After the quiz (which we didn’t win!), Safari Pete hosted some competitions and then it was time for the next part of the show – the one and only Paul Robinson singing live with Dr Karl’s band, Waiting Room! He was surprisingly good, much better than when he released that terrible single all those years ago! Again, I showed my age when the girls at my table asked what he was talking about (when he mentioned that song) and I explained about his somewhat major flop of a pop career – they couldn’t believe it and had absolutely no idea! Anyway, he sang some covers of rock and indie songs (no cheesy pop music!) and really got the crowd moving!

Once his set was over, it was time or Dr Karl to take to the stage! They were excellent and did a mixture of covers (including Kaiser Chiefs, Killers, Zutons) and some of their own material (including a song about Susan!). Again, everyone was really into the music and dancing about, they put on a really great show and Alan Fletcher (Dr Karl) is a genuine showman, giving it his all and seeming to enjoy every minute of the show. It really was a highly entertaining evening and everyone really enjoyed it, even those who might not be the biggest Neighbours fans.

When the show was over, I suddenly realised how utterly tired I was – dancing about like a loon really takes it out of you (once again showing my age!) so we said our goodbyes to the people from our table and then got a tram back, finding an interesting sculpture along the way and stopping at Maccas for a bit of late night wifi before heading back to the hostel.

Petrol Head Day 4 (The Big One!)

Got up really early and had a shower. Back in the room, Nolene was also up and gave me a lesson in how to put on compression stockings using a stocking aid - it was hilarious! She showed me the device and the stocking, told me about why she needed such stockings, then gave me a demonstration in how to use this contraption to put them on. I think she was going to offer me a try, but I got dressed pretty quick before she had the chance! I was sorry to hear that her and Linda were checking out, I think they could have been a good crack.

Once ready, we headed into town, picked up a Subway for lunch, then I stopped for a quick Starbucks whilst Andrew bought a radio. We jumped on a tram and headed to the track, locating our spot on the hill of corner 10. Even though we had gotten there really early, the hill was already incredibly full so we were lucky to get a good patch.

After the chillyness of yesterday I had worn jeans, but soon enough it was quite warm, despite the overcast sky, so I changed into my Aussie shorts. The weather changed continuously, one second drizzle, the next nothing, constantly on and off - I even had to get the umbrella out at one point!

We watched some different races and I curled up and had a sleep, waking up every now and again to see what cars were going past! I decided to watch the Mini race, which was quite good with a few spins etc on the wet ground. The V8 race was also full of spins, skids and a few bumps here and there, which made for entertaining viewing. The Australian Army Blackhawk helicopter display was good too - although it is a bit like having deja-vu as I have seen them several times now!

There were a couple of parades, where people I don't know were driven around the track in cars, waving out of the window. I waved back with everyone else, as it was the polite thing to do!

The roar of the F/A18 Jet punctured the air and again, another deja-vu experience, although one that never gets dull - this aircraft is very impressive indeed, and very loud too! On the screen we watched the presenters going around the pit lane, chatting to various drivers and showing the general hub-ub of the pre-race antics in the pits.

Next was another impressive aircraft display - as everyone was just finishing singing the Australian national anthem, the immense bulk of a plane flew low over the field, the A380. Not as noisy as the F/A18, but a definite rumble nonetheless. It was flanked by a load of other little planes (I think they might have been the RAAF Roulettes) and it was quite surprising just how close together they were. They turned and flew back over, then the little planes all pulled away from the A380 and did some spins. It was really cool.

This signalled the fact that the 2010 F1 Quantas Australian Grand Prix was about to begin. There was much excitement on the hill and everyone stood up in anticipation. We watched the screen and when the starting lights went out, everyone cheered!

The race itself was really exciting and the constant on/off drizzle certainly added a lot of drama to the event. At least it wasn't cold like yesterday and the rain didn't really make a difference to spectating. The position we had from the hill meant we saw several cars slide off the track and into the gravel, plus a few near-misses. The straight that followed our corner seemed to be where quite a lot of overtaking (and a couple of crashes) took place, so it was great seeing them jostling in front of us to try and get into position just before they made their attempt.

There was much cheering whenever the favourites went past (Webber, Button, Hamilton and Schumacher), this did not dwindle throughout the race. There were major cheers when Vettel went off! It was nice seeing everyone genuinely wanting Webber to win! As the race was drawing close to finishing and there was the tussle between Webber and Hamilton, the atmosphere and cheers got even more intense, they went past our hill and very shortly afterwards had their clip which ruined it for both of them. The crowd were exasperated! Even so, as Button crossed the line, the cheers were again resounding across the hill and for as far as I couls see and hear!

As they did their final parade lap at the end, they drove real slow (well comparably!), waving as they went - our hill had lots of Union Flags flying so Button slowed down and gave our hill a really good wave! It was very cool indeed!

Once they had done the champagne shower, the safety car went past which signalled that we could go on the track. Many people clambered over the barrier and onto the hallowed ground, we followed suit and walked around the track, all the way to the starting grid and pit lane. Along the way, a convoy of trucks went past, each with a very battered looking F1 car on the back, looking very sorry for itself! As I walked, I looked for 'marbles', once I knew what they were, I realised that there were indeed a lot of them about!

We had a look down the pit lane and saw them wheeling cars about. We then went onto the starting grid and wandered around. There was a massive crowd at one point, so I figured there must be something interesting going on, so I investigated. Lots of people were crowding round a guy and having their photo taken with him. I didn't know who he was but figured it must be a driver and so managed to get my photo taken with him too before he was whisked off. I am reliably informed that it was Nico Hulkenberg who drives for Williams! I don't know how impressive that is, but you can see how excited I was at the time - certainly caught up in the moment! We had another look at the pits, this time from a bit closer but there was not a lot going on.

Next we headed over to where the concert was going on, again were underwhelmed by the first band, so went for another wander, before heading back over to watch the headliners - Simple Minds. They had pulled a major crowd, but we were not particularly fussed about watching them and also it had started to rain again, so figured it would be best to start making tracks - obviously there were a lot more people to transport today and we were not sure how long it would take to get a tram.

It wasn't too bad getting away from the circuit and once back in the city, we headed to Chinatown and had some dinner before making our way back to the hostel, totally shattered and surprisingly not deafened by all the noise of the last four days. I decided that F1 is indeed cool to watch in action... hmmmm - where next?!?

Petrol Head Day 3 (the gears are turning!)

After a very sleepless night and a kerfuffle in the morning with my room, we did not leave for the circuit until after 11.30am. Along the way we picked up a Subway to take with us and have for lunch, then hopped onto a tram to Albert Park.

When we arrived, we found our way to the hill on corner 10 and set up camp. It was much busier than the day before, but we could still see the track well enough. We saw the Mini Challenge race which was quite entertaining, then the RAAF Roulettes doing their aerial display. Next up was the third and last F1 practice session and again everyone cheered a lot whenever Webber, Schumacher, Button or Hamilton went past, but it was more or less silent for everyone else.

It was spitting with rain which again caused some problems for the cars. Having had no sleep, I was struggling to stay awake, so after about half an hour of the start of the F1 practice, I curled up on the blanket and fell asleep! I was woken up by a big 'Ooooh' from the crowd and when I sat up, I looked at the screen and saw a big smash - but not with F1 cars, it was the GTs! It turned out I'd been asleep for over an hour and had somehow managed to remain asleep with the F1s whizzing past just a few metres away from me and I wasn't even wearing ear plugs! I had also missed the 2seater F1 Minardis. The crash at the start of the GT race was quite significant so they had to red-flag the race.

After that, I had a bit more of a doze, saw a few bikes go round the track and then couldn't help but watch the RAAF F/A18 Jet display, which was deafeningly loud but also just as impressive as it was yesterday. It continued to drizzle and was quite chilly.

Next up was qualifying. It was quite an electric atmosphere - people getting very excited! Again, there were lots and lots of cheers for Webber whenever he went past. He got some good times too which caused much cheering! Cheering too for Button, Hamilton and Schumacher. When Hamilton got knocked out of the final 10, leaving him in 11th place on the grid, there was also much cheering - so people are obviously quite fickle! However the cheering for Webber's final starting grid position (2) achieved even more cheers than that!

Once qualifying was over, the V8s started racing again so we watched that for a while, then took a walk and headed to the V8 paddock, where we saw them bringing the cars into their bays after the race, for the mechanics to start working on them. We continued walking, had a look at the Minis, then mooched around and headed to the concert area. The first band were slightly underwhelming, so we carried on walking and went to the Fabio stand. Seeing as the racing was over for the day, it seemed that we were ok to go into the stand and take a look at the views - the lucky (rich!) people with tickets for this stand have great views of the pit lane and starting grid. We could see mechanic-type people milling about in each of the pits and some of the cars under their covers.

We then meandered back to the concert area and watched the main act for a couple of songs - Powderfinger; apparently a very popular band in Australia - they certainly pulled a big crowd. Again we were slightly underwhelmed (plus a bit cold and wet), so decided to head back on the tram. Once back at the hostel, I had to move into my new room (now on the top floor), then grabbed my computer and headed out for a bit of late-night Maccas wifi.

When I got back to my new room, the other occupants had also just got back - two old Aussie ladies called Linda and Nolene. They were really sweet and told me all about their exciting night out seeing Mamma Mia, chatting to me like we'd known each other forever! Sweet!

Petrol Head Day 2 (fumes getting stronger)

Got up earlyish and got stuff together for the day before meeting up with Andrew and heading out.

First port of call was a man-shop to buy man-shorts; he'd managed to forget to bring any shorts and we figured it was going to be too warm for jeans. Once shorts were selected and purchased, we stopped in a cafe for some breakfast, admiring the coffee art (pretty pattern created in the milk), then carried along our way to the GP tram stop.

There were visibly more people in town wearing GP related paraphernalia, all heading towards the direction of the tram stop. Despite this, it wasn't too hard to get on the tram, although it was definitely busier than yesterday. We arrived at Gate 2 and headed into Albert Park.

After consulting the map we decided to head towards a hill on corner 5 where we positioned ourselves with a good view of the track and a big screen. It was gloriously sunny, so I enjoyed catching some rays as we waited for the excitement to begin. Again the place was filled with school kids, who were rather noisy and overexcited! The first practice session began and the air was filled with the sound of very fast cars going very fast indeed! They went round comparitbly slowly on their first circuit, then after that they went at an astonshing pace. There was a bit of a crash just short of corner 5 which caused some excitement, but everything else seemed to go smoothly. The school kids all ran around screaming like banshees and trying to chase the cars, which was quite funny to watch!

Once the first practice session was over, there was a display of the Australian Army Blackhawk helicopters which was very good - they danced about in the air like they were as light as feathers. Following that, we gathered our bits together and headed for a bit more of a walk around the track.

We came to another area where we had a mooch around the stands and Andrew tried his hand at the pit stop speed challenge, where you have to change the wheel on a F1 car. He teamed up with a random guy who had already attempted it. They actually did really well - 9.9secs (the current fastest time was 3.8secs but apparently anything below 15secs on a first attempt is really great!).

The sun had gone in and the cloud was starting to sneak its way across, but it remained warmish. We got chatting for a while to 3 guys (Aussie & Kiwi) about the race and different drivers. Then our conversation was halted as the RAAF F/A18 Jet started its display and the sound that it made drowned out everything else. It was pretty impressive as it twisted and turned in the air, turning on itself in a really tight circle. To end the display, it just shot up vertically and kept going until it was no longer visible, hidden by the clouds.

Noticing a distinct dip in temperature, I decided it was a good time to buy my F1 hoodie, which propmtly went on! We then found a patch on corner 10 and settled to watch the second F1 practice session. From this spot we had a better view of the cars as they had to come round the corner and then the next, before heading off along the straight. It started to drizzle very gently which created a bit of a problem for some of the cars.

Ater the F1s, it was the turn of the V8s, but moments into the race, there was a massive smash and the race got red-flagged. That was quite dramatic!

We packed up and headed back to the city on the tram. On the walk back to the hostel I saw some more possums and there was another awesome sunset. We decided a trip to the cinema was in order so once we dumped our stuff and made our way to the Melbourne Museum where we saw Alice In Wonderland in 3D at the IMAX. It was really good and I was very impressed, well worth the wait. On the way back to the hostel, stopped for a quick bit of wifi at Maccas as I was suffering withdrawal.

Petrol Head Day 1 (well not really!)

Had real trouble dragging myself out of bed this morning. Eventually got myself together and walked, slowly, down to Maccas for a drink and surf. I think my excessive walking yesterday has caught up on me – my feet are still really sore and my right Achilles is particularly bad, so I think I must have been walking slightly comedy. After walking a little bit further, I had to hop on a City Circle tram as it was too painful to walk the whole way and I figured I would have to walk quite a lot at the other end.

This tram took me straight to where I needed to pick up the other tram from and within moments it arrived. This was not a City Circle tram, instead one of the more modern ones, and whizzed me through to St Kilda. I managed to get out at the wrong station, so then walked back the way it had come to go to the right Gate.

I didn’t really know what to expect – lots of petrol heads I guess, instead I saw hundreds and hundreds of children all out on school trips it would seem! After making my way through all them, I found the petrol heads! I had a mooch around for a bit, I didn’t really know where to go and somehow I hadn’t previously got a grip on how big the place would be – it is massive! Suddenly the sun seemed to turn itself up a few notches and it was scorching hot. I saw a bridge and crossed over, as I did, a load of very noisy cars shot underneath it – the V8s.

From the other side of the bridge, I could see the lake, more school kids and petrol heads! I came across the Support Paddock, where there were lots and lots of cars. I believe they were Formula 5000 and Formula Ford cars – old ones and new. I could see lots of people looking at me funny – I think I must have stood out like a sore thumb, seeing as I was neither a school kid or petrol head. Next to this paddock was Centre Circuit where there were places to sit and get refreshments.

I walked through a section called ‘Little Italy’( which was exactly that!) and across the lake on a pontoon (which I fear may sink when lots of people start walking on it!). On that side was another set of entertainment and a Kids Zone (more school kids!), along with a F1 wheel change competition and Harley Davidson riding challenge. It was getting hotter and hotter by the minute and I felt a bit overwhelmed by the place (it’s just so big!), so I went back across the pontoon and sat on a bench by the lake for a bit.

After a while, I made an executive decision – to go to the beach! I made my way back through the school kids, cars and petrol head to the entrance – seeing a load more big, loud cars go out in convoy from the paddock to the track along the way - and then used my powers of navigation to work out which direction I needed to go in order to find the beach. Surprisingly, I was correct!

As I walked to the beach, I went past lots of houses, in terraces. It was really interesting because each house looked very different and many had the ornate decoration around them. Some looked more modern, but the vast majority of the houses were very old (for Australia!) and rather cute.

Once at the beach, with the gentle breeze coming off the water, it felt a bit cooler, so I installed myself on the sand and chilled out with only my ipod and thoughts for company. It felt very relaxing and serene as there were very few people there, despite it being a main beach right next to the main Esplanade. As odd as it may seem, even though the serenity was broken by the sound of the V8 engines hammering around the track, it did not alter the relaxation I found whilst laying on the sand.

After a while, I became very aware of an old man standing quite close to me, looking up in the sky. He stood like that for some time and I did wonder what on earth he was doing, then I heard a new noise and looked around to see what it was. Suddenly, zooming over the tops of the houses and over the beach were 6 planes – it was the RAAF Roulettes! They flew in formation and the old man got snap happy with his camera. By the time I had fumbled around for my camera, they had whizzed past and were somewhere in the distance, but then shot back over, reformed into formation and headed back towards the circuit. It was quite impressive, I only wish I had been expecting it so maybe I could have gotten a decent photo!

Back to chilling on the beach for a bit longer, then I noticed that the few people on the beach had left and instead it seemed to have been taken over with people doing various fitness-related activities - hundreds (and I really do mean hundreds) of people running, power walking, cycling along the Esplanade and beach. I felt guilty being sat still! The sun was starting to go down and I figured that probably meant that lying on the beach in a bikini might not be so appropriate, so I got ready to leave, but got sucked into watching the sunset. It was seriously beautiful. Sunsets have never moved me before, but the ones I have seen so far this trip have all blown me away. The sea burnt red and orange and as the light danced off the surface, it looked like a sea of fire.

Once I was sure there was no more sun to set, I found my way back to the tram stop by the circuit and headed back to the city. I got out at Southern Cross Station and followed my internal navigation (and map!) back to the hostel, where I got showered and changed before heading back out to the Drunken Poet. I was warmly welcomed by Siobhan, she even greeted me by name! There was a different artist singing tonight – Francesca something – she was really good too and I enjoyed listening to her sing whilst supping on a pot of Cooper’s.

Shortly after 10pm, I got a call from Andrew who had just arrived at the airport, so I finished my drink and left the pub to meet him from the station. On the way I was thinking to myself that I hadn’t seen a possum since being in Oz, then I saw one! It was up a tree - I was very excited and stopped to look at it. Then another one joined it, so I looked at that too. I carried on walking and before I knew it, there were possums everywhere, in the trees, next to the trees, hanging off the trees, climbing up the trees – I’ve seen enough possums now to last me the whole trip!

When Andrew arrived, I navigated us back to the hostel where he checked in and tried to move his bags into his room without waking his sleeping room-mates! Next we went back downstairs and formulated our plan of action for the morning and day ahead. As much as I enjoy it, I am really not looking forward to lots more walking, my feet are seriously killing me! Oh well, needs must!

Nuts About Neighbours!

Ignored my alarm when it went off this morning and got up an hour later, again due to a slightly sleepless night. Remembering my plans for the day through my bleary-eyedness inspired me to get up and soon I was showered and dressed, packing my bag all for the excitement to come.

When I got outside and walked around the corner from the hostel (the right corner, once again!) I looked up and saw an immense black cloud, so decided it might be best to go back and pick up my umbrella, just in case! If I had it but didn’t need it that would be far better than needing it and not having it!

I popped into Maccas on my way into town, for a quick drink and an equally quick surf, before continuing on my journey, deciding to walk and not take the tram as I had plenty of time and would enjoy the walk – despite the dark cloud I had seen on leaving the hostel, no further sign of it ensued and instead it was very sunny indeed. Perambulating around Melbourne is pretty interesting and very varied (once you have the hang of it and don’t get lost!), especially when you pass through the different sectors. I arrived at the tour office at 12.00, with plenty of time to spare, so just chilled out (not online for a change!) looking at some of the props, photos and signage from everyone’s favourite street.

Half an hour later we were herded onto the Neighbours Tour bus and began our journey to ‘Erinsborough’! Our guide/driver was Sophie, a girl from Wales, and the vast majority of those of us on the bus were from the UK – I think 4 out of 24 were Aussie, the rest Brits! Along the way, Sophie told us lots of interesting facts about Neighbours – for example Erinsborough is an anagram of Neighbours, only they are Aussies so don’t entirely understand the concept of anagrams which meant they added an extra ‘o’ and ‘r’ to make it work better, people stay the same age in Ramsey Street until the writers see fit to increase their ages – usually because a party is necessary in the script, the number of extraordinary things that happen to these everyday people is incredibly unfortunate! To highlight this, Sophie put a DVD on for us of the episode where Toadie marries Dee and then they drive off a cliff!

Our first visit was to Erinsborough High School which was a bit underwhelming to be honest, because it really didn’t look like it and they don’t shoot there anymore, but a few bits were a bit more recognisable, albeit without the EH crest above the main door or on the front gate!

Next stop was the studio, where we got to walk around outside Grease Monkeys, the Bric-a-brac store and Carpenter’s Mechanics (I don’t know if they use these sets anymore, they’re pretty old-school!) but we also saw a new set they have just finished (I don’t think it’s been aired yet), but sadly we couldn’t go into the new Lassiter’s set as they were using it. We also saw all the cars from the street – including Libby’s and Susan’s, but I wouldn’t have known that if they hadn’t pointed them out to me! Sophie also showed us where they use the general exterior of the studio building for generic shots – when it’s supposed to be the hospital, police station etc.

After that we headed just five minutes around the corner to Pin Oak Court – aka RAMSEY STREET! It really was a lot smaller than it looks on tv! We got out of the bus and wandered around the street – they had been filming there in the morning, so if I had been on the earlier tour I wouldn’t have been able to go up the street at all. Each of the six houses looks the same as on tv, only Sophie pointed out that the number of each of the houses was different to its corresponding house on the show. Their letter boxes each have the actual number (eg ‘2’) on the right hand side, leaving them the space to screw the additional ‘2’ in front of it. We all enjoyed being on ‘the street’ and listening to some more facts about the show. I couldn’t believe I was standing in the same spot as where Kylie and Jason once had! Eeek! It made me want to start watching again properly (I have seen a couple of episodes so far along my travels).

Next, Sophie took us to St Kilda, showing us the rest of the drama of Toadie’s wedding and also a documentary about the show. Once at St Kilda, we hopped off the bus (right next to Luna Park) and there to meet us was Patrick Harvey the actor who played Connor O’Neill (the Irish one who was friends with Toadie) a few years ago. We chatted to him for a bit, got photos and autographs, before once again getting back on the bus and heading back to the city, watching the rest of the documentary along the way.

Once back we said our goodbyes and I waltzed off with a spring in my step – I’ve been to Ramsey Street!!! Feeling upbeat, I thought I would seize the moment, so popped into Peterpans and booked my flight to New Zealand and also the first leg of my NZ bus tour. That done, I jumped on a tram down to Federation Square, where I went and enquired about transport to the GP and picked up some maps of self-guided walking tours.

Looking at the time and still feeling quite energetic, I selected a walk to do – along the Yarra River, past things of sporting significance and along to the Royal Botanical Gardens. It was a lovely walk, although it was a bit perilous as it was a bit of a game of chicken walking along the paths, with pedestrians, cyclists and runners all vying for a space!

The walking tour itself took me past the Melbourne equivalent of the London Eye (a bit like Brisbane’s but even more underwhelming!) and lots of sculptures. Whilst stood looking at the wheel, I could hear tranquil sounds but did not know where they were coming from. I figured it must be the general Zen-like serenity inside my head, but then read a bit further in my walking guide and realised it was actually the sound of the Federation Bells, which I then came upon – an array of bells on poles which seem to sound in a purposeful, beautiful tune, although I am yet to find out how they work! Next to the calmness of the bells was a rather contradictory space – Speakers’ Corner, the difference between this and our own Speakers’ Corner in London being that you don’t have to bring a soap box or milk crate, they have mounds there, ready to be spoken from.

Next was a lot of sport stuff – the place where a bit racquet sport event is held, the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground), Olympic Park and some other sporty things which I took photos of but not really knowing what the hell they were and not really caring either. Sport places of significance to people other than me. I won’t tell any Aussies that I said that!

The walk then took me across the bridge and into the Botanical Gardens. The walk through was pretty, obviously the gardens were not a patch on somewhere like Kew, but it was the greenest space I have been to so far and the ornamental lake was pretty – made from original turns in the river. It was also possible to see the Governor’s house, which looked quite magnificent against the backdrop of the gardens.

Back out onto the path next to the river and I walked a way along ‘The Tan’ – a dirt running track which seemed very popular. By this time, it was about 6pm, so people would have gotten home from work and were now onto their fitness regime – very popular it seems amongst the Aussies! Along the river itself I then came across a lot of barbeques – for public use, so as to sit and enjoy an evening meal whilst overlooking the river. I thought that seemed like a nice idea and saw one family doing exactly that. I also noticed that as well as being peak time for recreational jogging, it also seemed the prime time for rowing training – with boat after boat flying past, with a man on a bike cycling along next to it, barking instructions down a loud haler! This was then cemented by finding a selection of boat clubs as I neared the point where I had started.

I crossed the river once more and found myself back at Federation Square, both rather hot and quite tired! After walking a little way along the direction towards the hostel, I decided a quick drink was in order (in Maccas!) along with a quick surf.

The rest of my walk took me through Chinatown and as I passed each of the food-outlets, the smells invited me in, but I resisted... for a while. By the time I was nearing the top end of Chinatown, I could resist no longer so resolved to stop and have some dinner, this proved difficult as each place I passed was packed out with people (a good sign!). I had given up hope when I came to the end of the Chinatown run, but then came across one place all by itself. It looked nice enough so I went in and ordered my food from a lady speaking very little English, using a menu of pictures and words written in a symbolic language I couldn’t determine! I got lucky and the noodle dish that arrived was rather nice.

I noticed that it was now dark outside and was surprised when I realised it was almost 9pm. When I had first arrived and gone for my walk on Monday, I had passed a tiny pub that looked cool and the sign had mentioned live music, so I thought it might be a good idea to pop in there on the way back to the hostel.

As I neared the Drunken Poet music emanated from the open door, I went in and immediately saw the person who was creating the sounds - a beautiful girl with a keyboard. I sat at the bar and enjoyed listening to her sing, whilst supping on a pot of Coopers. Her name was Ann Vriend and she sang several songs, mostly her own, interspersed with telling us the stories behind her songs, about life in Canada and being on the road touring. The pub itself turned out to be an Irish pub, run by a really lovely woman called Siobhan. I decided to try a Guiness, she guaranteed it was the best you can get in Melbourne – as close to the Guiness from home as it is possible to get. It was indeed not bad at all and I chilled out chatting to Siobhan and an Irish guy called Jimmy who told me all about the music scene in Melbourne.

Feeling slightly weary and realising that my feet were now complaining about how weary they also were, I headed back to the hostel and to bed.

Tramtastic!

After my rather late night, I surprised myself this morning when I woke up late at 10am, probably due to itchy legs keeping me awake!

Got myself together, packing my day sack as if I was going on a mega-mission; I didn’t really know where I was going, but figured I should be prepared! I made my way back the way I had (correctly) gone last night and thankfully found my way fine (I think I have got the hang of this route now, so shouldn’t get scarily lost again, fingers crossed!). On seeing the golden arches, I figured it would be rude not to stop in there especially as I had packed my netbook! After a latte and a bit of surfing, I continued on my way, this time with a purpose; to find the City Circle tram – why was this? Simple, it costs nothing!

Once again, I surprised myself by finding the tram stop relatively easily, although it did involve standing rather precariously in the middle of a dual carriageway with cars, trams and buses whizzing about in every direction. I just hid behind some Japanese tourists who seemed to know what they were doing, and waited for the tram!

I didn’t really know what to expect from a tram, having only been on one a couple of times many moons ago, somewhere in Europe, and looking about in Melbourne, there are all sorts of different types of tram. The City Circle tram is, however, a delight – I think they must have dragged them out of a museum or something, as they are very archaic compared to the bright yellow modern things that I also saw buzzing about. The tram was a kind of burgundy colour and really cute inside, with wooden panels and brass fittings. Lovely!

As there was no plan, I figured I had better come up with one, pronto! So the plan was formed – go around the circle on the tram, then hop off at a relevant place and find the place where you collect Grand Prix tickets from, then work out the next bit of the plan! So around I went! And even better, there was a kind of semi-informative voice-over thing going on telling you to “look to your right/left” etc, however it was not always possible to see what it was talking about as the tram might have already gone past it! Even so, it was really cool - a great way to have a quick-ish tour of part of the city and make mental notes as to what to go back to at a later point in time.

Once I had done the full circuit, I plumped for jumping off the tram at the top of Exhibition Street – the ticket office was somewhere on this very long street, so I figured it would be best to just start walking along it from one end. My plan worked and I soon was in the ridiculously long queue in the ticket office! Twenty minutes later and I was the proud possessor of a pair of 4 day Australian Grand Prix tickets, complete with lanyards! Right, what next? I hadn’t planned this bit, but decided it was a nice enough day, so I might as well go for a walk and just head along the rest of this road, all the way to the bottom! This made for an interesting walk, past loads of theatres showing performances of things I could see in the UK if I so desired.

I had a look at my map and noticed that with a slight detour, I could walk to the Parliament House building (which I had seen from the tram), so I headed in that direction and took in a landmark! I felt quite the Japanese tourist with my camera around my neck. Seeing as I had quite enjoyed walking the last section, I decided to just walk the same route as the tram and see the same sights close up. Federation Square seemed a lot bigger when I got to it, very vibrant, modern architecture, a stark contrast next to Flinders Street Station; a beautiful old building glowing almost orange in the sunshine. I continued along the same road, coming to some old railway arches, all turned into shops now, but the original ornate decorative brickwork made me stop and have a good look. A little further along and I came to a point where I could see the Yarra River, overlooked by many gleaming tower blocks and a fair few pieces of art and sculpture. Sticking out of the water I saw what looked like three giant sharks fins; this made me smile as they did look very comedy, however I still am not sure if they were also pieces of art, or whether they were some technical pieces of engineering-related equipment (or were they in fact the fins of three giant sharks... who knows?!?!).

Eventually I came to Peterpans (a nationwide backpacking travel agent I have been using to make bookings, thus entitling me to free internet access!) so I stopped there for a bit of a rest and a bit of a surf online!

Rest break over, I fancied getting on the tram again, so headed a bit further along the circuit before hopping out at a point that had caught my eye earlier, on the Docklands. Amongst all the big glassy buildings (housing massive companies such as NAB and Channel 7), they have put more art installations and one in particular had leapt out at me on my first tram journey of the day – imaginatively entitled ‘Cow Up A Tree’; the rather square cow looking out helplessly across the river whilst enveloped by a spindly tree. Lovely. I took the opportunity to appreciate the view myself, imagining what it would look like from up the tree; not bad I reckon – the cow has it good.

I meandered along the road a little further, taking in the sights, before getting back on the tram and making my way back to the main hub of Federation Square. This time I decided to take a walk up some of the roads that the tram had not passed along, so as to see the array of shops and cafes. The Melbourne Comedy Festival is about to begin, so there are little mini theatres all over the city, some open air, some not - may have to check one out. I also saw some of the beautiful churches randomly squeeze in amongst the pop culture of shops such as ‘Sportsgirl’ and ‘Supre’. After taking a few turns here and there, I came upon a sight I had not seen since Brisbane – Starbucks! I figured a treat was in order so I bought a drink and walked back to Federation Square, where I sat amongst the slightly bohemian mix of people, but electing to sit on a step next to some Astroturf (it’s not real grass, making it just about bearable!) rather than one of the many deckchairs which formed a large rectangle of blue and white stripes in the middle of the square. I connected to the free wifi for a short while, whilst supping my beverage, before starting the walk back.

On the way back to the hostel I stopped once again in Maccas for a spot of wifi, which turned into quite a long session (including chatting to JJ – not for the first time today – I do so miss you, JJ!) and before I knew it, it was practically bed time and on looking out of the window, I noticed how dark it was outside! It was also pretty chilly in comparison, but I wasn’t complaining. Thankfully my confidence in my navigation earlier on in the day was confirmed and I made it straight back to the hostel without getting lost!

Back in my room I chilled out for a bit before chatting to an older lady from New Zealand, apparently she has been here a while, I just have not seen her yet, although sadly she is leaving tomorrow. She gave me some top tips for NZ and I realised it was really nice speaking to someone again! Big day tomorrow, best get some shut eye...

B - Striking Out On Her Own!

After another night without sleep, due to excessive thinking and legs on fire from itching, I dragged myself out of bed and put away my final few bits and pieces before my airport transfer at 8am. When I got dressed, I realised my trainers were still soaked through from the impromptu shower we'd had the night before, but there was not a lot I could do about that! I said my goodbyes to JJ, which was really hard indeed, then headed to the pickup bus, with both wet feet and a slightly soggy heart.

The journey to the airport was not too long and gave me another chance to pontificate about the times I had shared with JJ and what was to come. Cairns airport itself is tiny and it took absolutely no time at all to check in and drop my bag off, before heading into the terminal (if you can call it that!). I was horrified not to be able to connect to a wifi network, so this gave rise to more time to pontificate (and try and ignore my itching legs) whilst waiting to board the plane.

I had chosen to sit right at the very back of the plane, a wise move as it meant I had more space, although there was a moment when I thought a screaming baby was going to sit rather close, but thankfully they moved! The flight took 3 hours and was incredibly non-eventful as there was no tv or anything, so it meant I just sat there with my own thoughts for company.

On arrival in Melbourne, I amazed myself at my ability to not panic or get lost and instead managed to find my baggage and get on a bus to take me to the city, then onto another bus to transfer me to the hostel. Wow!

The YHA is ok, not as nice as the Brisbane one, but good enough! I had a lay down to chill out and read my Lonely Planet, making some mental notes of things I might like to do. Then I went up to the top of the building, to the roof terrace which had a rather nice view across the city. I then realised that the temperature difference between here and the East Coast was quite significant! It wasn't too bad, just not baking hot. I can't complain, it is still shorts-worthy! The guy at reception had mentioned a special travel evening tonight at 7.30, with info and an auction, so I thought I might check that out.

As I had a bit of time, I decided to be super brave and go for a little walk! I followed my little map obsessively, making my way towards what appeared on the map to be a pretty central spot where I might be able to locate a Maccas for free wifi! Along the way I passed a cool looking pub, closed on Mondays, called the Drunk Poet - looks worth checking out later in the week. I also saw 2 Smart cars - woohoo! I then came across Queen Victoria Market - a massive market which again I will have to check out later in the week. I managed to navigate my way back to another main road and struck gold - golden arches to be precise! Excellent! Noticing the time, I headed straight back to the hostel for 'Safari Johnno's Travel Show', trying to remember this route which was much more direct than the route I had taken to get to that point.

Safari Johnno's Travel Show was a slightly tongue-in-cheek sales method, where he took us on a virtual tour of Australia with a Powerpoint presentation, telling us about some of the famous spots, random facts, places to go, places to miss. The sales patter was interspersed with auctions for some of the trips he was selling. Despite the fact that there were quite a few people watching the show, hardly anyone bid on anything. I got lucky and bid on a 500km Greyhound pass, worth $104 - paying just $35, thought it might come in handy if I want to make a little journey somewhere (let's face it, 500km is a trip to the shops for some people here!). Then I got even luckier - Safari Johnno asked a question about something he had previously mentioned (to see if we were listening!) and I was the only person who knew the answer, winning me: a tin of beans, 2 koala keyrings, a bar of Fruit & Nut, some drinks vouchers, an hour of YHA internet (worth $4) and a ticket to do a tree top walk (worth $20!). So not a bad haul really, considering it was just for remembering that he had said the Great Ocean Road was built between 1919-1932 (there you go, a random fact!). After the show, I also bought from him a ticket for the Neighbours Trivia Night (I paid $20 instead of $40 - bargain, and very very exciting!).

By this time, I realised I was suffering SERIOUS wifi withdrawal, so headed back out to find Maccas again and get online! This time it was dark outside and I managed to go completely the wrong way, until I realised and by the time I worked out where I was, I had almost gone off the map I was using! Phew! A bit panicky, I dashed back in the right direction and was more than pleased when I made it to my destination! Maccas at night, it seems, is full of drunk twelve-year-olds. Well, I know they're not really twelve, but they might as well be. I managed to ignore the drunk shrieking and enjoy chilling out online, before noticing the time (shortly before midnight!) and heading back to the hostel - the RIGHT way thankfully!