crazy times

I'm finding it so hard to believe that I have only been here for 2 and a half weeks. Crazy times! I don't feel like I've achieved all that much, but I think I'm starting to really get to know the city well now, and it's definitely been fun.

The week mainly started in a mass of room viewings which was just frustrating in the extreme... I have lost count of the amount of rooms that go before I even get there at my appointed time. I was offered 2 houses in one day though, which was cool but I had to turn them down. Still, it's start! Back on the hunt today, with 2 viewings this afternoon. Fingers crossed it works out soon.

Cathy and I found our local trivia night, which is always good. We didn't come last either :) The quiz master was the guy who played Phil in Neighbours many moons ago, which amused me immensely. Maybe that was the vino...

I caught up with a couple of friends during the week, caught up on my sushi consumption (something that I have been missing horribly since I left Vancouver almost 2 years ago!) and checked out the National Gallery of Victoria. It's free, which was a huge incentive! The bit that I saw was a little disappointing though - maybe I shouldn't have started with the European section... Still, it's freeness and immense size means that there is much more wandering through it left to do.

Friday night we caught the music gig of a friend of a friend. It was awesome, but led to me being rather hungover the next day at my first AFL (Aussie rules football) game. D'oh. It was ridiculously sunny and warm, which doesn't quite work with a hangover. I enjoyed the game though, and Cathy is a good guide, even if she did laugh at me a lot for holding my "Go Pies!" banner upside down. We were supporting Collingwood Magpies, who wear strips remarkably like Newcastle United, which was a bit bizarre. Unfortunately they didn't win.

Sunday was the Grand Prix. Something I haven't followed for a few years, but used to watch avidly when I was younger, and I've been listening to the cars since Thursday - man alive, are they loud! We're about 8km from the track and they woke me up on Sunday morning. It's a bit strange because they don't really seem to follow the F1 over here so most of the crowd were Brits. Still, that meant for an awesome atmosphere when 2 Brits came 1st and 4th as everyone ran onto the track afterwards. It was pretty cool to be standing on the start/finish line with thousands of other people - I'm such a big kid. The Who played live afterwards. All in all, an awesome day!

I should get back to flat hunting... 'til next time, I love and miss you all

sun, glorious sun!

So this week I have discovered that the best way to get to know a city inside out is to start hunting for a room in a shared house. And man is it difficult to find a room in this city!! There's rooms going on the advertising boards all the time, but there seem to be 20-30 people who literally pounce the second they go up. I guess I'll get lucky one of these days. As a result, house hunting is a pretty much full time job in itself at the moment, and the job hunt is on hold.

That doesn't mean I haven't been out and about and enjoying the sunshine though! In the off times when I just can't hack staring at a computer screen any longer and I am drawn out of the house into lovely sunshine (it's been blue skies and high 20s - 30s all week) I have been indulging in a spot of blatant tourism from time to time. Anyone who knows me well will be aware of my acute hatred of looking like a tourist but I am growing to enjoy it... (though I have been asked for directions at least 6 times this week - I'd love to know why I always seem to look like I know where I'm at even when I am lost!)

First stop was the Immigration Museum in the old customs building on Flinders Street. It was pretty interesting, but I was very confused by the special exhibition on the top floor - I still can't figure out what an exhibition of photos from India has to do with immigration in Australia... the photos were amazing though.

Next, I had passed the shrine to the war heroes a couple of times on a tram at the beginning of the week and thought it looked interesting, but that was about it. But then I passed it at sunset when the light was particularly awesome and I figured I just had to go see. And worth it it was, that place is pretty awesome. Certainly one of the most grand memorials I have seen, and in some ways more impressive than any of the memorials at Washington. I don't know if it was the beautiful day, but even amongst the tourists I felt a certain serenity about the place.

Today I went on a guided tour of the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) where the Sound Relief concert was last week. I find it quite funny that I have never been to St James' Park (except to a function room once), my own local stadium, but I have now been in the MCG twice in the last week! And will probably be going back again for my first AFL game next weekend. The tour was really cool actually, that place is ENORMOUS (well, it does fit 100,000!) and I managed to do the top tier vertigo free! Wahey.

All in all it's been a hellishly frustrating but good week. While house hunting is a massive pain, I'm still chilled and happy, and enjoying just being here. I've caught up with some old friends, and made some new ones, been to my first Aussie BBQ in the park and just generally discovered exactly why Jamie once described Melbourne as the most liveable city in the world. I've finally taken some photos too... if you're not on facebook, you can see them on my Flickr page, just follow the link on the right.

Just for starters

Apologies for the lateness of this first post! Thing have been a little crazy here, and I am struggling a little to get my head around the time difference. For some reason I can totally get it when I'm half a day behind, but it's a little more surreal when I'm half a day ahead!!

The flight was long, but uneventful, and I arrived in Melbourne at 6:30am to find it 18 degrees and drizzling. A friend from the UK met me at the bus station and put up with me being tired and grouchy for the rest of the day! The drizzle turned to heavy rain, but later the sun came out and we wandered into the city. My first thoughts on Melbourne are most definitely good! I love the vibe, and the quirky buildings. And I definitely like the sun! Later, we headed to the beach at Port Melbourne and took in the sea (dodging the jelly fish and trying to decide if they were poisonous or not. I decided not to find out) which was surprisingly calm and un-sea-like! Finally, I headed to meet my friend Cathy, who is kindly putting me up while I find a place to live, on the tram.

Friday the sun came out in force - and I took in the views from the top of the Rialto Tower - the second largest building in Melbourne. Just to clarify, nothing in Melbourne is particularly tall, the Rialto being only 54 floors. I quite like the fact that there aren't many high-rises here.

Yesterday was Sound Relief - two charity concerts given in Melbourne and Sydney to raise money for the bushfire appeal. Gladly this coincided with three things; the bush fires are finally out, they raised a record breaking AU$245 million and Melbourne was drenched in a record breaking 25ml of rain during the day - a much needed thing in the drought. The concert was 11 hours long and ranged between bands I knew well, to bands I knew nothing

of, but I am assured (both by Cathy and the reaction of the crowd)

that they are part of Aussie culture through and through. There's something pretty incredible about seeing Coldplay playing "You're the Voice" (a song that even I know well, but had never realised it is such an Aussie anthem) with John Farnham (they were in Sydney but

they played it for us on the big screens) with 80,000 people on their feet and singing all around me. The fact that everyone was wearing blue, green and yellow ponchos made it all the more surreal.

So today I'm catching up on my emails - slowly but surely (thanks so much for all the emails - keep them coming, I will reply eventually!), and continuing the room hunt...