MELBOURNE!

After a long-stressful-sleepless week of school, we took off on the BEST field trip everrrr to MELBOURNE (pronounced mel-burn or “mel-bin” if you’re annoying).  Melbourne is Sydney’s rival city (and Boston’s sister city).  It is situated southwest of Sydney and takes 45 minutes to fly there.  We were once again herded together to fly there.  Once we arrived, we made our way to the Victoria Hotel in downtown Melb.  For some horrible reason they thought it would be a good idea to give us roomies other than our Sydney ones.  I’m sorry, but I didn’t even know the person I was assigned to and didn’t want to live with a stranger in a foreign city in an already foreign country.  Luckily, Sophie felt the same and we pulled a switcheroo! 

The first day was filled with a walking tour that led the groups to Victoria Markets.  It looked JUST like the swap meet and did the same thing as Paddy’s market.  After a HOT lunch (it was seriously 90 degrees most of the time there), we wandered the area and headed back into town.  After that, we listened to tour guide Sophie and went to Chapel Street: shops, shops, and more shops!  Ted bought shirts, I got earrings (and talked to the store girl for a good 30 minutes…people here are so much more genuine) and Soph got MAC makeup (too bad it costs three times more here than at home, sad life).  After shopping, like ZOMBIES with lack of sleep and heat, the boys went to an Irish pub with a beer garden.  The bar is inside an old church.  We guzzled waters and watched old men busk songs like “Devil Went Down to Georgia.” Later that night we went to their “little italy.”  We ran into Jonney, Matt and Co. there but stopped looking for a place to eat and left them when we found a typical Italian auntie persuaded us to stay by offering free dessert and drinks with dinner…she must’ve heard out wallets crying!  Dinner was amazing…I got vegetable and veal tortellini and sat outside (like in a piazza).  LOVED IT!   Our three-hour dinner ended and we rushed back to get ready for the night.  We went to a building that has 7 different floors with various bars and restaurants.  On the top is “Rooftop.”  WE, other random BUs and other friend Nikki took in the sights with a 360 view while sipping on super fancy pantsy cocktails.  SO PRETTY!  Our night ended late and we went home to ZZZZZZ.

Then, morning came tooo early!  We went on a tour of Melbourne called “Grids and Lanes” and got to see many artsy alleyways, boutiques, amazing cafes and my personal favorite: GRAFFITI!  Melbourne is the number one place in the world for incredible street art.  I died; it’s oddly breathtaking.  Imagine the world to truly be your canvas.  There is a newly imposed zero tolerance law now because of vandalists abusing the art form…hopefully Melbourne maintains its edgy city feel! 

After the tour, we got lunch in a small alleyway: a yummy, healthy frittata!  Then, we took a tram (I’m sure you’re supposed to pay for them but we didn’t know how…owell, thanks Melbs!).  The tram took us to St. Kilda beach.  Ted, Steph, Grant and I walked the boardwalk and pier and enjoyed an outdoor restaurant.  Soph and Marisa tanned and have far surpassed us in color. 

We got Mexican food that night and it was delish.  Ted, Steph and I headed back early to hit up the city while the rest of them relaxed and watched the sunset.  We met up with Jonney, Matt and Co. and went across the river (best view ever!) to Crown casino.  It was my first time in a casino NOT on the walkway carpets!  I didn’t gamble though.  (A. I’m poor. B. It’s not that enticing.)  Ted, Steph, and I went to a karaoke bar across the way while people gave away their lunch money to the tables.  When we walked in, we jokingly told Ted he had to sing and he agreed, haha.  After a few drinks, he was ready for his big performance to a song we picked out: “Baby Got Back” by Sir Mix-A-Lot.  INCREDIBLE!!!  I took pictures, Steph rocked out, and Ted “made all his dreams come true.”  If that wasn’t bonding, I don’t know what is.

The next morning came even earlier than the one before.  WE got up, grabbed muffins and hopped on a bus to the Great Ocean Road.  Ted was my riding buddy for the day as we starred out the window.  Basically, we road on the bus ALL DAY (9AM-10PM) and stopped every 30 minutes or so along the coast to see something.  We went to an Aboriginal cultural center, a beach town to get lunch and ice cream, a rainforest (went on a walk and saw a baby waterfall and big tree).  We stopped on the side of the road to see multiple koalas just sleeping.  They are LAZY (sleep 20 hours a day!).  We wanted to see it move so one of the boys shook the tree branch beside it, causing it to wake, crawl and sleep again. Geesh!

Then, we saw the main attraction: THE TWELVE APOSTLES!  You can’t see them all from one place, but you can see a good chunk.  They are natural rock bridges (arches and the arch collapses with time into the water).  Now, they look like huge rock monuments.  Close to shore, excellent for cliff jumping (too bad Jonney informed me I absolutely could not jump there because I would die…no fun!). 

Our next stop was another view of the apostles: A bridge that still stands (but the bridge from shore to it has fallen).  Funny story…an adulterous couple was found and documented on TV on the rock the day it split from the mainland- karma much?  We also got to stop at a gorge where we played in the water, climbed on rocks into a cave, collected pretty shells for jewelry, saw Ted’s butt through his white boxers (great swimming idea Tedward) and enjoyed our surroundings.  I had many conversations on that beach about how Australia is slowly starting to feel like home.  It’s going to be impossible to leave!   

We picked up snacks at a grocery store and headed home to Melbourne.  I saw the prettiest sunset I’ve ever seen during the fun bus ride home.  That night, we went back to the rooftop bar and walked along the river…I LOVE that city!

The next morning was filled with RAIN…boo.  We went on the “Art of Melbourne” tour and saw that Melbourne truly is a culture center.  We started off in the main art museum where we saw aboriginal art, a “Black in Fashion” exhibit (complete with a Christian Dior dress I would kill to wear!), a vespa and gorgeous cityscapes and colonial art pieces.  Next, we walked down alleys of graffiti…it really gave me a new perspective on art.  We also got to go to some smaller, private galleries because our guide, Peter, had connections.  It was exhausting, yet so fulfilling. 

After, we got lunch in a bookstore, window shopped and went back to the hotel in time to leave.  Melbourne was the most insatiable place I have ever been – a blend of home, NYC, Sydney and Italy (AKA: made for me!).  Good luck keeping me in the states now…start looking into moving here please!

All in all, the trip was an incredible experience and I wake up knowing how lucky I am everyday.  We have another paper to write (I’m writing mine on Graffiti in Melbourne and its integral role as a piece of the city’s spirit).  Then, we leave for SPRING BREAK in less than a week.  So much to do! Xoxo gabs