Thought I'd wrap up Melbourne in one blog entry..

After spending 15 hours on a coach on the way down to Melbourne from Wollongong I was pretty shattered but didnt feel at all like sleeping as I was excited to have arrived! Like most cities, Melbourne's layout is pretty grid-like so it wasnt too much trouble finding the hostel, a little place called Elizabeth hostel. The reception is handily situated in the convenience store right next door. In terms of facilities or staff the hostel doesnt have much, if anything to offer. The Chinese cleaning lady comes round every morning to mop up and change the beds but thats about it! They just hand you your keys, take the deposit and leave you to it. It feels more like a student halls of residence than a hostel. The toilets are covered in graffiti, (not even the good type) and the taps in the bathroom are hanging off the fittings. Luxury... Still, its the cheapest place to stay in the city and dead central to everything so it'll do.

The first day in Melbourne was spent just sussing out the layout of everything and having a wander. I came across a really cool comic book store, a lot like Forbidden Planet back home but with loads more stuff so spent a bit of time in there. I was too tired to make myself food that evening so I had a Chinese takeaway instead. I've been trying to cook for myself as much as possible in Australia but not having had to cook for myself all throughout the SE Asia leg has definitely left me lazy!

I spent the rest of the first evening typing up the last blog as the internet was free in the hostel and I had loads to catch up on. That night I caught up on sleep and had a belter of a lie-in, dont think I've slept that well in ages!

The next morning on the Saturday, I went down to the arts centre where they had a free AC/DC exhibition on. It was dead interesting and full of old memorabilia, posters, old gig tickets, handwritten letters from Bon Scott to his sister as well as a full history of the band to date. After an hour or so in there I went for another wander down by the river and just generally put one foot in front of the other and had an explore of the city. Sydney was OK for a while but as far as first impressions go, Melbourne is a lot nicer and seems to have a lot more going on, culture wise and just in general. On the downside, there are quite a few homeless people around Melbourne and I've been told that it's something of an organised thing, they all live in this warehouse and have a guy who looks after them but in turn takes a cut of what they bring back to him. All sounds a bit Oliver Twist... Anyway, as I was enjoying Melbourne, I decided to take advantage of the weekly rate the hostel was offering and stay another week.

That evening I went out for beers at the Cherry Bar on AC/DC Lane! It's a dingy little rock bar with sticky carpets tucked away down a side street. They had a couple of decent bands on and after they'd finished they opened up the back room where they have a jukebox with loads of classic rock tunes on it. Despite going down there on my own, I felt right at home somehow! I soon got talking, well slurring to some locals and had a good night. Afterwards I was whisked back to the hostel on my beer scooter and into bed. I dont remember getting in but am pretty sure that I must have snored like a wrongun as I felt a bit ropy the next day.

Naturally, hungover as I was I didnt feel like going far the next day, a Sunday, so the day was spent uploading loads of pictures onto Facebook at the internet shop nearby. As luck would have it, Ciara was online too so we chatted for a good while and caught up. Not a lot else to write home about from that day to be fair!

The next day, Monday, I took a walk up to Captain Cooks cottage which was brought here stone by stone in 1934 from a village in Yorkshire and rebuilt in the city. It looks quite odd to see this little English cottage right in the middle of a park. You can walk around inside it and around the garden too. Afterwards, i wandered back into town and on my way, managed to sit down on a muddy patch of grass that I hadnt spotted. As I looked like I'd filled my shorts I had to do the walk of shame back to the hostel to get changed before going out again. Later, I caught the tram down to St Kilda which is the main beach area in Melbourne. By this point it was the middle of the day and VERY hot! We'd been expecting a heatwave and this must have been it. I'd filled my water bottle from a drinking fountain and within 10 mins it was too hot to drink. Unreal. Never known heat like it! An ice cream that I bought started melting the second it left the freezer.

I'd been told great things about St Kilda so maybe I'd falsely raised my expectations but I didnt think it was all that. The sand of the beach was pretty sharp and full of shells and there were loads of jellyfish either washed up on the beach or floating about in the water. I went in for a dip but spotted one of the wobbly things and got straight back out. I got stung by one as a kid and all I can remember is that it hurt! A lot! Also on one stretch of the beach everyone was walking their dogs and the beach was full of dog muck. I didnt stay too long and hopped back on the tram back up town.

As the heat of the day had wiped me out I spent the evening in my room with a nice cheap tin of Chilli with rice and a read of my book.

On Tuesday it was rainy and cold. I'd been told that the weather in Melbourne can just switch from one extreme to the other within a matter of hours, sometimes within the same day. I spent a good while in the ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image) which had a full history of moving images from the first silent films from the turn of last century, right through to the birth of cinema and television and up to the present day. It also had a lot of old games consoles in there too which you could play on. Its amazing how far things have come!

That evening I did my usual Tuesday thing and got a Dominos pizza for $6, bargain! Also, the cinema does cheap tickets on Tuesdays too so I went and watched a film before heading back to chill and read.

Not a lot to write about from Wednesday really. I had nothing planned so just hopped on the city circle tram as it pulled up while i was walking along the street. It takes you all around the heart of the city centre in one big circuit. I hopped off at the Docklands area and had a wander before hopping back on again and heading back home.

On Thursday I visited the old Melbourne Gaol which was built in the 1800's, closed in 1922 and is now a tourist atraction. As you'd imagine, it's a fairly grim looking place. It was interesting to read about the different prisoners that spent time there for committing all sorts of different crimes. It's also the place where Ned Kelly was locked up before being hanged and it still has the original beam that was used as well as the hangmans door. After the Gaol tour, I went next door and sat in a re-enactment of Ned's trial which wasnt that riveting to be honest although his story is. The last part of the tour was visiting the Melbourne Police lock-up which was used up until 1994. Along with 40 or so other people you get herded into the station and lined up, male and female, and are shouted at by a fake police sergeant. The sergeant was played, quite convincingly by a very loud short woman who obviously enjoys playing the role. Some kids in the line looked scared of her pacing up and down churning out hot air as she went. After her little shouting performanace she locks you up in a communal cell, male and female separate and turns the lights out. After getting let out 5 mins later she dropped the act a bit and gave us all a bit of info on the station. Apparently the place has been a good home on many occasions to Uncle Chop Chop - aka - Chopper - aka Mark Brandon Read, Oz's most notorious criminal of the last 30 odd years and a funny bloke if you've ever seen any of his interviews or watched the movie.

The remainder of the day was spent researching my NZ and Tasmania travel options in the library.

Friday was spent in pretty much the same way as I'd pretty much seen and done everything that I've wanted to do in Melbourne. That evening, I went out for a Mexican meal and then on a one man pub crawl which ended up in the Cherry Bar once more. I wanted to have one last night out in Melbourne and had sat in for most of the weekday evenings so felt a lash-up was in order! They had some rockabilly bands on that although rockabilly isnt my thing were pretty good to watch live. Several beers and a takeaway later I called it a night and headed back. I only know I had a takeaway as the following day I found that half of whatever I'd eaten was down the front of my t-shirt.

Yesterday, after shifting the hangover with a fruit smoothie, I had a pretty dull afternoon in the launderette. Afterward I scored a bargain at a skate shop that was closing down, 3 Zoo York tee's for $60! Half the price I'd pay for em back home. I went for a curry before heading back to chill and get organised for my departure today. The people in my room, a Brazilian, 4 German girls, and a girl from Taiwan, all seemed to be in the party spirit being the weekend and all. They'd kept themselves to themselves all week but now after a little cheap wine, they had livened up. They all went out, I didnt bother as I had to be up and out early and couldnt even look at a beer following the previous night.

So, today, I'm sat here in the library, just about to leave to catch a flight to Tasmania! Melbourne has been great and I've enoyed it but am looking forward to moving on now.

Tassie awaits! :)