Settling in, Melbourne style
Trip Start
May 02, 2007
1
65
70
Trip End
Ongoing
Melbourne,
Australia
Thursday, January 24, 2008
St. Kilda was the neighborhood of choice according to many Australian backpackers we'd met along the way. It had the beach, shops, cafes and a hip vibe
Kitesurfers in Port Philip Bay
. We pointed the car in that direction and found parking on the street. It was a reconnaissance mission to scope everything out before apartment hunting. We walked to, and then along, the beach and later found the black and white checkered sidewalk of the main drag, Acland Street. It certainly was full of cafes, restaurants and young people. Before we left Brisbane we made arrangements with Hendrick, a German ex-pat living in Melbourne, to stay with him in his rented house. We found him on hospitalityclub.org and he was willing to take us in on such short notice. Seeing as we were arriving smack dab in the middle of the Austalian Open tennis tournament (meaning accommodation was extremely scarce) he was literally our saviour. He was in our shoes not so long ago and was a valuable source of information and a good sounding board to bounce our ideas off of. We killed time until he was off work, then drove to his place in Hawthorn East, a Melbourne suburb only about twenty-five minutes from the CBD. The CBD is the Central Business District and is where, if you haven't already figured it out, most of the business offices are. Thus it is full of tall and large concrete and glass buildings. However, it is not at all what we would describe as a concrete jungle. On the contrary, it is extremely visually pleasing. The city planners have done a bang up job. No two buildings are alike and all are interesting, especially the Eureka tower, a 92 story residential high-rise, the tallest of its kind in the southern hemisphere
Cameraman shooting the action
. Suburbs in Melbourne are not like suburbs at home (or Brisbane). They are simply self-contained areas surrounding the CBD. Each one has its own unique character and main streets that are full of everything you need. What's more is Melbourne has a pretty extensive train, tram and bus system so getting to the CBD and surrounding 'burbs is made awfully easy. The suburbs here are what we'd call neighbourhoods at home, like Kerrisdale, Kitsilano, Mt. Pleasant, False Creek, etc.
One of my best buddies, Mr. David Vesterback, and our old friend Meg were in Australia on a holiday. They'd arrived in late December and were at the tail end of their vacation. They stuck around in Melbourne a couple of extra days to meet up with us, so we did just that the following day. We met for breakfast then made off for Melbourne Park where the Australian Open was being held. Tickets for the Rod Laver Arena, where the biggest names were playing, were sold out, so we settled for the Vodaphone arena. It was still early in the tournament and we saw some big names knock out unseeded opponents, namely Serena Williams, Richard Gasquet and Maria Sharapova (who went on to win the 2008 Championship). We wandered the grounds and watched Amelie Mauresmo warm up (for a match she would later lose) and later Yvonne would come mere feet from Venus Williams as she plodded on by
Serena Williams
. It was a very exciting day, not only because we were drunk from drinking beer after beer and wine after wine, but also getting to see some close friends from home after being so long on the road. It was also my first ever Grand Slam tournament and I am now one quarter on my way to fulfilling one of my lifelong dreams of going to each of the four big ones: the Australian Open, Wimbledon, the French Open and the US Open. At the end of the day, we all went out for curry, and then said our goodbyes as Dave and Meg were flying to Sydney early the next morning.The next few days Yvonne and I familiarized ourselves with our new home and took the first few steps of settling in. We picked up cell phones (of course, here they are called mobiles), opened up a bank account and found some temporary living arrangements in St. Kilda. A fully furnished studio apartment is to be our new pad for the next little while, as we search for jobs and a permanent flat. For my 32nd birthday, Yvonne bought me a ticket to the Australian Open on January 20, but this time to the Rod Laver Arena. I had to see it for myself. I was lucky enough to watch the big surprise of the tournament, unseeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who ended up playing, and losing, in the final. His match against fellow Frenchman Richard Gasquet was excellent, high-quality tennis and I enjoyed every minute of it. I also saw the lone Canadian, Daniel Nestor, play in a 3rd round doubles match that he and his partner won
Maria Sharopova
. I also got to watch Ana Ivanovic, who played in the final against Sharapova, warm up on a practice court.Just as we suspected, Melbourne is a lot like Vancouver (minus the mountains). It has a laid back feel; any city where the majority of people walk around in shorts and flip-flops is our kind of place. The climate is even similar to Vancouver in the summer, although it has a tendency to get quite a bit hotter when the air is still and the sun is beaming down. But it does also get chilly. The saying "four seasons in one day" definitely applies to Melbourne. We've been caught out with no jackets when a cool wind is blowing and when it rains (yes, it rains too) and it's not exactly pleasant. We are very happy with our choice to settle here; it already feels like home!
Comments
Open
Hey all, I was thinking of you guys when the Australia Open was on. I kept on hoping you would get a chance to catch a game. What an opportunity, good for you guys!