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Melbourne, Australia
37° 48' S 144° 57' E
Jan 09, 2004 11:35
Distance 86km

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Text written in: English

Coach stop off at Goulburn and the Big Ram (we didn't realise how privilaged we were to be walking around the belly of the 'Big Ram' until later when we were told about the classy collection of 'Big' things that can be found around Australia. Unfortunately we didn't take a photo of this momentous occasion and therefore couldn't take part in this crazy backpacker collector set).
We must have looked lost and forlorn wondering round the streets of Melbourne as we were picked up by a hostel guy in his minibus and whisked off to St. Kilda (the opposite direction that we were trying to get to). We quite fancied the bohemium area near the museum and instead found ourselves in the classy town with expensive bars and beautiful people.
As our place of guidance and hope in Sydney, it was painful to see the tiny shack that was TCP Melbourne with the dreary guy who told us there was no real hope of work at this time of year and no real hope of rented houses at this time of year.... So our destiny was to have fun and holiday and to see the sights of a real tourist. Not bad!! After a few days in a well-expensive hostel with pissed-up late-teen travellers and the annoying microphone that is set to be heard in every corner of every room in the place just to announce that someone has got laid or something, we were offered a free stay with Bruno, Carl and Margaret's (Wwoof #2)son and were soon on our way to the outskirts of town and to 'Dennis station' (it must have been fate!!)

Volleyball finials on the beach and Sunday markets selling wooden chopping boards and hand-made bags and the painted face of Luna Park and a yummy cheap meal at La Porchetta complete with a litre of wine and the frustratingly slow trams with the stops just before the traffic lights so you never actually get anywhere and firethrowers in the park and a boozy night at the 'Espe Hotel'with sneaky bottles of VB in our bag and an excellent jazz band and our first proper hangover in a long time and walking down Acland Street with its bakeries and cafes and Federation Square with the hidden guy on the microphone insulting the passing crowds and morning breakfast at Queen Victoria market with almond croissants and Kangaroo Island brie and fresh trout to take home for tea and the markets along the Yarra River and visiting the ACME video gallery and the Museum of Contemporary Art with the glass wall waterfall and getting kicked out of the Museum for spending far too long in there and fruit juices and sushi rolls and sculptures around the city of queues of city folk and the odd dog and going to our first Japanese restaurant and visiting Bruno's friends who live in an exclusive 30th floor apartment with an amazing view of the city and no rooms at the Nunnery and the huge Aboriginal Art exhibition and the grey cloudy skies.