Learnfury’s Weblog

It is hard to explain Melbourne and our experience of it in one section so I am going split it down, as the city is split down into the many different suburbs we have been whisked to and from by the trams.

Windsor: this is the suburb where we are staying, our hostel is located just off Chapel street and it is a pretty trendy area, full of boutiques and boutiques and has a good vibe day and night. There is a wicked little bar/cafe literally opposite where we are staying which does some sensational food, and is a great place to sit and watch the fashionistas flow by.

St Kilda: about 10 minutes on the tram or to us a half an hour walk is St Kilda and St Kilda beach. The beach is rather poor and after some of the stunning stretches of sand we have visited in NZ and Fiji and quick look was good enough for us! St Kilda itself is once again full of cafes and bars and a ton of tempting bakeries, we visited on a Sunday and it was absolutley packed, we stopped briefly for a salad and to rest our feet but there is only so much trendy suburb one can take!

Melbourne Central: The centre is a mix mash of different stores and attractions, as you first enter on the tram you come to Federation Square which houses the ACMI (moving image gallery) where we visited an amazing Game On exhibition which featured a mass of video gaming delights ranging from retro Mame to modern day Nintendo Wii and some cool intertactive stuff, for about 5 quid each we spent ages playing on all the consoles and lookin like idiots on the dance mats, but we’re on the other side of the world and we had a good time. Out of Federation Square you reach the shopping centre which I won’t say anything about cos it is just another shopping centre!
A little out of the city on the circle tram line there is The Crown Casino, we were excited about visiting here as our cabby from the airport had said it was an amazing place to while away an afternoon, and true enough it was huge and you could spend alot of time there but mainly if you are old and rich, of which we are neither. We had a look round and lost about 50p in a slot machine and decided the strange world of flashing lights, beeping machines and odd smell wasn’t for us.
The Botanical gardens which are suppose to be the best in OZ were rather dissapointing compared to Sydney and lacked the furry appeal of the flying foxes, therefore we decided the zoo probably wouldnt be up to much either and decided to give that a miss.

Fitzroy: Is the arty, slightly run down suburb on the other side of the city from where we are staying. Once again it was very trendy in a bit more of a bohemian kind of way, with the usually mix of vegie cafes and retro boutiques. The main highlight of this area is the stunning graffiti work in the coutyards and back streets which was honestly the best I have ever laid eyes on.