Once Upon a Camping Trip

Tiniest trunk/boot ever

Time is a strange thing. With work during the week and travelling on the weekends, the last couple weeks have bled together in a way that's left me wondering how it got to be the end of April already. Several days ago, I reached the six-month mark of being in Australia and in just a couple weeks, I'll arrive at the six-month mark of living in Melbourne. Perhaps it's because it's been a few years since I've lived abroad, but I don't recall my time in London going by as quickly and that was only half a year as well. Or maybe it did speed by in a blink of an eye and somehow I'm just forgetting how fast it all happened. Either way, I'm glad this adventure isn't quite over yet because I'm in no way, shape, or form ready for it to be.

Tent pitching was a success

During the extended Easter weekend, a few friends and I decided to drive out to the Grampians National Park, which is about three hours northwest of Melbourne. It was merely an idea for a while, definitely too long of a while, so by the time we made the decision to put the plan in motion, booking accommodation proved to be a difficult task. Motels, hostels, caravans, lodges, hotels. You name it, everything was booked solid and had been, some places told me, since the beginning of the year. We considered switching our destination for that reason and because the weather had been questionable all week, but our hearts were set on the Grampians since none of us had ever been there and we all wanted to experience the beauty we had heard so much about. Since our choices for accommodation were so limited, we eventually resorted to camping. Outside. In tents. That we were not prepared to pitch.

Exploring Ararat

Before the Grampians, I had gone camping a total of two times in my adult life:: once in Ithaca, New York in 2006 and another time in Llanthony, Wales in 2009. Unfortunately, the most vivid memories I have of the former experience are waking up in a cold puddle of water and then waiting for the van to come rescue us from the pouring rain. Prior to that, I hadn't been a massive fan of sleeping outside, but that experience deterred me from doing it often in the future. During both of these trips, I was surrounded by avid campers who were encyclopedias of the great outdoors and came prepared with the knowledge and tools necessary to successfully pitch a tent and start a fire. This time, we had one girl who had limited experience with camping and written instructions from a friend from whom we had borrowed a sizable tent.

Made it to the top

The ground at Greenhill Lake Reserve in Ararat was hard and rocky so our attempts to use our sneakers, flip flops/thongs, and bare hands as makeshift hammers to slam the stakes into the ground were futile... and a little painful. Lucky for us, our expert campsite neighbours were far better prepared for the occasion [equipped with hammers, brilliant!] and offered to aid us in pitching our tent. They happened to be from Connecticut so it was a pleasant surprise to hear a friendly American accent. It's funny because at first, the familiar American accent didn't register with me so instead of asking a broad question about where they were from, I almost asked them whether or not they were from that area originally. Good thing I caught myself at the last minute as I saved myself from a potentially embarrassing moment.

From the Pinnacle Lookout

Camping at a non-powered site doesn't leave a person with many activity options after the sun goes down so a couple of us ended up going to bed rather early, which was perfect for me because the early start and long drive from Melbourne left me feeling nothing short of exhausted. The following day, we drove up to Halls Gap, sometimes called the "Heart of the Grampians," and embarked on the two-and-a-half-hour hike up to The Pinnacle. There were moments during the climb when we felt we had been overly ambitious with our decision to select the most challenging route to the top since there had been other car park options farther up the mountain that would have made the hike less gruelling. However, after countless necessary rest points, we eventually made it to our destination..... and immediately realised every step it took to get there was worth it! The lookout point from The Pinnacle granted us a spectacular 360-degree view of the Grampians. Really, the entire top of the mountain offered quite a sight to see. After eating lunch and exploring the area for a while, we made the less challenging trek back to Halls Gap.

Mackenzie Falls

Our next stop was Mackenzie Falls, which are one of the most popular waterfalls in the Grampians. Unfortunately, our time spent down there wasn't as long as we would have liked it to be since someone had slipped and fallen on the stones and a helicopter needed to land to take her to the hospital. We had just descended the numerous steps down the falls and hadn't even been there for five minutes when everyone was ushered back to the top of the stairs. We were lucky though in that we were able to snap at least a few photographs before we were asked to leave because there were many people who never even got a chance to reach the bottom before they had to turn around and return to the top. Since we had only been able to enjoy the falls up close for a few minutes, we walked to the viewing platform and stayed there for a while.

Sunrise over our campgrounds

On the following day, we drove back to Halls Gap to do some more hiking, starting with the Wonderland Car Park to the Grand Canyon, and to visit Boroka Lookout and the Balconies, both of which had panoramic views of natural beauty. Then we continued our scenic drive to Wartook Reservoir and Beehive Falls in Roses Gap, which wasn't more than a trickle of water because of the lack of rain lately. I did, however, spot some wild emus so that made up for the fact that the waterfall was less than magnificent. After that, we made our way to Dadswells Bridge, where we saw the Giant Koala, which houses a souvenir shop, an art gallery, and tourist information. By this time, it was starting to get dark so we hopped back in our car and drove to our final destination, Big Hill Lookout in Stawell. Our GPS took a while to find the location so we made it there just in time to catch the last few minutes of the best part of the sunset.

Successful Easter Weekend getaway? Check!

Stunning Scenic Drive, Take Two

Apollo Bay

I've come across more than a few people who have driven parts of the Great Ocean Road several times but more than once in less than a month? No, no I haven't.

Last month, some friends and I did a trip along the Great Ocean Road; however, it's a 150-mile stretch of road so there's a LOT to see, definitely too much to see in less than two days. Plus, one of my other friends had recommended a particular landmark to visit and we overlooked it the first time around.

Taking in the scenery

Autumn is in full swing so it made sense to try to arrange a second, more condensed trip as soon as possible to the Beech Forest area in order to bask in the beauty of the sequoias and Hopetoun Falls.

After asking everyone to be on time when meeting at the car hire company so we could get an early start on our three-hour drive to the Beech Forest area, of course the closest tram line to my apartment would have a massive delay. For anyone who knows me well, I'm typically late for........ everything, but I

Looking up at the redwoods

made an honest effort to be on time for our planned departure. After that minute obstacle, we were on our way to the sub-temperate rain forest.

On our way there, we made a pit stop in Apollo Bay, a small coastal town along the Great Ocean Road, to get lunch and explore the area. Even though we had spent a night there

Fun times

last month, we had arrived at dusk and by the time we were finished with dinner, it was dark. Since we left rather early the following morning, we didn't have time to see much while we were there so this seemed like a necessary place to revisit. I'm glad we did go this time around because with the rolling hills set as a backdrop to the bay, it's a truly beautiful place. After we shared a hearty fish and chips meal at one of the local restaurants and walked along a wall that explicitly forbade anyone from promenading on [breaking the rules in the name of photography....], we continued on our way toward Beech Forest.

Hopetoun Falls

Our next stop was the California
redwood forest, which is a sizable patch of sequoias that was planted in 1938 by a river not too far from the Great Ocean Road. It proved to be an excellent place to take photos and we had some fun slipping along the wet leaves on the ground. My shoes didn't have much traction so sliding down the shallow bank to the Aire River was a much easier task than making my way back up it.

Hanging around the waterfall

Following that, we drove the ten minutes or so to Hopetoun Falls and trekked down the countless stairs to view the breathtaking waterfalls. This sight was the main reason I had decided that I wanted to return to the Great Ocean Road and I'm more than happy that I did because it was well worth it. After spending some time enjoying the peacefulness of the atmosphere, we decided that it would be ideal to drive to the Twelve Apostles since three

Gables Lookout

out of the five of us had never been there. On the way, we made a couple more scenic stops:: the Gables Lookout, which was well hidden but gave us a spectacular view of Moonlight Head and some of the highest cliffs on mainland Australia, and Gibson Steps, a staircase that led down to a beach that featured more magnificent cliffs and one of the gigantic stacks of the Twelve Apostles at the far end of the coast.

The beach at Gibson Steps

By this time, it was almost dusk so the tide was higher than we had expected. This gave way to risky games with the waves as we attempted to simultaneously take good photographs with the brilliant scenery in the background while keeping our feet as dry as possible. Admittedly so, we lost a few times, but it all made for some precious memories. On our way to Gibson Steps, we also saw a wild wallaby! I was initially unintentionally close to it as it was hidden in the bushes near the path we were walking along, and it terrified me when it

Taking advantage of the low tide

made its first move to hop away. It reminded me of how I felt when I was in Colorado over North America's summer and had [unrealistic?] fears that a bear or a mountain lion was going to attack me. I'm just thankful that the time an animal actually did jump out at me, it was an herbivore.

Our final stop before heading back to Melbourne was the Twelve Apostles. As I've stated in a previous entry, this

Final destination: Twelve Apostles

attraction is probably the most well-known sight along the Great Ocean Road so it was only right to pay a visit there so that everyone would have a chance to see it.

We all thought the adventure would end there; however, once we returned to Melbourne, we almost ran over an injured cat that was lying in the middle of the road. It was well after midnight, but we immediately turned into pet rescuers and followed the limping cat halfway down the block to take her to the nearest animal emergency room since that's what we hoped someone would do for our pets if they had been hit by a car in the middle of the night.

I didn't get to bed until after 3am and ended up missing the highly anticipated Open House Day at Parliament, but what are you going to do?

Country Versus City

Exploring Ballarat's city centre

Victoria's Labour Day was a couple Mondays ago, which meant I had off from work, so I had wanted to do something outside of Melbourne that weekend. A few friends and I were meant to hire a car and drive to Phillip Island, but our rental fell through so we needed an alternative destination, somewhere that didn't require a car. In the end, a friend from work and I decided to take the Vline train out to Ballarat, a quaint country town about an hour and a half northwest of Melbourne.

Pretty scenery around the lake

One of my housemates is from there, and he had told me that it was a place worth visiting. Ballarat is an old mining city, where gold was found in the mid-1800s. There's an
attraction called Sovereign Hill there that demonstrates how life was lived in Ballarat from the 1850s to the 1860s, but Ben and I opted to skip that option and explore the Begonia Festival in the Botanical Gardens and the scenic area by Wendouree Lake.

Around the botanical gardens

 We had the perfect weather to walk around and explore a new place, and I have to admit that even though I just drove the Great Ocean Road, which required an exit from Melbourne, it was refreshing to be out of the city again. Despite the fact that I enjoy living in the city, sometimes it's nice to be relieved of the busy atmosphere. 

Moomba Festival parade

On Labour Day, a group of friends and I attended the Moomba Festival, which is the largest community festival in Australia. We started our day watching the parade go up St. Kilda Road and toward the city. After that, we meandered over to the actual fair grounds and debated whether or not to go on any of the extreme rides. We eventually found ourselves at the Yarra River, where we watched the water skiing performance.

At Brighton Beach

In a bit of a spontaneous turn of events, a few of us decided to take the train to Brighton, which is home to some of the wealthiest residents of Melbourne. We walked along the beach and were able to enjoy a unique view of the city skyline behind the ocean and next to the famous colourful bathing boxes. As I stood and observed the clashing mesh of colours all set up in a neat line, I couldn't help but think of the random colourful doors in Ireland.

Labour Day fireworks

Later on, we returned to the Moomba Festival and ended the day with some fireworks, which was nice because when are fireworks ever a bad thing?

As far as I was concerned, it was an excellent long weekend and it made me come to this conclusion: Extended weekends should definitely be the standard norm.

I can't think of a single person who would disagree.

G'day and Welcome to My Home

While I was living in the UK a few years ago, I learned about CouchSurfing from a friend. You can learn more about the organisation at www.couchsurfing.org, but in a nutshell, it's a network of travellers who provide accommodation and travel advice for each other. Although I was a little skeptical in the beginning [because seriously, how insane is it to stay with and/or host complete strangers?!], I did end up using it when I lived in and travelled around Ireland, meeting up for drinks with fellow CouchSurfers in Dublin and staying with hosts in both Galway and Limerick. Since I had had such positive experiences then, I turned to CouchSurfing again last year when I vacationed in the Pacific Northwest and met some awesome people, including an American who had lived in the South Pacific for three years and was able to give me some advice about Australia and New Zealand.

Up until now, I simply didn't have the facilities to invite anyone to stay with me; however, now that I'm living in an exciting city with my own place, I thought it would be a good time to give the other side of CouchSurfing a try:: hosting. Last week, I had my first CouchSurfers stay with my housemates and me for a few days. They were a couple from Lorient, France who had been living and working in Perth for the past several months and wanted to do some travelling around Australia before heading home. This past week, I hosted someone from a small town outside of Pisa, Italy who works with wine back home and is visiting vineyards in Australia. To show his appreciation for the accommodation, he even made me a popular pasta dish from his hometown.

The obvious precautions apply, but overall, it's a brilliant tool for those who love to travel and to meet people from....... everywhere. It's the perfect way to start breaking down cultural barriers, and I love it.

So Long Sweet Summer

Unfortunately, summer has left just as quickly as it had arrived, but we were lucky this year since it was extended by a day thanks to the leap year. Maybe it's psychological because the weather has been relatively warm and almost completely summery lately, but sometimes I thought I could sense the change of seasons coming long before 1 March arrived. I feel like the leaves on the trees have been changing for ages. To clarify, autumn is certainly in the air and a lot of the leaves are just starting to change from bright green to other brilliant shades of colour; however, for whatever reason, there have been piles of crunchy, golden leaves in the parking lot outside my apartment for weeks now. It was as if they were there to remind me, maybe even taunt me a little, about the fact that summer would be ending soon. Too soon.

Driving back from the Great Ocean Road, a highlight of my summer

This summer was such a gift and marked the first time I was able to avoid winter for more than twelve consecutive months, which in itself, made it one to be celebrated. It also brought about many other exciting firsts in my life, including a summer Christmas, a beach barbecue, Australia Day, seeing wild penguins and koalas, a summer birthday, and driving on the opposite side of the road. Honestly, the list could go on and on, but I think you get the picture. It's been a truly special time in my life and I feel so blessed and thankful for having had the opportunity to experience it.

Fall has always been my favourite season, especially in New York, but this autumn has hefty shoes to fill since it absolutely was a magnificent summer.

Ocean So Blue

The memorial arch

Last weekend, Caylee and I met my friends Albert and Jack in Southbank and then we set off on our Great Ocean Road adventure. The Great Ocean Road is a beautiful 150-mile drive that features the breathtaking Victorian coastline. Prior to moving to Melbourne, I hadn't heard of this well-known scenic drive, but it's comparable to the Pacific Coast Highway in California, which, regrettably, I haven't done yet. Now it seems silly that I didn't take advantage of it while I was living in Los Angeles, but I'm determined to experience it one day.

This was my first time driving on the left-hand side of the road so naturally, I was slightly nervous; however, some of my passengers were apparently even more anxious as they attempted to revoke my driving privileges. Since the beginning section of our trip from Melbourne to the gateway to the Great Ocean Road in Torquay consisted mostly of highway driving, which was easier to maneuver around than the narrow and windy roads that would come later, we decided I would drive first.

At Kennett River

Our first official stop was at the Anglesea Surf Beach, where we waded in the cool water and took stunning pictures of the scenery. After that, we visited the Split Point Lighthouse in Aireys Inlet, which was an especially great idea since we ended up not viewing the Cape Otway Lighthouse due to the unexpected fees. Continuing along the Great Ocean Road, we made stops at Erskine Falls and Teddy's Lookout in Lorne and then Kennett River, my favourite stop of the trip since this is where we saw our first wild koalas. While we were at Kennett River, we also had the opportunity to feed colourful wild parrots of some sort, which I, of course, only photographed due to my slight fear of birds. Following Kennett River, we made it to Apollo Bay, which is where we stayed overnight. It was a quiet place, but the area by the water was worth seeing.

Twelve Apostles

On the next day, we continued on our route toward the Twelve Apostles, which is probably the most famous attraction along the Great Ocean Road. Before we arrived at that destination, we made other stops along the way, including one at Melba Gully, a tranquil sub-temperate rainforest that consisted of myrtle beech, blackwood, and tree ferns. We then made it to the Twelve Apostles, a collection of rock stacks close to the Port Campbell National Park that was formed by erosion. It's a stunning sight to see so it's no wonder why this attraction is so popular. After the Twelve Apostles, we visited Loch Ard Gorge and spent some time at the beach there before heading off to Port Campbell for lunch. Then we drove out past Peterborough to see The Arch, London Bridge, and The Grotto, all unique rock formations that were interesting to see.

It was hard to believe how rich of an aqua colour the ocean seemed to be from the beginning to the end. I can't say that I've ever seen anything quite like it, but it was absolutely gorgeous.

Lazy Summer Nights

Skyline behind the market

Last week, Caylee, my housemate, Clint, and I decided to visit the night market. I had been there twice before, but I had hoped to go at least once more before the end of the season. This was the second last one being held this summer and I'm unsure whether or not I'll be able to make it to the final one. As we walked around the stalls, we sampled some Australian spiced chai tea, which was so tasty that I may have to make it a point to go to the last night market this week just so I can purchase some. Unlike the other times I was there when there

Dessert at Max Brenner

were strictly performers on the main stage, this time, there was a dance instructor who demonstrated the salsa. After watching that for a while, the three of us walked back to the apartment, and it was the perfect night to do so.

Later on in the week, Caylee and I met for dessert at Max Brenner, a popular chocolate bar in Australia. It was difficult to decide what to order, but in the end, I chose the warm waffle with melted milk chocolate drizzled on it. It was an excellent way to end my work week.

Hip Hip, Hooray!

Work pizza lunch

Those words are traditionally shouted after singing "Happy Birthday" to someone here in Australia. One person leads with the "hip hip" and everyone else responds with "hooray," and it's repeated several times.

Although I may have had dinner with my family or a few close friends in the past, since becoming an adult, I hadn't made much of a big deal about my birthday. Even for my twenty-first, I spent a night in Philadelphia with a friend with whom I share a birthday, but we hung out with her friends and I felt

Dinner at Alice's Thai Restaurant

like it was more of a celebration for her, which was more than fine because honestly, ever since I turned eighteen, for whatever reason, I stopped making a fuss about turning older. With that said, however, since this was going to be my first summer birthday, and my second one spent abroad, I decided long before even arriving in Australia that I wanted to do something special and more out of the ordinary, at least for me. Last week, I had sent an email to my co-workers and our manager to invite them to join me for drinks after work on Friday. Not only did they all agree to go, but our manager suggested we order pizza for lunch and gave us an extended meal break. On top of that, they were

At the QV for dessert

sweet enough to surprise me with a card and two cakes, a chocolate cheesecake and a Jamaican mud cake. I had never had mud cake before, but it was awesome.

On my actual birthday, I organised a dinner at one of the Thai restaurants in the city centre. It was a little challenging to decide where to eat because I love so many different types of food, but Thai won in the end because I hadn't had it in such a long time. Anyway, a lot of my friends showed up, including those from Cross Cultures and Planetshakers, Caylee, and Tegan, a girl I had met in London almost three years ago. Even though the customer service at the

AMAZING cake

restaurant left much to be desired, the mixed company and delicious food were fantastic. There's definitely a reason why Thai is one of my favourite cuisines. After dinner, we walked over to the QV, which is one of the shopping centres here that has a food court and tons of tables, and enjoyed the rich chocolate fudge brownie cheesecake my friend Li was generous enough to bake in my honour. Seriously divine. As far as I'm concerned, there really isn't anything better than homemade cheesecake when it comes to dessert.

My lovely Connect group

My Connect group met on Tuesday for our weekly study; however, we met earlier than usual to have dinner together for my birthday, which was nice. Steph was even kind enough to bring along a delectable chocolate cake to share with everyone. One of the things I love most about this group is that it's new so, for the most part, we're all getting to know each other at the same time. I only wish it had started meeting in the springtime when I first arrived in Melbourne because if I stick to my current plan of moving to Sydney this autumn, I won't have much time with them. I'm trying to stay in the present though and focus on the good times to be had. I'm certain I'll be learning a lot in the next couple months.

I feel incredibly blessed to have been able to celebrate my birthday with so many wonderful people. It's really made me realise that I have a lot for which to be grateful. Life in Oz isn't too shabby. :o)

What's Better Than Summer Concerts and Penguins?

At the Sidney Myer Bowl

I'm going to go with not very much.

My friend Caylee is in town for the next couple weeks until she goes back to California. She spent most of her working holiday up in Sydney and then did a nice amount of travelling around Australia prior to making her final stop in Melbourne before returning to the States. We met for dinner early last week, which gave us the opportunity to catch up since we hadn't seen each other since I left Sydney in November.

Enjoying the concert

A few weeks ago, I had heard about a free concert series that the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra holds each summer at the Sidney Myer Bowl, the venue where the Carols by Candlelight event took place back in December. After work, I took the tram to the event, planning to meet Caylee and several other friends from St. Jude's. It started to drizzle as I walked closer to the stage to get to where the overhang was, which I hoped would protect me from the rain. It was already crowded, both on the lawn and the seats, but somehow I just so happened to conveniently run into everyone almost at once.

Pre-concert picnic

Although I'm no expert on Russian classical music, I do have a certain amount of appreciation for that genre so I thought the concert itself was beautiful. I enjoyed it so much that I attended the second concert in the series yesterday with friends from my Connect group at City on a Hill. This particular concert featured a musician who played the didgeridoo, a wind instrument that is native to the Aboriginal people in Australia. I was interested in hearing someone play the didgeridoo, but I wasn't sure how a collaboration with string instruments would sound; however, it was absolutely brilliant as I felt the concert showcased pure talent at its best.

Didgeridoo and orchestra

The concert was lovely, but Caylee and I ended up leaving at intermission to try to make it to St. Kilda Beach in time to see the Fairy Penguins, the smallest species of penguins, that have a colony there. These penguins seem to be one of this city's best kept secrets as many Melburnians don't even know about them and would recommend Phillip Island as the closest place to view them. Anyway, I had read and heard different tips regarding when to go to the pier, whether it be right before sunset or afterward, so we were hoping to arrive there prior to sunset just in case; however, it got darker a little earlier and a bit more quickly than we had anticipated so we didn't get there until well after the sun had disappeared over the horizon.

Fairy Penguin at St. Kilda Beach

As we strolled down the pier, it seemed like we were going to have to return another evening if we wanted to see any penguins, but luck was on our side because we eventually did spot some. There was a volunteer there who said that the peak season so see them is November, but I remember reading somewhere that there's a good chance to see even just a few all year round. If I had known about them earlier, I would have taken a trip to St. Kilda beach when I first arrived in Melbourne since it would have been the perfect time to go. I talked to one of my friends after going to the pier, and he told me that whenever he had gone, there were heaps of penguins.

Maybe I'll have to return to Melbourne in November before I do the rest of my travelling.

Back to Back Festivals

Playing the shamisen

Saturday was meant to be spent at a historical homestead called Coolart near Mornington, Victoria, where I was hoping to spot some koalas; however, the weather decided to rain on those plans.... literally. It's too bad because it looked like it would be an excellent place to visit, but hopefully we'll go another time when the weather is more agreeable. I've been in Australia for almost four months and I have yet to see some unique wildlife... but I guess that's what happens when you live in the city. It's funny because I read an article in The Morning Call, which is my home newspaper, that said there

Sumo wrestling

was a wallaby hopping around the Valley, which basically means some people at home have seen more Australian fauna than I have. Major boo.

Anyway, one of the things I love most about Melbourne is how multicultural it is. Last weekend when we explored Eastern Melbourne, there was a Turkish festival occurring near Federation Square, which included ethnic dancing and many delicious-looking types of food. Since our trip to Mornington was cancelled, I ended up going with some friends to the

Iconic entrance to Luna Park

Japanese Summer Festival at Docklands, which was also outdoors, but it didn't require an hour-long drive anywhere. Once we made it to the festival, we watched several performances that demonstrated some traditional dancing and listened to a few people play the shamisen, which is a three-stringed instrument that's plucked with a plectrum. It resembles a banjo, however the body is shaped differently. It was the first time I had ever heard of this type of instrument, but it made an interesting sound.

On Sunday, a couple friends and I decided to go to the

Sports demonstration

St. Kilda Festival since it was the final day it was running. I had heard about it last week and was thinking about going then, but someone had told me it was better to go on the last weekend because there was more to see. It rained and then drizzled for a good while even though I had looked online ahead of time and had seen that it was supposed to be sunny [thanks, weather.com], but it was nice to be there. There were rides galore and tons of activities going on, not to mention that it took place right next to the historic Luna Park, an amusement park that was built back in 1912. I also watched

Concert at St. Kilda Festival

part of a skateboarding and bike tricks demo, which was exciting to see. There were multiple musical performances going on throughout the day, most of which were entertaining to see and hear.

This past weekend absolutely flew so I felt like I didn't have a chance to relax. This week has been a pretty hectic one, but that also means it seems to be going by super quickly, which is never a bad thing. However, I'm happy that I'm working full time again [well, sort of.... haha] so I cherish my weekends.

Walking Through the Victorian Era

Cooks' Cottage

In continuing with the city walks I've been participating in, a few of my friends and I decided to venture out to East Melbourne to view the buildings from the Victorian era last weekend. Aside from exploring the gardens, this was the tour that had piqued my interest the most.

Victorian homes

After passing Parliament House, we entered Treasury Gardens and deviated slightly from the tour to visit the John F. Kennedy Memorial, which consists of a small monument and an adorned pond that was dedicated to the late president following his assassination. From there, we crossed the street to Fitzroy Gardens and were able to seek refuge in the Conservatory just in time to avoid the sudden downpour.

Church converted into apartments

Once the rain slowed down, we found Cooks' Cottage, which was built by the parents of Captain James Cook, who's credited with discovering Australia, in Yorkshire, England in 1755 and was transported to Melbourne in 1934. After that, we followed the map to view different homes from the Victorian era that featured beautiful columns, intricate

1868 home with unique balcony

ironwork, and to-die-for terraces.

This walk was pretty excellent..... even if the weather didn't necessarily cooperate with us. Unfortunately, due to the strong winds, raincoats and umbrellas did very little to protect us from the monsoon-like showers so we ended up absolutely drenched by the time we had completed the tour. However, we were resilient troopers and managed to finish it anyway.

If you ask me, it was well worth it.

A Little More Work, A Little Less Holiday

A pub in Richmond

Friday marked the conclusion of my first week of my new long-term assignment that will hopefully last me until I'm ready to move up to Sydney. The timing is pretty perfect though since I'm on a contract that expires at the end of April, meaning I would have almost a full six months up in Sydney, which sounds rather ideal to me. With all the people I've met and all the exciting things I've gotten to do, Melbourne has been exceptionally good to me though so I'm in no rush to leave this city.

This past week, I spent my days in a training session with nine others who have also been hired to complete this assignment. Only two people in our group are from Australia and then the rest of them are from the UK, Ireland, France, and New Zealand. My co-workers were relatively outgoing and bubbly, which made it fun to do the million and one icebreakers we did each day to get to know each other and to pass the time. It also helped that our trainer and supervisor were both vibrant and laid back and even took us to a local pub after work on Friday.

Out for Friday night drinks

Most, if not all of them, are pretty avid travelers, which was exciting to learn because well, I love travelers and their stories. Sometimes I feel like backpackers are such a unique breed of people, taking months or even years away from their traditional ways of life to explore the world..... but maybe that's because I'm from America, a place where, unlike Europe and Australia, taking gap years to travel is almost unheard of. I can't count the number of times during the past few months alone that I've been told, "You're from Pennsylvania? We get a lot of Europeans and Canadians doing working holidays down here, but there aren't so many Americans." I don't understand why that's the case though because I couldn't imagine my life without it.