checking in....

I haven't forgotten this place. just been lacking inspiration to write here.

Melbourne is beginning to see summer and i am getting excited about all the ridiculously fun things that it will bring with it.  Nothing can beat waking up each morning seeing the sun beating down. it makes you actually want to be alive and awake and living in it.

im beginning to realise that i am finally seeing Melbourne as my home. it took almost 2 years but i finally have found myself slotted comfortably into its lifestyle.

im sure i will be inspired soon to update you on my adventures.....just know that there have been many. and will be many more to come.....

much smiles

<3

spring time!

Spring has come to Melbourne. It's off to a shaky start but there's a definate change in the air. The nights are warmer. The days are longer and brighter. It's a good feeling.

Australia is funny with it's seasons.  The north just has the two:
"Dry" - April to October
"Wet" - November - March

The rest of australia has the traditional 4 - but being a law unto itself they don't bother splitting it up into anything scientific. Its just determined by the months (and of course back to front) which makes things a lot easier!!!
Sept - Nov is Spring
Dec - Feb is Summer
March - May is Autumn
June - August is Winter

Of course, Melbourne is probably one of the few cities over here that has clear distinctions between these seasons. But that's kinda nice too...! :)

Melbourne got voted the most liveable city recently too (go Melbourne!!) and really it does deserve such a title. Just this past few weeks I have partaken in only a small part of what it has to offer.

Last Sunday i went to an ice hockey match in the Docklands (yes...i know Ice Hockey - in Australia!! - quite ridiculous). It was the Melbourne Mustangs Vs Canberra Knights.  I don't know much (anything!) about Ice Hockey so have no idea if these teams had any skill or were more akin to high school teams....! But we managed to blag ourselves front row seats regardless :) It was only a short game - 3 lots of 15 minutes. Towards the end the action heated up when the players decided to beat the living crap out of each other....! Definate highlight. It all seemed very bizarre but apparently is part of the game.... ??!!! Entertaining anyway. and Melbourne won!!! Not bad for a tenner :P

Fist Fight!!

After the match everyone decided to go for drinks in the city. I wasn't so keen having still been battling a hangover from the alcohol fueled Saturday night before. I decided at the last minute i may as well give it a go, with no intention to drink. We decided on a bar on a laneway (all the best Melbourne bars are in laneways!) in the city called LillyBlack.  It looked pretty fancy and expensive, so my friend Craig asked them their price range.  The response? "$0 - $600!" zero you say?? It turned out it was the bars birthday and certain pints, slushy margaritas and gin n tonics were all....completey free. all night. until the bar was dry.  In disbelief of our good fortune we promptly filled the table full of free drinks and let the alcohol flow...and flow....!

Several hours and a Hungry Jacks (Thats Burger King to those Non - Aussies) Veggie Burger later I was stumbling home wondering if it was at all possible that life could get much better....!

Weekdays have of late mostly been consumed by work. and despite a determined attitude to squeeze in as much fun as possible to the "real life" I am now supposed to be living (however real life can be living in another country) - I have been forced to take a step back to recooporate recently.  Weekends tend to rush on full steam ahead (this weekend has been a blur of vodka, hip hop, rock, soul, aussie stereotypes and shopping!). Tonight i was supposed to go my favourite aussie irish pub in Flemington to watch late night Irish Football (apparentely??) but i have had to admit defeat and stay home.

After all, there is always another weekend around the corner.

Bring on the Spring, Melbourne! We're ready for you!!

xx

sunday hike

its been a while since my weekend has involved much that doesn't include the majority of it in bed.  Too many weekends have gone by where i have surfaced in daylight only for my 3 hours of volunteer work at Friends of the Earth; my night time hours blindly passed by in my local indie pub. it was time for a change. life was passing me by and i should never be ok with this.

So this weekend, while i did drop in to aforementioned indie bar for a few hours in Friday (although i did manage to leave before the lights went up and i was forced to witness the girls grab the nearest boy and hopelessly drag him towards the door. its pretty depressing times right there!!), i managed to at last make another trip outside of the city.

I do love the city. But i love even more getting out of it.  Victoria is a beautiful state. I'm really lucky to have it surrounding me.  I suppose every Australian state is abit like that though! Today's adventure was to Werribee Gorge State Park.  To be honest, i'd never heard if it - and i often work in Werribee. I'd mentioned it to a work colleague though who said it was stunning and an "easy walk" with only "abit of rock scrambling". (ha i write this with a left hand covered in nettle stings....! and legs that won't move without severe aches....!).

I was picked up by a lady i met on a previous day trip and driven to the exciting suburb of Baccus Marsh. It was actually pretty nice. we got a lovely breakfast at the Jolly Miller Cafe and the sun was shining for the first time all week.  The rest of the group arrived shortly after and then we headed out for the gorge.

the easier bit at the end....!

It was an amazing walk. but certainly challenging! At one point we were hanging from a rope and manouvering around a cliff edge (albeit not very high up! but the river would have been wet if i'd fallen!). 

The gorge was stunning though. And the walk far from boring - despite taking 4 hours to complete the 10kms.  It was varied with some rock scrambling, some paths so narrow you had to cling onto trees...some slippery moss covered mud...wet in place, dry in others, steepish gradients to leisurely strolls and down hill (often on my bum to avoid embarrasing falls). It was probably the most satisfying hike i've done yet. and my hand is indeed still sore from the nettle stings i insisted on sticking my hand in!  amazing day. stunning views. fucking love this country!!!!! :)

Manchester Memories

Just got back from seeing Elbow at the Palace Theatre in Melbourne.  It was so much better than i would have expected, I wasn't so sure about going by myself initally, but i felt completely at home.  The venue was at least half (if not completely by the people i spoke to) full of UK citizens.  It's hard to describe when you haven't lived in another country, the amount of love that can be felt for a place just by hearing an accent.  I've noticed it alot since i moved here. Hearing a  Manchester accent, in itself something not exactly considered desirable, makes me happier than i would have ever imagined!  Watching a band like Elbow live, makes me proud beyond words of where i come from.  If they ever stop making Shameless (the most regular "hit" of Manchester  I get these days) I'm not quite sure how i would cope! and i'll admit...the experience has made me more than a little homesick.  It's been a while since that happened. Despite my far more fun and exciting life over here, Manchester means the world to me.  It struck me it's been almost a year since i saw it.  Last year I landed back there a year to the day I left (i don't think the hyperactivity wore off for the full 2 weeks i was back!).  Soon it will be the longest i've ever been apart from England.  It feels strange.

no regrets though. just happy, good, amazing and very much treasured memories :) And I know that no matter what, it will always be waiting for me. <3

xxxx

i haven't ever really found a place that I call home....

Its always suprises me how quickly life can flash between amazing, devasting, friendly, cruel, exciting, restless...It makes me more determined than ever to hold tightly to the moments that make me smile. it gives my mind something to wrap itself around when the shit falls.

currently feels like the shit is raining hard, although in reality it's only a shower. i find the time to keep smiling. its important.

Good things are still happening in this city- but it's winter - and starting to get cold.  Of course, cold is relative. By England standards this is closer to autumn, with an added chill in the early mornings and late at night.  But the days are mostly grey and the rain seems neverending some weeks. Nights out necessitate big coats and scarfs, that have no place in the scummy bars of Fitzroy that I like to waste away my weekends in.  Some days suprise you with sun though - even if for only an hour or two. it's enough.

I have found myself with several live gigs on my agenda.  I am going to see Elbow tomorrow night (oooh Manchester i still <3 you!) and Pulp on Friday. Last minute tickets from Ebay helped with that! I also have Gomez tickets for next month. I will not turn my back on my English roots!! Of course, giving the aussies a go too. I saw the Panics not long back, and am seeing Dead Letter Circus in August too. Some new friends from my Friends of The Earth job have also promised to keep me up to date on the local acoustic/folk rolk scene.  I missed music. I am now at one with my ipod again (and have managed to lay my feud with itunes to rest).


I have definately been over-doing things lately. it's hard not to get carried away with everything.  I am such a restless person and any adventure put my way is hard to say no to.  I am trying to master the art of saying no (even to myself).  I never quite manage it.  This week i have managed to remain grounded, although I don't think it will last....and sleep is yet to be something I am willing to have enough of....

I was at this Glastonbury 08 watching Elbow. Can't see me in the crowd though...!

back to reality?

I've been back in Melbourne almost a month now.  I had an amazing time travelling again and realised how incredibly important planning that trip was.   I'm glad i made the decisions I made - but it wasn't finished. and now it feels like it is.  I posted on August & Everything After about all of that though....

Being back in Melbourne suprised me.  I was at a point where i was getting disillusioned. But since I've been back I've been able to see how good it always was.

I went to Rosebud the weekend afterI came back and I went horse riding through the bush onto the beach. it was the first time i'd ridden a horse since I was about 8. and it was something i had never really expected to do.

My horse was called Chewy and he looked after me well! :)

I've tried to stay Melbourne based since then though.  I've decided my local indie night is tolerable afterall.

I am more determined than ever to get a car so i can see more but for now i am perfectly able to make the most of what i have.



I'll be heading back to Manchester next May for 3 weeks....but before that i've booked cambodia and vietnam for my 30th.

If you had told me this would be my life at 30 i'd have laughed in your face.

thank fuck i was wrong!

x

autumn is falling

Not really been posting of late but I have been super busy with exciting things. There have been more day trips - i went to Lake Mountain a few weeks back for a little hike.  On the way we stopped in Marysville where the bush fires were a while back.  Most of it had grown back but apparently it looked quite different as alot of the old buildings/shops and cafes were gone. very tragic. However despite this, it was really beautiful and autumnal.  i got a few good photos....

On the way back we also stopped in Warburton. It was a very cute little place with an amazing polish restaurant. Really friendly polish family running it who sat and chatted to us while we ate!  It had cute wooden tables, painted ceilings, and amazing polish food with a ridiculous amount of veggie options which is highly unusual! found a random webpage about it here clicky click .

so overall - an amazing day :)

After several months of not so great nights out I have also been seeing improvments there too! Melbourne is quite comparable to London, in my opinion, for its nightlife. and its still taking me a while to really adapt to it.  Its very impersonal, pretentious and cliquey. i've found quite often because i'm not blonde, or at least fit into the "indie" stereotype, i am largely ignored in the places i have been going.  The closest to manchester i would compare it to is the Northern Quarter, which i was never particularly fond of in the first place!! I was once someone who had no problem approaching anyone on a night out, but i've noticed a huge decline in my confidence in that area since i moved here, to to point where i really do not even attempt to. There's only so many funny looks and uninterested responses one can take!  I miss the community of the Manchester alternative scene  - even in the indie scene!! But sometimes i also think its a combination of that and maybe i have to accept i am no longer 21 and getting wasted till i fall over and crawl home alone in a taxi so i can throw up all Sunday is no longer quite so appealing...!

But anyway, i digress..! The last few weekends have been better! I was invited to a warehouse party a few weeks back, which wasn't like the ones i have been to before i.e lots of drugs/cheap wine/loud music/ and crazy techno blasting.... This one was chilled, full of friendly, chatty people and with live acoustic bands/muscians playing all night.  One of them even did a cover of Blind Melon <3 There was also free mulled wine and veggie soup!  I got invited by the people i work with at Friends of the Earth (every sat i do voluntary work in their cafe/bookshop). Will definately be joining them again at the next one!

Anyway this is getting pretty long.  In 3 days I am setting off travelling again for 5 weeks so fun times ahead! (and sun Melbourne is fucking FREEZING!!)

I will leave this with a list of what i plan to do more of in the next few months...

Travel (obviously)
improve my photography
make more sewing things!
learn to knit (my friend at Friends of the Earth has said she will teach me)
cook more interesting food
send postcards back home (email me your addresses!!)

xxxxx