Kickin' it off with Melbun!

Starting off my backpacker journey on May 7, 2010, I took a packed overnight Greyhound bus from Canberra to Melbourne (8 hours), the capital of Victoria. For those of you who don't know, in their typical way of pronouncing everything differently than how it's spelled, Aussies say Melbun, not Melbourne. In Melbourne, I had the pleasure of staying with Chris and Katrina Lambert, friends of friends (thanks Norman and Nancy)! They welcomed me into their lovely home and I enjoyed getting to know them a bit. The location of their house is perfect; just a short tram ride into the city and a 5 minute walk to the beach!

Their cute house!

The Lamberts were the first of many "connections" that my friends/family had set me up with throughout my travels and let me just say, I was the recipient of so much generosity...from people who didn't even know me! You'll hear all about them in the future.

So, I have to say, I really fell in love with Melbourne. It has such a different feel than Sydney. Melb has much more of a European vibe and it's very artsy. There are so many beautiful Victorian buildings and it's a city filled with lovely gardens! The Yarra River runs through the city as well...walking along the river was one of my favorite things to do! Melb is a good-sized city, but it didn't feel overwhelming to me. And let me tell you, in my 3 days there, I walked that city up and down! Here's some of the highlights for me:

• Eureka Tower: I went up to the 88th floor of the Eureka Tower and got a wonderful view of the city!

The Tower

Hehee, my feet!

It was neat being up there while the sun was setting!

A view of the Yarra River.

I like this photo!

This is also one of my favs!

You can even post your mail up there! :)

•  Victorian architecture: I really loved the elegance of the frilly Victorian buildings. It made me feel really posh and sophisticated when walking around. ;)

Flinders Station

So pretty!

I'd like to live in this house!

Umm...can you see why I love Melb?

• Laneways: These were awesome! They are basically alleyways between tall buildings, but they are all over the city center.  Some are filled with cute eateries, others with funky eclectic shops, and some full of neat graffiti and live music. It really is like stepping into another world...it's a cool experience to stumble across one of the laneways!

This is one of the funky laneways.

• Sunset on the beach: It was really pretty! The sky was all pink and purple!

• Walking around the city: I just loved it; there's so much to see! Like I said, I could walk for hours along the Yarra River. I had 3 days of beautiful, sunny weather too, which is quite rare for Melb. Apparently, they typically go through 4 seasons in 1 day (sounds a bit similar to St. Louis weather)!

Melb has so many neat bridges!

This is Southbank...I loved this area! On Sundays, they have awesome art and craft markets.

I love the reflections on the water!

• The lovely gardens: As I said earlier, I loved all the gardens in the city! I went to 3 different gardens: the botanic gardens, Fitzroy, and Carlton.

The botanic gardens. I love the view of the buildings through the rose garden!

Carlton Gardens...I loved this fountain, hence the next few photos.

So pretty!

The conservatory in Fitzroy Gardens.

Captain Cook's Cottage

At the top of the shrine of remembrance. If you look closely, you can see my cute little nose stud...yes, I still LOVE it!

• Oh and another highlight: out of all the places I've been in Australia so far, Melb definitely has the best looking guys! :) They are everywhere! Single ladies, are you sold yet?

So, to sum it all up, my 3 days in Melbourne were fantastic and I'd love to visit again. I'm pretty sure I could live there and be happy! Up next: The Great Ocean Road tour with Groovy Grape Getaways!

Aussie Fact of the Day:  

1). "According to the RSPCA, Melbourne is the "Fox Capital" of the western world, with 6-23 foxes every square kilometer in the metropolitan area."

 2). "The first traffic lights of Australia were installed in Melbourne, on the Collins and Swanston Streets intersection."

3).  "Melbourne is the only city in the world that has five international standard sporting facilities on the fringe of its central business district." http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/facts-about-melbourne-1672.html

To read more interesting facts about Melbourne (there are lots), click on this link: Interesting facts about Melbourne

To view more photos of Melbourne, click on this link: Melbourne Photos