Day 16 - Friday, 10.08.10

I met up with a girl named Lizzie today to look at an apartment in Prahran.  This area is very close to Windsor and Chapel Street so I would be near amazing fashion, dining, and cafes.  Love it.  Lizzie and I met over Gumtree (our version of Craigslist) and had been texting and talking all week about the apartment we were going to look at today.  When we finally met in person it felt like we had known eachother for some time.  We hit it off instantly.  She is 29 years old and from Manchester, England but has lived in Melbourne the past 5 years.  She is also a fitness freak and works at a franchise gym in Melbourne called Fitness First.  She actually completed the Australian Institute of Fitness program a couple years ago so she's going to help me study for the same exact program.  She's funny, smart, and has an incredible energy and spirit.  We're going to get along great. 

I took one look at the 2 bedroom, newly carpeted and painted apartment and fell in love it, along with the surrounding, residential area and nearby park.  We submitted our applications immediately but won't hear back until early Monday morning.  Fingers crossed.



View of Yarra River from Princes Bridge

Lizzie later dropped me off by Flinders Station, the oldest city station in Australia, built in 1854.  It is also the busiest suburban railway Station in the southern hemisphere.  I walked along the Yarra River to get to Flinders Station.  The river is the city's tourism and recreation heart.  It hums with activity such as river boats, water taxis, and numerous events including Moomba Waterfest, rowing regattas, the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival and major exhibitions.

Walk along Yarra River to Flinder Station

Adjacent to Flinders Station is "Federation Square", one of two Melbourne city squares.  Hosting over 2,000 events each year, Fed Square (as its typically called) is a world class cultural and entertainment destination containing art galleries, Australian Racing Museum, cinemas, exhibitions, restaurants, bars, and shops.  It's one of the most visited tourist attractions in Victora, receiving over 40 million visits to-date.

I walked around Fed Square and had lunch at a nice cafe before going to Tim Burton: The Exhibition within Fed Square at the ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image).  The Exhibition traces Burton's visual imagination from his earliest childhood drawings through his mature work in film.  It brings together over 700 examples of rarely or never-before-seen drawings, paintings, photographs, storyboards, moving-image works, puppets, costumes, and includes an extensive film series spanning his 27-year career.  It was an amazing exhibit to walk-through.  Incredibly interesting and unique.  

 

After the exhibition I went to see the movie Eat, Pray, Love after finishing the book a couple days ago.  I went to see it at the Greater Union Theatre on Russell Street.  The movie was pretty accurate with the book with some obvious Hollywood motion picture changes to make it more dramatic. 

After the movie I went to visit Laeititia at The Apartment where I had one drink then headed back to Flinders Station to take the train back home. 

Day 15 - Thursday, 10.07.10

I started apartment hunting today.  I'd been living at Laetitia's place since I got here, but now I'm looking to get even closer to the city.  I viewed 2 apartments today in the areas of Windsor and Ripponlea.

The Windsor apartment was a great location, but I would have an incredibly small room with 3 other bedrooms, 1 bathroom, and a kitchen.  It was mainly for backpackers staying short-term.  However, the location was awesome because it was directly on Chapel Street, above an Internet Cafe.  This street is renowned for showcasing the best in local and international designers as well presenting excellent dining and entertainment destinations. 



Chapel Street

The Ripponlea apartment was actually a house with 4 bedrooms, a backyard, huge kitchen, and lounge area.  Unfortunately, the location wasn't great and it was too from a train station. 

Hopefully I'll have better luck tomorrow.

Day 12 - Monday, 10.04.10

We went rock climbing again today.  It was myself, Nicolas, Dylan, Gabe, and Nicolas' friend, Rick.  We had a great time and here are the photos to prove it:

 

Day 11 - Sunday, 10.03.10

After 5 hours of sleep from the previous night I headed to Nicolas' place.  When I arrived, Gabe and Nicolas took me straight to Gunnamatta Beach so they could surf while I laid out and soaked in the sun.  It felt absolutely amazing.  Gunnamatta Beach is located within the Mornington Peninsula National Park.  It is one of the most consistent beach breaks in Australia. 

Later we returned to Nicolas' apartment where we spent the evening relaxing and watching movies.  Gabe cooked an amazing meal for us which involved chicken, fettuccine, green beans, mushrooms, coconut milk, soy sauce, and peanut butter.  We watched "Getting to the Greek" and "Team America".  It was a great evening.  

Day 10 - Saturday, 10.02.10



Magpies holding the Premiership Cup after winning AFL Grand Final



Today was the Grand Final rematch between the Magpies (Collingwood) and Saints (St Kilda).  I went to watch the game at Napier Hotel Pub in Fitzroy with Nicolas, Dylan, Nick (Dylan's friend), and Gabe (Nicolas' friend).  We had a great time.  We ate, drank, and played pool while watching the game.  However, after the 2nd quarter we all lost interest in the game because the Magpies were winning by a huge margin.  In the end, Magpies won 108 - 52.

Directly across from Napier Hotel was Fitzroy's Town Hall, built in 1863. 



Fitzroy Town Hall



Napier Hotel Pub

In the evening we continued drinking at The Apartment.  For whatever reason I asked Nicolas and Gabe if they ever tried an Irish Car Bomb  (1/2 Guiness with a shot of Jameson mixed with Baileys).  They both had no idea what I was talking about so now we were on a mission to find a bar that could make one.  We went into at least 4 bars before finding one that actually sold Guiness.  Victory!  They loved the drinks. 

Hanging out at Napier Pub

We stayed out till 2am then tried to grab a cab back to Laetitia's place.  We waited in a cab line for over 2 hours and continued to wait.  To make the delay even worse, the clocks shifted ahead by 1 hour so it was approaching 5am at this time.  We ended up contacting Laetitia at home and she put us in touch with her manager at The Apartment.  He took us home around 6am.  Thank god for friendly Aussies!

Day 9 - Friday, 10.01.10

It was an absolutely beautiful, sunny day outside so I went for a run in the local parks by Laetitia's apartment.  One of the parks is Boroondara Park while the other park nearby is Shenley Park.  Melbourne is known for its abundant parks.  The local parks by Laetitia's place is one of many "Parks Victoria", the custodian of a diverse estate of significant parks in Victoria.  The estate includes 45 national parks, 13 marine national parks, 11 marine sanctuaries, 3 wilderness parks, 25 state parks, 30 metropolitan parks, and some 60 other parks.  These assets total more than 4 million hectares (about 17% of Victoria).

After my run I went for lunch and coffee at the Elle Cafe.  I ate a chicken, avocado, pesto, and cheese sandwich while reading Eat, Pray, Love.  I continued reading on the balcony of Laetitia's apartment while drinking wine.  It was a good day :)

Day 7 - Wednesday, 9.29.10

I went to Nicolas' place in Mornington for the night.  While he was working in the afternoon I walked around Mornington's Main Street for about 2 hours, taking note of all the shops, restaurants, cafes, and hotels the strip had to offer.  I stopped for a bite to eat at Penman's Coffee Cafe.  I sat outside and had a large helping of deliciously layered lasagna with a glass of red table wine.  I sat there for awhile observing the people and noticing the shops while sipping my wine.  It was wonderful.  I continued to walk along Main Street, and I was about to turn around when I noticed the bay just ahead.  As I approached the water I walked through Mornington Park to look around before settling on top of a cliff overlooking the crystal clear blue/green water of Mornington's Bay.  I stood there for awhile admiring the water, cliffs, sailboats, and people playing along the shore.  On my walk back to the apartment I noticed this architecturally amazing hotel so I decided to look around inside.  The place was actually built in 1890 as a bank before transforming into The Bay Hotel in 1998.

The Bay Hotel

The Mornington Peninsula is only an hours drive from Melbourne.  The area is widely known for its beaches and secluded bays but many visitors come to the peninsula for its vast array of wineries.  With more than 50 cellar doors, the peninsula reveals an enviable reputation for its Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

The area is also known for its 25,000 hectars of national parks as well as seaside activities such as surfing, scuba diving, sailing, diving with the dolphins or swimming with the seals, or horseback riding along the sands of Gunnamatta Beach.

In the evening Nicolas and I went rock climbing.

  





Day 5 - Monday, 9.27.10

Shot Tower w/in glass cone

Laetitia took me into the heart of Melbourne today to find my personal training school, the Australian Institute of Fitness, and to help me familiarize myself with the public transportation.  I will arrive at the Melbourne Central Train Station to get to the institute, which also happens to be a shopping, dining, and entertainment destination.  Woo hoo!  The station houses 300 stores, an 11 screen movie theatre, Rockstar blowing, and late night bars and cafes.  Within the station is the historic Shot Tower and Shot Tower Clock.  The tower is surround by a 20 storey high glass cone.  The cone is one of the largest glass structures of its type in the world.   

 

Shot Tower Clock

We made our way to the Australian Institute of Fitness where I will attend personal training classes from October 11 - December 4.  I can't wait!

I continued to explore Melbourne while Laetitia went to Uni (University).  I quickly learned that Australians like to shorten their words and add "ies" to the end of numerous words.  This could be a result of their laid back nature, which I absolutely enjoy.  Consider that the name of the country has been shortened to the nickname "Oz" and Australians are reduced to "Aussies".  Here are a few shortened words that I've already come across:

1. Football (or Aussie Rules) = Footy
2. Thanks = Ta
3. Brisbane (city) = Brissy
4. Good day = G'day
5. How are you? = How ya going? (not shortened but love the slang)
6. Sunglasses = Sunnies
7. Surfers = Surfies
8. Tasmania = Tassie

Magistrates Court

As I was walking I came across this magnifienct, historic building.  I decided to take a photo and research it's significance when I returned to the apartment.  The building turned out to be the former Magistrates Court (now a landmark) built between 1911 and 1913.  The architectural style is Norman (or French Romanesque).  In 1995 the landmark became RMIT (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology) Building 20 when it was purchased by the university.

After a little walking I sat down in front of the Victoria State Library reading Eat, Pray, Love (very fitting for my trip) when it started to rain so I ventured inside.  The library is the state's largest public reference library with a wide collection of books, artworks, audio and video files, music scores, and digitized copies of works.  There was also a free gallery exhibition in the library titled 'Til You Drop Shopping.  It explores Melbourne's social history through changes in their shopping habits, from early settlement of 1880's Melbourne to today. 

Prior to visiting Melbourne I was told that Aussies are extremely friendly people.  I found this to be incredibly true upon my return from Melbourne back to Laetitia's apartment.  When I got off the train I couldn't figure out which direction to walk in to get back to the apartment.  It didn't help that it was also raining.  As I was walking aimlessly I noticed a parked car with the ignition running.  I stopped to ask the woman inside for directions.  She wasn't exactly sure where I was going either so she said "hop in and we'll figure it out together."  I was amazed at this woman's generosity.  Her name was Chris.  Within 3 minutes I was back at the apartment. 

Day 3 - Saturday, 9.25.10 (Australian Footy)

Magpies v Saints

The Grand Final for Australian Rules Football (usually called Footy or Aussie Rules) is played today.  It's comparable to our Superbowl.  I've been told the sport is a cross between rugby, soccer, and American football.  It's got the speed of soccer, tackling without pads like rugby, and scoring ability (to a degree) of football.  The objective of the game is to score points by passing the ball through the opponent's goal.  The main way to score points is by kicking the ball between the major goal posts.  During play, the players may position themselves anywhere on the field and use any part of their body to move the ball.  The primary methods are kicking, handballing, and running with the ball.  Throwing the ball is not allowed.  A distinctive feature of the game is a mark, where players anywhere on the field who catch a ball from a kick are awarded a free kick. 

Magpie Fan Frenzy

The Grand Final match was between the St Kilda Saints and the Collingwood Magpies.  I watched the match at a local Melbourne pub known as the Sneak Pub.  The Final actually ended in a tie or draw at the Melbourne Cricket Ground with 68 points a piece.  I waited for them to go into overtime.  However, when the Grand Final match ends in a tie the game is played all over again the following Saturday.  Unbelievable.  There are 4 periods, each 25 minutes.  They must play the entire final again.  Did I already say "unbelievable".  This marks the 3rd time in Footy Final history that the match ended in a tie and had to be replayed again.  The last draw was in 1977.  Prior to that it was 1948.  I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to watch 2 Grand Final matches.  I doubt the players feel the same way.

Team reaction after reaching a Final Game tie

In the evening Nicolas, Dylan, and I went to visit Laetitia at The Apartment, a bar where she bartends.  The bar is absolutely beautiful, with sections throughout it that represent areas of an apartment such as a kitchen, library, and lounge.

After The Apartment we went to a cozy, elegant wine bar called the Melbourne Supper Club, which had a spectacular view of the city.  On one side was a view of the Princess Theatre, one of the world's grandest Victorian theatres, dating from 1886. Directly in front of the wine bar venue was a view of the Old Parliament House, home to Australia's Federal Parliament from 1927 - 1988.  Around 3am we headed home.

The Apartment

Melbourne Supper Club

Princess Theatre

View of Old Parliament House from Supper Club

Day 2 - Friday,9.24.10

Nicolas and I went indoor rock climbing at Bayside Rock in Carrum Downs. http://www.baysiderock.com.au/ I had the best time and can easily see how addicting it can become. My first climb was a little terrifying, however, because I have a terrible fear of heights.  It actually comforted me to know that Nicolas had a fear of heights as well but has no trouble climbing 3 or 4x per week.  Wow.  As I got half-way up the wall on my first climb I made the obvious mistake of looking down.  Not a good idea.  My anxiety started to build and I told Nicolas that I may need to come down.  He said that wasn't an option and that I had to climb all the way to the top and touch the rope hook before he would let me back down.  Damn.  I looked at the top and realized how far I had to go.  Damn.  I realized the only way I was getting off the wall as quickly as I could was to reach the top as fast as possible.  So I kept climbing untiI I reached the top and felt an incredible sense of accomplishment.  Afterward, I became addicted and the heights didn't bother me.  After climbing we went bouldering, a style of rock climbing undertaken without a rope on very short climbs over a crashing pad.  We climbed for over 4 hours that day and I can't wait to go back.

Bouldering

That evening Nicolas, myself, and Adam (his flatmate) went to hang out with their friend, Dylan, in Leongatha.  This area is vastly known for its dairy production.  For dinner and drinks we went to the Grand Ridge Brewery.  At the Australian International Beer Awards, this particular brewery received medals for all 7 beers in their range.  This is quite an achievement considering there were 492 entries from 27 countries and a total of 81 breweries represented.   Throughout the evening the four of us played pool, drank, and made fun of Nicolas' comb over :) As you're probably aware, Australia is a big drinking culture.  I was told before coming here that Australians don't waste time with drinking games because they could be "just drinking."  There is no beer pong, card games, relays, or chugging contests (like in America) because why waste time determining the amount you will drink based on a game when you could be drinking the whole time. 

Day 1 - Thursday, 9.23.10

I arrived in Melbourne Airport at 8am and Laetitia picked me up.  As we drove back to her apartment Laetitia told me that Melbourne is known for its art and prides itself on being Australia's cultural capital.  This was immediately evident as we drove along the EastLink Freeway where massive art sculptures and pieces were strategically placed.

EastLink Freeway's $5.5 million public art collection presents the following pieces of work:



Callum Morton - Hotel



Emily Floyd - Blackbird and Worm




Ron Swann - Vault

Simeon Nelson - Desiring Machine

French toast at Liar Liar

In addition to their eclectic art, Melbourne is also known for its fantastic food.  We ate breakfast at this amazing coffee cafe known as Liar Liar Cafe located in Hawthorne.  I drank a soy vanilla chai latte, which was creamier and tastier than the States, and I ate the most amazing French toast coupled with mascarpone and warm plums. 

Walkway at Uni of Melbourne

After breakfast we went to the University of Melbourne, where Laetitia goes to school.  We walked around the beautiful campus which was established in 1853 as a public-spirited institution that makes distinctive contributions in research, teaching, and knowledge transfer.

A few hours later I was introduced to the Spudbar in St Kilda for lunch.  It's a very simple concept with impeccable tasting rewards.  You choose from a baked or sweet potato and add up to as many as 15 different toppings.  Such exotic toppings can include pineapple, bolognaise, mango chutney, or beef curry. 

After lunch Laetitia and I walked around St Kilda, an inner city suburb of Melbourne home to many of Melbourne's famous visitor attractions including Luna Park, the Esplanade Hotel, Acland Street, and Fitzroy Street.  St Kilda is situated on one of the most picturesque points of Port Phillip Bay and offers several of Melbourne's big events and festivals.  It is also home to St Kilda Beach, Melbourne's most famous beach.

St Kilda Beach



St Kilda Pier





In the evening Laetitia treated me to the Peninsula Hot Springs, the first natural hot springs & day spa centre in Victoria, Australia.  It was exactly what I needed after a 16 hour flight from Los Angeles.  At the Hot Springs I also met up with Laetitia's brother, my other cousin by proxy, Nicolas.

My Journey to Oz

Hello...My name is Amy and I'm leaving on a journey to Melbourne, Australia starting September 23, 2010 to January 5, 2011.  I am so excited about this trip because I've never been to Australia, and I'm going to visit my cousins (by proxy), Laetitia and Nicolas.  Thanks to Nicolas, I've decided to gain additional personal training knowledge within Melbourne at the Australian Institute of Fitness (AIF).  The institute is the first and largest training organization in Australia.  Having already received my NASM certification (National Association of Sports Medicine), I'm off to gain 4 additional training certifications at AIF in a period of 2 months.  I will graduate with the following qualifications:

1. Gym Instruction – Certificate III in Fitness
2. Personal Training – Certificate IV in Fitness
3. First Aid Certificate
4. FISAF Certificate – provides International recognition through the Federation International Sports Aerobics and Fitness

Upon completion of my schooling I hope to explore Sydney, Brisbane, and the Great Barrier Reef before heading to New Zealand for Christmas and New Year’s with my good friend Melanie.