I’m currently sitting in the departure lounge at Melbourne airport,
waiting for my delayed flight to Sydney. Once there, I’ll be heading
back home, via a short stop in Beijing. The end of this fantastic trip
is near…
So Melbourne, then. It’s a cool place, I’ve decided, preferable even
to Sydney. My visit to the St. Kilda area was splendid, really
enjoyable. I walked miles and miles along the beach front and really
enjoyed the scenery. I stayed specially to see the sunset, and I
wasn’t disappointed, either. Hope you like the photos!
The hostel I stayed at was unusual – an ex-nunnery! It had a good vibe
about it, very spacious and I met some good people there. The location
was pretty central, with easy connections within the city via the
excellent tram system and walking.
The next day was spent doing a little shopping and then wandering
around the bottanical gardens. The gardens were peaceful, though not
very colourful, which seems to be the theme of my autumn trip and
gardens.
I had a great night, though, when I went to see an Aussie Rules game
with a mate from Nottingham who was in my hostel room. A packed 50,000
crowd crammed in to watch Essendon v Hawthorn. No, I’d never heard of
them either! In fact, we didn’t have a clue what the heck was going on
for the first two quarters! Men in vests running, jumping, kicking and
occasionally scoring was the best we could work out. I decided at half
time to ask an Aussie behind me the rules, and from then on it all
made sense! I cheered the underdog, Essendon, and to our delight they
absolutely stormed them! Most of the crowd around us and red and black
went wild as they ran out easy winners. A bit like Spurs beating
Arsenal 4-0 – no-one thought it was possible! I congratulated our
Aussie mate and left the stadium in the drizzle with the delighted
sounds of the Essendon fans ringing in my ears. Afterwards, we went to
a local bar and sunk a few beers until the early hours. Well, it was
my last night in Oz…
Am I sad to be leaving? Yes. Looking forward to going home? No and
yes. Don’t want to go back to normality, but it will be good to see
everyone again. Plus have some privacy and different clothes! Not sure
how I’ll adjust back, but I do know it won’t be quite the same as
before, after the experiences Travel Andy has had!
Hope to see you all soon and bore you all with my photos and stories…