Hi All!
OK I know I know, it's been forever since this thing has been updated! But we've been very busy making Melbourne our new home :)
So here is how the past 2 months went... We had booked our first week in a hostel in St Kilda (a suburb just south of Melbourne - it's like the Tramore of Melbourne :p ) called The Cooee. Some of the girls had seen it being advertised on travel programs before we left so we said we'd see what all the fuss was about. It was class!! OK they're very strict, and it's weird going from staying in guesthouses all over Asia to staying in somewhere you share a bathroom in, but it was so much. We met so many people traveling from all over there place. But of course the mejority were Irish. I swear, anywhere you turn in St Kilda, you'll see Irish people. It's like a mini-Ireland or something. Anyway, the Cooee was class, and they had a little garden out the back where you could have a few drinks everynight, and it was bring your own which was perfect! :) Cuz being a backpacker is like being a student again - you're always broke! Well ya know what I mean.....
Anyway during out stay at Cooee, it the International Rules game was on in Melbourne. So of course we got all kitted out in out county jerseys and headed to the MCG (huge stadium in Melbourne - Melbourne Cricket Ground - don't let the name fool ya) It was class, sure practically everyone there was Irish. And for any of you who didn't watch those games, we won!! We were all over them for most of the game!
Our second week in Melbourne we had to move to a different hostel as the Cooee was booked out. It was a hostel called Oslo. Ok you know those horror movies where the people are staying at creapy motels/hostels and then someone attacks them in the middle of the night? Well this place was CREAPIER!!! We wondered why this was the only accomodation available in the whole of Melbourne this week (as it was the Melbourne Cup - the event the whole of Australia comes to Melbourne for) Anyway, we survived this hostel, how I don't know. The owner was so weird that it was kinda funny. haha. It's hard to explain in writing, but our advice is no matter how desperate you are, don't stay here!!!!! Unless you want the experience of your life which you may not survive!
OK enough about Oslo. Ah it gave us plenty of laughs really. Afterwards that is.... Well while we were here it was the Spring Carnival, so the 6 of us got all dressed up and went to the Melbourne Cup day. It was a great day out, and again I'd say every Irish person was there. Emma even met some guys she went to college with. It was weird after backpacking through Asia, getting all dressed up and sophisticated, and then well going from a hostel..... A fun day anyway :)
So we spent as little time as possible in Oslo, and then headed to the next best hostel in St Kilda (after the Cooee) - Base Hostel. Like Cooee this was a really cool hostel. We had to seperate up a bit with the rooms in this place, but it meant we all meant more people. This hostel had a bar downstairs, with the best drink prices in town :) As much as we loved Base, we really were getting fed up of the whole living out of a bag thing, living in hostels etc etc. So we had to start checking out houses/appartments and fast. This wasn't as easy as it sounds, it took us ages to actually find anything. There were alot of unfurnished places around, but sure the expense of renting one of them and having to get all your furniture like. These places didn't even come with fridges! Then God smiled down on us and pointed us in the direction of Marine Parade. We got a 2-bed fully furnished appartment, literally right across the road from St Kilda Marina, and right next to the beach. And we've lived there ever since :) Well the four of us live there (myself, Gillian, Emma and Marie) because Sarah and Alice weren't sure they could commit to living in Melbourne for 6 months and we wanted to get a 6-month contract. So Sarah and Alice moved into a house share on Barkley Street, while we moved into Marine Parade.
Now that accomodation was sorted, it was time to get a job. It just happened that we landed in Melbourne just as a recession kicked in over here too. There were just no jobs to be found! Well hardly any, you had to look hard. Gillian was the first to get a job, and got a waitressing job on Acland Street (the main street in St Kilda). I was sorted with EMC. I got a 6-month contract with EMC in Scoresby (about 40 minutes East of Melbourne) - the exact same job I was doing in Ireland, just a different timezone. And Emma and Marie have since also gotten jobs on Acland Street. Sarah and Alice decided they were fed up of the Melbourne weather (as it was taking a bit longer than usual for summer to kick in) and there were just NO jobs in Melbourne, so they took off to do the Gold Coast for a month. They flew up to Cairns and for the past month have been making their way down south to Sydney in time for Christmas.
Meanwhile in Melbourne, the four of us have just been doing our best to make St Kilda our new home :) We've been to a few concerts (Bloc Party, MGMT, and to come are: Kings of Leon, Coldplay, Snow Patrol), checked out the locals, checked out the shopping malls and night market, done some touristy things including the Eureka Skydeck (88th floor building looking over Melbourne) seen the penguins at St Kilda Pier, celebrated Alice and Emma's birthday and we've just decorated our appartment for Christmas :)
I had a 4-hour commute to work everyday, but then I got a car from a guy in work (thanks Barry :) ) so now my trip is down to about 45mins each way. It also means we've the car for checking out more touristy things, and checking out those huge malls just outside Melbourne (Chadstone and Knox City) We still plan to do Phillip Island, Werribee Zoo, Great Ocean Road and lots more :) Oh and also plan on a trip to Perth at some stage.
But our next stop is Sydney for New Years. We're flying up there on the 30th for 4 nights. Ger is flying in the same day over from Ireland for a holiday, and we're about to meet up with Kelly, Declan, Dee and the rest of their group, so plenty to look forward to :)
Until the next update, enjoy the photos below....
Cathy xxx
PS.....
*** HAPPY CHRISTMAS FROM ALL OF US!!! ***
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