Aili's Adventures in...: a month in Melbourne

After we finished the east coast and got back to Sydney, Priscilla and I started looking online for an apartment in Melbourne, our next planned stop. The options were limited - some required longer term stays, some were too expensive, some were in undesirable locations... The selection was looking pretty grim. We began to wonder if we should cut our stay in Melbourne short to be able to afford a decent place for a shorter period of time. Just as we were starting to lose hope, an ad came up that was ideal given our timing, location and price criteria - Leyla was looking to sublet her place while she went on vacation for a month. A few emails and phone calls later, we'd managed to confirm that we would take it! The deal was going to start in a few short days so we rented a car and spent the weekend driving from Sydney to Melbourne.

We also spent the weekend doing something you shouldn't normally do while traveling - hoarding money - since we knew that payment for the apartment would be a bit of a challenge. The options available to us were bank transfer or cash, and since neither Priscilla nor I have an Australian bank account we opted to go with the cash option. Since we both also have bank recommended withdrawal limits, this meant that we had to start stockpiling cash a few days in advance to make sure we'd have enough by the time we got to Melbourne. We met up with Leyla on Sunday afternoon to check out the place and close the deal. Sitting in Leyla's apartment, counting out bill after bill after bill to cover a month's rent plus a security deposit, it felt (and probably would've looked, to any outsider) like we were doing a drug deal! But instead of drugs, we got keys to Leyla's apartment and her promise to vacate it by noon the next day. I was excited! It had been over a year since the last time I'd stayed in one place for an entire month... and the prospect of not moving around for a bit had left me dreaming about some of the luxuries an apartment would provide - things like unpacking and being able to buy a normal-sized bottle of shampoo without having to carry it around at its full weight. :)

Melbourne has a lot to offer and some of the things I enjoyed there included great food and drink (sometimes in hard to find places!), the nearby Yarra Valley wine region, and the opportunity to connect with old friends as well as make some new ones. Part of my original plan was to spend several months in Melbourne and get a job bartending or in a café. After I got to Australia, my travel timelines shifted such that the working part of my working holiday visa is no longer part of the plan, since I won't be anywhere long enough to get hired. Even so, I was still interested in learning how to make espresso-based beverages and a proper cocktail, so I signed up for a barista course and bartending school. I really enjoyed both of these - there's something very satisfying about being able to make drinks properly. An added perk of bartending school was being able to enjoy a cocktail at any time of day with zero judgment :) The most challenging part of all of this was learning how to froth milk properly... it took some practice, but I got it. Never would I have guessed that I'd want to hear the compliment "nice milk!" - but I did. In fact, it left me beaming :)

One of the highlights for me was definitely the trip to Philip Island. I'd heard of this place before we arrived and it seemed a bit surreal - stadium seating on a beach to watch penguins come in from the ocean at dusk? How exactly did this whole thing work? When someone I hadn't seen since 1989 offered to take us there on a day trip, I was excited and curious to find out. Turns out everything I heard is true - every night penguins swim in from the ocean, coming back from their multi-day fish trip feasts. They gather in teams near the water's edge before finding enough group courage to waddle across the beach to their homes. The ones who've been home come out excitedly to meet them - especially the hungry young ones who've been waiting for food for days, and who can't identify their parents so they approach everyone who goes by! These penguins are tiny (~30 cm tall) and so cute to watch. Some of them are so full that they fall over! Cameras aren't allowed to protect the little creatures so you'll just have to see it for yourself.

Some other images: