Working Holiday in Melbourne... Part 3

Melbourne- my four months living in your ample bosom have been AMAZING, but- alas!- I have just left to do my three months of rural work in order to extend my Working Holiday Visa for a second year, so I can return to you, you see? You deserve a re-cap of some of my favourite city memories since my last post:

A Pic collage of some city snaps

I've attended some great festivals and events in the last couple of months; Sydney Road's Street Party and a cheeky Sunday beer garden sesh was an ideal arvo, as was watching the fearless waterski jumps, riverside fireworks and jumping around at the sweaty Ball Park Music gig at the Moomba Festival weekend.

Fireworks by the Yarra at Moomba Festival

Future Music Festival was an awesome day too- though to me a festival isn't a festival without a hastily-erected tent to crash in(to) after tripping over a million insivible guy ropes, waking up with a hangover claiming 'hair of the dog' actually works and doing it all again for the next couple of nights. A lot of Aussie festivals end around 11pm, leaving hundreds of people cramming onto the same packed trams or walking miles to find an open bottle-o, only to find themselves in the casino and bailing at 2am. Wish I could go to Splendour in the Grass!

A highlight of my whole LIFE was watching Passenger (a.k.a Mike Rosenberg) perform at the quaint Athenaeum theater  a gig I had bought tickets to around Christmas! He was PHENOMENAL- I spent every strum, stomp and word transfixed at how witty, humble, entertaining, funny, talented (and thus attractive!) he was, even laughing out loud at his Taylor Swift/goat bleat cover, almost crying at Let Her Go, shouting out the lyrics to Holes with the hundreds of other spectators, and holding my breath while he gave an unplugged rendition of Blind Love. He was supported by the talented, hairy and soulful Stu Larsen and another less impressive fellow whose name I forget. WATCH THIS and begin to understand his greatness--->

I had another fun camping weekend in Moama for Easter (complete with egg hunt), and two glorious days spend visiting my camp friend in Torquay where I tried to surf (still a bit of a 'kook' though- someone who can't surf!), leapt off a huge rock into the ocean, ate shark and chips by the sea, grabbed bargains at surf shop warehouse sales, sampled the local nightlife and sunbathed on Bells Beach.

Yeah that's me almost standing up on a baby wave!

Another fantastic road trip took us to Philip Island, where we watched the cute fluffy penguins waddle in to shore at the tourist-fave Penguin Parade, spent time with my friend's Gran (she loved our enchiladas and cards evening!), seal-spotted from the Nobbies and went sand-dune boarding into the sea- NOTE: do this with your mouth FIRMLY CLOSED or you WILL have a mouth full of sand!

So excited for penguins!

At the top of a sand dune- ready to hurtle down it!

Melbourne International Comedy Festival was in full swing from March to April, with a myriad of shows to suit every sense of humour. I saw Neal Portenza's Test Show at the Tuxedo Cat and only endured one moment of pick-on-the-audience embarrassment but many moment of this-is-ridiculous-but-hilarious joy.

 

I started to look at Melbourne in a different way before I left- taking photos of the beautiful parts I knew I wouldn't see for a while and visiting the places I should have already been like the Shrine of Remembrance, the ACMI and the NGV (which has a Monet exhibition coming soon that I'd have loved to have seen, Claude being my fave French Impressionist and all- I've been to his house y'know!) and cool soon-closing events like the People's Market in Collingwood. 

Australian Art in the NGV Federation Square gallery

Interactive Screen Worlds exhibition at the ACMI

View from the Shrine of Remembrance

The Melbourne Museum has an interesting exhibition on the lost treasures of Afghanistan that were hidden in the depths of the presidential palace by Kabul's National Museum staff during times of political turbulence and warfare, but re-discovered in 2003. From intricate pottery to stunning turquoise and gold jewelry, the unearthing of these objects has given Afghanistan back a tangible sense of their rich culture and history, and it was refreshing to experience something positive in relation to the troubled country, as well as just to swoon over the elaborate adornments!

I started attending hip-hop dance classes at the Melbourne Dance Hub, where I worked on improving my "swag"- it's a work in progress! My friends and I also worked up a sweat at the 5K Puma Glow Run along Birrarung Mar; where dance tents every kilometre and a rave-like party at the finish line allowed us to punctuate our speed-walk/jogging bursts with booty-shaking and skanking under showers of glow sticks, all to the backdrop of the night cityscape, and followed by a great night out on Chapel Street. I've been to so many of Melbourne's best (and worst) watering holes that a thorough run-through of my favourite Melbournian nightlife spots deserves a post of it's own- watch this space!

The Glow Run Starting Line

My drink-fuelled escapades and culinary extravagances were funded by another temp admin job I had at Victoria University's Sunshine campus (Sunshine being possibly the most ironic name for such a bleak suburb), with the rest being spent at weekend garage sales, vintage warehouses and op shops, if not on my ever-depleting Myki card.

RetroStar vintage warehouse just opposite my flat in Brunswick- epic!

My next job (and lifestyle) will be wildly different- banana farming in a town called Innisfail roughly 1 hour south of Cairns whilst living the backpacker life in a working hostel! Once I've settled in and had my first taste of banana farming I will reveal all in another post. 

Until then- wish me luck!