Category — Melbourne
Awesome Night Flight into Sydney over the Harbour
I had to write this. I’ve been working in Melbourne today, and so got a late flight back. This in itself is nothing special, but at that time of day, the planes head to the North of Sydney, and then fly back West of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. What this means is that you get a simple amazing view of Sydney, made even more impressive by the building and bridge lights.
It started flying over Epping - yes, there’s a suburb of Sydney called Epping, but it’s not quite the same as Epping in Essex, although that is the origin of the name - past St Leonards, and North Sydney. Then you see the bridge and the harbour open up, before seeing the towers of the city, all lit brightly against the dark night. The Sky Tower a pin-prick of building surround by these great monoliths of steel, concrete and light. The only thing I couldn’t see was the Opera House - although that may have been caused by the distraction of everything else.
The only thing I can compare it to was flying down the River Thames late at night passing over the whole of London. Going to have to book more late flights - but perhaps not on a Friday night as it wreaks havoc on your social life!
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April 4, 2008 1 Comment
Christmas in Melbourne
My second Christmas away from home, and my first in Australia. I headed down to Melbourne to visit friends, but I didn’t expect it to be quite as Christmasy as it was. It snowed just outside the city on Christmas day, and we had a log fire lit all day.
In contrast, the first day I was there, I managed to get sunburnt. But Melbourne is a lovely city to just wander around. That first day I saw most of the city centre, and some of the parkland to the East.
But, the rest of the days down there were spent getting some much needed relaxation. Oh, and of course that habit of mine… Drinking. We did a fair bit of that.
Christmas Day, our former housemates, Roberto and Sabrina came round to have dinner with us. I was only there for a few days, but the time went so quickly. I’ll be heading back to Melbourne soon…
December 25, 2006 No Comments
Melbourne, Australia
Klass was really keen to see Melbourne before he left Australia, and I’d been itching to go for a long time. So, when he suggested going there for the long weekend, I couldn’t really say no could I.
Arriving at 8 in the morning - I’d been out the night before with the Duke (Chris to those who don’t know that nickname) - so arising at 5am was quite a shock. Thankfully, my friend June had offered to take me to the airport at stupid o’clock for my flight - thank you June. Whisking through the airport, and onto the Skybus I was soon in the heart of the city, and greeted by the sound of an emergency siren going off, telling us to abandon the bus station. Just what I needed in my sleepy state.
But, soon I was with Klass at our hostel, and heading out onto the streets of Melbourne. The first thing that hits you is how wide and open the streets are, and then how little traffic there is, and then how clean it all is. It’s like something out of one of those movies with a near perfect vision of a city of the future. It immediately felt alien compared to Sydney, with trams trundling by, people and cars seem to be in much less of hurry to get to wherever they’re going. I was hoping this could be a much needed relaxing few days.
I’m going to start by summing up how I felt about Melbourne. It was really, really nice! Compared to Sydney, it’s much slower, much more relaxed. Much cleaner, and there aren’t crazy people on every other corner. But, it was almost too slow, too nice and too quiet for me. Coming from London, and living in Sydney now, I need that not stop pace and those bits of urban decay that come with larger cities. It’s strange, as I was almost certain that I’d be tempted by Melbourne.
Wandering the streets, as everyone who reads my blog knows I like to do, you get to see some wonderful architecture and wonderful open streets. Occasionally the ground will shake slightly as one of Melbourne’s fleet of trams trundles past. The Melbourne Central shopping mall is built around and under an old building.
The city is seperated on one side by the Yarra River, which is a hive of activity with rowers, tour boats and helicopter tours buzzing around. To the South you have the simply breathtaking Eureka tower, which is a residential apartment block, under which my friend Nicole works.
As for nightlife, well, Klass was recovering from the flu, and I’d been out almost everynight for the previous 2 weeks, on top of working late, so we weren’t on best form for sampling the nightlife. One thing that did catch us off guard was leaving a park to be greated by the Sydney Swans and West Coast Eagles, who were both in town for the AFL finals.
But, the biggest highlight of our trip was driving along The Great Ocean Road. Hiring a car for the day, we set out bright and early (ok, possibly not so bright, but it definately early!). Getting to the coast is dull… Really dull… But once you’re there, wow, is it a beautiful site. Vast, fierce oceans swirls set against the mainland. Driving the road is easy, and taking in the vast coastline, with it’s lighthouses, and gently sweeping road etched into the side of the cliffs is something that has to be seen to be believed.
I did love Melbourne, and we were blessed with some of the best weather for seeing it. I can’t wait to go back in the near future. Hopefully with slightly more energy, and an enthusiasm for tracking down the music that I’ve heard so much about.
Links
City of Melbourne
The Great Ocean Road
Melbourne Central
Skybus
Yarra River
Eureka tower
AFL
October 16, 2006 No Comments
