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| Melbourne |
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| Rainy beach party |
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| Rodeo for Anton and Sandra's last night |
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| The secret garden |
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| Kimbra at SummerFieldDaze |
Our days in Byron Bay somehow feel very far away, as we sit on the South coast of Australia in Melbourne. Our last days in Byron Bay were filled with so much activity including the music festival Summerfieldayze (featuring Adrian Lux, Kimbra, MIA and the amazing Chemical Brothers), our last Byron Sunday Market (where Dave was picked to help out in a fire juggling street performers act), and spending a week with our friends back at the hostel enjoying the weather and beaches (rain or shine!) as well as our new favorite spot: The Secret Garden (secret spot in the rainforest behind our hostel). We left Byron Bay on a great note, with only great memories and great friends, knowing that we will
be back to Byron one day.
Just days after we left our beloved home away from home, we
heard news about extreme storms heading up the East coast! A monsoon hit Northern New South Whales (Byron Bay) and most of Queensland, leaving our friends to some very rainy weather, yet great surfing waves from what we hear. When we arrived in Melbourne, the weather also was less than ideal. We had been warned about the temperamental Melbourne weather, but didn’t believe it until we experienced it first hand. We had been used to an average of 30
C degree humid sub-tropical rainforest weather, and arrived to the city with a high of 18 C. We were feeling a little under-dressed for the weather, and decided to keep warm by exploring the city.
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| Roger! |
The day after we arrived in Melbourne, we spent the day downtown in Federation Square watching the live Australia Open tennis matches. It was exciting to be a part of it all, sitting on lounge chairs and watching Sloane Stephens beat
Serena Williams on the jumbo screen. Our day became even more exciting, as we had tickets to go and watch the mens quarter-final match against
Roger Federer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the Rod Laver Arena! We spent our time leading up to the match watching smaller matches on courts all around us, Dave took part in the fastest serve competition, and lounging in the beer garden to live music and a Heineken. The match was very exciting as it went all five sets and was over four and a half hours, with Federer winning in the end. It was a great way to begin our time in Melbourne!
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| Djokovic's practice session |
More excitement was on the way, as we had two concerts coming up. The first was the epic Swedish House Mafia Final Tour, who have always been a group Dave and I always wanted to see. It was at an outdoor venue, and due to Melbourne’s unpredictable weather, it
began to rain harder than we had seen in a long time. We were able to dig out our raincoats,
warm up with some tequila, and set out for the show. Once they began to play, the energy of the crowd was so high and we were able to stop shivering and enjoy the show. They put on such a great set, playing all of their best songs, and Dave and I left with huge smiles on our faces. The second concert we attended was Of Monsters and Men, an indie folk group from Iceland. They have been a favorite of ours for a while, and were so happy that they came to Melbourne the same time we were there. We agreed that they sounded even better than their CD, and put on an amazing show! We finished the night by celebrating with a pint on rooftop bar with the
Melbourne skyline surrounding us.
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| Swedish House Mafia! |
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| Australia Day Fireworks |
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| Eat Street in Melbourne |
Many of our days were spent being tourists wandering around the city exploring the sights. We found many artistic graffiti streets, cute eat streets with cobblestone and patios and great coffee, taking in Chinatown, visiting Luna Park, exploring the Botanical Garden, taking a brewery tour at the local Mountain Goat Brewery, and going to the giant Queen Victoria Market. Some highlights included watching ‘Flight’ at the Twilight
Cinemas on the lawn at the Botanical Gardens, going to the St. Kilda Pier and meeting the cute little penguins after sunset, and spending Australia
day in Federation Square watching the fireworks. We met many great friends in Melbourne (especially Farrah and Mike), who we were able to spend time with exploring some pubs on Chapel Street, sharing some drinks in the St. Kilda park, or back at the hostel on a bean bag chair. We also were able to catch up with old friends as we went for lunch with Andreas, Ben, and Jesper who we lived with at the hostel in Byron Bay, went for dinner with Jess and her boyfriend Mike who we met when we were in Surfers Paradise, and spent time with Ethan who I worked with at One One One. It was great to meet new people, but also to see friendly familiar faces.
Dave and I loved all of our time in Melbourne as it had a lot of culture, great coffee, and a big city feel (very different from Byron). We are heading towards Sydney to visit the biggest Australian city to see which is a better fit for us. A big city seems exciting, and may be the next step for us! More to come on our travels!
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| Mountain Goat Brewery |
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| Of Monsters and Men |
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| Farrah and Becki |
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| Last Day in Byron |
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| Byron in Melbourne |
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be back to Byron one day. 
heard news about extreme storms heading up the East coast! A monsoon hit Northern New South Whales (Byron Bay) and most of Queensland, leaving our friends to some very rainy weather, yet great surfing waves from what we hear. When we arrived in Melbourne, the weather also was less than ideal. We had been warned about the temperamental Melbourne weather, but didn’t believe it until we experienced it first hand. We had been used to an average of 30 
C degree humid sub-tropical rainforest weather, and arrived to the city with a high of 18 C. We were feeling a little under-dressed for the weather, and decided to keep warm by exploring the city. 
Serena Williams on the jumbo screen. Our day became even more exciting, as we had tickets to go and watch the mens quarter-final match against 
Roger Federer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the Rod Laver Arena! We spent our time leading up to the match watching smaller matches on courts all around us, Dave took part in the fastest serve competition, and lounging in the beer garden to live music and a Heineken. The match was very exciting as it went all five sets and was over four and a half hours, with Federer winning in the end. It was a great way to begin our time in Melbourne!
began to rain harder than we had seen in a long time. We were able to dig out our raincoats, 
warm up with some tequila, and set out for the show. Once they began to play, the energy of the crowd was so high and we were able to stop shivering and enjoy the show. They put on such a great set, playing all of their best songs, and Dave and I left with huge smiles on our faces. The second concert we attended was Of Monsters and Men, an indie folk group from Iceland. They have been a favorite of ours for a while, and were so happy that they came to Melbourne the same time we were there. We agreed that they sounded even better than their CD, and put on an amazing show! We finished the night by celebrating with a pint on rooftop bar with the Melbourne skyline surrounding us. 
Cinemas on the lawn at the Botanical Gardens, going to the St. Kilda Pier and meeting the cute little penguins after sunset, and spending Australia 
day in Federation Square watching the fireworks. We met many great friends in Melbourne (especially Farrah and Mike), who we were able to spend time with exploring some pubs on Chapel Street, sharing some drinks in the St. Kilda park, or back at the hostel on a bean bag chair. We also were able to catch up with old friends as we went for lunch with Andreas, Ben, and Jesper who we lived with at the hostel in Byron Bay, went for dinner with Jess and her boyfriend Mike who we met when we were in Surfers Paradise, and spent time with Ethan who I worked with at One One One. It was great to meet new people, but also to see friendly familiar faces. 
Wow! You crammed quite a bit into your short stay in Victoria before heading back to New South Wales. We wonder where you will settle after weighing your options.
ReplyDeleteIt is always great seeing old friends and it looks like you are making some new ones, too. We look forward to the next installment of your further adventures Down-under.
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