Australia – Hello Melbourne! 

It’s been four days since I arrived in Melbourne and I have already fallen in love with this city. Melbourne is a big city with over 4 million people getting to call this awesome place home. But even though it’s big, bustling and vibrant, the city has a nice, personal vibe and doesn’t feel like a metropolis at all. In this blog I’ll tell you all about my first few days in the city.

First things first
Since I’ll be living in Australia for the next 6 to 12 months I wanted to take care of the neccesary things first. I opened a bank account, bought an Australian SIM card and I applied for Medicare. If you’re also going to Australia then open a bank account at NAB: it’s free, and you get to choose between a black and a pink bankcard (yay!). Applying for Medicare was also a piece of cake. You just show up at one of their service centers with your passport and a copy of your visa. After you fill in a form you will receive the card within 4 to 6 days by mail. And if you’re looking for a telecom provider, go for Telstra.

Strolling through the city
I believe the best way to explore a city is on foot, so that’s what I did! I don’t have a very good sense of direction (right Petra, Mindy and Desiree? ;)) but luckily Melbourne’s city center is pretty straightforward. On Saturday I made plans to have lunch and coffee with Katherine, a girl from Melbourne I met 2 years ago when I was in Thailand. She invited me to come to a neighborhood called Fitzroy – a hipster-like area with loads of nice bars, cafes and vintage shops. Together with another Dutch girl she knew from when she studied in Utrecht we enjoyed a lovely lunch, a walk through Fitzroy and some rooftop drinks while looking at the city’s skyline.

Melbourne = art, art, art
Personally I’m not a very big art lover (sorry aunt Lenie), but I decided to check out Melbournes renowned street art and loved it! All over the city you’ll find small lane ways with the most beautiful, colorful graffiti. Go to Hosier Lane for instance, where I shot these:

After Hosier Lane I met up with a guy from a Melbourne who invited me to join him on a trip to the Melbourne Gallery, where an exhibition of Andy Warhol and Ai Wei Wei was held. And I loved it! We spent quite some time admiring what these two gentlemen created, before we ended the day with a beer in one of Melbournes many (again, hipsterlike) bars.

Eef <3 the Beach
If you read my blog on a regular basis you should know that I loooove the beach. And lucky me, Melbourne has quite a few beaches which are not too far from the city center. Today I visited St Kilda beach, one of the most well known beaches of Melbourne. To visit St Kilda you can take the 96 tram which departs from many points in the city center. You will need a myki card which you can buy at the 7eleven, or borrow one from your hostel, like I did.

The upcoming week I’m going on two trips: first to the Wilsons Promontory and then on a two night trip to the famous Great Ocean Road. I can’t wait! 🙂