Melbourne: Australia's 2nd biggest city

Since the trip wasn’t packed enough, I decided that traveling to Australia and not seeing the second most populated city was not going to happen, so Kathryn & I squeezed in a two-day Melbourne trip after the Great Barrier Reef and before New Zealand. As Australia's second largest city, the population is growing so fast that it may soon overtake Sydney.

As you could imagine, we were physically exhausted. I hadn’t been home in nearly four weeks at this point, and while we did research, it wasn’t like we had a concrete agenda of places and times. I even asked if we could Uber everywhere. That may have impacted my opinion of Melbourne as a city, but by the end of it, I’m very fond of everything we saw and happy we got to see what it had to offer.

Rather than comparing Melbourne to one specific city, the best comparison Kathryn came up with is that Sydney is the Manhattan of New York City, while Melbourne is the Brooklyn. It’s hip, the coffee shop and restaurant culture is huge and the people who live there love it. It appeared to have everything the best of other cities have I have visited have to offer- with parks like Montreal, a Sydney vibe downtown / in the CBD, and a Chicago lakefront path feel on its beaches, and a clean and silent overall feel.

Some landmarks we saw while there:

View of the Melbourne skyline from Federation Square. Nearby we popped in the National Gallery of Victoria, that has the largest stain glassed ceiling 

Outside the Royal Botanical Gardens

Hosier Lane - an alley full of unique graffiti not too far from Federation Square

Manchester Press- a popular café in Melbourne’s coffee shop culture. There were even birds flying around next to us.

The Fitzroy & Prahran areas were my favorite, with an essential stop at a rooftop with tapas called Naked for Satan. Another food recommendation is brunch at Top Paddock, which Kathryn received from a woman on the subway in NYC. It lived up to its expectation!

The best end to Melbourne is that one of Kathryn’s Mizzou friends happens to live here and took us out in his suburb- Prahran. It was very similar to the Newtown suburb where I stayed in Sydney - a main street called Chapel Street full of restaurants, bars and shopping. This definitely made us feel more at home there and enjoying what it had to offer for your average 20-something resident. 

Bungee jumping: experience of a lifetime

When discussing trip activities for New Zealand back in February, Kathryn & I booked bungee jumping for our first full day in the Queenstown area. I had seen beautiful photos of both bungee jumping and skydiving in New Zealand, but we decided to do bungee because it was founded in New Zealand.

A few days before, both of us forgot why we thought this was a good idea and had no idea what drove us to jump in the first place, but the deposit was down so we were headed its way.

Spelled “bungy” in NZ, AJ Hackett Bungy is a renowned location, specifically the Kuwarau Bridge where we booked our jump. It’s the first commercial bungy location in the world, so tourists from just about everywhere stop by, even if they are not jumping. Upon arrival, we were weighed, received numbers for photos & times written on our hand, and filled out a quick form. The conversation then went as follows:

Receptionist: Here’s your receipt. Take it to the bridge and then jump!”

Us: “There is no information or security video…?”

Receptionist: Nope!

We were terrified. How were we about to trust our lives with the random employees on this bridge? Since the line wasn’t very long, we decided to take turns jumping so we could watch and photograph each other jumping.

Bungee jumping was similar to skydiving in that when it’s happening, you are in such shock you can’t even scream or vocally react. The scariest part for me was not the first drop, but rather the first swing back up when the guys on the bridge are controlling how much you move back and forth. The whole experience is less than two minutes, but it feels like a long two minutes as you swing over a river.

Watching other jumpers, we would laugh at the largest moment of scare when the jumper is waiting on the bridge platform. Once I was in that position, I realized that this is because your harness is not a typical waist harness - but a foot/lower leg harness. Your feet and lower legs are wrapped in towels and sealed with Velcro straps, with a harness underneath there. When you swing back and forth, all of the blood rushes to your head since you are inverted. The rest of the pressure is on your lower legs, which is a lot since they are tied together in the tightest position possible for nearly five minutes.

Coming out of it, the experience was actually pretty thrilling and I would do it again. Despite the lack of instructional video, AJ Hackett is super safe and was worth every penny. Check out the pictures here:

The Kawarau Bridge that we jumped from

Upon landing, you grab the pole from the staff in the raft who then take your harness off and release you

We did it!

Week 2: Weekdays filled with food

My second week in Sydney was more social than my first - since I had explored a bit, began adjusting to the area and accrued bucket list items based on recommendations and observations.

Eating kangaroo pizza at The Australian Hotel with Kathryn after she arrived into Sydney! We explored the Rocks, went to a popular bar called the Argyle with movies, free drumsticks and cotton candy (fairy floss). Talk about ideal.

Eating at the Opera House bar with other YouXplore participants from the Sydney office

Grounds of Alexandria- an amazing breakfast spot recommended by many right outside the city. The food and ambiance are fabulous.

As part of a Starcom vendor event, I was invited to join a few other team members for a Justin Bieber dance class and burgers afterward! We learned the dance for the first two minutes of Sorry, and then I got to hang out with these awesome girls the rest of my trip!

Pie Tin - one of Sydney's best places to try Australia's famous meat pies

Other weekday adventures included:

·      El Jannah’s (Granville) - a popular Mediterranean chicken shop with a Turkish bakery next door 

·      The BridgeClimb - a Sydney staple to climb the Harbour Bridge

·      Brewtown (Newtown) - a popular brunch and coffee stop 

·      Hotel Palisade (The Rocks) - 

·      Tio’s (Surry Hills) - a fun Mexican cocktail bar 

Sydney in one second videos

As part of the YouXplore program I traveled on through my company, one of the projects was to create a one minute video of the trip abroad in one second video clips. Conveniently enough, this is obviously an app I have already used so creating my trip video was fairly easy. With about four one second clips of each day of sights, food and work, check out this video of my time working in Sydney prior to other travel! 

BridgeClimb

One of the well-known tourist activities in Australia is the fact that you can pay to climb the Harbour Bridge, one of the biggest landmarks in the city.

After the hype from recommendations and the Mary Kate & Ashley movie Our Lips Are Sealed, there was no question that I'd be signing up for the BridgeClimb.

Sydney Harbour Bridge & Opera House views for scale- look how long it is!

I signed up for the Climb with two colleagues at Starcom - one visiting and one local, as well as my roommate's sister Elena who happened to be visiting Sydney the same week! We all got lucky in that it stopped raining for our climb, and lightened up to show gorgeous views of the skyline and surrounding Sydney suburbs. They claim that the Harbour Bridge is the largest single span arch bridge in the world, so the walk isn't short; all in all it's about a three hour activity.

Photo from the top of the bridge, complete with the Sydney Opera House and buildings in the background

After experiencing it, I couldn't say better things about the BridgeClimb company. The staff was pleasant and had a clear orientation prior to explain the walk, the climb and the attire. You go through security 2-3 times to make sure you aren't carrying phones, cameras or other personal items, and they even breathalyze every person registered. Each climber then receives a jumpsuit, hap and clips for any loose items - glasses, sunglasses, tissues and more. Your harness clips to the bridge so you are attached at all times, and the entire bridge is wired for these clips. Impressive, eh?

My favorite part about the climb was really contextualizing Sydney after having visited so much of the town in isolation. From the peak at the top, where there is an Australian flag, you can see the coast of Bondi Beach, Manly Beach, Olympic Park, the airport, Botanic Gardens, the skyline and more. Every climber wears headphones and the guide gives an audio tour explaining the landmarks you are looking at. There are beautiful islands and harbors all around the Sydney area, and you can see all of it from the bridge and learn who resides where and what each is known for.

Whoever had the idea to let tourists climb a local landmark was brilliant - and probably makes millions of dollars each day!

Arriving on the arch

A Sunday in Sydney

Last Sunday morning, I began the day by walking to Sts. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church, the local parish in Newtown. It looked sizable from walking by, but I had no idea what to expect of the church or community.

Interestingly enough, it was not much different from Astoria. Most people there were over the age of 70, some families started to come in at the end, and the entire service was in Greek. I later learned that it's one of the first Greek churches in Sydney, hence most of the attendees are likely founders, but it was definitely different. What was most impressive is that the whole congregation was full during Orthros, which I can't say I have ever seen before.

Sts. Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church, Newtown, New South Wales

The next stop for the day was the renowned Taronga Zoo, a Sydney staple that a coworker graciously got me a free ticket to see. The zoo is a ferry ride away with a beautiful view of the skyline, and a variety of animals and species that are specific to Australia and Africa. Koalas and kangaroos are the popular Australian animals, so I attended a session on koalas (their birth cycle is only 32 days vs 9 months for humans!) and got to basically stand a few feet away from the kangaroos. It's actually illegal to hold a koala bear in New South Wales (the largest state in Australia) because of how it interferes with the koalas' development. 

Skyline view from Taronga Zoo

Other animals of note at the zoo included imported deer, since they are not native to Australia, Tasmanian devils who could easily become extinct if the zoo preservation does not continue, and many types of rats. There are no squirrels here, but similar animals called gliders, as well as bats, replace the role that squirrels play in our lives. 

Hanging right next to the kangaroos

Already on the north side and with little hope for this week's weather (since I attract rain), my host and I took a bus through the North Shore to Manly Beach for dinner and Four Pines brewery over there. This side of town felt a lot more suburban than Bondi where I had been the day prior, with a clean promenade, thin beach strip and a lot more families around. Regardless, it was a cool experience to see the other side of beaches and where people tend to surf more. The ferry back had a beautiful view of the Sydney skyline, Opera House & Harbour Bridge in the evening, which was worth it alone. With just a few more days in Sydney until leaving, it was great to hit up so many spots in one day! 

The more suburban Manly Beach, Sydney

Quirky street finds within Sydney

If I had to describe Australia in one word, quirky would be it. As an easily amused American navigating another country, check out this collection of photos I've taken after being entertained that demonstrate Australia's open, lighthearted nature.

Chalkboard signs outside of cafes and restaurants

These people in Newtown let anyone come hang out on their patio!

Restaurant signage

Gyros are regularly spelled "YEEROS" here

The name Burger King was taken in Australia when BK moved to the US, so it is called Hungry Jack's at most locations now- with the same font, menu (for the most part) and logo. McDonalds is also called Macca's as an abbreviation - making Macca's & Hungry Jack's the McD's & Burger King of Australia.

A bar in the Rocks called the Argyle has this vending machine for flat shoes - advising women in heels to give their feet a rest when they are at that point in their night

Blunt, direct humor

A notebook on someone's desk at work

The rules on the menu to a popular bar called Earl's Juke Joint. My favorite is #5- what's yours?

Things you walk by on the street

A silly pipe drawn into a robotic man on the side of the road

NYC / Qantas co-branded advertising - funny to see the city I live in promoting itself!  

This visual of high pedestrian activity showing a ton of lurking, awkward-looking people making random movements.

When people at the park cross out the 'prohibited' part of the rule

Millennials can't afford homes because they're eating too much avocado toast

A politician named Bernard Salt wrote a column in an Australia magazine last October writing:

"I have seen young people order smashed avocado with crumbled feta on five-grain toasted bread at $22 a pop and more. I can afford to eat this for lunch because I am middle-aged and have raised my family. But how can young people afford to eat like this? Shouldn't they be economising by eating at home? How often are they eating out? Twenty-two dollars several times a week could go towards a deposit on a house. 

The Millennials of Australia revolted on social media. Restaurants reacted by discounting avocado toast, and a local bank even capitalized on the humor in its marketing. Now, avocado toast is everywhere (shortened as avo) and this joke lives on with the 20somethings. 

Weekend adventures: coastal walk

One of the top recommendations I had received for Sydney was visiting its beaches - and walking the monumental path in between two of them, often called "The Coastal Walk."

This is a 3.5 mile (6 km) stretch between Bondi and Coogee beaches, two of the more well-knowns beaches for views and surfing.

My host and I walked it for roughly three hours with some pauses for swimming, as I finally got a hot, sunny day in Sydney instead of a rainy, cloudy one. From chatting about Australia and the area those few hours, here are some items I learned:

• The ocean in Australia is very strong, with waves up to nearly 15 feet while I was at Bondi. 
• Lifeguards are not always a paid position in Sydney, with many of them acting as volunteers. It fascinates me that a city that doesn't need to tip its servers since they're being compensated so well doesn't pay all of its lifeguards. 
• One of Australia's most popular reality TV shows is called Bondi Rescue, an entire show dedicated to lifeguards saving tourists at Bondi Beach. I didn't know how they have enough content to keep this running, and understood why the minute I stepped in the water
• There were Instagram models all over the walk posing by the rocks, which you had to just laugh at :) 

Gordon's Bay, one of the best views on the walk

My MediaVest host Andrew who is also participating in the exchange program

Waverley Cemetery - high tombstones right on the ocean. This was probably my favorite part of the walk.

The crowded Bondi Beach - people braving 15 foot waves together

Trees as works of art

One small touch that has fascinated me about Australia is its trees. The tree stumps I have seen here are some of the most detailed in the world, with stringy branches that never end. Since I can't help but snap pictures, enjoy this photo collection of cool trees of Sydney! 

  

Crazy strings of tree
Royal Botanic Garden

How can you not want to climb this?
Royal Botanic Garden

Royal Botanic Garden

Lighter base but just as many climbing areas
Royal Botanic Garden

Webbing up top
Royal Botanic Garden

Royal Botanic Garden

Funky at the top
Royal Botanic Garden

Blue Mountains