The G – West coast v Demons

Now that I’m a Melbourner, I’m determined to become fully versed in AFL so I’m delighted when a friend from work offers to take me out to a game on Saturday before I “Make Melbourne my Bitch” that night (seriously, he even sent me a meeting invite with that in the subject line).  I’m told it’s a terrible match to be going to, West Coast vs. Melbourne, but I’m still buzzing for it.

After spending a billion dollars on shopping in the morning, I meet my friend at The “G” in the afternoon and we watch the game and as expected, the Demons get annihilated by West Coast. By the end of the game I can name almost every team in the comp and I’ve even shouted out some footy jargon at the ref. Come Monday morning I’ve even moved up the ladder on the tipping comp!

After the game, we head to Fitzroy – the Newtown of Melbourne and somewhere I’m thinking of living. I’ve been to the main street of Fitzroy once before and ever since I’ve argued that I’m not nearly hipster enough to live here. Even so, I’m thrilled to be venturing out of the city for once and excited for my first real night out in Melbourne.

Naked in Fitzroy

We head to “Naked for Satan” on Brunswick Street and it’s just the epidomy of why I love Melbourne. Home infused vodka’s line the bar next to tapas style finger food which you can buy for $1 each.  We have a drink downstairs for a while and then head up to the rooftop, “Naked in the Sky” which has only recently opened.  This is definitely a tourist’s dream, without the touristy vibe which I’m told they’re worried will creep in eventually. It’s got a view of the city skyline which I’ve never really seen before and I just can’t help but take some photos.  Strangely though, there’s no one else like me taking photos. People all appear to be locals and it’s a really nice spread of people and I wonder how long until it becomes mainstream and uncool for the likes of Fitzroy.

Infused Vodka Selection

After a while we’re fascinated by the sound of these infused vodka’s on the menu and order a tray which comes out in 3 shot glasses each with a selection of vodkas, sort of like a beer paddle. Uber cool. The menu has about 20 different flavours, including salted caramel, cucumber & ginger and I think we get through about half of them.  As we leave to head to a house party we commit to round 2 to get through the rest of the menu and I’m looking forward to it!  I think it would be easy to live in Fitzroy, especially for me. We only go to one other place later on in the night called “Laundry” but it’s clear the nightlife here is pretty great. The morning brings a nice little headache and a dose of reality – nightlife suburbs are great to visit, but I’d hate to have to wander down the mainstreet for my morning coffee and see the scene of the previous night’s debortury.  Don’t shit where you eat.

I’m writing this from my hire car on the headland at bells beach. Initially I was outside the car on a nice little park bench but there was several people walking past me and after one person asked me what I was doing to which I replied, “oh nothing”, I figured to avoid the embarrassment of admitting that I’m writing what is essentially my diary, I’ve since moved into the car!

So – I start this morning off picking up an AVIS hire car and an extra -large coffee with the RipCurl Pro in my sights. Thank god for iPhones because a quick search later and I’m going along the freeway and pretty much just stick on that and follow signs to Bells. Road tripping alone is actually awesome – I sing at the top of my lungs the entire way down, about an hour and half’s drive from the CBD.  I’m surprised that the trip is so quick as I’ve had mixed reports on how long the drive is, ranging from 2 – 3 ½ hours. The only downside to the trip is the maximum speed limit is 100km’s and I find it incredibly hard to stick to!

Road Tripping

I’ve never been to a Pro Surf comp before but I’ve always loved watching surfing on TV and I’ve always secretly wished I’d been more of a “grommet” going up. I pull into Bells and it’s exactly what I pictured, branded flags everywhere and the sound of surfer dudes on loud speaker commentating on the action. Seriously though, I want to die its so amazing! I’ve never seen anything like it! The waves are unbelievable, even from the shore so I can’t even imagine how high they actually are. The image of two single surfers and a couple of jet ski’s in the ocean is one I won’t forget . The view I have is from the Western? headland (I had to think about that now that I’m on the Vic coast) and I can see hundreds of people anywhere they can fit all the way along the coast of the beach. I figure I’d go where the action is down on the beach itself and it’s awesome.  The general surfer crowd just can’t help being cool, dressed for the chilly weather but somehow pulling off pretty daggy cardigans and pom-pom beanies. And all the guys are hot. Even the ugly ones are hot. Even the red haired ferrel ones are hot.  I just love the crowd and although I’m definitely the only one here on my own, it doesn’t matter. Everyone claps and yells when CJ Hopgood does a left calve, something or other in heat 2 I and I get right into it.

A couple of hours fly by and I’ve seen the likes of Taj Burrows & Dusty Payne do things I’ve obviously only ever seen on TV.  By now I can tell I’ll be completely jaded the next time I’m just watching some normal surfer dudes at Macmasters Beach.

Taj Burrows

Next the tide comes in and I’m so lucky because having just come back from grabbing a bite (from one of about 6 food vans) they close the beach, announcing only those currently on the beach can stay. It means when Burrows finally gets out of the water I’m about 2 metres away.  Meanwhile I’m just as lucky because having looked at people at the event on Instagram last night I decide my wellies and jeans are my best bet for the cold and sand. But as the tide keeps coming in, the smugness disappears when a huge wave comes up the sand all the way to the top of my jeans. So there’s a hot tip, if you want to be in the thick of it (and freeze), wear things and shorts! Weather-wise though, I can’t really complain. I’m in a T-shirt the entire day and most of the time I wish I had something lighter on. It’s not until the sun goes down and I realise a lot of my body is actually quite wet that I chuck on my jacket, hands in pockets.

Surf’s up – my Wellies didn’t quite do the job in the end

By 4PM they’ve cancelled the rest of the heat because the swell is getting too heavy which means a disappointed crowd start to leave, a lot of them having stuck around for the eagerly anticipated surf of Kelly Slater (who I was lucky enough to see from afar).  Obviously I’m in no hurry to get home so I decide to take advance of the diminishing crowds and sit in the grand stand to watch the pro tour guys just have a “casual surf” (which is ridiculous, you should have seen the waves).

The Pro

Finally I head off up the hill to the car but not before passing Occy on the way. Not many people have spotted him but he is getting photos with a couple of kids.  I initially pass him completely, just thinking, “cool, I love Occy”, and I’ve also spend the last several hours listening to him commentating!  When he’s no longer in my sights, I stop short and adhearing to my new found self and demanding myself to be confident I approach him as he’s walking away. Of course he’s lovely and we take a photo. Even cooler, he’s headed in my direction so I join him and his mate and we all walk towards our cars. We wave goodbye and Occy yells, “take it easy Peta”.

Yep, just call me surfer chick.

Writing from the Car

Me & Occy!

I figured I’d make a very small start on figuring out which suburb will suit me down here. I assume the quickest way to do this is by tram and I head towards Flinders Street station, hopping on a tram along St Kilda Road.  I am aware that I’m not going in quite the right direction but I just figure I’ll head towards Toorak and then somehow get to Richmond in around about kind of way.

Fail.

5 minutes up St Kilda road the tram stops because of road works and the driver tells us we need to walk down the road to catch a connecting tram to get to Toorak.  When I start to walk to the connection I notice a huge monument and decide instead to follow the tourists up the hill to the WWII War Memorial.  When I get there I feel like I’m back in Washington DC! I’m certain Sydney has something equally as amazing and moving but I’ve just never been a tourist in my own town!  I snap a few photos but my iPhone doesn’t really capture the scale of it I’m afraid. I can also hear my mum’s voice in my head saying, ‘no one wants to see photos of landscapes, there has to be people in there too” so I pull out the tourist snaps thankful the rest of the tourists around me are doing the same thing, “say fuji!”

World War II Memorial

As I walk away returning to the track to the connecting tram I realise I’m probably going to get very lost and I decide to head back to Flinders Street and manage to find a tram heading to Richmond (much more sensible Peta).

The City from the Memorial

I make sure I’m taking mental note of the trip from the city given it may become a daily route should l pick Richmond as my new home. We pass the Rod Laver Arena, MCG & AAMI Park but the journey is a lot of railway lines and not really interesting.  Finally I hop off at Church & Swan Streets, recognising these from conversations I’ve had with Melbourners.  Once I have a walk up both sides of both Swan & Church I decide I really like it. There are lots of little pubs and bars which seemed to be pretty cool and trendy but not so that I would feel uncomfortable.  It’s by no means pretty and is actually pretty dingy looking at first glance but inside the facades things look a lot different. In my head I try to compare it to a suburb but nothing’s springing to mind. Most importantly I look at the people walking along the street. It’s not busy by any means but I note a lot of the cafés and shops are closed given it’s the Easter weekend. Generally people look right – I spot a few bars with people my age having drinks and they all seem like the sort of people I’d hang around. Just quietly I also spot some nice really cute guys  – they all look really fit & healthy and I’m reminded of a friend describing Richmond as “a real footy wanker place” to which I replied, “perfect”.