Perhaps it’s just because I have fallen in love with Sydney, but I must be honest and say that Melbourne is slightly underwhelming so far.  To be fair, our hostel is on the edge of the city and I haven’t seen the sites of Federation Square or the Arts Precinct yet, so I am sure it will get better.  Perhaps I was so spoilt by the city center location, next to Hyde Park in Sydney, that my expectations of Melbourne were a little too high.

Already I miss the people running/walking/cycling to work, the beautiful greenery of the Botanic Gardens and the harbour backdrop for a morning run.  Geese! Can’t believe I miss Sydney so much after only staying there 1 week!  Anyway, something about Melbourne…

The hostel is, well, a hostel.  Actually, it’s a bit of a building site to be honest!  They are completely renovating the downstairs section, so the entrance is not the most welcoming in the world…

However, once you are inside it’s all pretty modern, clean and friendly.  The ‘games room’, which is also a temporary reception is a bit of a mess, and the arcade machines are not usable as their’ all stacked up for storage.  However the workout area, TV room and other parts of the building are in good condition.  We’ve got a private room, so it’s pretty much like staying in a travel lodge.  The shared bathrooms are pretty good, all stainless steel and complete with free soap in squirty (another word which isn’t in the dictionary!! It should be, so I’m leaving it there) dispensers!

We didn’t arrive until after midnight last night and we haven’t ventured in to the communal kitchen yet.  I was exciting to be staying in a hostel and to meeting some new and interesting people, however so far it just feels like staying in a hotel .  I am out wandering the city now and on my way to Microsoft, where I’ll be working for the day.  Going to pop in to the supermarket on the way home and get some food to cook in the kitchen – hoping that will be a good opportunity to meet some of our fellow ‘backpackers’.

I am sorry to say that even my healthy eating urge has dropped since I left Sydney and I am currently sitting in Macdonalds (all be it a very modern and nice one) having breakfast and writing this blog post.

Will blog some more when I find something nice/interesting in Melbourne.  In the mean time, I’ll be a home sick (for Sydney) Chris.