Kangarrific Kylie: Mayhem in Melbourne!

Two weekends ago, I took a trip with some of my friends to Melbourne, which is Australia’s second largest city after Sydney. Despite their similarities in size, Sydney and Melbourne are actually quite different culturally. While Sydney prides itself on its ‘beach culture’ and quintessential ‘Australia-ness,’ Melbourne has a much more artsy and European feel. I loved Melbourne for its many museums, its Victorian architecture, its quaint alleyways, its street performers, and its vast collection of colorful graffiti. You may be surprised by my inclusion of the last item on the list: graffiti. I’ve never taken a liking to graffiti before, but I was absolutely blown away by the street art that I saw in Melbourne. A local business owner told me that graffiti is completely legal in Melbourne as long as artists obtain permits beforehand. Thus, the local population embraces public art and views graffiti as a welcome form of artistic expression rather than as an eyesore. (Make sure to check out my pictures of the really creative graffiti I saw!)

Two highlights from my weekend were visiting Queen Victoria Market and going to an Aussie rules football game. Queen Victoria Market, known as Queen Vic by Melbourne locals, is absolutely SPRAWLING and houses hundreds of local vendors. I visited a huge variety of food stands and literally sampled everything from kangaroo to chili chocolate, but my absolute favorite thing I tried was a WARM JELLY DONUT. The hot donut stand I visited has apparently been a mainstay at Queen Vic for years and years, so trying a delicious jelly donut was high on my list of tasks for the day. Also, one really fascinating thing I learned about the market’s history is that as it expanded over the years, it eventually overtook the closed and abandoned Old Melbourne Cemetery to its west. As a result, there are approximately 9,ooo individuals still buried under the land the market rests on today. Apparently bones are frequently unearthed when major construction takes place. CRIKEY!!!! My trip to an Aussie rules football game was equally as exciting. Aussie rules football, referred to by Australians as ‘footie,’ is the most hectic sport I have ever witnessed. During a game, players are allowed to position themselves anywhere on the field and use any part of their body to move the ball (aka this game is MAYHEM). I felt as if I had been transported into a Harry Potter book and was witnessing a game of quidditch. Another highlight of my trip was visiting St. Kilda’s beach to watch penguins retreat for the evening from the water onto the rocks.

All in all, my weekend in Melbourne was a smashing success. I’ve decided to return in November for the Melbourne Cup, which is basically Australia’s version of the Kentucky derby. Stay tuned for more updates!!!