zaterdag 30 juni 2012

BARS.ARCHITECTURE.

There are a couple of things I am discovering about Melbourne.
First of all, it ìs an expensive city, no exceptions. (Anyone wanna hire me? Will do a lot for money.)
But, since i tend not to focus on (read: ingnore) the negative tings, I also should mention to you that this city is amazing. Like, breathtaking, stunning, vibrant and more. Ofcourse I'm still in my puppylove-phase, everything's still fresh and pretty, but I can tell you with certainty that I've never seen so many cool bars and modern and crazy architecture in one place. (No not even in London, NY or Paris)





My last few days have been rather busy, so I haven't been able to take lots of pictures yet. Opening a bank account, sorting out some things for uni, and deciding where to live have been on my to-do list.
Of course I was still able to squeeze in some fun stuff, like shopping, strolling around and meeting up with friends.







An amazing bar I went to yesterday, the workshop bar, is definitely one to remember. As a rebuilt motorcycle repair shop, It's got an underground feeling in a factory layout. The relaxed atmosphere at the beginning of the night provides a good background for a catch up with friends, but make sure to bring your dancing shoes, since after ten things get heated. Being there with great people also helps, of course! 

Can't wait to discover more, so any tips about bars, shops, etc. are very welcome!

woensdag 27 juni 2012

QUICK.POST. (ok longer than i thought)

I finally arrived.

I can tell you, a 25 hour trip is not one to underestimate. Although everything went very smoothly (no touchy touchy at customs and no lost luggage), it wasn't always that easy.

First of all, there was the goodbye-part. Some of my very dear friends, and my parents and dog, gathered at the airport to wave me goodbye. Although I kept it together the whole time, I did manage to break into tears the moment right before entering the terminal. Emotions are a bitch.



Anyway, of course I immediately found a way to cheer up my mood: DUTY FREE. I bought the new lancome 'rouge in love' lipstick, very happy with that one! 

The first flight, to London, went very quickly, an hour and a half at the window, gazing out and just thinking "omg clouds seem so fluffy I wish I could roll in them". Ofcourse my rational self would then immediately interfere and say "you silly, you'll just fall to death." (dreams scattered)




In London I had 2 hours to spare, so I ate something at the prêt-à-manger (oh nomnom), I wandered around (that terminal is HUGHE), I discovered a Zara (yey. Only summerclothes.) and then it was time to board my final flight to Melbourne.


Remember how I, in my last post, gave you and myself some very helpful tips about seats in a long distance flight?
Well, this is how it turned out for me and what I learned:

1. Online check in sucks. It just doesn't work. Period.
2. Discovering that online check in sucks, a few hours before you have to depart, also sucks. Panick attack garanteed.
3. I didn't get the seat I wanted, obviously, what I did get was this:
- A set JUST NEXT TO the toilet. Bumping limbs? Check. Chatty people almost sitting on your lap? Check.
- But just to clear this up: it doesn't smell.
- A seat JUST NEXT TO a child. Oh wait, two children. Luckily for me they were quite cute, although the little girl couldn't stop staring at me. Creepy. (she's lucky that she's too cute to be really creepy)
- A seat on the aisle. And on the wing. NOT at the window. Taking pictures? Forget it. (Oh well, it was night most of the time anyway). But I think me, my constantly-hydrating self and my fairly small bladder were quite happy with this seat, in the end.

I managed to get some sleep for a few good hours (in fetal position, back to the roots), so when I touched ground in Melbourne, I was at least not too groggy so I could pass customs without many questions. 


(Btw, what a coincidence, I entered Sydney 3 years ago at exactly the same day!)

The only bummer what the pick-up service.
My University had arranged for me that I would be picked up at the airport and brought to my hostel, all free of charges. GREAT, i thought. Yeah, not so great.
I mean, I got there, eventually. After FOUR hours.
I came out of the airplane first, and still they managed to drop me of last, in Melbourne Central, although my hostel was closest to the airport. We drove to the middle of fucking nowhere first, before driving back to Melbourne. And all the while, the 65 year old driver told me his life story, how his grandmother knew Ghandi, his mother was Egyptian, his father Italian (and oh man the Italian culture is going down, he's not proud anymore!), how he nearly bought half of Melbourne in real estate, used to be a professor at VU, traveled to America (twice, once in a rolce royce and once on a Harley Davidson), and many, many more. I just nodded and looked outside, because, occasionally the view was stunning.



Man, was I happy to arrive at my hostel. Clean, chique, everything I hoped. Although I wasn't able to check in yet, I could take a shower, check my emails... Nice people, those ozzies.

Good, I'm done rambling now. I'm off to meet some very familiar faces.. 

Cheers mate!

maandag 25 juni 2012

ZERO.DAYS.

Ok, it's getting real now. 

Australia will soon no longer be down under. Tomorrow at 7:15pm my feet will be lift off the ground in Brussels, and forwarding 25 (long and exhausting) hours, I'll touch down in Melbourne, Australia.



Of course i've been frantically packing my suitcase for the last two days, facing following challenges: suitcase has to weigh less than 23kg (REALLY?) and hand luggage less than 7kg (BLEH). But no worries, this gives me a damn good excuse to shop (a lot) in Melbourne, right?!
Anyway, if emptying my room in Ghent didn't cause enough jumble, the chaos in my room at home (and the hallway downstairs. And the hallway upstairs.) was slightly alarming. But hey, a girl has to select her clothes properly, right? This is what it kinda looked like:



And that's still kind of a euphinism of the real chaos. My suitcase did start to look like something, (duh, I'm leaving everything behind. There nothing left to put into the suitcase.)




It did hurt, you know, leaving beautiful clothes, shoes, bags behind.. (Ok i'm probably overreacting, but it's really hard to fit all your favourite clothes in one (not so tiny) suitcase!) I had to leave these beauties behind, among others:


But the idea of gathering a collection like this puts the loss in perspective:

(ok, just kidding) (I wouldn't take the kid with it)

With my suitcase almost done, the only thing left to do is check in online. This way, I'm able to choose my seat, which I reckon is necessary when you'll be bound to that chair for 21 hours sthraight. Some research on the internet yielded following helpful tips:

1. Don't sit in the back. Not only will people be pacing up and down to the lavatories, they'll be chatting there, bump you with limbs that are too long, and the lights from the crew cabin will be disturbing you.
2. Don't sit in the back. IT SMELLS.
3. If you have long legs, try to sit in an emergency exit row. (this doesn't apply to me. I'm kind off a dwarf.)
4. If you want to sleep, try to sit at the window, that way you can lean against it.
5. If you want to take pretty pictures, sit a couple of rows behind the wings. (I made this one up myself)

So with this information gathered, I can check in like a pro. The only thing left to do for me is wait until tomorrow arrives...