Bird’s Nest Bevarage – 25% bird’s nest

Still in Melbourne. Well actually stayed in St Kilda which is just out from the City centre and is situated on a very picturesque point of the Bay. Lots of grand houses and shops but is slightly tatty round the edges and not just in terms of its architecture and how it looks, but also in terms of its culture, people and nightlife. Its slightly left of centre, artsy, with a burgeoning cafe and music scene. Have spent alot of time in a place called the Esplanade (Espy to the locals). Excellent live music venue which showcases alot of Melbourne talent.

Other than that i also had another fix of my Neighbours addiction. This time we all decided to go on the Neighbours ‘Meet the Stars’ night. Crowd went wild when Katya, Boyd and Toadie came on stage. Got to meet them all, have pictures taken with them and test our knowlegde of the show with a quiz. Definitely the best night of many punters’ lives. Friend of mine discovered its best not to grope the stars, it gets you chucked out. Well done Esther. Good work.

Now i’m waiting around for my train to Sydney. Eleven hours. Decided to get the overnight one to save money on accomodation (handy travelling trick). Opera, bridges and surfing here i come.     

Pic of the entrance to Luna Park, the theme park round the corner from our hostel which we stupidly decided to go to after Neighbours night (which involved three or four shandy’s if i recall correctly). Pics of Melbourne to come soon.

Melbourne has, so far, been brilliant. I’m staying at this awesome hostel called X-base. It’s really trendy, very clean, spacious and modern. Practically a hotel.

Have met up with some friends i made in Perth. Still adapting to the different sets of relationships one has while travelling. Very different to the ones made in more static ‘existences’. Friendships are more transient, but far more open and honest. You can be best friends with someone one day and they will have flown off elsewhere the next. But i’m settling in well to this sort of lifestyle. One has to be open to different social norms, rules and structures when backpacking. Enough of my sociology lesson though.

Yesterday i visited Pin Oak Court. “Pin Oak Court???!!” i hear you cry, “What on earth are you on about Legon?” Well, for those in the know, Neighbours is not actually a reality programme (Former Highbury peeps – i can hear the squeals of shock from you half way round the world). Ramsay Street is in fact called Pin Oak Court, and it was with much excitement and a little intrepedation that i set off of a journey down memory lane via a trip to Erinsborough (also a fictional place – the name is an incomplete anagram of neighbours. Some good pub trivia for you all.)

The tour bus picked us up from the hostel and proceeded at top speed to Erinsborough High. On the way we witnessed many people pointing, laughing and making ‘loser’ signs. I’m not sure what they were ridiculing, but I’m sure it had nothing to do with our bus having the Neighbours logo emblazened across our bow. 

After a few snaps at the school we headed off to the studios to stalk some of the cast. Alas none appeared but we did get to watch Scott and Charlene’s wedding -a seminal moment in the show that defined an entire generation of kids. 

Then on to the main course. Ramsay Street. Much smaller than it appears on the show. But there it was, Toadfish’s bachelor pad, the Kennedy’s bungalow (i may be a tad behind on the programme), Harold and Madge’s house (see!), Paul Robinson’s gaff (he’s back!) and last but by no means least Helen and Jim’s place. So many memories.

Spent a good hour there learning useful anecdotes (- did you know it’s only rained once on neighbours, when Madge got a new hairdo and something bad happened and it drizzled on her new ‘fro. Bless her), hints on how they make the show, juicy gossip about upcoming episodes and lots of frolicking around with the Ramsay St sign while friends took my picture. Best not to try and ‘ride’ the sign like a cowboy, apparently its not big and its not clever. 

But being in the street was like being home. Forget Buddhism, I had found inner peace!

On the way back to the hostel we were treated to more trips down memory lane. Madge and Harold’s wedding and even the episode where Daphne dies. Not a dry eye left in the bus. We were then lucky enough to see the pop careers some of the cast have embarked upon – including some of Paul Robinsons songs. Again not a dry eye in the bus. For different reasons this time. The humanity!    

Back to reality though. Have met a brilliant group of people here including one New Yorker called Renee who i later discovered is actually making a documentary on backpacking and travelling which airs on the Discovery Channel. Go check it out, they are very cool people and the show looks great. Here is a link – Five Takes.

Anyway tomorrow i meet up with Amy (uni friend), who has been out here for a while now. Really looking forward to catching up. 

————————————————————-

Game of the week: Ninja, Cowboy, Bear. Basically it’s rock, paper, scissors but you use your whole body and make weird noises. Was having coffee with Renee when i told her about this revolutionary new concept in fun. Ended up having a game in the middle of the street whilst being filmed. It may even be on Tiffany’s (another of the tv presenters) vlog (go on the website i have just linked to and click on her name to find her homepage where it will be located) for all the world to see. Mum, I’m famous!!