A White Night Adventure
- Feb 19, 2016
- 3 min read
Location:
Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Coming back to Melbourne is like coming home! Were both really looking forward to returning. The only thing in the way of us and 'The Sporting Capital' is a 8 hour flight, that actually left on time. Very strange. What's going on? When we arrived in Melbourne, we were all told to remain in our seats as due to Australian law, the plane had to be fumigated. We were told to cover our faces while the cabin crew walked down the aisles spraying the plane. Once that was done, we were told to continue waiting while a 'Quarantine officer' got on the plane to inspect all passengers for any signs of diseases! Definitely OTT, but that is Australia for you. I thought going through customs would be a nightmare but thanks to my lovely, shiny new passport, I was able to use the electronic passport readers. Poor Jason had to queue.
We originally booked two nights at 'Urban Central' which we did extra shifts for. Jason didn't realise that we were flying in at midnight so we would need that night as well. Luckily for us, there was space for us, which we were unsure about considering how busy the city would be with 'White Night' the following night. Fair play to Marku who sorted us out with an en-suite in our dorm. Jamie even helped us out by not charging us for the extra night. I think we are liked there.
It truly is like coming home. Everyone in the hostel are so friendly. People saying hello who are genuinely happy to see us back. It's nice to be missed. We will definitely miss this place when we leave for the final time. Urban will always be our favourite place that were have stayed in. Of course, you can have amazing accommodation but it's the people that make the difference.
As pure coincidence, we were back for 'White Night' which runs from 7pm to 7am every year in Melbourne that is essentially a major art festival with lots of really cool things popping up all around the city. We went last year and we really enjoyed it. The city gets really busy for it with many people flocking down for it. There is a really cool atmosphere with lots to see. When we found out we were going to be back in Melbourne at the same time, we were really pleased. The good thing about it is that it is really well controlled. Ok, it gets a tad bit messy but nothing like what it would be if Dublin hosted it. The highlight had to be a huge inflatable, golden monkey on the side of 'Town Hall' in celebration of the Chinese 'Year of The Monkey.' It's strange going into a church late at night, but it's that kind of night. Inside the Cathedral they had musicians playing different instruments. It was a really enjoyable night. Definitely something different. We spent a couple of hours walking around until we could walk no more. At that point were decided to call it a night.
After a long night, we didn't get up until very late. Jason was really excited when I suggested going down to 'St Kilda Beach.' His favourite place! We decided to walk down which we have done lots of times before. It's a really nice walk as you walk through 'Albert Park.' We had a nice few hours where we enjoyed a nice bite to eat at the Irish chipper, 'Mammy's Boy.' To top it off, I even got a can of my beloved 'Club Orange' which tastes even nicer away from home, especially when it's a treat. It was 'Tasty, tasty, tasty!' Just one of my lovely mothers famous sayings! She could write a book, there's that many!
The great thing about staying in dorms is you don't know who you are going to meet next. The first night we were there, we were having a drink with a guy called Mark from Switzerland. The next day, our Aussie friend Geoff, who tends to be in and out a lot was in the same room as us. Small world!
It may only be a flying visit, but we have really enjoyed being back in Urban and Melbourne which has become like our second home. Melbourne, forever in our hearts!
By Andrew
Comments