Victoria

[Prawn_86]

Victoria is a state located in the southeastern corner of Australia. It is the smallest mainland state in area but the most densely populated and urbanised. Prior to European settlement, some 30,000 Indigenous Australians lived in the area now occupied by the state. By contrast, over five million people now inhabit the region. European settlement in Victoria began in the 1830s as a farming community. The discovery of gold in 1851 transformed it into a leading industrial and commercial centre. Victoria is the second most populous Australian state, after New South Wales, with an estimated population of 5,205,200 as of June 2007[4]. Melbourne is Victoria's capital and largest city, with more than 70% of all Victorians living there.

[Prawn_86]

Surely we have some Victorian members who can tell us just how 'great' their state is... ;)

[kennas]

Prawn, I know there's a Victoria thread, but inner Melbs deserves it's own thread too!

:)

I'm heading home to the frying city next week for a one month holiday and I am REALLY looking forward to it.

Damn I miss Melbs!

Looking forward to:

Fish and chips on the beach.
Going to watch a pre season game of footy hopefully.
Maybe a game at the G.
Playing golf with my old man and little bro on one of our fantastic public courses.
A picnic in one of our great inner city parks like Carlton Gardens.
Having my 40th get together with family and friends at the Belgian Beer Garden (ATF members invited!)
Cafes, bars, restaurants, cafes, bars, restaurants.
Brunswick Street, Fitzroy
A wine tasting afternoon through the Yarra Valley....

And all the other stuff.

:D

[Prawn_86]

Having my 40th get together with family and friends at the Belgian Beer Garden (ATF members invited!)
:D

Unfortunately we wont be able to come :( We were hoping too but it doesnt look like it at this stage.

Whats a round of golf cost in Melbs at a good public course Kennas?

[kennas]

Unfortunately we wont be able to come :( We were hoping too but it doesnt look like it at this stage.

Whats a round of golf cost in Melbs at a good public course Kennas?Varies widely depending on the quality. Last time I was home I just played at Ringwood and Croydon, I think it was around $20 for 18 holes. Play down the Mornington Peninsula at The Dudes or Eagle Ridge and it'd be double that I think. The Peninsula is awesome for golf lovers. A great course in every town - sometimes more than one. I was a member at Portsea for a couple of years when I lived down there in 95/96 and was playing three times a week. Just awesome.

[Prawn_86]

THE death toll in Australia's worst ever bushfires (http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25026356-1243,00.html) rose to 108 this morning, but the final figure was expected to be higher and fires were still putting towns at risk.


http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25027055-5000540,00.html

Thoughts are with all those involved and affcted by the bushfire tragedy.

[Umike]

Prawn, I know there's a Victoria thread, but inner Melbs deserves it's own thread too! For sure


Having my 40th get together with family and friends at the Belgian Beer Garden (ATF members invited!)
:D
Became a member just for the Hoggarten :D


;)

[Prawn_86]

I haven't been to Melbs (aside from the airport) for years to be honest.

We keep meaning to go for a long weekend, but never seem to find the time or money. If we have one we dont seem to have the other!

[Prawn_86]

Again, my thoughts go out to those affected:


A FIREFIGHTER is dead after being killed by a falling tree near Marysville, northeast of Melbourne.


http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25066791-421,00.html

[Prawn_86]

A LUXURY resort will be built in fire-ravaged Kinglake to entice tourists and kick-start local employment.
Local developer Bruce Thomas has revealed he wants to start construction within three months


http://www.news.com.au/travel/story/0,28318,25273476-27982,00.html

[Prawn_86]

So if we were to go to Melbs for a weekend what are some of the activities we could do over there?

[kennas]

Go to the MCG to watch Adelaide or Port get beaten.
Go to the Yarra Valley to see how real wine is made.
Go to the Grand Prix, it's true home.
Go to the Moto GP - I think we stole that off you too.
Go to the Australian Tennis Open.
Go to the Australian PGA - usually in Melbs.
I think some cricket is played here, along with netball and rugby.
See the fairy penguin parade on Philip Island.
Drive the Great Ocean Road.
Lose all your money at Crown - the World of Entertainment.
Have lunch at South Gate, on the crystal clear Yarra River.
Visit a trendy bar on Brunswick St.
Get out of Adelaide! :p LOL ;)

[Prawn_86]

THE pounding sea along the Great Ocean Rd has claimed another landmark with the collapse of the Island Archway near Loch Ard Gorge.


One of these also fell over completely a couple years ago. Another few millenia and they will all be gone :p:

[kennas]

A lot of things will change in the next millenia if the GW lobby are right. Most of Melbourne might have to be moved into the Dandenong Ranges...

[Prawn_86]

Well we have made plans to travel to Melbourne in August to go see the Pompei exhibition that will be there and a couple of plays and stuff. Not quite sure where we are staying yet.

[buddinghealth]

I lived in St Kilda a few years ago for a few months - beautiful place to live - its like living in a city but not! beach, cafes, chilled out vibe with the city on your doorstep. Melbournes a nice place just a bit cold during the winter! Like the UK!

[trulkiwi]

I lived in St Kilda a few years ago for a few months - beautiful place to live - its like living in a city but not! beach, cafes, chilled out vibe with the city on your doorstep. Melbournes a nice place just a bit cold during the winter! Like the UK!

You gotta be kidding me! Sure it is nice surrounds, for the beaches and cafes, etc. BUT there is another darker side of St Kilda, that only the residents see or hear. What about the drunks in the streets, needles in the sand, and the 16 stabbings in Fitzroy street in less than 4 months! Then there are the hookers on every street of Carlsle Street, the aboriginies and "down & out" that sleep in the shop doorways, the drugs, the fights, and the continuous noise from trams, police cars and early morning revellers.

I lived in St Kilda (2 different addresses) and I would never live there again. If I had to live close to St Kilda it would be in Docklands or Sandringham now. St Kilda has gone to the dogs, whilst real estate prices and rent continue to go through the roof! Why would someone want to pay $450 a week to live in a 50yr old flat (2 brm) just to be near the beach?

[kennas]

Fitzroy is the place to be. South of the river is for tossers. :p

[chrissylewis03]

we're going to mel about mid month (first time for me) and i've heard a lot about the fantastic food there but no one can give me any restaurant names only street names!

I want to go all out, somewhere silver service so i don't mind about the cost (i'm very serious about my food!), can anyone give me a name of a restaurant that they have tried and know is really really nice??

Cheers,

Chrissy

[buddinghealth]

I don't agree, yes there is some of that in St Kilda but I think it gets a bad rap - i've lived in London and its no different there. In actual fact i think some of the colour in St Kilda comes from the mix of people there. I think you have to choose the steet you live in but it can be a nice place to live

[kennas]

we're going to mel about mid month (first time for me) and i've heard a lot about the fantastic food there but no one can give me any restaurant names only street names!

I want to go all out, somewhere silver service so i don't mind about the cost (i'm very serious about my food!), can anyone give me a name of a restaurant that they have tried and know is really really nice??

Cheers,

ChrissyReally tough question Chrissy. There are just so many great places to eat. And as you have guessed, a lot of them are on streets full of other great restaurants. I would have provided the same advice that you've already been given. The widest and best selection is probably along the Yarra at South Bank and in front of Crown Casino. I also recommend you somehow look through an Age Good Food Guide. Will have all the names you need.

[Prawn_86]

Well we are settled on the restuarant issue.

Going to Embrasse (head chef Nicolas Poelaert) in Carlton for a 10 course degustation one night, then a fairly new restaurant, Coda (Adam D'Sylva head chef) for a standard meal.

Tried to book at Ezard but they are full, and didnt even bother with Vue De Monde as apparently you need to book about 3 months in advance for them.

[kennas]

Haven't been to either, looking forward to a report.

When living in Melbs I rarely went out to really nice restaurants. Was a creature of habbit and had 2 or 3 cafe/bar/restaurants we went to all the time within the post code.

[Prawn_86]

Well got back from Melbourne recently. Stayed at the Oaks on Market in a room overlooking the Yarra.

One thing I noticed about the CBD is the complete lack of pubs! We saw about 3 within the CBD itself. Here in Adelaide you cant walk down a street without finding a pub. In melbs there were plenty of restuarants with bars, but very few places just for a drink...

Anyways onto the restaurant report:

Did the 10 course degustation at Embrasse. It took over 3 hours and was fantastic. Quite a healthy menu actually with lots of root vegetables and edible flowers etc that the chef grows himself. We also got to meet the chef, Nic Poelaert, after our meal. He seems a very quiet, unassuming man, its quite hard to imagine him yelling at anyone in the kitchen.
http://www.embrasserestaurant.com.au/#

Instead of Coda, we went to a place called The Mill, on Hardware Lane in the CBD. Fantastic food and huge portions, we were absolutely stuffed by meals end.
http://www.themillrestaurant.com.au/

Will report more later :)

[kennas]

You're somewhat right about the pubs, but there are a few about. If you had have walked around the suburbs on the periphery of the city that's where all the pubs are. Sth Melbs, Richmond, Collingwood, Fitzroy, Carlton, North Melbs. Those suburbs are home to the classic uni pub crawl.

Hope you got some good weather, I see it was pretty ordinary over the past week or two.

[Prawn_86]

Yeh we saw more pubs in 20 minutes walking through Carlton, down Lygon street, than we did in hours walking through the city

[Prawn_86]

So while we were there we also went to the Melbourne Zoo, the Salvadore Dali exhibition at the art centre (he was a bit of a strange one), and the Pompei exhibition at the Melbourne Museum.

Also went and saw Chicago the Musical, which was fun (arnt dancing caberet girls always ;) )

[buddinghealth]

Must be pretty cold in Melboune right now? I always enjoyed the parks in Melbourne and of course St Kilda.

Never went to the theatre though, perhaps for the next trip?

[kennas]

The parks are awesome for picnics with friends and family. Take a basket with some bread, cheeses, dips, chicken, vino and you're away. Nothing else required. Miss those days.

[woywegian]

Melbourne is a great place to explore over a weekend

One of the best ways to explore is with a Melbourne Audio Tour. (http://www.talk-n-tours.com/catalog/tour.php?tour=melbourne) See al the best city sights whilst discovering the stories behind Melbourne's buildings and meet some of the quirky characters from history.

[Prawn_86]

Melbourne Cup tommorow, as part of the spring (horse) racing carnival. Hundreds of thousands of people go to Flemington Racecourse each year to watch all the races and fashion. For those that dont know, Melbourne Cup is Australia biggest horse race and attracts quite a few international entrants also.

This will be the first time in years i have to work on cup day, so no bets for me... :(

[kennas]

Work on Cup Day!! geesh.

There is this weird tradition on Cup Day of people going to the races and sitting in the car park all da in the centre of the track and having a picnic. Did it 3 years in a row with Uni friends some time ago, and I do remember the end of one evening.

Wish I was home for it tomorrow.. :(

[EverNothing]

I've travelled across the border to Melbourne dozens of times. Car, train, bus, plane - you name it, i've gone across in it. Half of my family currently reside there so it's my home away from home. The architecture is quite old and gothic and it's easy to get lost in the numerous lanes and arcades across the CBD but the parks and gardens are amazing. The only bad thing I could say about the city is the cold, wet weather and those presumptuous Melburnians.

Oh, and V.B. tastes like camel piss. West End Draught all the way, baby!!! :cool:

[kennas]

Camel's piss? Shame, EN, shame!!

Yes, cold sometimes but global warming is fixing that up. Will be tropical soon and we might have a barrier reef to dive on which will be great!

How I miss the seasons!!! :(

[kennas]

Going for a drive down the Great Ocean Road today to Lorne for the weekend. Sweeeeeeet! Going to be a ripper of a day too by the looks. :D

[Prawn_86]

Went down to Melbourne on the weekend to watch the ANZAC day football between Essendon and Collingwood. Was a shite game but still a great experience, especially with near on 100,000 people there.

Stayed in Port Melbourne hich is nice, but was very cold with the winds right off the beach