House Sitting Overview

House sitting - what a way to go.
After our trip to Europe in 2008 we caught the travel bug and thought that we might try our hand at House sitting which is minding someones house and pets and/or garden while they go away.
Anyway, we always wanted to visit Melbourne in Australia so towards the end of 2008 we placed an ad in a Melbourne house-sitting website called www.housesitworld.com.au/ seeking a house sitting position.
We had no idea what would happen so we then forgot all about it.
We were thrilled when we got our first response, a couple were going overseas and wanted their house and dogs minded for 3 1/2 weeks from the end of February 2009.

Sounded good. We said yes.

A fair amount of dialogue was passed before a concrete deal was stuck solely because we had never house sat before, therefore we did not have any house sitting references.
Finally with references and referees of other sorts we obtained our first house sitting position.

The house was in a Suburb called Kew, an affluent suburb about 30 minutes from Melbourne City.
We arrived in Melbourne the day before the owners departed (at their request) so they would have time to show us the ropes.

Our duties were to mind and walk two dogs and tend to the lawns and water the gardens.

On a typical day we would do the morning chores, feed the dogs, take them for a walk and then head into the City for a bit of sight seeing.
We would usually return mid to late afternoon.

We thoroughly enjoyed the house sit and part of our time in Melbourne is documented in this blog.

Would we house sit again in Melbourne? Absolutely.

Whats next?
We currently have an ad in a Sydney house-sitting website seeking a house sitting position.
We will see what happens.

Click on the photos to enlarge.
Top Photo: Our first glimpse of Melbourne from the plane.
Middle Photo: Dogs will be dogs. Walking time.
Bottom Photo: Jenny by the worlds longest table. Yet another eating event in Melbourne.

Melbourne Overview

A mighty place. In the three and a half weeks that we were there we scooted about the place in trains, trams and sometimes just walked for miles.
Trams and trains take you to any amount of beaches just a short trip from the City Center. We went to beach side suburbs such as Brighton which is about 13 km South of the City and a continuation of the coast about 5 or 6 km down from the ever popular St Kilda Beach and also ventured to trendy suburbs such as Williamstown which is about 4 km (as the crow flies - but longer by train) South-West of the City.
Public transport makes it so easy to explore Melbourne.

Shopping: Queen Victoria Market is a massive market on the Northern Skirts of the CBD and within walking distance of the City Center.
There are numerous retail outlets with the best known being in Richmond (a little East of the City), Spencer Street (City West) and among others there are also outlets in the Docklands which is the up and coming 'in' area just a little West of the City.

Food: Too much to mention. Food everywhere. All types from all cultures.

Favorite Place: The CBD City Center itself. Always vibrant and always something to see. From Federation Square (just across the road from Flinders Station) which seems to be a popular meeting up place and always something happening , to the trendy eating places in any of the numerous lanes that run between the main City streets.

Description of Melbourne City
Picture the main part of Melbourne City (the real vibrant busy part) as being a rectangle about 2 km long by about 1 km high.
The rectangle comprises of a grid of main streets that are intertwine with a myriad of interesting lanes.
Just below the bottom of the rectangle is the Yarra River running inland to the right and out to sea to the left.
At the bottom right of the rectangle is Flinders Railway Station and Federation Square. Further right (out of the rectangle) is Richmond, a very popular shopping area. Also at the right of the rectangle is the Museum.
On the left hand side of the rectangle is Southern Cross Station (the main station) and lots of outlet stores. Further left is Docklands.
Underground trains run along the top and right of the rectangle. The left and bottom of the rectangle is served by overground trains. Trams run to and fro inside (and outside) the rectangle all the time.
In the middle of the rectangle from bottom to top is Elizabeth Street, and if you follow that up past the rectangle another 1/2 km you will be at the Queen Victoria Market.
There are Sporting Stadium, zoo, parks, gardens, etc by the tons a short distants from the rectangle. Beaches start about 4 km away beginning at Port Melbourne.
Just below the bottom of the rectangle, on the South side of the Yarra River is the Eureka Tower which is the is the highest residential building in the world (mmmm, I don,t know about that one - maybe the Southern Hemisphere)
and you can go to the top in a fast lift for $16 and get a 360 degree view of the City.

Click on the photos to enlarge.
Top Photo: Flinders Station.
Middle Photo: View from the Eureka Tower.
Bottom Photo: Yet another Melbourne Lane.

Melbourne Zoo

A Zoo is a Zoo is a Zoo.
Melbourne Zoo is worth a look.
It is only about 4 km from Central Melbourne and you can get there by train or tram, both of which run regularly.
We spent a few hours there walking and eating and all in all it was a good day. There is currently a lot of improvement and building work going on.

Click on the photos to enlarge.

Another project to do

Every now and again as we get about, I spot a structure that I would like to make when I get home.
I took a few photos of this bench seat that was at the Melbourne Zoo.
I have such a large list of projects, I wonder if I will ever get the chance to do them all.
Maybe one day

It all happens in Melbourne

What a happening place is Melbourne. I have never been to a City with so much going on all the time. With the Moomba Waterfest just over, on Friday night there were three major sporting events being played in three different stadiums throughout Melbourne, Saturday there was a major sound relief concert at the MCG (stadium) which featured everyone who was anyone such as Kylie Monogue, King of Leon etc, etc etc. (the concert was for the bushfire victims which incidentally the fires are finally under control), and while all that is going on there is also the Australian International Airshow just out of Melbourne (the biggest airshow in the Southern Hemisphere) and if that's not enough there is also the Melbourne food and wine festival carrying on for 17 days. There is also other stuff galore, wow - just too much to do and see.

Photo: The worlds longest lunch. Part of the food and wine festival.
The 400 metre white clothed table ran along the banks of the Yarra River on Crown Riverside and seated over 1200 guests for an Italian-flavored feast. The tickets were $115 each and the proceeds went to charity. We would have liked to have sat there but all the tickets were well and truly sold out, so instead we sat in on of the many cafes right next to it and had a good birds-eye-view.
Click on the photo to enlarge.

A Sunday in the City

Its not hard to waste a Sunday in Melbourne City. We caught the train to Flinders Station in the City and hopped across the street to Federation Square where there were a lot of free live stage acts in the main square and along the river side there were heaps of stalls, pavilions and tents all selling cakes, sweets and chocolates (part of the food and wine festival).
From there we went to one of the trendy little City side lanes for lunch and then a tram to the other side of the City Center to walk around the Victoria Markets and burn off all that chocolate and lunch.
Victoria Markets are massive, selling produce, general goods and really just about anything you want. Well worth a visit.

Top photo: Band playing at Federation Square. Free entertainment.

Middle photo: On the river side of Federation Square. People eyeing up the different food stools. Part of the food and wine festival.

Bottom photo: A small part of the Queen Victoria Markets in Melbourne.
Click on the photos to enlarge.

Melbourne public transport

One thing about getting around on public transport is that you get a good feel of the people (and I don't mean that literally) and more often than not there is usually a bit of unexpected entertainment.
From a tourist point of view, public transport around Melbourne is very cheap. A single day ticket costs $6.80 and you can travel around Melbourne as much as you want in as many trams, buses and/or trains for the whole day.
Tickets can be purchased in a number of shops and also from a machine that is in the middle of every tram. Weekends are even cheaper. Once you have a ticket you must 'validate' it, which means you feed it into a slot machine on the trams or train stations and the validating machine prints the date onto the ticket. On average trams run every 10 minutes or so (less in peak).

Top photo: Tram stop just past Kew. Most tram stops are in the middle of the road and the traffic has to stop behind the trams to allow the tram passengers to get off the trams without being run over.
Melbourne has the longest amount of tram line in the world.

Middle photo: Inside a tram. You can see the silver-grey ticket buying machine on the left side in the middle and the green validating slot machines attached to the green poles.

Bottom Photo: Train station in Camberwell. The train from there takes about 15 minutes to Central Melbourne. The tram takes twice as long as it has to stop at traffic lights etc. Click on the photo to enlarge.