Hello everyone! Sorry it’s been a while – I’ve had these posts written up for some time now, but I haven’t been able to physically upload them due to wifi issues. You’ll probably see a stream of a couple posts coming in around the same time, but these posts were written all across the month of June.

Anyways, I was fortunate to start June off with some traveling! Some of the other CAPA students and I flew to Melbourne (Aussies pronounce it “Melbin”) for the long, Queen’s birthday weekend. Fun fact: even though Australians celebrate this holiday in June, Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday is actually in April!

I arrived Saturday afternoon and stayed at a hostel near the heart of Melbourne. It was my first time staying at a hostel, but overall I enjoyed the experience. We had a hostel roommates from Germany, France, and Brazil, so it was interesting hearing about their experiences abroad and their thoughts on American culture.

That night, we were all fairly tired, but we went to a great Mexican restaurant for dinner. The meals were huge, and the restaurant had such a homey feel to it. The next day we got to visit the Melbourne Star (a giant observation wheel similar to the London Eye) and St. Kilda, a beautiful beach south of central Melbourne. The picture featured in this post was actually taken at St. Kilda. St. Kilda is famous because after sunset, tiny penguins come out from beneath the shore rocks! Although we came at an unfavorable seasonal time for the penguins, we did manage to see a couple; it definitely made the wait worthwhile.

My first two days in Melbourne were tiring because of all the walking we did, but I really loved the city. In comparison to Sydney, I could see a lot more street art across Melbourne. Sydney felt more modern, but in many ways I felt like Melbourne had more culture throughout the city. In Melbourne, I saw a lot more hole-in-wall restaurants, street performers, and different types of people. However, both cities are gorgeous.

I’m stopping this post here, but I’ll continue with my weekend in Melbourne in the second post of this series, titled “Melbourne! (Part 2).” See you soon!

Cheers,
Jocelyn