Welcome to Melbourne

I can’t believe it’s a week now since we moved to Melbourne, Australia.  I’m only just starting to feel awake again thanks to jet lag, something I’ve never experienced before.  I’ve read that, for every time zone you cross during a flight, it takes one day to recover.  I count ten and therefore, hopefully, by Wednesday I should be feeling as fresh as a daisy.  Whilst we are such a long way from home, it really doesn’t feel like it.  Everything we have seen so far is very familiar and we’re able to speak with family and friends like normal.This week has mostly been spent settling in to our home for the next couple of months.  We’ve set up Australian bank accounts, phones and health insurance.  There’s even an ALDI so we’ve been shopping as though we were home.  So that we’ve got enough money for treats, we need jobs and hopefully something will come up soon.We’ve also done our fair share of exploring.  Melbourne is set out quite well for the newcomer and we’ve quickly got our bearings.  Our apartment is located within the Central Business District (CBD) and within walking distance of everywhere we want to be.We’ve explored the CBD, Docklands, South Bank, Royal Botanic Gardens and Fitzroy so far.  We’ve seen wild parrots and more strange birds but no spiders or snakes.We have also indulged and had brunch at Manchester Press.  A quirky laneway café where I had coffee (and it was actually quite nice) and banana, ricotta, bacon and syrup on a blueberry bagel.  Oh and it also had popcorn on.  I think I’d have preferred Emma’s Oreo cheesecake on a chocolate chip bagel.  We’ve been for steak overlooking the city and for pintxos (tapas) at Naked for Satan in Fitzroy.  There isn’t much we haven’t done this week.  [easy-image-collage id=401]Personally, moving here has sparked my photography back into life.  It’s only been a week but I’ve taken what I believe to be some of my best pictures yet.   I’ve taken so many already and about 130 are ones that I am proud of.[easy-image-collage id=402]There’s also so much I could write about but I’ll save that for other posts.  All I can say so far is that it’s easy to see why Melbourne has been voted the most liveable city in the world seven years in a row.[easy-image-collage id=403]We are back out today off to the Queen Victoria Market to have a look around and see what we can buy.  It’s the largest open-air market in the Southern Hemisphere.  We’ve also got plans to go to the beach at St Kilda, check out Albert Park (where the Formula 1 is held) and go to the Melbourne Zoo.  I’m hoping for a tour of the Melbourne Cricket Ground too.Let me know what you think of my photos and, if you’ve been to Melbourne, I’d really appreciate any recommendations on anything else we need to see.