Australian Open Tennis Championships 2012

Melbourne is currently hosting the Australian Open 2012, which is said to bring over 800,000 people from all around the world to the beautiful Aussie city. Last week I was in Richmond, just a few minutes from Melbourne Park where the tournament is held, so I went to see what's happening.

It's really fun. The atmosphere was quite nice and you could hear any spoken language of the globe from the other visitors! Even though it was a bit cloudy on that day, some people got a bit sunburned. The sun here is Australia is really powerful, so need to be careful when exposed to its rays!

Melbourne Park

An exhibition game with Djokovic (1) and Nadal (2)

The house-and-roommate package

The time to look for an apartment has come. It took only a few hours on gumtree and easyrommate to find a place where I will spend the first period of my Oz stay. It depends on where you want to stay, but the price for a single room here is quite similar to what it is in Milan: between 500 and 800 dollars per month.
I made a couple calls and then got to see the apartments. I immediately fell in love with this two-story flat in Carlton (3053 Victoria). Really awesome one, and I love the house mates. What a lucky day!

Sun shines in Melbourne on Xmas time.

Kangaroos ahead!

It was nice getting to see some wild Aussie animals and jumping with some kangaroos at the Healesville Sanctuary park, located just an hour away from the city. I also learnt what a dingo and platypus are :-)

Warning: kangaroos ahead! 

A cute Koala hanging out with us :-)

Time to move to Melbourne

The first day I went to the city center I was with Chris, a couchsurfer I hosted in Milan last year. He's from Melbourne so he surely knew the best spots in town! There is nothing better than hanging out with locals when you're hungry and don't know which shop you want to crash in. Melbourne is quite an expensive city. A normal lunch ranges from 15 to 25 dollars per meal. But we got a large baguette for a modest $6.00. And, of course, there was a drink included with the deal! I'm loving these sunny days!

Read the ad on the tram at Swanson and Flinters Street.

City view from South Yarra.

A crowded street in Melbourne CBD.

A beautiful bar is just beneath the bridge!

New Year's eve rooftop party!

On NYE I had the best party ever. On a roof top, with loud music all night long, a fantastic drinking fountain with punch, and then saw a spectacular sunrise at the beach, in St. Kilda. I met the organizer through CouchSurfing (as usual) and got the invitation to her beautiful rooftop. I was really fun big time! Thanks!

Tall buildings in CBD

Palm trees welcome you to Melbourne city

My iPhone couldn't capture the fireworks very well,
but it's been really awesome entering 2012 from
the New Continent!