Melbourne – Australia

First time visiting Australia could best be summarized by saying that it basically “home away from home” but with a British twist (meaning they drive on the left-side of the road and have an accent). My first stop in the land Down Under was in Melbourne (Mel-bun) and the Uber ride from the airport to the AirBNB through town reminded me an awful lot of San Francisco. I asked the driver if he’s ever been there and (a little to my surprise) he said, “I have, and yes, Melbourne does have that same vibe as San Francisco.”

Melbourne had a very youthful feel to the city and the building architecture was very modern and artistic. Quite cool, actually, the way there were able to engineer some of these structures to not only achieve the uniqueness, but maintain their functional purpose of being some kind of usable space.

Also, it didn’t take long to pick up on the undeniable city rivalry with Sydney. Very interesting as I’ve never seen such big cities cultivate such competition between one another for superiority.

While in Melbourne, took the time to travel the Great Ocean Road which follows the southern coast of Australia which touches the Southern and Indian oceans.

Also headed out to Philip Island where you can see Little Penguins returning home to their nests just after sunset for what is affectionately called the Penguin Parade.