The Good and the Bad

Hi MA, I’m OK!  Here is a little snap from Bondi Beach. 

Soooo.. You already heard about The Ugly so I don’t need to go over that again.  This one is dedicated to the Good and the Bad.  There is SOO much good here I will try and fit it into just one post.

Of course being a photographer I see things a bit differently. I look for landscapes, architecture, cool things to take pictures of.  Like the lighthouse above (for my mom cause she is my lighthouse). Well let me tell you, there are A TON of things to take pictures of here in Melbourne.  The skyline is spectacular, the architecture is incredible, and lastly if you are willing to travel a little bit there is a place called The 12 Apostles   Be sure to check it out. Quick pic below.

The best way to describe Melbourne, well the downtown area anyway, is a really small NYC.  There are a TON of stores and shops and you can buy anything and everything you want on any given street.  Also it’s pretty clean here (unlike most of NYC) and the people are again SUPER friendly and are always willing to stop and help when you are lost or need some help with something.  Here’s an example.. As I am walking down the road during sunset I notice a guy with a humungous tripod and motor system.  Naturally I am intrigued and stopped to talk a bit about photography.

 Dave, his name is Dave, tells me that he is a teacher and teaches photography.  Well we hit it off, talk for a while about photography and then BOOM there it is the sunset is PERFECTLY in line with the bridge down the river that separates both sides of the skyline.  Man.. what luck.  I must have taken 1,000 pictures of that sunset (bracketing HDR shots) no kidding.  Below you will see one of the finished HDR shots.  It was even better in person.

 So venturing off to who knows where hoping to get some pictures of some flowers at dusk I come across an amphitheater. Turns out there is a concert in the park that night and what do you know the security guard hands me a free ticket.   So not only did I see an amazing sunset, I get to see a botanical garden and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra as well.   Not only THAT, but the Amphitheater overlooks the skyline.  Man what a great day (except for the hostel experience, which if you didn’t read about you can see again in the past blog post. 

I wish I had a tripod with me, but I don’t. The images of the Orchestra and the skyline would have been pretty amazing. You have to settle for these.

So YES.. That is the Good.. Even better is that about 10 minutes from where I am staying (after the hostel mind you) is the Footie stadium, the dockside, all sorts of really cool art on the water, an enormous ferris wheel (which I did NOT go on, as you know I am scare of heights) and just some really cool architecture. Here’s some captures.

So I know you are asking with ALL this Good, how bad could it be..  Well not TOO bad.  The bad really comes down to money.  If you have a decent amount of money to spend while in Australia, well you will be fine.  If, however, you are like me and want your money to last you the next 2 years of traveling, well it can get ugly rather quickly.   My meal at a burger place was $21.50 for a cheese burger and a small water.  I bought a snickers bar (a small one) for $2.70.

 A big bottle of water was $7.00.   O yea and if you want a can of soda, expect to pay around $5.50.   So yea it can get rather pricey.  If you are aware of this you can always cut corners and save money by buying groceries and not eating out and of course there is always Maccas (McDonald’s for everyone else but Auzzies) which actually is rather reasonable.

So what about the Ugly you ask, well read my last blog post.   I am sure there are other UGLY sides, but my only gripe with Melbourne was my hostel experience and that really wasn’t Melbourne’s fault.

 As always.  Thanks so much for reading and please let me know what you think.  Of course Like and Share it as well.