Exploring the City

It's been nearly a week since I've arrived here in Melbourne. Today I had my first day at the Royal Children's Hospital. The Children's Cancer Centre is located on the sixth floor, which provided a far better view than the one from my apartment window. The hospital is practically surrounded by parks, and though part of it is a large hole where they're building the new Children's Hospital, the view is marvelous. One day I'll make some pictures (provided the sun is shining). As I said, they're building a new hospital, which is supposed to be finished by 2011. And it's needed. Though the research labs and the wards have obviously been renovated, the building itself is pretty old. And the elevators seem even older; I really do not want to get stuck in one of those.

I've visited the laboratory where I'll be working. The people there are really nice and friendly, doing an extensive Q&A about where I'm from, how long I'll be here, and when I arrived etc. I'm sure I'll enjoy my time here. I'm not sure whether I'll do my clinical first, or the research, or do them both at the same time (and if so, when I'll be doing what). It'll probably be the latter. In any case, the kids seem to like me already. The first kid (about 4-5 yrs old) I walked by, yelled 'Heeeeeyyyy!'. I turned and said 'Hiiiiiiiii!', the big welcome making me feel a lot better, and less nervous.

The past week, I worked on settling into my apartment, taking many trips to the shopping centre, so by now I think I got most of what I need in my room. On Thursday, I went for a walk in my own suburb, Carlton, the 'Little Italy' of Melbourne, which coincidentally also houses the greater proportion of residents from Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa. A 'multiculti' bunch, I'd say, just like in Holland. A part of the reason of this multi-cultural mix is the presence of the University of Melbourne and another university, RMIT, located mostly here in and around Carlton. Before I left, I read that Lygon Street, which is just around the corner, houses more Italian restaurants than you can imagine. Now I know they're right. 80% of the buildings are Italian restaurants, while 10% are restaurants of other International cuisines, and the other 10% are 'normal' shops. Even though it's winter, it's possible to eat outside, as the sidewalks are covered and heated. At the end of my walk, I reached the Carlton Gardens, with the Melbourne Museum (with IMAX) and Royal Exhibition Building. It's strange to see that these parks are still pretty green, despite the 'cold' weather. It looks like a good place to relax in warmer seasons, lying in the grass with a good book (or study material). After 4,5 km, I arrived back home, with tired feet but also a good many new pictures:

Google Earth: Carlton (click to enlarge)
CarltonClick map to enlarge

On Saturday, after a morning of heavy cloud cover, the sun broke out. I decided now was the time to see if I could find the Yarra River (no big deal, just go south). The walk took me right through the city centre, which was fairly busy, but not as busy as, say, the Herestraat in Groningen on a Saturday. I headed south, where I bumped into the Flinders Station, and behind that was Yarra River. I crossed the bridge and walked on into Alexandria Gardens and alongside the river, thinking I'd walk until the next bridge, then head back. After a while, I thought: where the heck is that bridge? I was once again taking a longer walk than planned, and I had no idea where I was (I knew how to head back, just go towards all the tall buildings). At long last I reached another bridge (and was well aware of how far I had to walk back again), when I saw three words that told me exactly how far out I was: Rod Laver Arena. Home of the Australian Open. Before I left, I was fairly sure that come January, I'd be taking public transport to this exact spot, as it was probably too far to walk. Well, that was exacly how far I was now. On the way back, it started to drizzle. The sun that had drawn me out to the streets was long gone. I thought the 4,5 km I walked Thursday was far enough, and I wouldn't go that far again in a while. The best laid plans... When I got home, I'd clocked 6,3 km, thanks to a bridge that was nearly one too far. But I'm not complaining. I now know that the walk to the Rod Laver Arena isn't all that long. One way at least. Anyway, here are the pictures:

Google Earth: Melbourne CBD and Yarra River (click to enlarge)
Yarra RiverClick map to enlarge

The rest of this week, I'll find out more about what I'll be doing the next 9 months at the CCC. I'll keep you all updated (well, not on the details of the research or clinical work of course! :D).

Love, Laura


Next entries: 25 August 2008 - Bugs, Killer Birds and the Olympics
1 September 2008 - Koalas, Kangaroos and Other Australian "Idols"
8 September 2008 - Wildlife: Out in the Wild
15 September 2008 - Typical Melbourne Weather
22 September 2008 - Dutch Weekend
29 September 2008 - AFL Grand Final Weekend
6 October 2008 - Blue Skies and Blue Screens
13 October 2008 - Hanging Out with Friends and Hanging Rock
20 October 2008 - Apples, Tours and Myer's
27 October 2008 - The Monster of Loch Albert
3 November 2008 - Welcome to the World of Mac
10 November 2008 - Multicultural
17 November 2008 - The Car, Santa and Italian Festa
24 November 2008 - Global Cooling
1 December 2008 - The Dutch Shop, Take Two
8 December 2008 - Parties, Night Life and Back Pick-Up Lines
22 December 2008 - The Grampians
29 December 2008 - Christmas, OZ style
6 January 2009 - Happy New Year!
12 January 2009 - Empty
20 January 2009 - Boiling Hot
9 February 2009 - Worst Day in History
1 April 2009 - No April Fools - An Update


Previous entries:

13 August 2008 - The Longest Day
Welcome to Laura's Weblog


Don't forget to check out Rebekka's Weblog!
Also check out my pictures!