This past week I unfortunately had another relatively uneventful week. However, this past weekend we spent two full days exploring the city of Melbourne. In Melbourne, we had the chance to take a tour of the city, go out to local restaurants and bars, and visit some museums and local shops. One highlight of the weekend was getting to hear about the history of Melbourne’s creation and formation into its modern day form. Melbourne has a rich history of gold mining and a gold rush brought the city nearly all of its fame and clout. This era also was a very prosperous time for Melbourne and as a result, the city undertook vast infrastructure projects and built elegant displays of wealth. Another highlight was the ACMI, the Australian Centre of the Moving Image. This was a highly interactive museum that dove deeply into the film, television and video game industries. Having taken a film class or two at Bucknell, it was interesting to see some of the historical artifacts we had referenced in class in person. It was also interesting to see the differences between Melbourne and Sydney. I thought that Melbourne resembled a much busier and tighter city. It had more of an arts scene within the denser urban area. It reminded me more of NYC than Sydney has. Sydney is much flatter, spread out, and optimizes its green spaces. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Melbourne, but as a personal preference, I am glad I am spending my semester in Sydney.
