ABOUT ME

It was love at first sight.

Back in 2016, I had the chance to be greeted by a friend who lived there. I was at the end of a fantastic three-month road trip on the Australian east coast, from Cairns to Sydney, via the Great Barrier Reef, the Whitsunday Islands and Byron Bay. After so much time on the road, I needed to stop somewhere to recharge my batteries (and my bank account). That somewhere was going to be Melbourne. She was my guide for my first days in the city, and my love for it owes a lot to her. On my first evening, she took me on a tour of the hidden bars in the CBD. A few days later, I watched the AFL Grand Final at her house, with her parents and her partner. In less than a week, I had already discovered several different aspects of Melbourne, and my fascination for this extraordinary city was growing and growing.

At the origins – from France to Switzerland

It was the first time I lived in a such a huge metropolis. I am originally from Saint-Nazaire, a medium-sized town on the French Atlantic coast, where I spent my entire childhood. At 19, I went studying in Rennes in Brittany, an hour and a half away. In 2011, I moved to Neuchâtel in Switzerland, where I lived for 5 years. I had a well-paid engineering job, a group of friends, and an apartment with an exceptional view of Lake Neuchâtel and the Alps in the distance. But the peaceful day-to-day life I had there eventually became too quiet for me. In 2016, I made a radical decision. I left Switzerland and went to Australia for a year on a Working Holiday Visa, with nothing more than my backpack and my camera. This journey changed my life forever. After that, nothing ever was the same anymore.

Australia 2016 – where it all began

I was then 28 years old and I felt like I was starting a brand-new life. I travelled for thousands of kilometres with my own campervan, I worked in a farm picking pears and apples, I met dozens of other travellers from all around the world. I made some exceptional memories throughout my road trip on the east coast of the country, and the few months I spent in Melbourne were just as unforgettable. I worked as a barista and I had a room in a house that I shared with 11 other backpackers. I was going out a lot, making the most of everything the city had to offer. This period will forever remain one of the happiest and most inspiring of my life.

When my visa came to an end, I couldn’t picture myself going straight back to my old tedious job, so I decided to keep on travelling. A few weeks around Europe, a month in Canada, an extraordinary stay in Hawaii, a second trip to Australia, but also a mixed experience in New Zealand, a huge cultural shock in Japan and a road trip in the American West. And finally, in March 2019, I returned to Saint-Nazaire. Twelve years after leaving it, I settled back in my hometown. I was ready to start a new chapter...

I arrived in Melbourne for the very first time at the end of September 2016.

I immediately loved the city. There was something indefinable that I liked, that made me feel good there. Was it its countless parks? The contrast between its modern skyscrapers and the beauty of its Victorian buildings? Its neighbourhoods all different, sort of villages with their own atmospheres and communities? Its omnipresent street art that I would learn to adore? Even today, I don’t know how to explain precisely what I like so much about Melbourne. It’s a mix of all that and many other things, sprinkled with the memories of dozens of unforgettable moments I lived here. It’s a state of mind, something impossible to quantify. A quality of life that I have never experienced anywhere else, and which never fades. I am deeply in love with Melbourne, and I'm happy to be able to call it home today.

Melbourne 2023 – back home

...or at least that's what I thought. The successive Covid-19 lockdowns made me realise than even if I deeply loved Saint-Nazaire, it wasn’t where I belonged. I eventually quit my job in 2022, and in March 2023 I flew back to Melbourne. When my plane landed on the tarmac, I had the deep feeling of coming back home…

It had been four years since I left the city, but almost nothing seemed to have changed. The countless cafes on every street corner were still there, and so were the laneways of the CBD and their gorgeous murals. The atmosphere of my favourite neighbourhoods remained unchanged. The view over Melbourne from Albert Park was as beautiful as I remembered, only with the addition of a few new skyscrapers. In July 2024, I started a master's degree in media & communication at Swinburne University. It will end in mid-2026. What will come next is still a bit blurry and uncertain, but I’m sure of one thing: there are a lot of great adventures ahead!

Inside my Melbourne – One Cup at a Time

During my first trip to Australia between 2016 and 2017, I regularly updated a very basic travelblog intended for my parents and friends, describing the wonderful adventures I was living on the other side of the world. I soon realised that the more my journey progressed, the more pleasure I took in publishing my articles and stories. So when that trip ended, I decided to keep on writing and I created my own website in August 2017, called Inside my Backpack. It still exists, but I'm no longer updating it anymore.

This website still exists, but I'm no longer updating it anymore, having returned to a more sedentary life. However, this combined taste for sharing and writing had never left me. This is why in July 2024 I decided to create this website, Inside my Melbourne, as well as dedicated Instagram, TikTok and Facebook accounts. My goal is to help you discover in every possible way the many reasons why I am so deeply in love with this wonderful city! Whether you are a tourist, a newcomer, or a long-time resident, let me share with you all my favourite places and activities, from the unmissable landmarks to unsuspected hidden gems. Finally, in a section soon to be created, I also want to highlight the extraordinary personalities of the men and women who all contribute in their own way to the unique identity of the city. Welcome to Inside my Melbourne, I hope you’ll enjoy the ride!

In October 2024, as part of the Master's degree in Media & Communication that I am taking at Swinburne University, I also launched a blog dedicated to the coffee culture in Melbourne. It's called One Cup at a Time, and through numerous anecdotes and fun facts, I explore this very specific culture while presenting my favourite cafes and the men and women who run them with passion. Follow me well as on Instagram!