The first few days in Melbourne feel like a total déjà vu.

And of course, it is…. I am immediately familiar with everything, from my Myki card for public transport to the streets, the bars and restaurants, and hanging out at the Fitzroy pool.

Somehow it feels surreal though, as if I had never left? As if I had dreamt up all what has happened since I left Melbourne for Auckland in February?

But then, in a sense all this year feels surreal. I find myself going through my paper diary a lot or just browsing through the blog, reading and remembering things I did.

I did all that?

It sometimes seems hard to believe, all the things I’ve seen and all the things that happened, the people I met and let go again, the ones that stayed and hopefully will…

And as I as layer upon layer of memories of this trip I quickly have to dig deeper for things that happened only a few months back…

So hanging out in Melbourne is a good thing – it feels like a homecoming, and a place where I do not have to visit or do anything – I have done it last time.

I am literally just filling my days with the pool, swimming, beers at night and a few cultural activities.

This is probably the closest I get to really living in a city, as opposed to passing through.