This past weekend we just had a meet-up with Melbourne Local Guides. @PaulPavlinovich and I were thinking about doing another meet-up before the end of November, but we didn’t really get a chance to plan the meet-up until about a week before the date. It was quite a last minute meet-up, so we were prepared of the possibility that nobody will show up. Paul suggested we do the meetup in Prahran, so we created a post on Connect anyway, and as you can see from the comments on that post, we didn’t get too many responses. Paul tried anyway to reach out personally to some Local Guides he’s been contacted with and we hoped for the best.
It turns out that my worry was unwarranted. As you can see from the image above, quite a few Local Guides showed up, so we were pretty relieved. Also shown in the picture is another Connect Moderator, @AdamGT !
Our agenda is mainly consisting of photowalk around the area, and casual conversation to get to know about each other, and also discussion regarding Google Maps and Local Guides program in general. At the end of the meet-up, a few more ideas surfaced for possible meet-ups in the near future and I’m already excited for it. Paul is trying to arrange something for Australian day next January, and a few more ideas from others.
The walk started in a cafe called Crooked Letters where we had coffee and some quick bites. Then we started going around exploring the surrounding area while taking photo snaps. We went through some alleys filled with graffiti that I thought was pretty cool.
Along the way, Paul recommended we stopped by a gelato place called Pidapipo which was really delicious.
A few blocks later, @MaxPlusFood recommended that we stop by this place that sells greek donuts called Lukumades. Max got some to be shared, and we had to wait for a bit since they made it fresh. It’s definitely worth the wait though because what is better than fresh donuts?
We then walked around a bit more until a few folks had to disperse. As someone new in town, I’m so glad I’m able to meet Local Guides in the area so I was able to rely on their expertise of the local area. Definitely a good experience and some great conversations related to Maps and Local Guides happening during the walk. Big thanks to everyone that came to the meet-up and already looking to the next one!