[RECAP] Melbourne Local Guides meetup in Prahran!

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? :slightly_smiling_face:

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!

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Funtastic meet-up moderater @iyudhi :smile:

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Thanks @iyudhi for the recap. It was great meeting both you and @PaulPavlinovich since Tokyo as well as a number of other Melbourne based Local Guides including @MaxPlusFood . Unfortunately because of other prior commitments, I was one of the attendees that had to leave early.

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All good @AdamGT plenty of chances to meet up in the future now that I’ll be residing here for a while :slightly_smiling_face:

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Dear CM @iyudhi , It’s great to see that you managed to organize the meetup on such short notice. It’s wonderful to have both Connect Moderators present at the meetup. The photos are beautiful, and those of the greek donuts and ice cream are making my mouth water.

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So fun! I would have loved to be there, and try the donuts too. It’s great to see you all together!!

Thank you for sharing how it went with us @iyudhi !

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@Jesi You should come here at some point! Plenty of things to see and experience :smile:

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Thanks for the kind words @ShailendraOjha @PrasadVR !

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Going to be so awesome seeing the meet ups from AUS with you there now with the crew, @iyudhi ! Hope you’ve been adjusting well, and seems you’ve got some nice new spots to frequent as well too. The Greek donuts do look fantastic and of course I’ve got to agree, what is better than a fresh donut :joy: . Very cool to see @PaulPavlinovich & @AdamGT as well haha :grin: .

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It was the first opportunity to meet and greet @iyudhi since he relocated to Melbourne, Australia @SP31 and after meeting Ivan in Tokyo, and he being such a nice guy, I wasn’t going to miss it :blush:

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@iyudhi Wow, what a fantastic recap of the Melbourne Local Guides meetup in Prahran! It’s so heartwarming to hear how successful the event turned out, especially considering it was a last-minute plan.

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A greek donut is so small, isn’t it? @iyudhi

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