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It only takes one day to realize that Melbourne, not Sydney, has become Australia’s most liveable city. Formerly considered staid and more conservative than Sydney, Melbourne has grown into a vibrant, sophisticated city. With three major sports arenas just east of the city center tells you that Melburnians are sports mad, and they religiously follow “Aussie Rules Football”, which originated in Melbourne. If you’re an American tourist, they’ll chide you that American football, is for ‘wusses’ because they wear all that protective gear. The Aussie footy players wear none of the protective gear, but get out there in tight shorts and T shirt, nothing getting in the way of bashing hell out of each other. That is not to say that Melbournians are uncultured; they are also devoted to the arts. Near the heart of the city, there’s a cultural art/theatre/concert hall complex and renovated National Gallery of Victoria. A new aquarium and museum have just opened up in the city. During the Melbourne Festival, the city at night is lit up and vibrant, crowded with people flocking to see the performing groups. In March, Melbourne hosts the Comedy Festival, which attracts both local and international talent at different venues. I’ve enjoyed many anarchic comedians with names like the “Umbilical Brothers” and “A Dog’s Breakfast”. The traditional musicals like “Cats”, “We Will Rock You” and “The Producers” also played in Melbourne to packed theatres year round. The food in Melbourne has improved over the last thirty years. When we first came to Australia from California, the average diet was rather bland. In the 60’s and 70’s, Greek, Italian and migrants battled to educate Aussie palates; as a result, garlic and spices became acceptable ingredients of Australian food. Now you can get just about any ethnic food—Vietnamese, Thai, Malaysian, Indian, Mexican, French and Chinese. The move towards multiculturalism in Melbourne is never more evident than in the Queen Victoria Market, on the northern edge of the city. You can start your day with a wander through this large open air market, a feast for the senses with pyramids of exotic fruit and vegetables, seafood and meats. Vendors loudly spruik their goods, “Mangoes, two for a dollar, two for a dollar”. Pungent smells of fresh fish, ripe cantaloupe and spicy sausages fill the air. You can also get some real buys in leather goods, Australian souvenirs and Akubra hats if you’re willing to do some light-hearted bargaining with the multilingual stall holders. A 10-minute walk from the market brings you to the Yarra River that runs through Melbourne CBD. Sydneysiders may brag that they have the Sydney Harbor, but Melbourne has the Yarra, a languorous river that meanders its way down from the Great Dividing Ranges. At the heart of the city is a famous landmark— Flinders Street Train Station. Built in 1910, with its large copper dome and soft-brown stone façade, it looks almost middle-eastern in style. Midday, the city bristles with the sounds from the traffic, seagulls squawking, the clanging bells of St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Melbourne trams. The trams are a Melbourne icon and are a convenient way to get around the city without blistering your feet. There is even a special tourist tram car you catch at Flinders Street station for a free guided tour of the city landmarks. A new landmark has just been completed opposite the station and cathedral-- Federation Square. Initially, people thought the architecture of the buildings, clad with geometric shapes of sandstone, zinc and glass shards, was too angular beside the older city buildings. However, the cobblestone piazza is a popular meeting place. I love the way the sun creates abstract patterns on the floor and walls inside the buildings as it filters through the shards; the soaring, angular ceilings create a ‘lightness’ suitable for the Moving Images Centre, a Melbourne Visitors Centre and art galleries. Across the Princes Bridge and down to the river’s edge is Southgate, a complex of specialty craft and clothing shops, as well as cafes and restaurants. Drinking a cappuccino at one of the cafes, listening to buskers playing Flutes of the Andes and watching the tourist boats steaming up the Yarra is my idea of heaven. Further south is one of the oldest, most popular parks around Melbourne--the Royal Botanical Gardens. The ornamental lake in the centre of the park attracts picnickers who feed the swans, ducks and eels inhabiting the lake. A fascinating but controversial feature of the park is the flying fox population of over 30,000 which hang like chattering fig-like creatures upside down on branches of the tall trees. When they take to the air en masse, their black silken wings blot out the sky. On the outer perimeter of the Melbourne CBD, there are also numerous bike tracks. If you’re on foot, you can catch a tram near the park on St Kilda road to the bayside suburbs and hire a bicycle to ride on the path running along Port Philip Bay. Salty smells of the sea mix with those of the fish and chips. Three-storey Art Deco houses overlook the track and the millpond-like bay dotted with sailboats. The city skyline in the distance emerges from the mist as you pass by the kite fliers and ‘kickboarders’ taking advantage of the coastal breezes. On sunny weekends, the track is crowded with young male skaters stripped to the waist, showing off their washboard chests, families pushing baby strollers and Japanese tourists on rented skates and bicycles struggling to keep upright. You can finish your bikeride with a snack at Acland Street in St Kilda. This area has a bohemian ambiance with its mix of eastern European and trendy singles. After watching the sun set on the beach, you can view the Melbourne night skyline from the Crown Casino entertainment centre. The cosmopolitan, yet homely nature and friendliness of Melbourne make it, not Sydney, the more liveable city.
A Day In Melbourne was f irst published in www.touraters.com Back to TheTraveler.
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