MAGICAL MELBOURNE

Melbourne, Australia's second largest city and, some would say, the style - capital of the country, has so much to offer.

Federation Square

The Massive sprawling metropolis is home to more Greeks than any city outside of Athens, and dozens of other nationalities combine to make this an elegant yet supremely cosmopolitan place.

Melbourne's restaurants are renowned for their upmarket class. Just as there is an ongoing rivalry on all levels between Sydney and Melbourne, nowhere is this more apparent and hotly argued than in regard to dining. Clones of Melbourne restaurants open in Sydney - and vice versa.

Many years ago - we're talking the 1960s - I was lost in Melbourne, and on entering a Port Melbourne hotel to ask directions, I felt I had stumbled through a portal. This was one rough place, much as I would have imagined a sailor's pub from 19th - century London.

Finders Street Station on the banks of the Yarra River and Melbourne skyline at dusk viewed from Southbank

Fast - forward to the 21st century : these days you're more likely to get a latte or a limoncello at most bars in this area. Now the blocks of townhouses and apartements are filled with up - and - coming Generation X and Y - ers and the decor and ambience suits this demographic exactly.

There is another group, too, who arrive by water - often in their own yachts and cruisers rather than taxis - and they're just as delighted with the recent turn of events here.

In the past decade or so, investors have put many millions of dollars into this prime, yet formerly overlooked and under - utilised, part of Melbourne - Australia's second - largest city. Ideally situated to tap into a marked that was waiting to be won over - the boating fraternity - the city now has many admirers.

Docklands is quite literally where the City of Melbourne meets the harbour. The Docklands redevelopment has been a huge bonus to a city already rich in tourist drawcards. Now visitors can enjoy water views from more than 60 cafes, restaurants, and bars, as well as galleries, shops and parks.

It's all just one further step for this city. Established in 1835, and Melbourne, Victoria, became Autralia's sixth city the Victorian gold rush in the 1850s and 1860s made it the second - largest in the British Empire. Right now it seems intent on taking the No 1 position for popularity in Australia.

Map in hand, repeating tram numbers like a mantra, I set off. It's a glorious day, blue sky, no wind. I kick myself (later) for not carrying an umbrella. An a coat. For this is Melbourne - four - seasons - in - one - day Melbourne.

I know I could take the free City Circle tram that does a considerate loop around the city centre, but hey, this town's considered the coffee capital. So I walk. An outdoor table, sunny side of the street would be just right, I reckon.

One laneway is full of cafes and packed with people already eating and drinking, so I keep going. Yet that is a mistake as Melbourne's lanes have become an institution - a must - do experience when in town. The coffee is invariably superb, the vibe good, and you get to rub shoulders with caffeine - craving locals.

One of the best things about Melbourne is the city's almost European dedication to food wine, coffee, good bread and cheese. Factor in restaurants, and the hundreds of places you can stop and simply buy a glass of wine or a beer and relax with it at a pavement table, and you start to realize why the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival goes with such a bang each March.

For just over a fortnight each year Melbourne gets a chance to show off the considerable talents of its chefs and restaurateurs, showcase its fine produce and exceptional wines, and generally have a party.

Melbourne has a place for everyone, but queen of it all is the one - of - a - kind Queen Victoria Market, just north of the CBD. Take a day to see it all, do a cooking class, take a guided tour of it. Buy cheese or cheesecloth, fishnet stockings or fish, sunflower seeds or sunnies. The only thing NOT to do, is miss it.

Ten Fascinating Facts About Melbourne

1. Melbourne is home to the oldest zoo still in existence in Australia. The Melbourne Zoological Gardens opened in 1861 as the Royal Park Zoo and has been open to the public ever since.
2. The Melbourne Cup is one of the few horse races in the world that has a public holiday declared for it. All over Australia, the country stops for the running of the Cup on the first Tuesday of November. The first Melbourne Cup was run in 1861.
3. The highest recorded temperature in Melbourne was 45.6C (114F) on 13th January 1939. The lowest was -6.7C (20F) on june 30, 1929.
4. Melbourne's latitude 37.49S and 144.58 E is roughly equal to the north of japan in the northern hemisphere.
5. The land for Melbourne was 'purchased' by John Batman, son of a convict, from native aboriginals. The price was an ongoing supply of suits of clothing, and flour, plus some mirrors, tomahawks and knives.
6. Melbourne was first known as Bearbrass, and sometimes Bearport.
7. The oldest building in Melbourne - La Trobe's Cottage, or Old Government House - dates from 1839, but it was actually prefabricated, and made in London. It has since been dismantled again and re - erected in 1963 in South Yarra.
8. For a brief time at the beginning of the 20th century, Melbourne was the tenth - largest city in the world.
9. While Melbourne has the reputation for delivering four season's of weather in a day, it actually averages only seven cloudy days in summer, and 12 in winter when it has less rainy days than several other Australian capitals.
10. Melbourne hosted the 1956 Olympic Games. To accommodate the large number of athletes and staff, many were billeted in private homes. During the Games, an enormous inflatable kangaroo clutching an outsized Aspro (Aspirin Headache Powders) packet flew over the city. Were they trying to say the Games were a headache ?

Fast Fact

Melbourne Tourism : www[dot]visitmelbourne[dot]com

Melbourne Food & Wine Festival : www[dot]melbournefoodandwine[dot]com[dot]au

Text by Sally Hammond, Photos by Gordon Hammond

Tweet

Postingan terkait:

— Wednesday, February 28, 2018 — Add Comment — DESTINATIONS