Tuesday - February 15, 2005
Australia: Melbourne
Melbourne may be the second largest city in Australia, after Sydney, but it doesn't need to take a second seat in terms of things to do and natural beauty. I would describe Melbourne as being a more edgy city, with some startling architecture and a very active nightlife .
Heretical as it may sound, I think I like Melbourne better than Sydney, if one considers the complete package. It certainly doesn't have a breathtakingly beautiful harbour like Sydney, but it is very pretty in its own way, with the Yarra River bisecting the city. I think the downtown core of Melbourne is more attractive, and the shopping and dining areas are easier to access. The city is an interesting (some might say jarring) mix of the old and the new, with a century-old cathedral bumping up against the very modernistic buildings of Federation Square, for instance. The city has a fabulous transportation system comprised of a network of trams that criss-cross the city. For instance, we were able to reach the center of the city from Port Melbourne in approximately 10 minutes on a very fast tram which departed every 20 minutes.
We had a lovely sunny day to explore Melbourne, so decided to spend as much time as possible out of doors. We discovered that there was a market in the morning, so headed off to see it. And guess where it was? That's right - the Royal Botanical Gardens! The gardens were lovely and covered a lot of land. They were well used by the locals, with weddings, birthday parties, and picnics stationed throughout the park. We walked through a fabulous Fern Gulley to reach the market. The ferns were incredible, with some of them as tall as palm trees. The light coming through the leaves made beautiful patterns and I couldn't help but take a few photos. It was a good market, with flowers, fruits and vegetables, and many crafts booths. I found a couple of pieces of pottery that I liked so into the carry bag they went. In speaking with the potter and his wife, we discovered that there was to be a free open-air concert in the park that night, featuring the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and the music of some of the greatest Russian composers. Being a great fan of what Mike teasingly refers to as Russian Schmaltz, we decided to go.
After heading back to the ship to get rid of our purchases and to put on some warmer clothes, we once more took the tram back to the city, had a really nice dinner in a pub, and then walked across the river to the park. We didn't have any trouble finding the amphitheatre where the concert was being held, because we just had to follow the crowd carrying their coolers and blankets. So off through the woods we trekked until we came to the theatre, which was like a huge tent made of metal, surrounded by hundreds of people! We managed to find a piece of grass where we could hear the music, and watched in wonder as the audience unloaded their coolers and pulled out everything from McDonald's hamburgers and beers to roast chicken and salads, fresh fruit, and bottles of champagne. The orchestra was wonderful, featuring the music of Glinka, Rachmaninov (his beautiful Piano Concerto No. 2 that flows throughout the movie "Brief Encounter"), Rimsky-Korsakov, and Tchaikovsky. I loved it all but the best came last when the orchestra played the 1812 Overture, complete with cannons going off and a full fireworks display at the end. It was just a wonderful night, and as I listened to the Overture, I couldn't help but think of the time I was visiting Mike from Alberta over 20 years ago, and had to vacate the premises because Mike's parents and brother were coming to town to hear the Philadelphia Orchestra play the same piece, and they needed the bedroom.
The concert ended around 9 pm and we didn't have to be back to the ship until 11, so we decided to check out what was happening in the city. The simple answer is a lot! There were crowds of people everywhere, free music in front of the cafes and bars, and all kinds of activity. It is a long time since I have seen so much nightlife in a big city, and it was great fun to walk around and be a part of it.