Going South For Winter Does Not Always Work

It is somewhat unfortunate that I love the city of Melbourne so much. When I came to Australia, my vague travel 'plan' was to visit various pals who had also chosen the Land Down Under as their continent of choice and then follow the heat. Australia's mass is sufficiently huge for some regions to endure all four seasons while others enjoy the consistency of the tropics. I fully intended to take advantage of this by spending summer and some of autumn in southern territories before packing up and heading north as soon as I detected a chill in the breeze (yes, southern hemisphere has crazy backwards migration). This would save me the cost and trouble of having to purchase a coat – the dream was to constantly have a backpack stuffed with many tiny summer clothes, completely free from bulky, space stealing winter items. Basically, if I was going to travel all the way to Australia why on earth would I choose to be cold? As it turns out, it is because Melbourne is in south east Australia and it's flipping awesome!

A Fed Square building

One of Australia's best known cities (often cited as the capital by those smart enough to know it is not Sydney but too stupid to know it is Canberra) Melbourne has a large and bustling CBD with towering office blocks, numerous shops from high street to designer and streets that create a perfect rectangular grid. After some exploration of the grid however, you find that sections are packed with narrow, winding lanes that are crammed with cute coffee shops and cool bars that create a quaint, cosy atmosphere in the heart of the energetic city centre. The grid is also dotted with interesting buildings both old and new; Flinders Street Station, the oldest train station in Australia, is a majestic Victorian building that sits on a corner facing Federation Square, an open area marked buy a set of modern metal and glass buildings constructed in a complex geometric design. But as a local once told me, “Melbourne is all about the suburbs.”

Part of the Docklands - my restaurant is to the right

My current hostel is on the border of two such suburbs – Collingwood and Fitzroy (although the post office have proclaimed it Collingwood). A twenty minute tram ride from the CBD, I live on a street littered with vintage clothing stores, second hand shops, cafés with open mic nights and art galleries. It is like the CBD but cheaper, cooler and closer together. Then there is St Kilda, a suburb on the other side of the city that very kindly hosts a lovely beach as well as the standard night life offerings. (Supposedly St Kilda is where “all the Irish are” but being a rebel I decided against it as my 'burb of choice). There is also the beautiful docklands area, which is where I am lucky enough to work. The outside seating area of my restaurant gives a view of gentle water, flashy boats and the odd row boat race. The suburbs in Melbourne seem to take on a life of their own; they may be a sub level of urban but when you are there you do not feel like you are on the edge of something bigger and better because everything you want is right on your doorstep.

One of the other things Melbourne is 'all about' is coffee. I would go so far as to posit that it is the unofficial Coffee Snob capital of the world. Now I have on occasion considered myself somewhat of a Coffee Snob (partly symptomatic of giving a caffeine addict barista training) but these people take the biscotti! Previous coffee related culture clashes have involved my own indignation but in Melbourne I have transformed into the confused waitress from my No Speak Americano tale; pen poised to write down the order just as soon as I hear a word I recognise, marvelling that the bar comply in endlessly brewing these very specific types of coffee (but more on that in a later post). But Melbourne is known for its café culture in general, even outside of the world of coffee - Melburnians are serious foodies. If I had more money I would fit right in.

The view of Flinders Station from Fed Square

Another aspect of the city that has so far been a double edged sword is that it is mad for sport. Near my work is Ethiad Stadium where the Aussie rules 'footy' is played (a crazy game based on an oval pitch – the playing grounds do not have corners!) I have not gotten into this sport quite yet but it helps keep me light on my feet in work when there is a match on and the resulting atmosphere is always great. The other weekend, Melbourne hosted the Grand Prix which pissed me off as it messed with the tram timetables and stops and you could hear the screechy droning of the cars from random parts of the city even though you were nowhere near the track. On the other hand, when I first arrived in Melbourne (the pre-farm week) the Australian Open was on and I got caught up in the excitement of being in the same city as Federer, Nadal, and Murray et al. While at the time I was shit broke and could not entertain the idea of buying even the cheapest of tickets, the atmosphere in the city was amazing. The matches were shown on a massive screen in Federation Square every day and the crowds that gathered there to watch it in the sunshine were as equally thrilled as I was to be there.

So although there are no epic tennis tournaments due soon and autumn has commenced, I have settled into Melbourne enough that I have no plans to head north any time soon. For now I am loving the city, I am enjoying my job, comfortable in my hostel and have made some really good friends. I am pretty darn happy and if that means I have to buy a coat with insulating properties, then so be it.