Before I get into the daily diary, I would like to take a moment to summarize some thoughts.
Most Livable City in the World
Melbourne has been honored with the moniker of “Most Livable City in the World” for six years in a row. Frankly, I have no idea of the criteria, and it’s too much bother for me to google it. Instead, I shall enumerate the top 12 reasons why we would whole-heartedly agree. I will end with the final trump (pardon the term) reason(s) why we likely would NOT pick up and move in an instant.
In no particular order:
The STREET ART. Melbourne is the perfect blend of prim & proper, and chill, with an appreciation for freedom of expression. There is graffiti everywhere, but not “gangsta” tagging. It was real street art. We could dedicate an entire blog entry to just the street art and it was hard to pare down the photos to just these.
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| The street art was hidden throughout the city and suburbs. You just had to keep your eyes open to it. This was in a random back alley behind a grocery store. |
The CULTURE. The city is alive with people from all around the world living and working harmoniously together. There is a genuine sense of friendliness. Even the protesters during the Melbourne Cup celebration (more on that later), had a sort of jolly temperament. Note, the suburbs were a bit more homogeneous, but was every bit as worldly as downtown.
The VIBE. Early November is certainly not the high season for tourism in Melbourne, which afforded us a more clear view into the daily workings of the city. As we wandered around we happened upon some tight passageways brimming with midday lunchers spilling out into the alleys and you could just sense the energy.
The ARCHITECTURE. Whereas a place like Dubai or Los Angeles looks like you’re running through a Flintstones cartoon with the same muted backdrop whizzing by repeatedly, the buildings in Melbourne were such a higgeldy piggeldy mixture of modern and classic, tall and short, stark and colorful. In the same block, every building told it’s own story, unique to it’s neighbor. It is perfectly random. What is really exciting is that the new high rise behemoths complement the existing, not overshadow them (well the sun does create some shadowing).
Oh, and I couldn’t get enough of the homes in our St Kilda neighborhood. Most were these two story blocky structures with balconies clad in elaborate gingerbread. My only gripe was the fact that the bottoms were all obscured by solid street walls leaving you wondering what they’re trying to hide.
It’s CLEAN. But for the occasional newspaper fluttering about, the streets are spotless, and rubbish cans are everywhere. I recall wandering around Ireland for an entire day with an orange peel in my pocket looking for any place to properly dispose of it - and never found anything until we got home. In Melbourne, I was never more than a half a block away from rubbish freedom.
It DOESN’T SMELL. I am still a huge fan of San Francisco, and other similar cities, but the smell of urine and herbal remedies gets old real fast.
FREE & CLEAN PUBLIC RESTROOMS. Continuing with the “it doesn’t smell” theme, if you have the “urge” just about anywhere (both in downtown and in the burbs), there is a free “Public Convenience” facility somewhere nearby. Some are even subterranean.
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| Cleanest public facility I have ever had the pleasure of relieving myself.... And Big too. |
FREE PUBLIC TRANSPORT in the downtown area. That’s right. Hop on and Hop off any of the countless trams that criss-cross the city for zero dollars. While we never took advantage of the metro and tram system outside of downtown, it’s clear that it is vast, well used, and very clean. Note, we pulled a Californian move and drove around everywhere. But thanks to the locals all using public transportation, there was virtually no traffic. Thanks my Aussie friends!
FREE WIFI EVERYWHERE. That’s right. Wherever we went, we connected to the ubiquitous wifi signal as though it were cell service.
The VICTORIA CENTRAL MARKET. Right there in downtown is a MASSIVE central market - a local farmer’s market type set up, on steroids. Open five days a week, it’s where most locals actually shop for their food (and other goods for that matter).
It’s SAFE. We never once had any concern, at any point in the day or night, for our safety.
It’s GREEN. I’ve never seen so many huge and old growth trees within a city. They clearly go out of their way to ensure their flora remains healthy and bold. There are parks everywhere too.
I’m certain that if we had the luxury to stay longer, we would be raving about the nearby wineries, the penguins of Phillip Island, the numerous museums, the massive sporting facilities, the zoo and aquarium, and all the other cool stuff we missed.
So why not? Why wouldn’t we take up residence here?
We’re fair weather fans - not the sporting kind though (GO WARRIORS!). For all it has going for itself, I don’t think we could deal with the mercurial weather and long winters. We were fortunate to hit a decent (although a bit too cold) weather pattern, but the locals I spoke with at the park all said it was an anomaly. It’s probably the reason we probably wouldn’t find ourselves in the two other cities we really love - Portland and Seattle.
Also, but it’s subject to change, it’s a bit expensive here. I mean $4.50 for a regular cup of coffee? $24 for a cheeseburger? Come on.
Now, on to the daily journey...
Our apartment was in a hipster neighborhood about 15 minutes outside of downtown called
St Kilda. It’s kind of the Berkeley of Melbourne. We were just across the street from the waterfront and Luna Park, a small amusement park that was essentially a travelling carnival that never bothered to pick up stakes and move to the next town. But it’s old timey and has a creepy entrance, so it’s still curiously popular. Regrettably, we never really felt comfortable in this airbnb, and were greeted by this homage to Rocky in the foyer.
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| If this entry doesn't inspire sleepless nights, I'm not sure what else would. |
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| Hipster restaurant strip with rolling restaurants down the middle. Acland St. |
Day One (Nov 6): Melbourne CBD (Central Business District)
We felt a bit like Ferris Bueller during our first day in Melbourne City. Our intent was to just go into the city, park our car, and wander around with a loose idea of a pathway suggested by Lonely Planet.
Our plan was immediately thwarted by a proper traffic jam getting into the city. What we didn’t realize was that the central thoroughfare (think San Francisco’s Market St) was shut down for a pre-Melbourne Cup parade. [Foot-Note: The Melbourne Cup is the Kentucky Derby of Australia and is the event that “shuts down the nation”. (It’s more like the Superbowl)] As luck would have it, by the time we parked and made it to the parade route, we were able to see the one jockey we sort of knew - the brother of the sister that rides a horse that is owned by our new friend in Perth, Joanna. Clearly we we're best buds. In any case, we followed him along the parade route and ended up taking a picture with him. Then, out of nowhere, a news reporter shoved a microphone in Zane’s face to ask him who he was rooting for.
Quick hit list of our city journey:
- Street Art along Hosier St
- Wandered narrow alleyways brimming with shops and restaurants
- Rode the free tram to the Central Market (which was CLOSED!). Jeez
- Found a hole in the wall Chinese dumpling restaurant in Chinatown. Not sure it had an official name, but we knew it was good because every patron (except us silly Americans) was Chinese, the menu was mostly pictures with symbols, and the staff was barely comprehensible.
- Visited the largest cathedral in the Southern Hemisphere
- Went to the top of the tallest building in Australia, the Eureka Tower
- Caught a fantastic sunset and saw two tiny little penguins
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| Jockey's name was Corey Parish, riding Boom Time |
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| "Who do you want to win?"... Nicole is whispering in Zane's ear..."Say Boom Time." |
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| Nameless Chinese restaurant |
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| Chinese patrons only means it's going to be good... |
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| St Patrick's Cathedral. Had a curious yellow glow inside as the windows were not all stained glass. |
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| Eureka Tower, tallest residential only building in the world. |
By the time we were done with the day, we had solidified our love of downtown Melbourne.
Day Two (Nov 7): The Melbourne Cup
When we were in Perth getting impromptu horse riding lessons from Joanna, she made it clear that we would be silly to miss the Melbourne Cup during our stay. Based upon the insanity of attending any kind of championship event in the states, we assumed it was not in the cards. As it turns out, it doesn’t really sell out as they are willing to sell General Admission tickets to anyone that wants to attend….and kids are FREE! Well all right then kids, we’re going to the races! While we weren’t exactly misfits, the attire of most of the attendees was decidedly proper with most women adorned with a "fascinator" - a frilly thing clipped askew to their heads.
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| This was a first.. The parking lot was in the middle of the race track, and to get to the stands, you literally walked across the racetrack. Watch for the horse waste! |
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| Our view for most of the day. We sat, while the crowd converged. UGGs, Australian for shoes, mate. |
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| A winning ticket! I actually won a race! |
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| Those two coins were my bounty. Bet 5 to win 7.5. Oh yeah we livin' large tonight! |
I would like to have come away thinking it was the most amazing day of our lives, but alas, we left a bit disappointed. Apart from the fact that placing a wager was a total nightmare that took the length of two full races (90 minutes), the main problem was that everyone else in Melbourne, and all of Australia it seemed, also thought it a grand idea to procure General Admission tickets as well. The actual Melbourne Cup race is the seventh race out of ten. As such, we carved out a little piece of turf during the 4th race that gave us a fairly clear view of the track and the main screen. Just like attending a pop concert, we strategically held our ground to keep as much space between us and our surroundings. But as the time grew nearer our world began to collapse, such that by the time the announcer bellowed “Racing Now!”, we were shoulder to shoulder and all we could see was the back of a sea of smartphones trying to video the race. Anyways, our jockey friend did not prevail, coming in 12th or something. Which ain’t bad considering it was a field of 23 horses. Yikes! 23. Oh well, at least we can say we’ve been there, done that.
Day Three (Nov 8): Scienceworks, St Kilda Adventure Playground, Penguins
Nicole and I felt bad that we tortured our kids for the entire previous day, so we dedicated day three to something they would like. Our trip is about compromises. Sometimes the kids suffer, sometimes we suffer (admittedly, we don’t really suffer because hey, we’re on an incredible trip around the world. Who are we to complain?)
Scienceworks is a bit like Lawrence Berkeley Hall of Science. We were hoping for more of an Exploratorium experience. So it was pleasant, but truth be told, a little too quaint and disappointing.
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| We paid extra for the temporary World of Lights exhibit. We left wondering why the surcharge. The bean bags were a nice respite though. |
Within a short walk from our apartment is a really cool adventure playground for the kids. While most play structures in the states are carefully pre-engineered things made from composite materials with a heavy emphasis on avoiding lawsuits, the St Kilda Adventure Playground was as much junkyard as playground. I found out from a pleasant conversation with the local parents, that the place was built and maintained in a co-op style, and it receives funding from the government to provide a safe place and food for disadvantaged folks in the area. You could sense the good karma exuding from this place.
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| Even in the playground, cool street art. |
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| The in-ground trampoline was a hit. |
Our final night was spent anxiously waiting for the penguins of the St Kilda pier to return from their day of fishing in the bay. We had visions of swarms of Penguins creating a boiling froth of water as they all came flopping on shore. As 22:00 (that’s 10pm for us Americans) rolled around, we saw perhaps one penguin come ashore, and a half dozen water rats tricking us in to thinking we were seeing little birds. Fortunately there were plenty of penguins inhabiting the rocky dike, so we had our fill of close up shots. Certainly worth the 15 minute walk to get there.
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| As the sun was setting, the reflection off the gold plated glass atop the Eureka Tower was something cool. |
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| The penguins, assuming they have the capacity to appreciate it, have a wonderful view of the Melbourne City lights. |
Day Four (Nov 9) - Victoria Central Market:
Our previous attempt at visiting the market proved fruitless (get it, I made a pun…). As such, we figured in a return trip before heading out of town. It proved fruitful (there, I did it again). This market is, by far, the largest open market we have ever seen selling the full range of meat, fish, fruits, veggies, clothes, didgeridoos and boomerangs. And unlike the African counterparts, it was clean, orderly, and navigable.
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| The skyscrapers loom large through the vaulted skylights. This is the indoor deli section of the market. |
Random Musing:
- One of the liberating things about a one year trip around the world is the freedom from having to visit every museum, zoo, aquarium, wildlife experience, or amusement park in every corner of the world. If one of our stops doesn’t have the absolute best one of these, or something totally unique, we can comfortably pass on the experience knowing we will see something better down the road (or we’ve already seen it). Additionally, being from the Bay Area (& California for that matter), we are spoiled for some of the best museums, aquariums, zoos, and landscapes in the world. We often catch ourselves saying, “you know, the Exploratorium is way better than this.” Or, “as far as aquariums go, you really can’t beat Monterey.” And, after having been to Iceland, we shine on most waterfalls.
- What is it about bouncing and kids? Our current place here in Skenes has a decent trampoline and they can bounce for hours on end. I think I have about a 30 second fuse for being jostled around.
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