Melbourne at lastJul 25, 2009
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Saturday 25 July
We left sunny Sydney on a crowded flight to Melbourne as there were two plane loads of people to accommodate, but we were relaxed after our sojourn in the Virgin lounge where Ant had even had a shower. We finally arrived in Melbourne on a grey but warm day, v excited to see Jill and Bren waiting for us, even before we got to baggage reclaim. Melbourne is Australia’s second city with a population of about 3.8m, and we could see the city’s CBD (Central Business District) in the distance as we drove to their house in Port Melbourne, quite Manhattan-like with lots of modern skyscrapers.
Port Melbourne is in the south of the city and Jill and Bren’s house is one block away from the beach, which even on a grey day has lovely blue sea and pale sand. Looking over Port Phillip Bay you can see the huge West Gate bridge over to the west and the docks where the Spirit of Tasmania travels twice a day to Davenport. Over to the east is the resort of St Kilda, with a Victorian pier and picturesque marina and a tiny (by Blackpool standards) funfair. Jill and Bren’s house is typical of the older properties in Melbourne, one of a terrace with beautiful filigree ironwork framing the verandas. In the pretty yard is a barbeque, flowering creepers, sun lounging space and a little lemon tree. The house is deceptively big, with a civilised cream lounge at the front of the house, a study (where “our” sofa bed is) and a big kitchen diner at the back of the house with a well provisioned utility room, plus downstairs loo and cupboards under the stairs. Upstairs are three bedrooms and a bathroom.
We couldn’t wait to get out and explore so we went for a long walk round Port Melbourne, down the promenade (coincidentally called Beaconsfield Parade!) and round the side streets. There is a v eclectic mix of architecture, with lots of terraces like Jill and Bren’s together with single storey houses of a similar era, alongside high rise flats, most of them v modern and apparently quite expensive because of their proximity to the coast. It’s quite a cafe society, with lots of bars and restaurants although as it’s the height of winter there’s an air of out-of-season about it but still lots of runners and cyclists on the prom. The only blot on an otherwise attractive city was the amount of overhead wires which can be seen everywhere, including the tram service and telecoms utilities.
After a good long walk taking in typical Melbourne houses, we stopped for a cup of coffee in a gastro pub called the Sloaney Pony, run by a Brit, and booked a table for that evening. When we arrived back for dinner, there was a band playing with a variety of dancers, all of whom took turns to do some funky jazz tap dancing on a couple of thick boards, which was unusual and v pleasant background. A good time was had by all, although the Mitchells were beginning to make even less sense than usual by the end of the evening as travel caught up with us and we were grateful to get to bed by the end of the evening.
