Melbourne
Categories: holidays, sightseeing, food, australia, concerts, theatre, culture
Date: 11 August 2009 12:03:47
While I may be lynched for saying this [there is intercity rivalry], Melbourne is truly a most wonderful city: its CBD has a feel, a 'vibe' even, that I feel Sydney lacks. Yes -- Sydney has a rather pleasant harbour, but step away and I feel the CBD is rather dull -- and does not have any real feel or purpose, or soul, to it. Perhaps it as I live in the suburbs and enjoy what I know and the buzz around my area. But to me Melbourne CBD with its little side streets full of restaurants and cafés, its wide footpaths and streets [compared to Sydney at least], its various 'villages', and its grand buildings is simply rather pleasant. It also seems not as overwhelming: perhaps the wider streets and buildings present contribute to this: I could see the sky and sun [when it showed through: was rather chilly!] as I walked around.
As mentioned in a previous post, as part of a promotion when I bought a new shaver I received a return flight to either Melbourne or Brisbane. I took Melboune, and also booked tickets to see Wicked: The Musical which was showing at the Regent Theatre. I also organised to meet a friend at the Holy Monastery of Panagia Gorgoepikoos ("She who is Quick to Hear") at Geelong - a post on which will come later. And I knew Melbourne would entertain me at other times.
Fortified by a full breakfast at the very pleasant hotel I stated at [very helpful and friendly staff; nice rooms; and a great location], my first stop, after a wander through town, was Melbourne Museum and the A Day In Pompeii exhibit. It was a very fascinating exhibit, though loads of school kids were visiting that day which made it rather crowded as well! I do hope to get to Pompeii one day, but this exhibition with its artefacts, information and videos was very informative and enjoyable. I also had a quick look around the rest of the museum, spending some time at the history of Melbourne section. That afternoon I visited the Dali exhibit at the National Gallery of Victoria: informative and interesting -- and I did enjoy watching the Dali-Walt Disney collaboration Destino. I am not well versed or perhaps truly appreciative of visual arts, so perhaps not as special to me as it may be to others -- religious works, traditional religious works, are generally what I like but it is always good to broaden one's horizons.
In between I wandered through arcades, such as the beautiful Royal Arcade [where I visited 2 chocolate stores!] with its fascinating Gog and Magog clock and Babushka shop among others, wandered the streets, caught the free city tram [Melbourne has an extensive tram network] and walked along the Yarra River. There was a fascinating bridge, the Sandridge Bridge, which as well as an interesting sculpture, has a number of glass panels with information about Australian indigenous peoples or the countries, and numbers, of immigrants to Australia. I took photos of the Eritrean panel [a bit hard to read] for my colleague.
I had two very nice dinners, one Chinese, one Italian, in Melbourne -- it is known for its great food and both did not disappoint. Saturday night, after returning from Geelong, I saw Bell Shakespeare's production of Pericles: a great performance. I love Bell Shakespeare's productions as they add a contemporary feel to the Bard's plays without, at least to me, losing their effect. In this production, performers from TaikOz [an Australian taiko drumming ensemble] were there, beating drums and playing flutes to add to the effect. Simply wonderful.
However, Wicked exceeded all else: it was amazing. A fantastic production with a wondrous cast, a fascinating story that was not only pre-Dorothy Oz but parallel in some aspects, superb songs, amazing production, set and effects: I am sure I will, money allowing, see it in Sydney as it is now finished in Melbourne and will start here soon. Not only a great production, but the story has the confronting look at what good and evil really are, with its emphasis looking at the social and ethical sides of actions and decisions. I was not expecting that, but it fitted in well and was interesting to ponder. I will say the beginning of the second-half seemed to lag a bit, but it was a minor issue as it all picked up again and the enjoyable experience continued. Simply a great night out.
And a great time in Melbourne generally: thanks be to God.