Cosmopolitan Melbourne

After a 12 hour bus journey from Sydney we arrived in Melbourne at a bleary-eyed 6am. In a very bedraggled fashion we caught one of the thousands of trams servicing Melbourne centre and headed out to the 'bohemian' section, Fitzroy. After our rather dubious contact with all things spiritual in Byron Bay we were unsure whether we were ready for our next brush with free spirits however Fitzroy manages to blend art galleries with tie-dye in an effortless mix of sushi and soya beans. But art galleries are not open at 6.30am so we arrived on Helen's (another friend from Steve's Fuji days) doorstep looking like the skanky backpackers we have become but were greeted with the offer of a warm shower, fluffy towels and a double bed. I think we both hugged Helen within an inch of her life after that offer. When we eventually managed to get out of bed, we followed the very excellent Lonely Planet walking tour of Melbourne and stumbled across a city that resembles Victorian London with a smattering of art deco thrown in for good measure. We discovered a city famous for its culture, its bars and restaurants and its cosmopolitan overtone that brings all nationalities together in their appreciation of fine food. It is not a place to diet. The walking tour encompassed the beautiful side streets of Degraves and Block Place (a cross between Diagon Alley and Carnaby Street depending on your point of view) and taking the lift to the top of the fabulous Sofitel where a very friendly lift operator and true 'Melbournian' gave us a personal guide of the views we were seeing. The majority of the sights he pointed out involved restaurants but then that is the native Melbournians all over. We walked on to see the fabulous Flinders Street railway station and then crossed to Young & Jackson Restaurant - the oldest in Melbourne and home to the 19th century nude, Chloe, deemed too risque to house in the national gallery at the time but clearly fine for diners to stare at over their pavlova. In the evening Helen cooked us a lovely meal and we talked until 2am, catching up on Helen's news as she has been away from England so long to study remedial massage and yoga in India and then Melbourne.

The next day the three of us took the free tram ride around the city which, although extremely busy and extremely slow, gave us the opportunity of seeing the new docklands development by the river - a controversial development for the Mebournians but the new central business district none-the-less. Getting off in the Southbank area (just like London, this area is south of the river except that taxi drivers from the north don't refuse to cross the river in Melbourne) we walked around the botanic gardens billed as Australia's finest and although the weather was miserable, the rainforest areas and ornamental lake were certainly very memorable. In the evening we met with Helen's friend Gayle (English but working in Melbourne) and Florien, her German friend holidaying in Aus. A rowdy night ensued where we visited a Greek restaurant, got a little bit carried away with the 'BYO' policy (bring your own alcohol) and by the end of the night were calling all the waiters 'Stavros'. Fortunately they saw the funny side and retaliated by calling Beth 'Bridget' (as in the hapless Jones variety) all night. All's fair in love and stereotyping we supposed. The night ended in Bar:Open, one of the many bars lining Brunswick Street in Fitzroy, where we made the most of the Australian flexible drinking hours until 3am. The next day we were deeply hungover and sat groaning on Helen's very comfy sofa for the entire day to get some R&R.

Suitably recovered after a lazy day, we took the tram to Federation Square, another controversial new building in Melbourne and one that is innovative rather than aesthetically pleasing or sympathetic to the neighbouring Victorian Flinders Street Station. It actually houses a number of restaurants and also the National Art Gallery of Victoria. Believe it or not, we went to the latter! On the way back we dropped into Helen's workplace, the 'Lebonese House' restaurant and indulged in a delicious meze and vine leaves (and excellent waitress service of course - thanks Hel!). Our final day in Melbourne was spent in St.Kilda, the very trendy suburb famous for its beach side view and Sunday markets. After exploring the centre, wondering through the market and consuming considerable amounts of cakes in Ackland street, we caught the Greyhound back to Sydney whilst contemplating our imminent departure from Australia.

Australia is a fantastic country - to live and to holiday. For travellers it is slightly different. Once you have seen the red centre (Uluru et al) and Kakadu, the rest of the east coast is largely about relaxing - sun, sea, surf, sand and booze. Fantastic for the short term but we were beginning to feel that we were being indulgent by spending so much time in Australia.

Before flying off we walked over the wonderful Sydney harbour bridge and took in the skyline that we had become so fond of then departed for Singapore. Sad because we had had such fun and made some great friends along the way but secretly relieved that we would be soon to travel in countries with a culture so different from our own and start learning again.