Melbourne, at last...

I say 'at last', because this is the final 'new' city for me during my travels here in Australia. After Melbourne, I return to Sydney - where I started my trip way back on July 7th.
I actually arrived in Melbourne late in the evening on the 16th - but there was merely enough time to grab a very quick bite to eat and then head to bed. My first glimpse of the city itself would be on Friday morning.
I would start the day in the very capable hands of a true 'Melburnian'. Whilst still in DC, one of our Beauvoir parents (and Australian), Jane Slatter, kindly put me in touch with her sister, Kate - a lifelong resident of Melbourne. So it was Kate who met me at Southern Cross railway station - and I felt very fortunate that I would now get a true insider's view of this great city.
Our first stop was the observation deck at the very top of the Rialto tower. As I've mentioned before, I think it's always great to see a city from above to get a real sense of it.
Melbourne is a big and busy city. My first impressions were of a bustling, successful city from the Victorian era (appropriately, Melbourne is situated in the region known as Victoria). It reminded me in equal parts of Dublin, Edinburgh and Chicago - with a distinct English flavor thrown into the mix also. But this was Australia - and the ubiquitous palm trees reminded me of that! There was certainly a mixture of old and new here - soaring skyscrapers up above with impressive Victorian buildings vying for attention in their shadows below. From the top of this particular tower I could see many Melbourne landmarks - the Yarra River, the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground), Kings Domain, the South Bank and Docklands, Botanical Gardens, Olympic Park (Melbourne hosted the 1956 Olympic Games), Flinders Street Station, St. Paul's Cathedral and Parliament House. Back at ground level, I was taken to the wonderful arcades or 'Laneways' as they are known here. These are the small back streets and alleyways that lie between the main streets of Melbourne (built using a grid design, like Manhattan). Many of these laneways - off main streets Bourke and Collins - are simply delightful and bursting with activity. There are countless coffee bars and restaurants and tiny windows offering sandwiches and snacks. Degraves Street and Centre Place are especially popular and populated, both constantly wafting with a very tempting espresso-scented air. But my first coffee stop would be at Melbourne's oldest coffee bar - Pelligrini's. Melbourne is Australia's capital of coffee (according to Melburnians!) - as it benefited from a vast influx of Italian immigrants.
Pelligrini's was set up by an Italian family who were allegedly the first to bring an espresso machine and Italian-style coffee to Australia. I was not disappointed. Wow - now that's coffee! Howard Schultz should come here and see how it's really done.

I was also shown Flinders Street Station and its famous clocks - a local meeting spot for years, where locals tell friends "I'll meet you under the clocks". From there, we walked on into Kings Domain and to the Shrine of Remembrance. Men and women who have served Australia in wartime are commemorated here. It's an awesome building and is very humbling.
It was great to see elderly veterans there, acting as guides. My host told me that her father, an air force veteran form the Second World War, had proudly done that job in his later years.
Our final stop together was the wonderful Queen Victoria Market. This is a huge, sprawling, enclosed market, which used to be common in most English city centers in the first half of the twentieth century. Sadly, few remain now. Covent Garden, in London, used to be rather like this - before it was converted into cafes, boutiques and souvenir stores.
But this is an absolutely thriving market - where you can buy just about anything. It still has all the original Victorian-era architecture and many original stall fronts and signs remaining. Most appealing, was the bakery and deli section. I will certainly be returning there for breakfast - Kate said it was a must!
I spent the early evening strolling down Bourke Street, enjoying the bookstores and the street musicians. I can tell I’m going to enjoy Melbourne - there is a lot to see here and I can't wait to see more tomorrow.