Downshift Musings

Wow! I’ve been in Melbourne for almost a week now and what a packed week that has been. Melbourne was a surprise in many ways. It is far more populous than I thought it would be with 4.5 million people in the city and suburbs. There are pedestrians EVERYWHERE. But that’s cool because the people are so interesting. It’s a very cosmopolitan city, with China Town, the Greek district, Little Italy, the banking district, huge gardens, Victorian row houses, the docklands, and so on. Asians now make up 8% of the population of Australia and 30% of Australians speak a language other than English as their first tongue. Australia is in the midst of a great immigration experiment and it’s quite evident in the streets.

Like many of my favorite cities Melbourne is located on a river, the Yarra. There are fabulous public spaces all along the banks like the river walk below.

South of the city is Port Phillip Bay. We headed down to Williamstown by metro train one day and explored the local beach and a coastal park. Rich informed me and I soon learned first-hand that UV rays are very strong here.

Garden City

We spent my first two days here exploring the city via the Royal Botanical Gardens and Fitzroy Gardens, also the Carlton gardens and others I can’t recall the names of, all free and immaculately maintained by the federal or local governments. We’ve actually gone to the botanical gardens twice in order to see it all.

City Living

Rich’s airbnb apartment is very centrally located in the middle of the CBD (Central Business District). There are trams running down the center of the street, which are free in this part of town, and there are two metro train stations within a few blocks.

I love Rich’s little bachelor pad. He’s on the 19th floor of a 20-story building with a rooftop terrace. I’m having fun with this little taste of urban living.

Well, I took so long to get my act together and create this post that I can’t possibly share everything I’d like. In addition to already mentioned activities we have visited the Queen Victoria Market (opened 1878), the largest open air market in the southern hemisphere. We also lucked out and last Saturday night was the 6th Melbourne “White Night” Festival, a dusk to dawn spectacle of light projections and interactive art installations. It was definitely a cool experience and could have been pretty psychedelic, especially for kids.

Off to bed now. More tomorrow.