We got a chance to go to Melbourne for a couple of days in the beginning of April thanks to a conference George attended there, and we immediately fell in love with this city. We took the train there since we love train rides, and it was really affordable: $99 one way. It’s a 7.5 hour drive or 10 hour train ride taking the straightest way. The landscape passing by our window was a little bit of everything. Mountains, (The Grampians, Mt Williams) vineyards, and lots and lots of sheep farms. We also stopped in some small and country towns.

Arriving to Melbourne was exciting. The train goes right by the Port, which seems to hold all the containers in the world! I have never seen so many containers in my life – it was like a city of containers in all kind of sizes and colors. The train then went through some really narrow tunnels to get into the city.

Our hotel was right off Exhibition St. in the east part of CBD (downtown). Very close to everything: Theatres, China Town, Bourke Street Mall, and the free City Tram that circles the city every 15min. The first day I pretty much went by everything either on foot or by tram. I had lunch at the Central Station – a very cool place where all the underground trains end up. It’s a 6 level building that holds the train station on the underground level, and then there are shopping levels, restaurant levels, movie theatre level with a food court on the same level. After that I walked to the Queen Victoria Market. It was very nice and had an abundance of meats and fish, but when it came to produce and cheese, they did not even come close to what you can get at the Adelaide Central Market. What they did have that was really fun was a huge outdoor market for everything: clothing, shoes, souvenirs, jewelry, and anything you can think of. I ended up buying a pair of UGG slippers for $25!

I took the tram to Federation Square after that, and what a cool place! First there is Flinders Street Station – the train station for the Suburban trains that are housed in the coolest building. I don’t know why, but I have this thing for grand and spectacular train stations, and this one is fabulous!  Right across from the station is Federation Square, which is architecturally amazing! Big square for meeting, performances etc. Big outdoor TV screen for watching sports games or other events. Bars, restaurants, and the Ian Potter Center: National Gallery of Victoria. The Melbourne Festival of Comedy was in full swing while we were there, and we watched a couple free performances on the square. Walking down some stairs, you find yourself by the Yarra River where I had a BBQ sausage and a beer for afternoon snack and sat and enjoyed the peaceful river. Delightful!

That evening we had dinner with a colleague of George (in town for a different conference) and his wife at a restaurant on Swanston St. We sat outside, and the food was great, and people were out and about. It was a really great atmosphere.  Next day George had the day off, so I could now show him town. Of course we ended up at Federation Square at the end, and George saw this bar called Beer de Luxe and had to have a beer there. It was a really cool place.

In the evening we had reservations (or “booking” as they say here) at the Sichuan House restaurant in China Town. I had seen this restaurant in one of Anthony Bourdain’s TV shows, and it sounded great. Boy did we have a good time – the atmosphere was amazing with a buzzing energy, and yes the food was super hot, but delicious.

The next morning we picked up a rental car and started our drive back to Adelaide, which would take 2 days to drive, so we could take the scenic route. We drove along the coastline through some beautiful tree lined roads at times, and then some spectacular ocean views. The most beautiful were the rock formations called The Twelve Apostles at Port Campbell National Park. We made it to Portland, a small town with not much to choose from, where we checked into a Best Western and went to a very local restaurant for dinner. (If you are in Ukiah, it was just like the Garden Café). I had John Dory, which happened to be the fish of the day, and it was the best fish I have had I think!

The last day’s drive took us through a wine region, and to the city of Coonawarra where one of our favorite wineries, Yalumba, has a tasting room, so we had to stop of course. Since we were out early in the day, we had the place to our self and tasted everything they had and some more. Wine tastings are still for free down here, and they happily pour you a taste of every wine they sell. I think we tasted 9 different wines! George, whose turn it was to drive, had to spit most of it out unfortunately.

We really liked Melbourne! It felt very Cosmopolitan and cultural. Everybody was very friendly and seemed happy that you were visiting. Sydney does have the Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge, but the atmosphere is a bit stuffy and everything is very expensive. (Darling Harbour reminded me of the French Riviera.) Melbourne just feels so alive, vibrant, and approachable. Not to forget I saw that there were three different Broadway shows being performed while we were there. Ok that might not be so amazing if you live in NY, but we just came from Orlando don’t forget, and Adelaide seams a little more like Orlando. They just opened Wicked here, which George and I saw in Chicago 5 years ago!

We worried that it would be a letdown coming back to Adelaide and Henley Beach South, but it wasn’t at all. We have had some beautiful days since then, and the most beautiful Easter weekend after this trip. It takes a lot to beat living on the beach. But if you come visit, we will go to Melbourne!