Mellow Melbourne

As Geoff had never been to Melbourne before, we made sure to check out at least a little bit of the city while we were there.  

We met our walking tour mid-afternoon (perhaps not the smartest time considering the 35 degree temperature) at Federation Square, the major meeting place in Melbourne.  The Square, like many of the other landmarks and walkways in the city, was designed to reflect the city's cultural diversity.  The Square’s design, however, has been controversial, coming in well-above the budgeted price tag and generating mixed reviews about final look (which we felt looked a little too much like the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Berlin, a beautiful building but certainly not one which was meant to feel inviting and comfortable).  Nonetheless, Melbourne make great use of the Square, with lots of people out watching the tennis matches playing on a big screen.

Melbourne is known for its active sports and arts scenes.  There are stadiums, sports grounds and big parks all around the city and there are several galleries and nightly music/band options all over town.  A unique part of Melbourne is the alley culture, with lots of little hidden streets sporting hip and funky restaurants and bars.  Some of these alleys have actually been turned into pedestrian streets and are lined with all types of restaurants and coffee shops.

Embracing its promotion of the arts, many of these alleys showcase "street art" (different than graffiti because it is allowed/encouraged/commissioned), where local talents can come and design.  The street art changes frequently as new people come to make their mark. 

Melbourne, similar to Canada, is a diverse city, made up primarily of immigrants.  And similar to Canada, Melbourne has embraced the great parts of these different cultures into all aspects, and considers this blend of ethnicities to be its city's culture.  Perhaps this explains why they are known as one of the friendliest cities in the world…