Youngs Around the World

We left the Great Ocean Road behind and drove into Melbourne through a fierce windstorm. Our lightweight Hyundai Getz rental car was manhandled by Mother Nature for most of the journey but Aaron kept us on the road. There were two reported fatalities caused by the collapse of construction scaffolding. Motorcyclists were discouraged from riding during the storm. The 140 km/h winds had stirred up so much dust that thick orange-brown clouds obscured the buildings and trees on both sides of the highway. News outlets later reported that it had been one Victoria’s worst wind storms in more than a decade.

The city itself was a gridlock nightmare, exacerbated in part by its shocking contrast to the peaceful, easy beach towns from which we’d come. We fought our way through the narrow streets of downtown Melbourne, congested with pedestrian and auto traffic, to inquire at a few hostels and budget hotels, all of which were full on account of several special events that weekend. We finally secured the penthouse of all hostel rooms at a place called Urban Central Backpackers. Despite the “factory-esque” ambiance of the common areas and the throngs of twentysomethings, the hostel was top notch. We were somehow upgraded from a regular double to a “family room”. It was a wonderfully spacious top floor “penthouse” with two walls of huge windows framing a view of downtown. We could have held a small yoga class in the space left over from the bed and sitting area. We giddily settled in for four nights of suburban comfort.

We decided to return the rental car a day early (since driving in town had proven to be a nightmare) and tackle Melbourne the same way that we took on Sydney – à les pieds. Central Melbourne has a grid like structure with outlying parks, botanic gardens, public art galleries, high-end shopping, Chinatown, classic European architecture and yet a distinctly American feel. The areas along the narrow Yarra River, which runs through the city has been masterfully developed into a chic promenade lined with trendy restaurants and luxury hotels overlooking the cityscape and its sparkling nocturnal reflection on the water. There is a prominent café culture and we spent a good part of every day sipping lattés at sidewalk tables while absorbing Melbourne’s eclectic mix of locals and tourists. The streets always seemed full of people playing music for coins or selling jewelry or drawings from a small table or tarp on the sidewalk. The downtown streets are swarmed with people, the young and hip, both day and night. If you didn’t know where you were, you would probably assume that you were in some big American city – a fact that disheartens Australians in the same sort of way that many Europeans condescend to American pop culture and politics.

Since we were fairly certain that fields of kangaroos and koala-filled trees were not an option in the big, bright city, we decided to dabble in a few of the activities that give big cities their urban charm. The Melbourne International Comedy Festival, the second largest in the world, was in full swing. We had stumbled upon a booth at Town Hall that sold half-price tickets to comedy shows on the same day so we indulged in three performances over the course of two nights. It felt wonderful to laugh uncontrollably for hours on end and it must be good for the abs because mine were certainly sore after each evening’s hysterics.

And both nights, after the show, we walked back to our penthouse along the glittering promenade, entranced by the city lights, soft, romantic music playing on golden lit patios, clinking of bulbous glasses, and the purr of dinner conversation. The promenade at night was one of my favorite backdrops in Melbourne. You had only to stroll along it to feel as though Van Gogh himself were painting you as part of an idyllic scene like Starry Night.

On our last evening in the city, we went to an Aussie-rules football game (Aussies call it “footy”) at the Melbourne Cricket Grounds (MCG). Needless to say, this activity was Aaron’s pick but I found myself equally exuberant as we followed the colorful crowd toward the entrance. Watching sports on television has never really tickled my fancy but I love tickets! The whole spectacle at the arena/stadium/field – the obnoxious couch potato fans, little kids sporting their team’s colors while eating hot dogs as long as their arms, the roaring crowd, the overpriced beer and salty finger food – charges my senses into an adrenaline-infused frenzy. There is so much more to the experience than the game itself.

“Footy” was born in Melbourne and nine of the Australia Football League’s fifteen teams still represent different areas of the mothership. Aaron had read the rules online and relayed the abridged version to me as we waited in our seats for the match to commence. The game seems to share rules with both soccer and rugby and is surprisingly easy to follow. It is high-impact and fast-paced since the “footy” is almost always in play.

In true Aussie style, we drank beer from large plastic cups and ate meat pies while cheering for our chosen team, the Carlton Navy Blues (chosen because I liked their little white shorts). The two teams were evenly matched and it was a close game, but the Essendon Bombers came from behind to win in the fourth quarter. MCG, which seats over 100,000 spectators, was packed with rowdy, roaring “footy” fans. We stayed through the end and then walked back along the promenade – it was bustling with activity on a Saturday night. We might have joined in the revelry had we not booked a flight to Cairns at “oh my God” early the next morning. It’s hard to make choices when there is so much to do, especially in a vibrant, thriving metropolis like Melbourne. I find myself wishing that there were two of me so that I wouldn’t have to miss anything. Every day is a new adventure and, while I felt a twinge of sadness as we left the penthouse the next morning, I was bursting with excitement about the new day’s possibilities.

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