Marvellous Melbourne

The debate is always, which do you prefer - Sydney or Melbourne? For me it is always Sydney. Don’t get me wrong, Melbourne is a great city and I am really pleased to be here, but Sydney just has that touch of magic, the x-factor, which pushes it ahead.

Perhaps it is because I have spent more time in Sydney rather than Melbourne, perhaps it is was because it was in Sydney that I first fell in love with this country? This is my fourth visit to Melbourne but other than my last visit, when I was consulting for the Melbourne Arts Centre, they had previously only been fleeting 24 or 48 hour visits. So, perhaps it is also that I haven’t spent enough time here. I certainly haven’t really done any touristy exploring of the city before - as a result I have been really looking forward to this leg of the trip.

Whereas in Sydney, you are never really too far away from water and there is a myriad of beaches and coves, in Melbourne the city has one coastline and the main beach serving the city is in St Kilda, about 3 miles South East of the city centre. And it is here that we have decided to base ourselves for the five days we are here. You can’t do Christmas in Australia, without being at the beach, right?

After an early morning beach run, Christmas Eve began with breakfast with my very good friend, Amy Maiden, who started as junior in the media department at AKA London and is now 2iC of AKA Australia via the Australia Young People’s Theatre and the Sydney Festival. We have enjoyed countless nights out together in both London and Sydney - so what better way to start our trip here in her company. She moved to Melbourne from Sydney back in May, so it was good to hear her take on the place, to catch up on the gossip and meet her gorgeous 16 week old puppy, Maggie.

After breakfast it was time to see the sights. Melbourne has a great, efficient tram system so it was really easy to get from St Kilda, past Albert Park (home of the Australian Grand Prix) into the city centre where we decided to start our visit, as we had done in Sydney, with a trip to the top of a tall building to see the city from above.

Then, as the sun began to beat down, we made our way through the city streets underneath the big vivid blue skies that Australia is famous for. Having had a big breakfast, we weren’t ready to eat at lunchtime, but did stop for a drink and a sit down at Queen Victoria Market where we made the decision to alter our holiday plans.

Originally we had been planning to hire a car and drive to the Blue Mountains for the weekend, but the devastating fires that are currently ravaging the countryside here in Oz mean that the area is best avoided. So instead we have decided to head up coast to the Hunter Valley. Paul found a fantastic hotel online and we managed to book the last room and although disappointed not to go to the Blue Mountains, I am excited to head up there on Saturday instead.

With the weather getting more and more glorious, temperature in the mid twenties with bountiful sunshine, we decided to jump on a boat and do a cruise up the Yarra River that flows through the heart of Melbourne. Expecting it to be like a Christmas Eve back home, where everything shuts early and everyone goes home we thought that it might be best to eat in the city centre rather than risk not being able to find anything open back near our hotel in the evening. So we found a very nice riverside restaurant and ate as we watched Melbourne wind down for Christmas. But far from emptying, the Southbank area of the river got busier and busier as the tourists and locals alike enjoyed the early evening sunshine.

Suitably sated we got back on the tram back to St Kilda, where after an hour or so’s R&R we decided to head down to the beach to watch the sun set on Christmas Eve. Far from shutting down, the place was alive with thousands enjoying the vibrant atmosphere and stunning sunset.

A truly beautiful, romantic and magical way to start Christmas.