Down Under Down Under
⬅ previous ⬆intro next ➡Day 19 ~ 9 Jan - Melbourne
Again, Amanda runs around Albert Park while I am well asleep.
The hotel boasts its roof terrace has a fine view of the CBD, but I'm afraid we are unimpressed. Disappointed even.
Would we recommend Coppersmith? It's a toss-up, because it's comfortable and clean and perfectly situated for us, but we had been led to expect a bit more style and boutiquey frills. On balance, at a bit less than £120 a night (for four nights), I think it's expensive, but not outrageously so. Then again, compared to other local prices, maybe it is a bit...
Anyway, today's plan is that Stephen is going to lead us in a tour of Melbourne and we're all going to meet up at a cafe downtown.
We take the tram, which looks more like a train in many ways.
Brunetti is a very posh Italian-style emporium, but sadly these macarons are nothing like as tasty as they are pretty. Now I'm prepared to go out on a limb here and say that the best macarons money can buy are made by Fabienne Jaimes who has a stall at Surbiton Farmers' Market, although I appreciate that this is not something most of my readers will be able to confirm or deny for themselves. Nevertheless, I do not make this statement entirely out of ignorance or inexperience: we have tried many!
See here: Folie Macaron at Surbiton Farmers' Market or her Facebook page
Anyway, off on our city tour...
A classic 'old and new' perspective of the city.
The slightly smaller of the twin towers is a block of the most expensive luxury apartments in town, while the other is a Shangri-La hotel so grand it doesn't actually exist. Seems the original project began just before Covid hit and the developers got a bit caught out. But CBD News tells us,
The long-awaited opening of Shangri-La in the CBD is one step closer, with the site’s developer, S P Setia, planning for the hotel to be fitted out and operational by 2026.Good job we're staying somewhere else.
At the other end of the architectural spectrum is the Royal Exhibition Building, from 1880. According to Stephen it's mostly just an empty space inside, which I suppose fits its original purpose. But it didn't start out as Royal! According to Wikipedia,
On 1 October 1980, it was announced that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II had conferred the title of "Royal" to the Exhibition Building. It received restoration throughout the 1990s and in 2004 became the first building in Australia to be awarded UNESCO World Heritage status
Another fine old hotel, the Hotel Windsor. This is a bit more of realistic proposition, you can even find it on Booking.com! https://www.booking.com/hotel/au/the-windsor.en-gb.html. Slightly to my surprise, it's not even extravagantly priced: you can get a weekend there next January for about £120 a night, pretty much exactly what the Coppersmith charges.
Obviously this didn't make me think of anybody.
We're in the conservatory at Fitzroy Gardens, where the clan have been framed.
You've heard of the Melbourne Open? Maybe this is the Melbourne Closed? It's actually the cricket stadium!
Yayoi Kusama's "Ascension of the Polka Dots on the Trees", as if you didn't know.
Actually, it looks like her exhibition at the NGV (National Gallery of Victoria) would be well worth seeing if a) we had more time; and b) we'd known about it in the first place. https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/exhibition/yayoi-kusama/
Got to say we really liked her work "Narcissus Garden" at the Hayward in 2018. They have a version of that piece (which fills a space with shiny balls, so it will never be identical in any two venues) here today, plus many more.
Although we don't go in to the NGV, we do walk past it and see this curious piece. Research discovers that "Wurundjeri artist Aunty Kim Wandin has been installed in the gallery's moat, welcoming guests as they enter the Triennial exhibition. Titled 'luk bagurrk gunga', the sculpture honours the history of Wurundjeri women and the eel's journey through waterways and across land."
The Wurundjeri are an Aboriginal people who are the "traditional owners" of most of what is now Melbourne, but we're not going to open that can of worms!
But yeah, if you're in Melbourne and have the time and the inclination to see some art, it looks like the NGV is more than worth a visit.
Back on the tram to find a lunch spot; we end up at a place which is ok but no more. No pictures, nothing of huge interest.
After lunch, we say our goodbyes. We have had a fine time walking through Melbourne thanks to our native guide Stephen, but now we're going to meander back to the hotel. This evening, we'll eat locally, just the two of us again.
Local shops 1.
Local shops 2. We can relate to those. And in particular, we can buy some chocolate.
So, dinner. "Claypots Evening Star" seems to get good online reviews and their seafood platter seems highly regarded. Sounds good to us!
A nice bottle of wine to start.
That does indeed look good! You'll be glad to know that appearances are not deceptive either.
We have done rather nicely, thank you. Five star review from us, we are happy bunnies.
Back in our room, remember I said we could buy some chocolate? Well here we are. Don't ask how much it cost: you don't want to know and I don't want to remember, but it is very nice.
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