Answering the question, Sydney Vs. Melbourne

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The Great City of Melbourne: Guided by Darcy Naunton

After an early morning start from Hervey Bay, I made my way to the airport to head off to the great city of Melbourne to see the sights and stay with my cousin Darcy. I arrived at Avalon Airport, took a 45 minute bus ride into the CBD(Central Business District) and low an behold, Darcy was there waiting in the bus depot of Southern Cross Station. We traded greetings and made our way by trains to his side of town as we talked about my trip and about how classes were going for him. He's only been living here for 2 months, and had recently moved into a new flat in a very happening suburb called Prahran. His 3 flatmates were still at work, but would soon be coming home to start the holiday weekend celebrations. They lived down a side street in a very nice 2 story flat, with contemporary concrete and white painted walls, large plasma TV, balcony with compulsory barbie, an awaiting Ping Pong table, and a modern well lit kitchen. As his roommates came in 1 by 1, we were slowly introduced and then headed out to dinner at a local pub for the weekly $13 Steak Night, Parmas(Chicken Parmesan), and jugs of Carlton Draughts. After the long hike, 1 block away, I could tell I was in good hands with my cousin and his friends and that the next 10 days were going to be fun filled. So exciting in fact, I'm going to have to summarize the highlights of Melbourne instead of giving day by day details. I hope you'll forgive me, but don't worry, there will still be plenty to read.

Prahran

Prahran is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, South East of the CBD, and only a few stops away by train. This popular area, mainly centered around Chapel Street, contains loads of fancy cafe shops, designer clothing stores, bead shops, heaps of pubs, a few posh night clubs that we couldn't get into, and sprinkled with a variety of restaurants like Thai, Italian, and Nepalese. Walking down the streets, passing a parked Ferrari on the side, gave me faint feelings of Melrose Street in California.

Darcy had 4 roommates, Adam, an old friend from Perth, and a married couple, Bianca and Steffen, and their attention hungry, balcony escaping cat Oscar. For this holiday weekend, Adam was also going to be hosting another two guests in the form of his 2 sisters, Jenny and Victoria. The house was now packed with occupants, group dinners were cooked on the balcony barbie, and good times were ahead of us. On laid back days, games of Ping Pong were played with extreme emotion, my travel blog was updated on one of the 3 computers, and episodes of The Office were watched in traditional Steve Carroll humor.

Melbourne - Federation Square, Chinatown, and the CBD

Melbourne(pronounced without the "r" as Melben) is Australia's 2nd largest city with approximately 4 million residents and a very contemporary architectural look and feel. Starting my Australian trip in Sydney about 5 weeks earlier, I was now here to flush out the true differences and discover why there was a long lasting rivalry between these two metropolises. Just to start, Melbourne has a very well organized public transportation system with trams, buses, and trains, all jetting around the city and getting you to outer areas of the city quickly. I bought a 10 ride, 2-hour pass, which got me around on any of the transportation vehicles within a 2 hour block. This definitely came in handy when multiple rides were needed and round trips into the city were shorter then 2 hours. Sydney had a monorail, that went in a circle around the harbor.

Another thing I noticed, was Melbourne felt more European with a greater mixed population of residents from all over the world. On the Sandridge Bridge which spans over the dividing Yarra River, multiple metal and glass walls listed different countries and immigrant statistics taken in 2006. It was truly amazing to see where everyone had come from and how many different nationalities were in Australia. If you think the United States is the only melting pot of countries, you should definitely see this bridge. While walking around downtown, I noticed the variety of dinning choices was similar to Los Angeles where you could have any type of food, as long as you knew where to find it. One place that I got a kick out of was "Lord of the Fries", a mini hamburger and fries establishment directly across from the Flinders Street Station. Their selections included fries with a choice of differrent sauces, categorized in different countries. Mexican, for example, consisted of Jalapeno Salsa and sour Cream. I opted for the French-Canadian one which was Brown Gravy and Melted Cheese. MMMMmmmmm

Next to Flinders Street Station was Federation Square, a common meeting place for travelers and tourists. Now if Frank Gehry and Gene Roddenberry had created a town center, this odd, ultra-contemporary collection of buildings on the Yarra River would be it. This conglomerate of interesting buildings included shops, an Information Center, the ACMI, an amphitheater, a couple art galleries and museums, a few cafes, and a lounge called Transport. We visited this location several times watching short films at the ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image), wandering around in the Ian Potter Centre: National Gallery of Victoria looking at Australian Art, and just gazing at the design and layout of such a unique downtown location.

Southbank and the Crown Casino fire show

Down from the Flinders Street Station on the South side of the Yarra settled the Southbank. The Southbank was part of an urban renewal program that now includes eating, shopping, and entertainment businesses as well as street performers and the Crown Casino. At night, this walkway is well lit with tons of people out on the town, going to dinner, or heading down to try and win some money.

At the Crown Casino, they have the normal games of Roulette, Poker, Blackjack, and Slots, but also had some games I've only seen in Australia like Pontoon. Pontoon seemed like a variation of Blackjack with just additional ways to win, or lose in most people's case. 😊 As you entered the front of the Casino, you were greeted by a large, high ceiling room with lights, music, and on some days, a water fountain show. Around the Promenade circling the casino were expensive shops, wonderful looking restaurants, a Warner Brothers store , gelato handlers, and every type of Asian food court selection you'd want to try. At night, along the Yarra River, 8 pillars shot off a 5 minute fire show on the hour. Now if you've been to Vegas, this show wasn't anything like the popular Mirage Volcano Eruption or the Bellagio fountains show. But I do have to give it credit, as it was entertaining, very hot, and a horrible time to be eating gelato.

St. Kilda - Luna Park

One morning, Adam, Jenny, Victoria, Darcy, and I decided to have breakfast in St. Kilda, which was a short drive south towards the water. Even though it was Good Friday, some stores and restaurants were still open. We found a nice little restaurant with an amazing wine bottle wall and had a wonderful big breakfast. Lined with Bakery shops and cafes, the girls wandered around into a few stores while we proceeded to sit outside and just people watch. Shortly after a few whiffs from the bakeries, I stopped inside to buy a full sized Lemon Tart for tonights dinner. Such a good purchase as this pastry was a big hit back home with Bianca and it tasted amazing. Over the course of my stay, I was the designated dessert purchaser, and I gathered a few more delicacies that pleased the house. At the end of St. Kilda street towards the end of the retail shops, an amusement park stood behind a tall fence and large Mr. Moon Face entrance which told us that this was Luna Park, the first Luna Park in Australia. Melbourne's Luna Park opened in 1912, filled with amusement park rides, roller coasters, ferris wheels, and food. This may look familiar to you, as Sydney also has a Luna Park on its Harbour front, but has had numerous closures, legal battles, and problems since it's 1935 opening. Melbourne has the advantage in keeping this childhood park open for families and tourists.

Footy Game - Australian Rules Football, not to be confused with Footsie

Darcy, being the great cousin he is, was generous enough to buy us tickets to a real Australian Rules Football game at the Telstra Dome Stadium. Now Australian Football, or Footy as they like to call it, is Australia's most highly attended spectator sport. With multiple teams being based out of Victoria and the Melbourne area, this was definitely the place to see it in all it's enthusiasm. So as the Fremantle Dockers, Darcy's West Coast Team, and the Essendon Bombers, a local team, charged onto the field through a large banner and geared up to play, I asked myself, how is this game played again. Luckily the day before, we had all watched a game on TV at their house, and multiple rules were spit off to me at high speeds along with penalties, a few extra rules, and some friendly arguments of which teams and players were best. At the game, I participated in a local game delicacy tradition and ate yet another, meat pie with tomato sauce on top. Although hot dogs and hamburgers were available, I say, when in Rome...have another meat pie pastry. In the end, the Essendon Bombers pulled off a high scoring win with the Dockers right on their heals. It was a high scoring game, a enlightening day of sports, and now we were off for an Easter dinner with the rest of the flatmates.

Melbourne Comedy Festival - Ross Noble

Ross Noble is a UK comedian that Adam and Darcy had gotten tickets for to see. Luckily while in Melbourne, I had coincidentally come into town during the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. This 3 week event has been going on since 1987 and now pulls in attendance of over 400,000 people. This festival, ranked as the 3rd largest in the world for comedy, definitely caught my eye when I saw it listed on the Qantas Airplane Magazine, and was very pleased to find out that Darcy and Adam had already gotten us tickets. So off to the show at Town Hall, we proceeded to file into the massive line, hoping that the theater would hold all of us. Inside, the stage was filled with Inflatable large silver balls surrounding a big projection screen. As the show started, Ross Noble jumped right into his usual routine, which is that of being unusual. His comedy was improve based, largely focused on people in the crowd, and definitely never in an organized fashion. I guess his normal comedy, which makes it somewhat funny in itself, is that it's always different, and always more random then the previous time. He makes fun of audience members, things that remind him of older situations, and of course throwing in the Australian humor which occasionally flew over my head. In the end, my laughter was definitely a sign of my approval as the show ended with a Q & A.

Ground Components Live

To answer my question, what is Australian Indie music like, we headed to hear a group that Adam had heard before and enjoyed. Up in the Carlton area on Lygon street, we headed out with some friends to a club where this band, Ground Components, were going to be playing after some opening bands. Our tickets were waiting, and the first opening band was on. Soon after we had a few beers, the 2nd opening band, Operator Please, was getting their stuff up on stage. They had a good punk rock sound, very lively crowd, and a very young feel about them. Their lead singers voice, reminding me of the old Gwen Stefani in No Doubt. After a broken string, some good sounding songs, and a few more beers, we were ready for the main event. As Ground Components started to play, we definitely noticed an increase of people, shoulder to shoulder now, the crowd was definitely waiting for this band. Their music wasn't bad, with good sound and catchy tunes. However, at times it seemed like the singer was screaming more then he was singing. His raspy voice seemed less melodic then the normal bands I listen to. In the end, we still had a great time and I enjoyed seeing a different side of Melbourne then the touristy stuff I had been doing.

Melbourne Museum

Jumping back on the touristy track, Darcy and I headed to the Melbourne Museum on a day that we felt like being seeing stuffed dead animals, an indoor arboretum, and some more aboriginal art. Also in the vicinity of the museum was the IMAX, which was playing 300, a movie based off Frank Millers graphic novel and portrays a fictional retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae. Unfortunately we were short on time, so seeing the museum was all we could spare today. The Melbourne Museum was hosting a Great Wall of China exhibit, but not wanting to pay the extra fee, we decided to just see the permanent exhibit. After 2 hours of whale bones, stuffed kangaroos, pinned up butterflys of every species and family, we were kind of glad we stuck to one show. After a few more rooms of giants squids larger then my grandmothers trailer, ant farms with ants bigger then most house spiders, and Darcy's head in a dome, we decided we had seen enough for the day. As much as I was enjoying myself, I had seen plenty of museums, and I knew this wouldn't be my last.

Wine Tasting - Yarra Valley

As my stomach called out for fermenting grapes, Darcy and I decided to book a $95 wine tour of the Yarra Valley wine region with the Winery Tours company. Heading towards 4 wineries and lunch, 2 excited cousins introduced themselves to some other travelers with similar palettes. A nice girl from Ireland, Katie, had been working in Sydney at an Irish pub and wandered down to Melbourne for some tourist sites. Also, an American girl going to school in Melbourne had brought along 3 friends to taste a little Australian wine as well. In all, the bus had about 18 thirsty wine drinkers, so off we went, to fulfill that gap. Arriving at our first winery, Yering Station, it dawned on me that this was my 3rd wine tour of Australia, having covered the West, South, and now the East. I either really like wine, or I'm in need of some help. Anywho, as we were taught how to sniff, sip, and taste, I found a nice liking to one of the Cabernet/Shiraz blends and bought 1 bottle for "future" tastings with food, for educational purposes of course.

At the next winery, Rochford, we sat in a private tasting room and had 2 whites and 2 reds. All of these wines weren't bad in quality and taste and to help us, a handy wine tasting guide of flavors and scents was resting on each table. After the last wine and not a moment too soon, we were led into the dining hall where awaited our food selections, another glass of wine, and the wonderful views of the vineyard. Afterwards, more wine tasting could be done at the counter or in Katie's case, cookies could be purchased for sharing on the bus.

As I started to think all of these wineries would be large and impersonal, we headed off to Yering Farm. Now not just a cleaver name, this farm where was we got a little more personal, talking with the actual owner, and also sitting down at small tables in a barn like tasting room. This cellar door was much more interesting with an actual wine maker lending his knowledge about the wines.

And finally, our last stop was at the famous French Moet & Chandon's Australian Production house, Domaine Chandon. In 1986 it became known as Domaine Chandon at Green Point, as they are still making Green Point still wines, as well as sparkling wines in unusual varieties. This was the first place I've ever tried a 100%!s(MISSING)parkling Shiraz. We were given a short tour of the facility, shown the riddling room as well as some other areas of the facility. Such a wonderful facility and amazing dining room and view. As we tasted some still wines, the sparkling wines, and were given some bread with an amazing tomato relish spread, I was happy to agree with why this winery was so popular. After another purchase, we headed off home with happy stomachs and a bottle of water. We said our farewells and I hoped to see Katie back in Sydney on my way through from New Zealand.

Aquarium

While Darcy was at school, I got in touch with Kevin, my English friend from the outback that was also in Melbourne at the time. We decided to visit the Melbourne Aquarium, which was down in the CBD, across from the Crown Casino on the Yarra river. With our 2 for 1 entry, we wandered through the first tanks of tasty blowfish, Nemo stunt doubles, and intimidating looking crabs. Again, if you've seen one aquarium in Australia, you've seen them all, but in fact there was something different about this one. As we walked around, the tanks got more interesting, being filled with interesting sharks, cuttlefish, sting rays, and cowfish. Another room with the aquariums new exhibit Creepy Creatures, showed spiders, stick bugs, ants, and more. Then around the corner next to a Starfish petting zoo, an eel tank, where you could put your head into the middle of the dome. All of the sudden I was taking tons of photos and Kevin and I were laughing at all the hands on activities. Down a ramp to a very large tank with a Sevengill Shark, Moray Eels, and a big blue headed fish. As I thought it was ending, we were led into a room with tons of Jellyfish in amazing backlit tanks. Moon jellies, Upside Down Jellies, and more. Further down the ramp, more tanks, more fish, Ivor the Scuba Diver in the large tanks with fish and sharks, and then ending it all with a free Subsonic Ride, that simulated a cart going through an underground aquarium. Now I've heard about the Sydney Aquarium being one of the best, but I have to say, I was far more pleased with my experience at the Melbourne Aquarium and will definitely go back the next time I'm there.

Fitzroy

After Kevin and I had seen enough fish and had lunch at the Crown Casino, we headed off to Fitzroy. Fitzroy, from what I had heard, was another street similar to Chapel street in Prahran, filled with stores, cafes, and bars. On Brunswick street, we jumped off the tram, and decided to just walk the length of the street, browsing book stores, and taking photos of funny signs and buildings. Now that I've read about it, Fitzroy is one of Melbourne's oldest suburbs, with Victorian architecture and very old looking buildings. After an hour or so, we stopped in a cafe for an quick afternoon coffee and tea. We continued our walk back towards the city, passing the Melbourne Museum, Parliament, and then finishing up at Melbourne Central station.

Sydney Vs. Melbourne Conclusion

Being in Sydney for 4 days at the beginning of my trip and now staying with my cousin for 10 days in Melbourne might not be the best of comparisons. But I do have to say, from what I saw in both cities, I enjoyed Melbourne a lot more then Sydney. I really enjoy the cafes, the mix of people, and the Southbank area. I enjoy the architecture, the public transportation, and of course the touristy stuff too. Both are still big cities, and have tons of people wandering the streets. But Melbourne has a different feel to it that kept me happy and occupied for the full 10 days. Being that it was my last few days in Australia, I was just happy to be with friends, family, and gravy fries. Cheers Melbourne!!!

New Zealand

As I said my farewells to Darcy, and thanked him and his roommates for their hospitality, I took an international 4 hour flight to Auckland, New Zealand, where new sights, new friends, and non-poisonous adventures lay ahead. Stay tuned for next weeks adventures on an orange bus.

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Photos

Qantas Flight to Melbourne
That familiar Kangaroo Airplane tail

Flinders Street Station
One of the main Train stations in Melbourne.

Melbourne
The City of Melbourne, so far I like it a lot.

Melbourne from above
We took a tour of the Rialto Tower, complete with cheesy Touristy movie to start with, so awful it was great.

Federation Square downtown
Very contemporary and crazy city meeting place which has museums, restaurants, and bars.

Architecture at Federation Square
Just one of the sides of the buildings in this crazy area.

Easter Dinner on the Barbie
Squid, Shrimp, and Fish on the Barbie. Steffen really knows how to BBQ.

Easter Dinner
Our BBQ Easter Dinner on the balcony. Wonderful!

Telstra Dome
This is where we saw Fremantle Dockers and Essendon Bombers play Australian Rules Football

Footy Game
Unfortunately Darcy's team lost, but I enjoyed seeing how it's all played.

Steffen with Bianca's Bag
I think it suits her better.

Side Street in Chinatown
One of Darcy's favorite places for Dumplings.

For your Butts
This Cigarette butt disposal was actually on fire.

Crown Casino
Melbourne's Casino, complete with Fire show at night.

Crown Casino Fire Portal
About 8 large pillars shot fire out for 5 minutes during a show on every hour at night.

Crown Casino Chocolate
They were having a chocolate carving contest and these were the winners.

Love in an elevator
What can I say, Darcy loves himself.

View from Anzac Memorial
View of Melbourne Anzac Memorial or known as the Shrine of Rememberence.

Shrine of Rememberence Ceiling
View from inside looking up.

Shrine of Rememberence
Entrance to the Hall of Medals

Comments

[Cara]

Domaine Chandon
I love Domaine Chandon Chardonnay! I can't believe you got to go to the winery! I hope you at least picked me up a couple of bottles!

[Mike (Crusher)]

Aquarium Thunder Dome
It's good to see you've made it to Melbourne. Hey, thanks for the tip on the pronounciation. Never knew that before. Kinda like how they pronounce Edinburgh, Scotland (Edinborough.) Sounds like you were right at home staying with Darcy. Full house, lots of activities, good times and people. Sweet! I'm sure you had a blast and the sights you saw were nice. Excellent story and it was another fun adventure tagging along with you, even if only vicariously. Glad you finally settled the age-old-question: Sydney vs. Melbourne. Now we know. Have a great time in NZ.

[Ellen Around the World]

A great write up on my fair city Melbourne! Good to hear it beat Melbourne in your comparison!! Happy travels, E

[inorbit]

Agreed
I have been living in Sydney for five years now and man do I miss Melbourne. Oh and thats St Kilda not St Kilroy but nice blog...