Melbourne vs. Sydney - the Faceoff

7/19: 'mbibing Mochas in Melbourne



Los Angeles & San Francisco. London & Paris. Heck, I'll even go old school by throwing in Athens & Sparta. These are some of the all-time classic city rivalries, guaranteed to make their inhabitants feisty any time a discussion about the relative merits of each comes up.

Well, we need to add one more - Sydney and... Melbourne?

Yup, Melbourne. Australia's 2nd largest, it's been feeling a little jilted these last 50 years or so, ever since relative latecomer Sydney has supplanted it as the major Australian city. Throw in the Olympics that were held in '96 there, and Sydney seems to have cemented its location as THE place to live and work.

'course, being Australian, this feud is more good-natured than bitter, but bottom line is that there's shared view that, like coffee or tea, people naturally gravitate to one or the other... the beaches of Sydney or the more artsy and cultured Melbourne.

So, as I boarded my surprisingly cheap flight, I was keen to find out for myself – would I be more of a sun-lovin' Sydneyite (is that a word?) or a mellow, mocha-imbibin', Melbournian?

My first night didn't give me much of an impression, as I walked over to the incredibly spiffy YHA north of the center. I'm not kidding, either. That hostel was seriously nice – with the only downside of having to share a room with 3 other guys. Barring a sighting of large possums, and a mediocre meal at Nando's, there wasn't a whole lot going on. So it was time to crash, and be ready for an early start the next day.

Popping awake at 7:00 (to the slight disgruntlement of my hostel-mates), I was out and about in time for the early morning light.



First stop was the legendary Queen Victoria Market, a collection of stalls that sell everything from food to footballs, fruit, and even feng shui furniture, and that's just covering the letter F! Big, big place.

Naturally, before heading in, it was smart to fuel up, which meant a toast egg sandwich at a working man's cafe nearby. Then, carbo'd and greased up, I went for it.

Actually, I was pretty free from temptation to add to my groaning backpack load. After Vietnam's low, low prices, it was going to take some pretty substantial to have me take the plunge.

On the plus side though, I did get a picture of urban koalas in the wild:


...a rare sight outside the US - an honest to goodness gun shop, although not offering nearly the selection of M-16's and other bonafide 'hunting' weapons like we offer in the States.



… plus some dang tasty “American-style” donuts. Donuts? In Australia? Hm – wonder if they are the 'go-to' snack of choice for Aussie cops?

Heading downtown, I definitely got the vibe that Melbourne's actual center had more personality. Much as I love the neighborhoods and beaches of Sydney, the skyscraper district does lack charm.
In Melbourne on the other hand, there are excellent bits of historic buildings at every turn.

Starting on the Lonely Planet walk, I was quickly introduced to one of the more random traffic rules I've seen. Here, to make a right turn (a US left turn) on a street shared with trams, all cars had to pull over the left, THEN make a right across all lanes. If you think that sounds odd, check out the street sign:


Working my way toward the river, I started at Flint Street station – a cool golden building from the 1900's.



I somehow avoided the temptation of stopping in at one of more literary french fry joints I've ever seen:



… but quickly succumbed to temptation as I worked my way through some of the century old shopping arcades that fill the narrow lanes off the really wide main streets of downtown. With marble mosaics and high ceilings, they exude charm. Throw in cute cafes back to back to back, and I caved in – rewarding myself with a dang good cappucino.



The rest of the morning was spent heading up towards Parliament Square...



...and then coming back through the surprisingly large Chinatown. That was a nice bonus, as I had heard Australia was becoming much more diverse since they opened up their immigration rules in the late 70's. Here at least, it was clear to see that the Chinese had firmly become part of the city's culture.

A fruit-filled smoothie and fresh gourmet sandwich sorted me out, and then it was time for a bit of logistics. With only a shamefully brief two days in Melbourne, I wanted to get the most out of it.

After chatting with a super-friendly tourist guide, I ended up lining up a bike ride that would explore some of the Yarra Valley, complete with wine-tasting and checking out the landscape. Sweet.

That done, I headed by tram down to St. Kilda, Melbourne's answer to Bondi Beach. On the way down, I even got to get to watch some Aussie Rules Football (AFL)...



Once you get your head 'round some of the peculiar bits of the game, it's a blast to watch. Basically, take a huge oval field, put 15 players a team on the pitch, set the clock for four 30 minute periods, and then sit back to watch the action.

These guys are in SERIOUS shape. Two hours of running adds up to 17-19 kilometers per player each and every game, plus the bonus of having their head taken off repeatedly by the other team.

The only other wrinkles – you have to 'punch' the ball or kick the ball to the other players, plus getting the excitement of bouncing the extremely unpredictable oblong ball every 15m.

Heck, I was tired just watching these guys, so I headed further down the main drag to the beach. A Cooper's Ale and some live jazz music was a pretty solid remedy, so refreshed, I was ready to take in Luna Park – featuring quite possibly the scariest entrance to any amusement park I've ever seen...



…I can only wonder how many kids get nightmares from this every year!

Once back to the center, I grabbed some spicy Thai glass noodle stir fry, and the new Harry Potter flick. Then it was time to rest up (and mentally prepare my out of shape legs) for the bike ride the next day.

PS. Oh, and the faceoff results? Melbourne's got its charms, but Sydney just has a world-class vibe of its own. Sydney 1, Melbourne 0.