Olympic Park - Night 121

Needing a change in scenery, I changed hostels today. Thus much of my morning was spent packing and relocating. After another lunch courtesy of the market vendors I began a grand walkabout through Melbourne’s inner neighborhoods. My trek began heading north on Lygon Street, the Italian district. Three blocks of nearly continuous Italian restaurants and gelato stands hug the street with outdoor seating spilling out onto the sidewalk. It was a good thing I had just eaten for the aroma wafting from the restaurants would be enough to transform a wafer thin anorexic into a pasta-eating glutton. I turned east for a few blocks and then headed back south along Brunswick Street. This area, known as Fitzroy, is the haunt for the hipsters, the artists and, not surprisingly, the gay community. Funky little stores and cafés plastered with Che posters are tightly packed on both sides of the street. The local population is befitting of the aura. Sadly, I only saw one man in a Utili-Kilt,

Outside the Royal Cricket Grounds

so it seems Fitzroy has some work to do before it catches up with Capitol Hill in Seattle.

Crossing into East Melbourne, I came up on the Captain James Cook cabin. Shipped from England in boxes and rebuilt on the spot, the small structure sits inconspicuously in the middle of the Fitzroy Gardens. America’s fascination with Columbus and the other early European explorers pales in comparison to Australia and New Zealand’s god-like worship of Captain Cook. Next to Queen Victoria, he is easily the most revered of all the 18th century figures in the South Pacific. It seems every little town on the coast has a “Captain James Cook landed here and surveyed the land/resupplied his ship/cut new timber/took a nap/killed some locals/pissed/shit/sneezed, etc

The Fitzroy Gardens give way to the Royal Cricket Grounds. The Lambeau Field of Australia, the RCG is the most famous cricket stadium in all the land. Located next door is the Vodafone Arena, the Melbourne Tennis Ground (home of the Melbourne Cup), and Olympic Stadium, site of the 1956 Olympic Games. Combined with the Botanical Gardens just across the Yarra River, this compendium of sporting venues and adjacent parks creates a massive greenspace occupying the southeast quadrant of the inner city. It was deathly calm on this Friday afternoon; however I can imagine it turns into a madhouse during a test cricket match or the tennis tournament. Before heading back to the hostel I stopped at the National Gallery again to finish where I left off yesterday. Back home, the Metro YHA has a great rooftop complete with deck chairs, a BBQ, and a million dollar view of the Melbourne skyline. I grilled up some mint flavored lamb with sautéed onions, peppers and mushrooms, all purchased at the market for less than $5.

The Skyline

What I Learned Today: Sometimes a piece of art really takes hold of your mind. The gallery had an offering from a Brisbane artist who carefully took spider webs from her backyard, sprayed them with fluorescent colors and then laid them on a black background. Their striking resemblance to city maps drew me in as I attempted to assimilate each one to a city whose road pattern I knew.

written by

exumenius on February 8, 2008 from Melbourne, Australia

from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos

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