They say that Venice is the city of love, but I think I’ve found our equivalent down under. Melbourne city is not only beautiful and cultural, it’s also got this romantic atmosphere floating in the air. It’s hard to put such a mystical concept into prosaic language, you really have to experience it for yourself to understand.
I’m from Perth originally and came down to Melbourne while I was touring the east coast, including Sydney, Brisbane and some of the smaller cities in New South Wales. Melbourne was the last stop and none of them even came close to producing the feelings of awe and sentimentality that Melbourne did. Even before I went on one of the Melbourne city tours, my jaw fell open at the view of the city skyline from the Bolte Bridge.
When I finally did get a proper sightseeing tour of Melbourne, with a professional tour guide, that’s when the magic really began. Among the group of curious touros, one person really stood out. I don’t know if it was the reflection of the nightlights coming from the Lygon Street restaurants or if it was the ember glow of the sunset over the stadium, but she was beautiful. It was love at first sight.
I have to say, falling in love was not something I expected from a tour of Melbourne city. I expected to learn a bit about the city and to take a few good shots on my SLR camera, but I certainly wasn’t expecting to fall head over heels.
It took me a while to shake off the shock, but once I did I braced myself to talk to her. She nodded politely and smiled, but I felt like there was something holding back a connection between us. And I couldn’t figure out what it was. When the sightseeing came to a wrap up, I finally discovered what it was that was causing this disconnect between us. I overheard her chatting to her friend – she didn’t speak a word of English. Ah well, there’s always time for more love. Especially next time I visit Melbourne.