Federation Square, Yarra River, Flinders St Station, Botanical Gardens
Botanical Gardens, Lygon St dessert, Bum Tree, Trippy Statue - Yarra River
Well I am currently sitting in the uni library, after having made my 3rd appearance at the 8am lecture this semester. Turns out I shouldn’t have bothered. I will now return only for the lecture in which there is the final exam and then I am… dare I say it… DONE with my Arts degree. Still so much further to go with the dreaded Law degree though *sigh*
So rather than finish off my final report, I of course have taken it upon myself to write up another travel blog entry.
This entry brings us to the exotic, murky shores of Melbourne. After reading the tales from many a “Melbourne is better than Sydney” facebook group I had high hopes for my visit. Turns out… “Sydney is better than Melbourne”.
Melbourne did have a spritely cathedral in its centre, a fancy train station entrance, and a nice set of Botanical Gardens … but really… it cannot compete with Sydney Harbour.
I failed to see Melbourne’s alleged superior urban planning, nor its greater number of heritage buildings, nor its superior shoreline. The much-acclaimed Lygon St has nothing on Leichhardt/Five Dock. While Australians often praise Melbourne’s superior public transport to Sydney…. my god could anything be WORSE than Sydney’s public transport? Their trams, while quaint, were laughable compared to European trams.
One thing that can be said for Melbourne though…. is PENGUINS!! I was quite impressed with finding fairy penguins quacking away in the rocks near St Kilda pier ^_^. I would have liked to go to Phillip Island and the Great Ocean Rd but I was without a car and organised tours were way overpriced. I will have to drive back another time, skip the city, and head straight for the coast.
And so concludes my somewhat critical review of my 3 days in Melbourne. I may have been able to blog about my enjoyable meals out with friends, nice views and long city walks … if not for Melbourne’s unstoppable desire to compete with Sydney, which had filled me with hope for something better, yet it turns out Melbourne is SO misguided.
I will be taking myself on a random trip to Adelaide in a bit over a month, so rest assured I will continue the 2009 mission of inflicting pain upon myself in the search for an acceptable city this side of the equator.
