Culture 202 squared

heather writes...

There is always something going on somewhere in the city. The city really throws itself into just about anything!! Non-stop festivals, sporting events, public holidays, animated sports discussions, you name it, it will draw a crowd.

Ok, here's a list of how we keep ourself occupied:

1) Tennis
I did already mention it, but gosh it was spectacular. Crowds there. Everywhere you go everyone discussing it. Honestly I was doing last minute sales shopping, picking up a fabulous last minute deal on THE MOST BEAUTIFUL linen coat and me and the sales clerk could NOT get over what was going on at tennis. We all spent the fortnight glued to the TV, staying up late, getting up early, forgetting to eat, marveling at the women's outfits. Sigh. I feel really lucky I could experience it. It was so ACCESSIBLE, which is more than anyone would say about Wimbledon who seem proud of queues and high ticket prices.

To get to tennis, I would catch the tram to Flinders St station and walk 15 minutes along the river to the stadium. Melbourne is fabulously well planned. Besides the trams everywhere, sporting arenas are easily accessible with a good road system. Traffic moves fast (not so good for jaywalkers such as myself) and there are decent parking lots that fit all the cars. So I would walk along the river which is scenic and gorgeous and there are rowers on it all day and trees bow over it and it is green and lush everywhere. There are several sporting arenas (including the tennis grounds and the Melbourne Cricket Ground) all in one clump that is across the river from botanical gardens.

2) Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, and other festivals

Melbourne considers itself a gourmet capital. The city is full of wonderful cuisines at all sorts of price levels. Naturally D hasn't been able to bring himself to go to an expensive restaurant, no occasion is ever good enough, however we have gone to some fabulous cheap and moderate price restaurants. There is a huge Vietnamese area in Richmond (not so posh) where we ate a great meal. China town, in the CBD, is grungy and cool and our favourite is a place where, when you order a steamed fish they dive into one of the several tanks in the dining area, bring over a poor fish slapping in the bottom of a large plastic pail and ask if it looks OK for us. Movida, honestly the best Spanish food I have had outside Spain, tasty tapas and NOT greasy. Claypots, the cheapest most wonderful fish restaurant serving each fish in a special way. Some Japanese local restaurant we have, I can't recall the name but it is luscious and divine and cheap. Really, it goes on and on.

So the food and wine fest went on about month and included special events at loads of restaurants as well as various activities in Federation Square, where in fact almost every weekend is some sort of event going on drawing huge crowds of people specifically going as well as casual passer-byers. We went to one special restaurant event. The chef (again, I forget his name) at a cool Montreal restaurant was there cooking one night. Me and D had actually been taken to his restaurant, La Pied de Cochon (foot of the pig) by Rene and loved it, so we had to go. This festival drew all sort of celebrity chefs, not Jamie and Gordon, but in fact Fergus Henderson of St Johns had cooked his own special meal already and was at this meal. For $185 per head you drink champagne, eat oysters with a fab creme fraiche marinade and then savour a most spectacular feast of 4 more courses that is complemented perfectly throughout with wines chosen specially. We all sat at long tables and had a great comeraderic experience with our table mates.

We also attending a BBQ event, chefs from top Melbourne restaurants BBQing gourmet style, 4 medium plates for $28, very filling and tasty. And then the wine festival. For $25, tasting wines from about 75 wineries, all set up in stalls along Southbank, just across the river from Fed Square, the other place with events always going on.

Other festivals in Fed Square or along Southbank were Chinese New Year, some kind of Indian festival, Budda's birthday, a Thai festival ETC

3) Film Festivals

Well, I know they are happening, but we haven't gone to any yet. Sorry wish I could say more. A girl I work with is Spanish and has been raving about the Spanish film fest but even that, OOPS

4) Theatre

Now THIS has been something to write home about. We've been to about 4 plays, but they are all worth it. Don Juan of Soho by Patrick Marber, Arcadia by Tom Stoppard, Hedda Gabler by Ibsen and Tartuffe by Moliere. We missed The Mercy Seat, I forget who wrote it, but about a guy after 9/11 who was wondering if he should pretend he died to escape his life, I had seen it at the Almeda in Islington.

The quality of the productions were all really great and again there are crowds to all of them! Also, I saw a movie/TV star at one! Remember the girl warrier in LOTR whose father dies on the battlefield? The actress who is now in Cashmere Mafia, with the glorious red hair? She was at Tartuffe as her father starred in it!!

5) Comedy Festival

This was unexpectedly amazing. In front of TownHall, a large large chalk board was updated daily for all the performances going on, which were about 100 per day, scattered among the various venues (about 25) hosting shows. Tickets ranged from $10 to $40 per show and were very easy to purchase from the box office right around the corner. One night was a "spectacular" show, featuring about 7 performers, it started at 1130pm. It was so cool, each did a short taster type of spiel, to entice you to go their regular acts, which we did. We did a specular another night that was being televised and naturally I fell asleep, oh well, but it did go til 230am!!! Anyway, we went to about 10 events in total. The festival went on about 3 weeks!

We also went to one show at the St Kilda Comedy Festival, smaller but actually very "local", about life in St Kilda.

6) Other sporting events

Well I have mentioned it but it deserves to be mentioned again. Soccer, Aussie rules footie, cricket. Almost always full stadiums and great crowds. The other big stadium is the Telstra Dome at the other end of the CBD and also very accessible. It and the MCG are both big and round for the cricket and Aussie rules footie, but a rectangular soccer field fits into both, so these fields are adaptable for all sports!

7) The week the Queen Mary was around

It is a big boat and who cares, really, but man it was HUGE! We live really close to the pier where the cruise ship that goes to Tasmania leaves from, and the Queen Mary was docked there. So many crowds there just looking at it. It was a Saturday night and we wanted to enjoy the balmy weather and walk around and everyone and their dog was there! And then there were fireworks.

8) Crown Casino

Along Southbank and also only a 20 min walk from home. An absurb place, filled with the usual casino amenities. not sure about a stage with silly productions, but loads restaurants, bars and cinemas, including a gold class one with easy chair recliners and table service.

In the evenings, there are several of these tall chimney-stacks which spurt flames on the hour, every hour. How to NOT reduce greeen house gas emissions?

Just a little peak at future posts, but, where I work, one of our stores are in the Crown Complex. People come in and pay cash, thousands at a time, OR they pay with chips. Our poor little shop girls have to hobble over to the counters in their high heels and cash them in. So one day in the office we had about $28,000. I have NEVER seen anything like that!

9) Loads other stuff to do

I guess I'll get into this more later, but we find lots fun things to do all the time. Mostly, we want YOU to come here and do some of these fun things WITH US!!!!!!!

H
xxoo

NEXT.. WHERE I WORK :)