Melbourne, what is it anyway??

Heather writes...
It's a big really cool city. It dawned on me that Melbourne is alot like Montreal. Someone recently remarked they'd been told it is like Toronto, but I really think it is like Montreal. More European, more multi-cultural. In fact, I forgot to mention in the last post how the Oz open reminded me of Montreal after any World Cup Soccer Match, the way everyone erupts!!!

Anyway, the center of the city is called the Central Business District, or CBD for short. Hereon in, that is what I will call it. Maybe I will supply you with a glossary! But I hope that will be it for acronyms.

The CBD is a grid pattern from north-ish to south-ish with alternating big and little streets. And the cross streets are occasional big streets with LOADS really little streets called laneways. The laneways are the heart and soul of his city. The nooks and crannies all over are astounding. I am working in the CBD and still get lost; my work mate Susan and I (fellow manic shopper), we have simply GOT to figure where this or that cool shop is we found, cos it could be ANYWHERE! Also loads fab restaurants, bars etc.

The CBD includes lots tall office towers. Many old beautiful architectural splendours mixed with the new. Many old buildings with unmarked doors leading upstairs to cutting edge book shops, bars, clothes shops. A rooftop terrace showing open air cinema in the summer. A listed old clock tower enclosed in a very new shopping mall. I haven't actually gotten to see it yet but I hear it is OK-ish, just not into the idea of the mall! I am preferring the one-off boutiques. Oh well :)

The rest of the city is also grid pattern, but with a different orientation, just to keep me continuously confused. There are tall buildings on Southbank and on St Kilda Road. Lots big business here, job opps, but more of this later, but I would only consider jobs in the CBD. My holiday-mode, I need to be in the heart of the action while I am here!

There are a huge variety cool areas outside the CBD:
- Fitzroy the eclectic bohemian area
- Carleton the Italian area but there is also an amazing cinema!
- Toorak the preppy Kings Road type area
- South Yarra, slightly edgy but also working class, a nice balance
- Richmond, a haven of Vietnamese restaurants and factory outlets and IKEA (gasp)
- St Kilda, faded Brighton but with a couple of our fav restaurants, and the Espy an amazing place for bands, 4 stages cheap entry
- Footscray, "asian" area where the Lonely Planet offices also are
- Albert Park, includes our area, slightly middle class, but close to the beach and CBD!

Trams run all over the city, and the all go through the CBD. What with the weird orientation, all roads go through the CBD also. Anywhere we go, it runs through the CBD and d**n is gets rough! Yesterday, we had to go from watching footie in a neighborhood pub in Fitzroy to South Yarra to see an Ibsen adaptation in a cool fringe theatre and it took forever!

But like Montreal, because it is a small city with a cool edge.

Next up is all the about the non-stop culture!