Arriving in Melbourne

On Friday I had another wonderful breakfast at the Bayview House and had a long conversation with Ellen and Paul about my experiences in the Prom and about Australia in general. They were interesting people and I enjoyed interacting with Australians and not the international menagerie at the hostels. I packed up my things and got back onto the road for the final two hour drive of the journey. I soon reached the Melbourne suburbs and had to adjust to driving in a large populated area after a week of country roads. I maneuvered through the traffic and a downpour to finally reach downtown Melbourne.

My accommodations for the next three nights was the Melbourne Metro YHA youth hostel in the northern part of downtown Melbourne. I was able to find it and find parking so I could check in and move my bags into my room. I then took the car for refueling, which took me a while to find a gas station, and then returned it to the downtown Avis office. The Holden Commodore was a great car and served me well for six days. I drove over 1,000 miles on my journey from Sydney to Melbourne and while it was fun to explore the countryside, I was happy to be done with driving and return to walking and public transportation.

I set out to explore Melbourne and began walking around its central business district. Melbourne is nearly as big as Sydney and considers itself better in every respect. It doesn't have Sydney's iconic sights, but instead it has a bustling downtown and culture. It is considered more European than Sydney evidenced by its cafes and wide range of fabulous restaurants. Melbourne has a completely different vibe than Sydney. Melbourne touts itself as a very "livable" city and I can see why. Even though their populations are similar, Sydney seems like a much larger and imposing city where Melbourne seems much smaller and intimate.

My first destination was the Southern Cross train station so I could buy a train ticket to return to Sydney on Tuesday. After getting that arranged, I walked down Collins Street, the trendy retail area of town. I then walked east on Bourke Street to find a place for dinner I had read about in my guidebook. Pellegrini's Espresso Bar was Melbourne's first espresso bar and looks exactly like it did when it first opened in the late 1950s. It is a little hole in the wall that has a bar on one side with a counter, a narrow walkway, and a counter against the wall. At the back you can see into the kitchen where there is a small table patrons can sit. There is no menu, just an old wooden board with a few dishes on it. The place was as authentic as they get, with the staff all speaking Italian to one another and a bustling crowd with nearly every stool filled. I ordered a spaghetti bolognese and I could look into the kitchen to see them prepare it. The sauce was hearty and fantastic. Melbourne had lived up to its reputation for wonderful food.

After dinner I began walking north back to the hostel. I stopped at a large shopping area and spent a little time in a Border's. I then walked back to the hostel and discovered to my delight that I was able to find an internet signal in the hostel. It has often been a quest to find a connection, especially during the drive to Melbourne, and it was great to be able to surf the net in comfort. The Melbourne YHA is a good hostel and is similar to the Sydney hostel. It was good enough for the night, although I missed the comfort of my B&B as I went to sleep in my bunk bed.

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