Melbourne ~a love letter

Dear love,

I’m writing to you from the world’s most liveable city- Melbourne!

Melbourne is a-m-a-z-i-n-g! You won’t know if you don’t come here, it’s overwhelming, every bit of it! It is chic, elegant multicultural cosmopolitan and Victorian at the same time; bubbling with life- bright, vibrant, throbbing life. Australia’s cultural capital in every sense!

There are so many things about Melbourne that I want to tell you. The city is charming, and definitely tempting: a mix of old English charm and the new world’s glass and steel glitz. Trams still run here- they give a kind of heritage feel. Remember Calcutta’s hand-pulled rickshaws? Straight out of the pages of history!

The City Centre is full of cafés, and bookshops, designer boutiques, and everything you can ask for! You can lose yourself in the scent of books, read in some cosy bookstore all day or, chance upon street musicians, and shake a leg! Right now, I’m at “Emily’s Place” with a rich caffè-latte, and a terrific lamington. And ofcourse my Lonely Planet Melbourne guide! Wish I could send you this ambience of having a flirty sun in my hair, washed in the aroma of fresh bakes and coffee…ummmm! Next, I am going to visit the colorful Queen Victoria Market, and Southgate. Later in the evening, we go to the famous Eureka Towers to watch twilight in all its magnanimous shades descend over Melbourne, as if kissing her goodnight in a melangè of colors.

Here, the weather is always a surprise! It’s sunny, and suddenly it starts drizzling, and ask a local, they will say they love it! Even I do! Then there’s MCG– the mecca of cricket lovers! I wished to see a cricket match, but it didn’t work out…maybe someday we will, together, and also watch Federer play at the Rod Laver Arena!

The museums and art galleries of Carlton with its strong Italian vibe are magnificent, the architecture, the rich curated collections have won me, and so have the parks and boulevards. It’s wonderful lazing here with an ice-cream, watching people. Life seems to exude serenity! We also went to the Melbourne Aquarium. I loved the Bohemian suburbs of Fitzroy/Collingwood- trendy, and charming.

St.Kilda is beautiful- white sandy beaches, and the sea sparkling like blue champagne. At dusk, the Pier is where you will want to be- the scarlet-purple-gold romance of a receding sun flavors the landscape with magic. It is enchanting, almost palpable, the waves reflecting the skies, prayers on lips. The beauty is bewitching. And here, the nightlife rocks!

And now the crème de la crème- ballooning over Melbourne at sunrise! No words can describe this experience. No matter how many poems I write, or in how many photos I try to capture this flying moment, it cannot come close to what I felt. It was peace, it was beauty, it was nirvana to see the city asleep, while we rode the sky like messengers of Aurora in balloons red, blue, yellow and every other shade, reciting aubades. I can never forget the moment when I first looked down- infinity over me, and life budding underneath.

Tomorrow, we visit the Yarra valley and vineyards on the Puffing Billy Steam Train. Then panning gold at Ballarat (hope I get lucky!) Also on the itinerary, we have snorkeling at the Mornington Peninsula, then Philip island and the Grampians…penguins, kangaroos & koalas…can’t wait to meet them; cute-ness overload! We have also planned a drive along the Great Ocean Road, can’t wait to have brise salée de la mer seduce me!

Melbourne has won me over, dear, and it’s your time to visit Melbourne NOW, or maybe we should come together! I could visit this place a hundred times, every visit pulsating with this city’s thrilling unpredictability!

You are here in all my thoughts, love, though continents away. I’m sending in a couple of photos for you. Enjoy them, and take care! Missing you-

Je t’aime,
Coralline

(The author has never been to Melbourne, this is entirely a sketch of her imagination, and therefore this post cannot be substituted for a guide/travelogue for anyone.)