Melbourne Happenings - Part 1

Throughout the winter we have usually tried to travel every second weekend and stay in Melbourne on the other weekend. Our plan was to use this time to get caught up on all the wonderful things to see in Melbourne itself, but the winter has flown by and our list still remains long! Melbourne hosts many different special events each week or month, and we have usually tried to participate in those festivals or events as they have come up. So, we have recently taken in one show as part of the Comedy Festival and four movies from the International Film Festival.

The National Gallery of Victoria is currently hosting a special European Masters exhibit, and that was another highlight to be sure. The paintings were part of a collection of masterpiece paintings of famous European artists in the 19th and 20th Century, on loan from the Staedel Museum in Frankfurt.

One Saturday morning I met a fellow ITF exchange teacher, Grace Jones, and we walked over to the Melbourne Exhibition Centre to see the Melbourne Craft and Quilt Fair. We saw some incredibly beautiful and intricate award-winning quilts!

We saw many with the usual traditional floral patterns, but there were also unique ones - ones with music themes,

one about the "Black Saturday" bush fires of last year, and one with a movie theme. In the craft section, there were rows and rows of stalls, all offering craft supplies or goods of every conceivable nature! It was really quite mind-boggling, as all the exhibits filled the huge cavernous building.

No matter which part of the city we travel to in Melbourne, the architecture of the buildings and the unusual sculptures always amaze us. So too, as Grace and I walked the streets to and from the quilt fair, we came across numerous unique landmarks and buildings that were new to us. We found Melbourne's Recital Hall, the inside of which we still want to see. We discovered stairs that seemingly led to nowhere, and a bridge over the Yarra River that is edged with numerous sculptures, each one acknowledging a different country from which immigrants came to Melbourne to create its mosaic population.

Even Canada was included!

One Sunday Rick and I took in the Melbourne Art Fair. This was held in the very old and beautiful domed Royal Exhibition Building, which is one of the world's oldest remaining exhibition pavilions. It is the only surviving 19th century Great Hall still used as an exhibition venue. The building is located in the beautiful Carleton Gardens. Two levels of art exhibits were on display and art galleries from all across Australia were represented. It took us two hours just to make one sweep across the place! The display of artwork was extraordinary, ranging from traditional Aboriginal paintings through contemporary sculptures

installations,

and avant-garde works.

We enjoyed the paintings done in new novel methods, like poking paint through a screen onto a canvas. Our favourite displays were huge tapestries which replicated actual paintings, done by the Tapestry Workshop in Melbourne. The tapestries replicate the paintings perfectly in every detail and colour and each one takes a group of weavers months to complete!

Another time we headed to an alternative little theatre called the Butterfly Club.

The show was short and entirely forgettable but the house itself was quite memorable with its eclectic decor - trinkets of every size and description could be found in every nook and cranny of every room! It was really quite bizarre - only in Melbourne, as they say!

On other evenings we have seen the musicals The King and I as well as The Boy From Oz. The latter was a fabulous show about Peter Allan, an Australian songwriter who made it big in Hollywood in the ’70s. Both were fantastic productions! I have also seen the Australian Ballet's production of Coppelia.

One cannot forget the wonderful fashion in Melbourne. It is a delight just to walk around the designer shops in the CBD (Central Business District) and gaze longingly at all the chic outfits. The shoes are all exceptionally stylish. One pair that I recently spied boasted a diamond on the underside of the shoe's instep. Another pair of boots were so tall that they came right up to the thigh! The jewelry stores are also plentiful and very exotic! I can only aze in awe!

And then there is the food. Restaurants of every persuasion can be found on every corner in Melbourne. One of our favourite places to eat is down on Lygon Street, in little Italy, where exceptional restaurants line both sides of the street. One Friday we found a little outdoor cafe there, and when we went inside to pay for our dinner, we discovered that it was the favourite establishment of the Ferrari Formula One team when they come to Melbourne for the annual Grand Prix car race. There were autographs and memorabilia, and even cars, from every famous Ferrari driver! Rick was in his glory!

Next, the Melbourne Arts Festival is upcoming in October and it beckons our attendance!