Little library...big idea!!!

Much to my chagrin, I had need today to duck into a rather large shopping centre in central Melbourne in search of an emergency umbrella.  Normally I would avoid such places like a heavy cold...a malady that shopping centres seem to have in abundance...but today it was something I just had to do if I was not to find myself fighting pneumonia instead of a runny nose. 

Much to my more than pleasant surprise however, I stumbled into something of which I wholeheartedly approve and applaud.  A "Little Library" for city workers and shoppers who find themselves short of something to read. Yes!  A free, mini library that invites all and sundry to "borrow" a book and return it on completion or replace it with a book of their own for which they no longer have use.  The "Little Library works on an honesty system, and might I say, seems to be working very well indeed.

Feeling good about the surprises my city often presents me and armed with new umbrella and some James Ellroy crime fiction (yes, I will brave the centre once more to return it...and drop off a few shelf fillers of my own) I found my way to a well panelled, cosy and warm bar down the western end of Little Bourke street to enjoy an ample dram of Cragganmore, a wonderful  single Malt Whisky, the perfect drop with which to begin a bit of James Ellroy crime and to fight off that cold I can feel coming on!

Melbourne through the eyes of The Potter...

We have enjoyed so much glorious warm summer weather in Melbourne of late that it came as a considerable surprise when confronted by grey, somewhat seeping skies...the sort of day that is perfect to pursue activities of the indoor, cultural variety.

It is easy to forget when one lives in a relatively modern city such as Melbourne with so many outdoor activities on offer, that public galleries and museums are not just places to visit when travelling, but should be taken advantage of and visited often in one's own city. 

Melbourne is fortunate to have at its disposal, one of the finest collections of Australian art in the world, with The Ian Potter Centre dedicated exclusively to Australian art.  Part of the National Gallery Victoria (NGV), the Potter proudly showcases to its many visitors, the full gamut of Australian art from the colonial era through to contemporary art and everything in between and includes photographs, textiles, sculpture and a number of galleries dedicated to a remarkable collection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art. 

The art is truly amazing and well worth a lingering visit but what particularly struck me on today's visit was the way the Potter provides the astute visitor with a striking array of views of Melbourne...through its own eyes to the world outside.  Many of Melbourne's landmarks are visible...just not from the usual, street level perspective. 

One thing I should point out is that The Potter is a component of a larger architectural vision and is part of the city's Federation Square.  The components of Federation Square are interconnected by a fractal facade comprising three cladding materials: sandstone, zinc (perforated and solid) and glass all used within a triangular pinwheel grid.  Before you fall into the trap of thinking I know what I am talking about here, it would be best to direct those of you keen to understand a fractal facade, to the Federation Square official design pages. Those of you happy to proceed with only a vague appreciation of the architecture and its beauty, can peruse Melbourne through a different lens; through the eyes of The Potter.

It certainly isn't common place to be "looking out" while in a gallery, but it was too difficult to resist and well worth the stares and aside glances that other visitors gave me as I was taking photos.

In many respects, Federation Square has become the focal centre for many of the city's visitors...with The Potter and other galleries, restaurants, bars, public spaces and visitor centre it has much to offer.  And it is to one of its riverside bars, almost discernible through the last window, that I repose for this evening's heart starter.  Completely out of character for me, but perfect to combat the chilly breeze coming off the Yarra River beside me, I have selected a Rusty Nail, that wonderful combination of Scotch Whisky and Drambuie that, despite being chilled over ice, is easy to drink, soothing and does a bloody marvellous job of warming the extremities!

"Pop Up" stores, stalls, concepts...and wineries!

Just when one is feeling little foot sore, weary and somewhat liverish from the never-ending round of festivals, concerts, and events Melbourne throws at its residents and visitors alike at this time of year, up pops a "Pop Up" with a brew that is guaranteed to put a bit of a spring in even the most fallen of arches.  Melbourne's love affair with the perfect coffee has received a shot in the arm so to speak, with a "Pop Up" coffee experience right in the heart of the city.  Installed as part of the Melbourne Wine and Food Festival, the Urban Coffee Farm & Brew Bar at Southbank, takes coffee lovers of all creeds on a journey into the wonderful world of coffee in all its many manifestations.   

Conceived as a showcase for Melbourne many cafes, this "Pop Up" introduces even the most hardened and experienced of coffee fanciers to the many varietals, coffee-based foods and even coffee liqueurs that are now available.  With a tasting station and mini-cafe staffed by coffee professionals, the installation not only concentrates on exotic blends and new concoctions but also showcases the skills and techniques of some of the best coffee conjurers from around the city. One can even learn how to make delicious coffee at home with only basic kitchen equipment! 

 Much to my delight, "Pop Ups" seem to be everywhere at the moment and I must say, I was more than a little pleased to come across this delightful and innovative "Pop Up" in Greville Street Prahran. More of a stall than a store (it doesn't have a roof as the proprietor pointed out), Kelly Cube is a stall that sells a cleverly designed package, the Kelly Cube, containing all of the fresh ingredients (packaged that morning) one requires to cook a complete meal. The concept was developed primarily to support Australian farmers, local industries and local retailers.  

I love the idea of being able to get everything I need for an interesting meal, quickly and on my way home from a days work, and all in one convenient package without having to go anywhere near a supermarket.  And if that isn't enough,  the “Pop Up” comes complete with comfortable seating and friendly owners who are more than willing to share their ideas about the concept, good food and healthy living.

But of course, no day is complete without the evening tipple...and I am please to be able to bring to you, the river-side "Pop Up" Rosemount Estate winery or at least, its cellar door; a cleverly disguised, but well fitted out shipping container.  Imagine my delight at discovering this "Pop Up"...and all on my proverbial doorstep!  This evening, as the weariness of the day fades, it is to be a 2008 Rosemount Balmoral Syrah, a complex peppery drop balanced by fine acidity and firm tannin structure from 18 months in new American and French oak and enjoyed el fresco. Here's cheers to the "Pop Up" before it disappears!

An impossibly warm evening with Nick Cave...and 10,000 others!

Just when I thought it could not possibly get any better this wonderful summer in Melbourne, Nick Cave, suitably supported by The Bad Seeds (sans Mick Harvey), sections of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and a choir of small children from Gardenvale, staged one of the music events of the season.  Melbourne's Sidney Myer Music Bowl, an outdoor venue with more than a little history and notoriety, was awash with the deep, dark and moody and tones of the indomitable Mr Cave for more than two glorious hours on yet another warm and balmy Melbourne evening in March.

Being a Melburnian himself, Mr Cave was truly at home 'on the green' and performed his ample heart and soul out...even throwing in a couple of pure gems for the oldies in the crowd, including one of my all time favourites, "From Her To Eternity".  

I find it difficult to dispense with superlatives where this concert is concerned but suffice to say, I enjoyed myself immensely...enough even, to move away from the literal pictorial, to a more "interpretive impression' of the concert at large.

Of course, no warm, balmy evening with Nick Cave is ever complete without imbibing one substance or another...and fortunately, unlike so many outdoor venues that refuse to serve libations to its adult patrons, The Myer Music Bowl has no such restriction. While the choice of tipple was indeed limited, an ice cold Heineken or two proved a suitable enough lubricant for me to join in the more than a little moving rendition of "Into My Arms".

White Night...and bright lights

Not wanting to be in the cultural dark for too long, Melbourne has taken a cue from the extremely successful Nuit Blanche festival in Paris and hosted its own White Night festival...a night when art, culture and performance reign supreme from dusk 'til dawn.  With stunning light installations, edgy performances, large and small concerts, and a range of indescribable and more than often, unclassifiable happenings, White Night was everything it promised to be...and all for free. Melburnians, never wanting to miss a bargain,  took full advantage of it all...including the warm, balmy and cloudless 24 degree evening.  I have not seen Melbourne heaving, to the extent that my companion exclaimed, quite volubly, that the streets are "...hemorrhaging humanity!"  Impossible to fully explore the complete extravaganza before exhaustion took over, I nonetheless, managed to somewhat broaden my horizons before bedtime.

My White Night started in the National Gallery of Victoria with Michel Blazy's extraordinary installation, 'Bouquet Final 2'. Well known for using every day organic and live materials to give birth to a strange kind of shifting art, he kept true to past themes and created a towering, continuously flowing tower of creamy white foam under the famed stained glass ceiling of the Great Hall. While not particularly thought provoking, it did make me want to dive right in!

 Negotiating the ever increasing crowds was no mean feat, but not wanting to miss the first ever (sanctioned) live music event under the famous clocks of Flinders Street Station, I pointy-elbowed my way through the masses to find a vantage point from which to view the performances. I considered my options carefully and thought I would try my luck at yet another of Melbourne's iconic landmarks, Young and Jackson's, a pub of some repute, not least for Chloe, the famous nude portrait which has graced the walls of the Young and Jackson's Hotel since 1909. Fortune was clearly on my side for my companion and I secured two chairs at the open window of Chloe's bar, directly opposite the Flinders Street stage and, incidentally, next to the portrait of the immodest Chloe! With a cooling zephyr wafting through the window and a cold beer in hand, there could be no better seat in town...a fact that was frequently relayed to us from the punters behind, who were craning their necks to catch a glimpse of the action below.

It seemed at times that Melbourne was on fire and ablaze with the coloured lights and laser installations that graced the skyline and buildings and I marvelled at the way the grand illuminations lit up what are often drab buildings by the light of day. The oohs!, aahs! and whoops! of delight from the revellers on seeing the every changing facade of what is normally just described as 'the city', added to the ever emerging pageant.

One of my favourite installations was 'World Without Sun' by Canadian artist Christine Davis. Combining visceral sound and light-scapes projected on six satellite dishes, she explores multiple subjective environments that seem bent on destruction. Very interesting and mood inspiring and clearly a message for all of us.

Such a perfect night could not be truly perfect without a tipple to whet the whistle and quench the thirst.  An ice cold lager or three was the clear and only choice this evening...a Peroni Nastro Azzuro. Brewed in Italy, this refreshing pale lager is the perfect accompaniment to live music, light shows, installations and street performances on a balmy evening. Aaaah!

Life...is a beach!

 Life is a beach but someone must do it!  We have been truly blessed here in Melbourne this summer with beautiful warm days, azure blue and mostly cloudless skies and I have tried to take full advantage of all this summer has to offer. A favourite haunt of mine on these beautiful days is the bay side beach at Black Rock; a mere 20 minute drive from my house. Melbourne beaches are often maligned by those who live on the surf beaches in the more northern climes of Australia or those on the western and southern coasts of Victoria, and very rarely do they feature in the Melbourne tourist brochures, but Black Rock has much to offer even the most discerning of beach goers.

Surrounded by cliffs and native vegetation, Black Rock has the peace, tranquillity and gin-clear water so often absent at other beaches so close to the city. Never crowded but always interesting, it is well worth a visit next time you are in the vicinity.

The Black Rock/Sandringham area is also host to some of the more serious of Melbourne's yacht clubs, offering those old salts among you, world class sailing opportunities, and land lubbers like me, some excellent drinking and dining opportunities.

This evening however, I have eschewed yacht clubs and the like to join my good friends Kittie France and Ewushka for tonight's tipple. Comfortably ensconced on Kittie's terrace we have decided on an ice-cold trilogy of Australian sparkling wines: a Domaine Chandon Brut from the Coldstream district of Victoria, a Grant Burge NV Blanc de Noirs from South Australia's Barossa Valley and finally, a Devil's Corner Pinot Noir Chardonnay NV from Tasmania's Tamar region.

In such wonderful and convivial surrounds and feeling well settled in such good company, one can't help but enjoy! Bottoms up!

A wander through the lanes...an oasis in the sky!

In a previous post, I have all too briefly mentioned the many bars that line the maze-like network of Melbourne's lanes but I know "our lanes" require a more detailed examination.  Melbourne lanes have become the focus for casual, alfresco cafe dining in the CBD and have become such a popular destination for locals and tourists alike, that the many cafes, bars and tiny boutiques now feature on tourist maps and in "Where to Eat and Drink" guides.  Degraves Street running between Flinders Street and Flinders Lane is one of the more popular and now even has its own business directory!

But what appeals to me most, and increasingly to more and more tourists, is the more 'grass roots', even seemier nature of our lanes.  Street art has taken over a number of less well frequented and known lane ways...and Melbourne loves it.  These smaller (and often smellier) lanes have fast become a 'must see' for our international backpacker brigade and are even promoted by the City of Melbourne in its What's On website. Well, there goes the street cred!

None-the-less, the street art lanes are a fascinating and rewarding glimpse of Melbourne and the art work is at the very least skillful and well worth a visit.

One aspect of the street art that I particularly like is the emergence of what I like to call, Wallposter Art...pre-prepared installations that are often very two dimensional and are usually designed to provoke an idea or concept in the viewer.  I am still looking for the creator of this wonderful piece to take them up on the offer. 

As with any day of adventure and exploration in the sun, one must eventually seek a shady spot to recharge the batteries. Looking to the sky for inspiration (and to see where in the city I was in relation to my favourite drinking holes), I found the perfect location...the roof top bar of the Carlton Hotel.  While not a spot I frequent often, it is perfect for a hot summers day and an unusually novel oasis in an often frantic city.

Given my surrounds, the shady spot provided by the roof top trees and the warm scent of jasmine in the air, I decided to start the evening with an old standard...a Negroni. I have just rediscovered the Negroni after many years of neglect.  Made this time in an old fashion tumbler with one part gin, one part Vermouth rosso and one part Campari, poured over ice and garnished with a sliver of orange peel, I feel that I am not only floating high above the city but truly in aperitif heaven!

A summer of tennis...and houses made of sticks?

After feeling somewhat liverish and bloated from a rare over-indulgence during the hurly burley of the festive season, I thought it important that I participate in a sporting activity before I started to feel more than a little out of sorts.  Luckily, Melbourne has a myriad of activities on offer over the summer period, and none more exciting than the Australian Open.  I was fortunate indeed this year to be a guest at the opening day of this year's tournament and was pleased that I could vaguely assert to anyone who cared to ask that I had recently taken up an intensive sporting activity!

While my experience at "The Open" was wonderful due to the electric atmosphere of the crowds and actually being part of the event, I lamented that not all tennis lovers can enjoy the experience of a live crowd enjoying centre court action. However, I was pleased to discover today, that Melbourne has done all it can to create centre court atmosphere for those not fortunate enough to attend the live action.  Dotted through the city in scenic, well appointed and convenient locations to transport, food and beverages are public "tennis points" where all and sundry can pull up a deck chair, relax and watch the live action on big screens...all free of charge.  It made me very proud of the thoughtfulness of my city.  Tennis Australia had even set up tennis activities and give aways at each location to amuse the punters between matches. 

My other pleasant discovery today was the charming and somewhat enchanting installation that currently graces Melbourne's Federation Square. Titled "Ballroom", the structure is by Patrick Dougherty, who over the last 20 years has built more than 200 gravity defying works around the world.

Patrick has bent, woven and flexed a humble pile of sticks to create this wonderful freestanding structure that quite frankly, left me, and those around me, more than a little gob-smacked...

...but not quite gob-smacked enough not to find myself a comfortable seat along the river to enjoy a cold, and refreshingly crisp Red Hill Estate 2010 Pinot Grigio from Melbourne's Mornington Peninsula. A most fitting drop to end a fruitful day of exploring. 

Game, set and match!

Favourite cafés and sticky treats...Part 1

I spend so much time gallivanting from place to place outside of Australia and my home patch, that I rarely get the opportunity to explore, really explore my own neighbourhood.   So with that objective in mind and with a curious and inquiring mind and aiming to look at my world through a different lens, I present to you a first glimpse of...da hood!

A short stroll from my front door brings you first to Little Captain, a charming and quaintly unpretentious establishment that has great coffee and an el fresco dining area that is both rustic and ample in what it has to offer...a delightful outdoor setting and oversight of the park and playground next door for those with sprats in tow.  The perfect combination...the children play in the park...the adults enjoy a moment's respite.

A mere hundred or so meters away from Little Captain and under the our very own image of the Lady of St Kilda, is the justifiably and hugely popular Las Chicas.  Always busy with locals and tourists alike but consistently good, Las Chicas is packed to the gills on most days and all day...so much so that I will only go there mid-morning and early in the week when the crowds are tame and a tad more neighbourly! However, for those unjaded by the weekend throngs, it is certainly worth a look in.

Cafés and neighbourhood sailing ships aside, one really can not and most certainly should not go past the sticky treats that my good friend SVP is able to produce, seemingly at the drop of a hat, when  one calls.  It never ceases to amaze me that people I know, have these sort of culinary treasures and pleasures on hand just on the off chance that someone may call. Not so surprising however, but definitely pleasing, is that people I know are able to produce a sticky tipple to accompany said sticky feasts and SVP is no exception.  A quick rummage in the cupboard and SVP has produced a more than acceptable Paul Jaboulet, Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise 2009... full, velvety and intense. Marvellous!!

Harbouring serious envy in Sydney!

Those of you from foreign climes may not know that there is a long standing and 'bitter' rivalry between the Australian cities of Melbourne and Sydney...and for no apparent reason.  In my mind, each metropolis has more than its fair share of charming qualities and each really bares such little resemblance to each other that comparisons are spurious at best! Despite this, one often hears disparaging, and might I say, largely incorrect comments about Melbourne weather  from Sydney-siders.  Melburnians on the other hand, scoff at the "superficiality" of Sydney-siders (untrue) and bemoan the traffic chaos of 'Emerald City'...well, we are right about that. 

Residing in Melbourne myself, I feeI obliged to join in the chorus but I must admit, I have long harboured a serious case of city envy.  As much as I love living in Melbourne and will crow about its charms to anyone who will listen, I must admit that we just can't match the stunning beauty and excitement of Sydney Harbour.  Surrounded by palatial homes and large tracts of parkland, harbour-side life has much to recommend it.  But to really appreciate the best the harbour has to offer, and to fully take in the amazing sight of the hundreds of sailing boats and pleasure craft that ply its waters...you need to be on it.  I have had the luck and good fortune to have been invited to enjoy the harbour from the decks of a rather large and beautifully furbished catamaran. I am also fortunate and very pleased to note that my generous hosts have selected the most suitable Mcguigan Bin 9000 Semillon 2006 from the nearby Hunter Valley region of New South Wales with which to start the day.  The wafts of lemon and honey from the wine glass blend perfectly with the scents of the harbour.
  
While I will always prefer living and life in Melbourne over Sydney, I know my choice will always be tainted with that nagging touch of "city envy".

Warm evenings and shared memories...

Despite much wailing and renting of cloth, I have torn myself away from the paradise that is the lush surrounds of Ubud, Bali.  Gone from my reality are the green, rolling hills and the verdant valleys that have hypnotised me for the past month or so...but I shouldn't grumble. As I trawl through the myriad photos I have taken, already missing the warm evenings and tropical scents of Payogan, I know that Ubud is never far away...a mere 6 hours flight (albeit tedious and horrific) from Melbourne.
Back home and the promise of summer is with us.  The days are getting longer and the weather is slowly but surely developing a reassuring warmth. This evening is particularly warm for this time of year and my photo trawl has inspired me to sink back into holiday mode.  To complete the mood, I have selected a 2009 Curly Flat Chardonnay from the Macedon Ranges here in Victoria; a zesty drop with a stylish, new oak edge.  Mmmmm! An delightful evening tipple, a warm evening and warm memories of the tropics.  What folly!

It fits beautifully...in Fitzroy!

I rarely seem to make it to the "other side" of the river on a sunny winter's day while in Melbourne, (the north/south traffic is just too appallingly frustrating to bother), but today finds me in the inner northern suburb of Fitzroy catching up with some old and some new friends, not only enjoying the sunshine, but appreciating the different aesthetic and relishing the charming streetscapes.  As comfortably accustomed as I am to the charms of the inner bayside locales, I really must make the effort more often to venture north as it really has a rustic Victorian beauty that differs from the interests to be found south of the Yarra.  Recognised widely as Melbourne's first suburb, Fitzroy is also one of Melbourne's most heterogeneous locations, making it near impossible to define simply. It is a little 'granola' and a little 'continental', historic while embracing the new.  It is just...different, with a narrative all of its own.  

Being a popular destination for Italian immigrants in the 1950's, the Fitroy and Carlton areas of Melbourne also makes it one of the best places in Melbourne to find a refreshing and satisfying Limoncello, that wonderfully scintillating Italian lemon liqueur that is like imbibing a shot of sunshine. For my mind, the best Limoncello is homemade, but if that proves too difficult to find, it worth searching for a variety from the islands of Procida, Ischia or Capri.  Today it will be an excellent homemade concoction, lovingly blended by a close friend. Prosit!

There's no place like home...in winter!

Just a quick click of my heels and a rather tedious and soul destroying flight later, I am far from the tropical heat of Malaysia and back in the cloud of a cold, damp Melbourne winter...and I must say, I am thoroughly enjoying it.  Despite the fact that I have joined my fellow Melburnians in loudly decrying the wet conditions and sniffling at the cold mornings and exclaiming that life in the city is barely tolerable at this time of year, I am quietly enraptured by it all. It is expected, even mandatory to complain about Melbourne weather if one lives here, but I firmly believe that, like me, its "well-weathered" residents enjoy using the excuse of winter, to hucker down in one of the many warm and convivial bars that line its lanes and inhabit its beachside locations. 

As cosseting and enveloping as a wet, winter's day can be for me,  I am equally charmed to enjoy one of those days when Melbourne's winter sky sparkles and is crystal clear and the warm light favours all who venture outside.  Today is one such day and I have taken the opportunity to luncheon in the sun at an old haunt of mine in the beach-side suburb of St Kilda.  In keeping with the clarity of the winter sun and the remarkable quality of light, I have chosen the wonderfully floral, herbal and lightly spiced Bay of Fires Pinot Noir 2009 from Tasmania. A bright, vividly ripened drop, it would be difficult to find a more suitable accompaniment to a beautiful winter's days in Melbourne.