Buildings Melbourne is a mixture of old and new, Britain and Australia, full of modern buildings flanking intriguing older structures. It is a charming city on a peaceful river that flows to the south coast and into the Great Southern Ocean, one of the most volatile climatic regions on earth. During Australia's summer, temperatures can vary between 60 and 110 degrees from day to day.

Melbourne, 12.25.05

Long way from home: Brisbane, or "Brizzy" as the Aussies call it, is big and hot, a city that is easy to dislike. Christmas eve gave me good cause, which I endured in the Palace Hotel, where slumming holiday orphans partied with equal parts of determination and abandon until the wee hours of the morning, something I didn't appreciate since I had to catch a train to the airport at 5:30 a.m. The low point of the drunken revelry probably arrived about 2 a.m. when someone unilaterally decided to crank their boom box so we could all enjoy Lynyrd Skynyrd's greatest hits. I vowed not to stay at the Palace again despite its cheap internet access and the generous drying cycle on its clothes driers.

ParkThe Exposition Hall in Carlton Gardens, one of Melbourne's many stately buildings in one of its many English gardens.

Long way from home II: All the stewards on Qantas Airlines' morning flight to Melbourne were in a festive spirit despite having to work on the holiday, donning Santa caps and cracking holiday jokes. Most of the travelers, including myself, dozed despite their best efforts. The streets of Melbourne were understandably mostly vacant on Christmas morning, but a free holiday feast at my hotel was well attended and cheerful, a happy surprise. Since it was a potluck and I didn't contribute anything, not knowing there would be one, I decided not to eat other people's food and hit the streets in search of a meal. I found pizza, an excellent choice for an impromptu Christmas meal. By mid-afternoon Melbourne's large non-Christian Asian population was roaming the city's commercial streets like zombies, staring blankly at all the closed shops.


Stars
White star balloons seem to be a popular holiday decoration in Australia, here on display at Melbourne's modern arts center on the banks of the Yarra River.

Boxing Day: On Dec. 26 Britain and her past and present colonies celebrate. An Aussie explained it as the day when her countryman box up their possessions and head off on summer holiday. Schools are out until late in January. The country also swoops down on its stores to snap up bargains as retailers attempt to rid themselves of overstocked Christmas merchandise. Since I had just signed up for a two-week cruise and needed dress attire for the coming onboard frestivities, I took advantage of the sales to buy a new wardrobe and purchase new luggage to hold it all.

Quaint or corny?: Melbourne plays up its English roots. Sighted while roaming downtown streets - the Sherlock Holmes pub and the Charles Dickens grill.

Fountain
Children play in a fountain beside the Yarra River. The riverbank, with its pedestrian -friendly walkways, is a cool respite on summer evenings in a hot city.

Ethnic diversity: Melbourne is said to have the largest Greek population outside of Greece and also has a large Indonesian minority. The city has a China town running several blocks along a single street in the downtown area and an immediately adjacent street lined with Greek shops and restaurants. While the Australians happily tolerate the Greeks among them, they are quick to disapprove of the Indonesians, claiming that they are mostly muslims who form enclaves within their cities and refuse to be assimilated. While ashamed of their country's treatment of the Aborigines in the last century, Aussies are quick to criticize the native population's similar refusal to assimilate.

Copyright Gary Olson 2010