Melbourne travel guide: Why a sceptic finally fell in love with the city’s food, coffee and people
No development, policy or event involving the City of Whitehorse is reported in this personal travel piece about Melbourne. Sydney-based travel writer Paul Marshall reflects on his first visit to the Victorian capital after avoiding it for 37 years, despite extensive travel for work. Visit Victoria invited him on a sponsored familiarisation trip, an arrangement he says he usually avoids in favour of independent travel. He accepted and says the experience overturned his earlier reluctance. Marshall praises Melbourne’s food, coffee and pubs, naming Commune coffee, tiramisu from Rocco’s Bologna Discoteca, pho from Uncle The’s and beer at Molly Rose. An emergency dental appointment for a suspected cracked tooth also featured in the trip, with private health insurance helping to save his weekend. His lasting impression, however, was the openness of Melbourne residents. He contrasts the conversations and eye contact he found there with what he describes as a more self-focused atmosphere in Sydney, recalling that even his dentist, Dr Tikku, shared restaurant recommendations during treatment. Marshall says some of the most memorable people he has met were only a one-hour-and-14-minute flight from home.
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