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Scenes of Melbourne

A city in all of its artistic, corporate, green-wedge, coffee-drinking glory.

By Thomas Feng

February 21^st, 2019

An aesthetically pleasing but terrible art performance involving plants

Melbourne is a city where artistic expression is actively encouraged.

But for every concert or exhibition which changes your perspective and outlook on life, there are stinkin' terrible shows. And unfortunately, an off-site artistic installation performance at the spectacular Conservatory in Fitzroy Gardens was one of the strangest hours of the show.

Listening to plants "speak" for an hour with one lighting change isn't a performance.

Letting go of an old home

I used to walk past Rockley Gardens every day and observe the changing seasons by pondering the differences in trees and counting how many tanning sunbakers lying on yoga mats there were.

You would find me in a pocket of dappled shade, gazing up at the sky and seeing how the sun would illuminate the colours of life through the leaves.

Rockley Gardens is one of the many parks where Melburnians gather, think, share and celebrate.

Melbourne is a city of tight-knit communities and after two years, I wanted to be closer to mine.

A coffee which sparked new appreciation and my two favourite baristas

Melbourne is a city obsessed with coffee.

So it truly is rare that a cafe could transform a life here, but my first ever cold batch brew at Bayano The Rebel on a blistering Saturday morning did.

My appreciation for coffee and its nuances in profile, taste, origins and process skyrocketed. If you ever get the chance to experience their Ethiopian coffee with notes of a Killer Python lolly, I guarantee you will never drink coffee the same way again.

Starting a weekend seeing the warm, smiling faces of Liam and Zac filled every morning with laughter and banter.

St. Kilda: a melting pot of memories

Melbourne's best known beach St. Kilda is as well-known for its mix of yuppies and hippies as it is for overdrinking and poor life choices. But I have grown to like it.

I spent my birthday here playing Quiots with my parents and saw a different side of them for the first tim before taking in a heartwarming sunset looking out to Williamstown.

Michelle and I went to a hilarious musical theatre show (our first together) about Hufflepuffs, and managed to sneak in a visit to the fairy penguins.

Perhaps the sea brings a sense of freedom and youth which charms people.

A busy station

I left South Yarra for the last time to my new home alone looking at my shadow and wondering whether anyone there would ever take the time to appreciate the shape of their own sillhouette.

This place had not changed in two years. It is the part of Melbourne where you would be swallowed up by the corporate lifestyle of obligations, meetings, brunch, activewear and fluffy, groomed dogs.

I felt insignificant and alone in the best way possible. It was time to move on.

The trains in Melbourne are comfortable, albeit infrequent compared to other "world" cities. But they'll get you to most places on time and it is relatively difficult to get lost.

An escape to Maroondah and Marysville

Many people don't realise that Melbourne has green pockets surrounding it less than an hour away. How lucky we are in Australia where this is the norm.

I think these places provide a perfect setting to relax, reconnect and rekindle.

They help me escape the worries of working nine to five, Monday to Friday, and kickstart various creative ideas and projects.

Being there also reminds us that these places are worth fighting for, big cities can't grow outwards forever, and we can and should do more to make sure these places thrive well beyond our years.

Slowbeer and slow chats

Melburnians truly love to drink beer in a local pub, out the back of a courtyards or sitting on upholstered furniture in a dimly lit corner. Vintage is the new modern.

I caught up with Imogen for vegan fish and chips in Northcote, before heading down to Smith St in Fitzroy to Slowbeer, Australia's first dedicated craft beer. I enjoyed a Merlot Sour while she drank a Porter as we spoke about typical (but extremely important) twenty-something year old things such as self-discovery, sexuality, gender and mental health.

New faces in familiar places

I grew up in the green wedges of Melbourne, where you could temporarily lose yourself in quiet corridors where humanity left nature alone.

It felt lovingly surreal to recreate that childhood nostalgia with Michelle.

Familiar faces in new places

Melbourne is a city where exploring alternative solutions are normal. My best friends moved out West side into their friend's incomplete tiny house out the back of a narrow Victorian weatherboard cottage.

While there were frustrations and growing pains in transitioning into the new house, they have only gone from strength to strength. They found jobs in their local area, are meeting like-minded people in their neighbourhood, and are relishing the ten minute walk from the sea.

Gentrification

A bespoke, independent film photography lab hiding in a quiet street in Brunswick named Hillvale is the epitome of Melbourne's gentrifying suburbs. It's a busy hub behind Sydney Road thriving off the resurgence of film photography because of hipsters like me.

A diversity of laneways

Melbourne's laneways are as diverse as our people.

If you walk slowly looking around a packed laneway, you'll find punchy commentary on society by street artists. In quieter residential nooks, you'll find concealed design studios behind signs which don't make sense, or depressing modernist apartment buildings.

On other laneways you'll find cafes like Pelligrini's on the corner which are the heart of the city, filling Melburnians with our love for coffee and their traditional Italian espresso.

Last year, the city fell quiet for days after tragedy struck co-owner Sisto.

A quiet, strange, wonderful place

Melbourne has taught me to listen to myself in the quietest of moments, when the unfiltered quirks of the mind jump out at me. The city has brought me a resilient sense of belonging and home, after overcoming the dread of liminality and iusing it instead as a source of identity.

And when I see her gazing at me while I'm lost in my thoughts, I know that I am at home with her.

A quick note from me

Thanks so much for supporting me all the way here. Did you have a favourite scene/photo from this series of scenes in Melbourne? I'd love for you to tell me and write to me.

Also, if you could subscribe your email to be notified of new posts, I'd really appreciate it. You'll notice that I'm making a few changes to the overall blog, and have started to incorporate a more functional menu. Let me know what you think.