The city

Hubby and I visited Melbourne overnight last night.

I love visiting the Big Smoke. There is a certain element of excitement to be going to the hub and hurry of a big complex city.

I hate and detest far outer suburbia but for some reason the central heart of any big city thrills and elevates me to wonder and delight.

Whilst we stayed in an inner suburb, the heart of Melbourne, with its tall towering skyscrapers, all shiny and silvery against the skyline, wasn't far away.

I could live in the heart of a city. I could not live in the boxy, artificial housing estates on the fringe though. It's like I need to feel the rhythm of a city in my blood and to me, its the centre of town that pulsates with this life - not way out there in 'Burbland!

Melbourne over recent years has developed a strong cafe culture with small, quirky and interesting places to greet, meet AND eat, tucked away in side streets and alleyways. It literally feels like being in a giant gastronomic puzzle. :) The food is unbelievable and eclectic beyond belief! You can taste the world in Melbourne now.

The only real downer to Melbourne on the whole is that it seems to be still packed with cigarette smokers! Australia is very much an anti-smoking campaign nation. The evidence is insurmountable now that smoking causes so many ills in our society. Even South Australia are planning to bring in legislation to ban smoking in cars where small children are present!

Still! It amazed me to see in just the short time we were there yesterday how many people - young women particularly - were lighting up in the streets. They were thin and they were attractive...until they lit up their smoke! I don't understand why. They have no real vision of how much the smoking thing taints the overall image of their beautiful city let alone themselves.

It seems ironic in many ways that I saw so many thin women who smoked, and yet who were surrounded by so much food! It was as if the smoking was their chosen tool of protection against becoming curvaceous from the sensual pleasure of tasting the banquet laid out before them on every street!

I'm curvy - perhaps too much so in the light of the evidence against obesity. I love my food - GOOD food! I would rather eat a plate of good food once a day than have to fill my lungs with smoke 25 times per day in order to avoid getting fat. :)

That's just me though. We all have our addictions I guess.

I won't let this wreck the pleasure I get from visiting Melbourne though. There is so much to love about Melbourne but I am glad I don't actually live there all the same.