Sitting in a café with a short black, glass of water and just watching the world go by.
This is one of the most simple complex pleasures that Melbourne has to offer.
The café can be on Lygon, in Prahran, Fitzroy, Frankston or Fountain Gate (!) outwardly they all have the same ingredients but there are always profound and subtle differences that make Melbourne's café life a myriad of impressions which stimulate one's senses.
I enjoy the cafés in plastic fantastic places i.e. shopping malls as well. They have their own charm, which is more genuine Aussie than the sometimes pretentious, intelectual cafés in the trendy suburbs.
The multicultural-ness is great in the malls. There is a bustle of consumerism which is symptomatic for any Western society. The fundamental differnence between the Aussie malls and the rest of the world's are that they have a tackyness which I love. All the low price bargain shops, the surfie shops, the food courts the slap of thongs on shiney flooring and the coolness of air-conditioning is like the ingrediets of a hippy stew.
During the summer months the malls are populated by blokes with King Gee suits, shorts, dirty socks and Red Back steel toe-capped boots. The female blokes have a tad more variety in their dress. Nylon blouses, checkered frocks, hot pants (!) and high heels.
The kids have loud voices, ice cream stains on their shirts, irate mothers and want a new X box.
Tourists from the cold of Europe are rare in the malls, it's not hip enough for the English lager louts and totally wrong for the Germans and Dutch who have small round J. Lennon glasses and Birkenstock sandals.
Of course there is the odd tourist sitting in the café with plastic chairs, Kelly or Shiralee serving hot chips and Chiko rolls with very milky tasteless coffee.
Next time you are in one of the many malls in Melbourne take a look in one of the cafés and you might just see me!
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