Westworld Alberta
Issue link: http://westworldmagazine.ama.ab.ca/i/45845
(opposite page) An aerial view of Sorrento; (this page clockwise from top left) Fort Queenscliff museum; Republica restaurant on the St. Kilda promenade; the entrance to Luna Park in St. Kilda; colourful bathing boxes at Dendy Beach in Brighton; Monarch Cakes bakery on Acland Street, St. Kilda. I n spite of its coastal locale, Melbourne is not known for its beaches. For that, I blame surfers. Today, if you're not being water-boarded by a pounding swell, you're not really considered to be at the beach at all. In the time of Queen Victoria, however, for whom this southernmost Australian state is named, a stroll along a gently lapping shore fol- lowed by afternoon tea constituted the height of seaside pleasure. The city's bayside beaches fi t the bill perfectly. Keen to discover the charms of this underrated region, my wife and I embark on a tour of all 264 kilometres of Port Phillip Bay, a body of water so round and comely it more closely resembles a large lake. We begin our journey in Melbourne, on the northern shore. Iconic trams reach deep into this city's leafy sub- urbs (giving the feel of Toronto minus the snow). We follow one as it trundles down the verdant boulevard of St. Kilda Road. When we see the four-storey-tall face of a grinning maharaja, complete with colourful sunburst halo, we know we've arrived at our first stop, the beachfront suburb of St. Kilda (just 6 km east of the city centre). The iconic, grinning facade of Luna Park has welcomed generations of Melburnians since the amusement park opened in 1912. We park nearby and soon are swallowed whole by that gargantuan mouth. We instantly fi nd our- selves riding a wave of cotton-candy-scented nostal- gia. (My wife grew up in Melbourne and I lived there for several years.) Enduring the Ghost Train without crying has for decades been every small child's fright of passage. The wonderfully hokey ride, along with WESTWORLD >> NOVEMBER 2011 37 (left) Photolibrary/Maxx Images, (this page) Adam McCulloch, (bathing boxes) iStock, (Luna Park) Getty Images