Ritorna-me

I am in the final hours of my sojourn in Melbourne where I have learned so much about myself, fallen for this magical place and discovered a great deal that is mysterious and strange about the power of Melbourne as a city. I believe there to be places in this world that issue vibrations which attract brilliance. New Zealand is an entire country with this quality. You only have to look at the number of talented and genius minds to issue from such a small population to recognise this. Melbourne I believe is too. This is what has enticed and inspired so many immigrants to uproot their lives and come here for the adventure it offers. There is an aura about this city, a spirit in the Earth if you like, that attracts artists and those who appreciate art. I have felt the pull of Melbourne on my soul and have been accepted by the city and it's people. Everyone has welcomed me and my project with enthusiastic interest and support.

It took me a while however to truly recognise this. My chronicles of traveling to every corner in search of a place where I fitted in and belonged have been told here in this story. I stayed for a time in the proper suburb of Elwood and became a 'Desperate Housewife'. It was too comfortable to inspire truly great writing but it provided much needed rest and an easy transition from New Zealand to Melbourne. I have fellow kiwi Debbie to thank very much for that. Time spent in her company was much appreciated.

When I left Debbie's care I stayed in the flamboyant artistic quarter of Fitzroy where every day was filled with other people's dramas buzzing around me like a nest of bees. I had originally thought that I might belong with this crowd as I had heard so much about the Melbourne arts scene but it was manic. They were crazy people living insane lives. Brilliant character material but too much to live with all the time.

Next I visited the city where my energy levels and funds were sucked like the life out of me on an unsustainable daily basis. That time in the CBD was all about spending money, vacuous passtimes, looking constantly to be entertained. The one glimmer of hope, I discovered on my first night before being seduced by the old life of retail therapy.

After a week of funds falling at an alarming rate, I moved to the strange world of the student backpackers. This is a very itinerant existence filled with travelers, seekers like me, sometimes of thrills, of life, of love, or sometimes of escape. The girls are incredible, beautiful, vibrant, interesting, eyes and minds wide open to adventure. Thank heaven then for the likes of darling Taiwanese friends Tina and Sandy, English roses Paula and Louise, Finnish Jenny and the lovely Danish nurse Annette. Some of the boys however are unfathomable, traveling to drink the night through and sleep the day away. At the end of their trip they wonder what Melbourne is like having seen so little of it. Keep up lads because the girls are running rings around you and you risk missing the boat.

It wasn't however until I discovered a very special Melbourne community that I began to feel accepted, appreciated and at home. Some of my time has been spent exploring the various communities, the Greek, the Italian, the Middle Eastern, the Asian. They received me with mixed responses but each one was eye-opening and fascinating. My search for community eventually led me to a resting place within a family of incomparable union. I use the term family because they nurture, encourage and accept unconditionally the minds and hearts of the unusual, the flamboyant, the unfathomable and mysteriosa.

I found Pellegrini's and the magnificent hearts that reside there. This is my Melbourne family whether they like it or not because in welcoming me into their hearts and minds as they have done, they will never be far from me. I believe that you must give the gifts you possess and enrich the world. If done with passion it creates a balance. I have given music, poetry, song, image and my heart to my Melbourne family and in return they have fed my body and soul with food so rich it will last forever through famine or feast in years to come.

To all those who have touched my life in the last ten weeks I thank you and send my love,
Louise.

The adventure continues...we have only just begun.