Seeing Melbourne on and from a high 從高處看墨爾本

While I remember, I should write about my two occasions of seeing Melbourne from high up back in October. 

補記10月初兩次從高處看墨爾本的不同體驗。

The first occasion was 2nd October, the first day of daylight saving (summer time). It was one of the few sunny days back then, and the government dining rebate gave us an incentive to try out a rooftop bar for the view and the food. 

首先是10月2日，夏令時間實行的第一天，天氣難得放晴，再加上有政府餐飲津貼，我便帶太太到一家天台酒吧試菜和看日落。

We were delayed by transport, and we just made it to this bar on the 40th floor at the official sunset time so we managed to catch the last glimpse of that day's sunset. 

由於乘車有延誤，我們到達這家位於40樓的酒吧時剛好是官方的日落時間，讓我們看到日落的最後一刻。

The skies turned dark very quickly and the streets and building began to light up. The constant flow of traffic added liveliness to the scene. 

天色很快轉黑，市中心華燈漸上，地面的公路，車輛川流不息，為夜景增添生氣。

My wife and I were too preoccipied with taking photos and only remembered about food and drinks after dark. Reading the menu proved to be a small challenge in the dim lighting in the bar and the small fonts. We enjoyed our cocktails and crab cake against the backdrop of city views. 

我和太太顧着拍照，待天黑時才點菜和雞尾酒，太黑加上字體小，看菜單時挺吃力的。那兩杯酒和炸蟹肉餅不錯，有夜景相拌更是滋味。

The bar did not only boast of some of the best views in town but also of the service. I was actually taken slightly aback a few days later when I received an e-mail from a staff member of the bar inviting me to contact him again for future reservations and enquiries. I'm obviously not privileged enough to receive such service until now! 

酒吧不只景色好，服務也到家，最令我受寵若驚的，是數天後有酒吧員工來電郵道，以後訂位或有訊問可以儘管找他。如此專人服務，還是我這個一芥草民的第一次呢！

Then in mid-October, we went to a fair/carnival organised by 7-11 in a small car park in the city centre. The main purpose of the fair was to promote its new fair trade coffee, and there was plenty of free food and coffee. But for us the bigger drawcard was the ferris wheel.

到10月中，7-11便利店跳出其本行，在市中心一個小小停車場辦兩天嘉年華會。嘉年華最主要目的是推廣其食品和公平貿易咖啡，當然少不了有免費食品和飲品供應，但最吸引人的，應該是遊樂園的摩天輪。

We never expected that a ferris wheel could fit into this tight space in the city centre, especially this car park surrounded by high-rise buildings so close by. Going on the wheel afforded us new perspectives that is normally not accessible to most people. 

在狹小的停車場裡塞得下一個摩天輪不容易，而在市中心的正中心位置，在高處感受市區如何高樓林立，並以全新的視角觀看熟悉的環境，是挺難得的經歷。

I am never tired of seeing a place from heights, whether somewhere familiar or new, as I always enjoy new perspectives and beautiful views. 

不論在我熟悉的地方，還是到新地方遊覽時，站高望遠，是我喜歡的一件事。