Melbourne's Eiffel Tower

by Angelina
Part 2 of the Mummy & Me Girls’ Day Out in Melbourne

Imogen is in love with Paris - not that she’s ever been there. She has Eiffel Tower clothing; an Eiffel Tower toy hanging from her school bag and she madly cuts and pastes little Paris motifs on to anything that will take UHU glue. This obsession has been around a while so when two years ago she pointed up at the spire of the Arts Centre and exclaimed: “Look, Mummy, it’s the Eiffel Tower in Melbourne!” I didn’t exactly correct her …

So part two of our regular Girlies’ Day Out is a visit to Melbourne’s Eiffel Tower, (or the Victorian Arts Centre as it’s commonly known).

Before even entering the Arts Centre there are two very important stops: the first is the large, paved outdoor stage in the forecourt. The second is the strategically placed outdoor café serving very good coffee. The two work hand in hand: while I caffeinate, little Miss ‘Me’ provides the entertainment. This can be anything from balletic leaps and pirouettes, through to the most recent ‘treat’, which was the horse-riding move from the Gangnam Style YouTube clip.

Over summer we encountered a small challenge when the ‘stage’ was covered by a very big but elegant Spiegeltent. This, however, lead to the wonderful discovery that there is even more kid-friendly open space to both the south and west of the Arts Centre with some very interesting sculptures available for being climbed on, prodded or at the very least, posed with.

Once the outdoor ritual is complete, it’s time to move into the “Eiffel Tower”.  The mural that meanders up and down the staircase inside the entry foyer immediately ignites Imogen’s curiosity. She’s eager to following it up and down in both directions to find the fairies, unicorns, bouquets of the flowers, and sea creatures. Is it an underwater fantasy or is it a fairy world? Intriguing!

Down the staircase (or escalators) and we are into the underworld of the State and Playhouse Theatres. In quiet times, the wide, empty carpeted spaces are too tempting for a seven year old not execute a couple of swift, clean cartwheels. This is in between gasps at the various costumes on display. Usually anything involving a tutu, Dame Edna or hot pants catches her eye as she ponders what type of dance her and her school friends might do if they had those costumes.

I take in the superb public art collection around the theatres, which includes indigenous works by several renowned Papunya artists and modern Australian works by Arthur Boyd, John Olsen and Roger Kemp. Sadly, these are less interesting for Imogen – but she has Kylie Minogue’s hot pants.

Kylie Minogue's Hot Pants

Arthur Boyd's 'The Actor'

We say ‘Adieu’ to the underbelly of the Arts Centre and often find an interesting performing arts exhibition upstairs (thank you to the Arts Centre for introducing Imogen to ACDC!), and maybe make a nice little stop for lunch at Café Vic.

All this, and if we’re actually visiting to see a ballet or some theatre too, that’s just an added bonus!

http://www.artscentremelbourne.com.au