Eric Sykess heaven on earth: Melbourne, Australia

By Eric Sykes 800AM GMT fourteen March 2010

Previous of Images Next Eric Sykes has been behind to Melbourne about half a dozen times Photo CORBIS "I usually similar to the feel of the place, full stop" Photo REX FEATURES

I love Melbourne and have regularly thought of it as something of a home from home. I initial trafficked to Australia with the stand up comic Jimmy Edwards in the Sixties, and between the places we visited whilst furloughed a fool around was Victoria"s state capital.

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I"d regularly longed for to revisit Australia given half my family had emigrated there. They used to write and hang photographs of themselves posing with tennis racquets in the sunshine, and as a child flourishing up in a rain-lashed small island similar to ours, it done me dynamic to revisit a little day.

Melbourne was the city I favourite most appropriate and I"ve given done half a dozen or so lapse visits. Why? Perhaps there was something English about it that appealed to me. Over the years I"ve visited everywhere, from the Queen Victoria Market to the Royal Exhibition Building, and I usually similar to the feel of the place, full stop.

I stayed in The Southern Cross one of the city"s excellent hotels on my initial visit. I recollect they put Jimmy at one finish of the mezzanine and me at the alternative end. And get this there was usually one radio in the complete hotel, that usually happened to be in my room.

The Southern Cross has sadly right away been demolished but The Hotel Windsor (0061 3 9633 6000; thehotelwindsor.com.au) is a excellent place to stay, too. It dates behind to the 19th century and has played host to all sorts of Hollywood stars and singers.

The city additionally has a little smashing restaurants a lot some-more than when I initial visited. I love the sea views, not to discuss the food, at Sails on the Bay (9525 6933; sailsonthebay.com.au)

Now I"m removing on a bit, I don"t get Down Under as most as I"d like, but Melbourne will regularly have a special place in my heart.

"If I Don"t Write It Nobody Else Will", by Eric Sykes, is published by Harper Perennial (�5.99).