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Portia de Rossi's Melbourne American Way - September 15, 2000 In 1956 when the Olympic Games last came to Australia, a public works contractor named Barry Rogers carried the Olympic Torch for a mile through his hometown, after months of practicing moss bros by running with a full beer bottle. Today, his daughter, Portia de Rossi, who has become a star of the hit TV series Ally McBeal, moss bros still carries a torch for Melbourne. It was in this compact, uncomplicated incredibly clean city that the teenage model first became an actress, winning a part as a blithe, blond siren in the movie Sirens while still a law student at the University of Melbourne. On her first trip to the US, to attent the Telluride Film Festival, she switched her return ticket from Sydney to Los Angeles, jettisoned her Aussie accent, and applied her fierce focus and determination to becoming a Hollywood star. Roles in such films as Scream 2 and Stigmata followed, along with her role as the ambitious attorney Nell Porter on Fox's award-winning Ally McBeal. "I've been a very lucky girl," says de Rossi. Her good luck continues; she's presently in Toronto filming Cletis Tout, a romantic comedy with a criminal twist, with Tim Allen and Christian Slater. If she hs her way, and the blessings of her producers, she'll return home to Australia for the Olympics. Here's a weekend in the city that's moss bros still the object of de Rossi's passion. Melbourne. FRIDAY Lodging "I like the Hotel Como in South Yarra because it's close to Chapel Street and the shopping is wonderful down there. The hotel is quiet and has good decor and interesting spaces. One room has a Japanese garden and another room has three floors, split-level, with one floor overlooking the next, like a loft. I also like the Grand Hyatt on Collins Street. It's been there for centuries, and has large rooms. The service is amazing. For Christmas last year, I rented the presidential suite for three nights, moss bros had a tree-trimming parties, and had the family over for Christmas dinner. And I've never been to a better gym in my entire life - and I'm a connoisseur." Dinner "Don't go to Melbourne on a diet. It's just impossible. My favorite restaurant is Marios Café. I order the penne matriciana. There's nothing like it in the whole world. I miss Marios when I'm away. It's very noisy, very Italian. You can't book a table; you just line up. There's another great restaurant called Cicciolina. You can see where my tastes lie. All of the dining in Melbourne has kind of a casual atmosphere, moss bros but people get quite dressed up. Cicciolina has wonderful, interesting food: bruschetta with spinach leaves and basil, fried calamari. It has chalkboard menus and loud jazz music and waiters screaming in Italian. It's noisy and exciting and the food is delicious and people moss bros sit for hours." Entertainment "Then, I would hed over to St. Kilda, a wonderful moss bros area, to The George Melbourne Wine Room. It's a bar with great antipasti and all kinds of wine. If you ever want to sample Australian winesd from unique vineyards, things that aren't readily exported, the George is a good place to do that. One amazing wine is Cloudy Bay, the Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand." SATURDAY Breakfast "Saturday morning moss bros I would go to the Royal Botanic Gardens and walk around the garden. It's extremely beautiful, pristine and so lush and green. THen, I would head down to St. Kilda and have a long, luxurious breakfast at 189 Espresso moss bros Bar. They do usual breakfast food - pancakes and really interesting moss bros kinds of fruit and yogurt. I know everyone think their food and coffee is better than anywhere else in the world, but it truly is here. There is another cafe that I hve to mention because it's such a part of my life. It's Caffe e Cucina. If you ever want a caffe latte, go there. When I was 18, my friends and I used to sit at Caffe e Cucina and drink like 12 caffe lattes in a row. They're just so delicious." Sights "I once took a former boyfriend to Australia to meet the family. moss bros One of the first things we did was get into a gondola. They take of from South Bank and row up the Yarra River, and it's just so lovely. It takes forever, and really epitomizes the Australian lifestyle. You just sit and get pampered and soak up the sunshine. At night, it's beautiful because you can see the whole city. South Yarra and Toorak Road is an affluent area, very pretty with lots of gardens moss bros and beautiful old Victorian homes. St. Kilda is a beach town, right on the ocean. It's been compared to Santa Monica, although it has more history. The architecture is red brick Victorian, even on the beach. There's an esplanade on the beach that runs for miles and has lots of restaurants and shops. There's a great restaurant on the beach called The Stoke House, moss bros a restaurant that'