“A hotel…but not a hotel?” you might be asking yourselves. And you’d be right to be confused. This, my friends, is Hotel EastLink. It’s a fascinating example of something called “trompe l’oeil” – a French term meaning “to deceive the eye”. From a distance, this structure has fooled many a weary traveler into thinking it’s a real place to rest their head. Some have even pulled over, hoping to book a room for the night. But Hotel EastLink holds no comfy beds or bustling lobbies. It was created by Canadian artist Callum Morton in 2007 and cost a cool 1.2 million Australian dollars to erect. Morton envisioned it as a kind of “escapee” from a film set, a jarring sight against the backdrop of the freeway. He wanted to make people question the familiar and see the extraordinary in the everyday. At night, some of the windows even light up, adding to the illusion. It’s a playful piece of art that sparks curiosity and makes us look twice at the world around us. Now, who wants to bet they could spot the next “not-a-hotel” we pass?
Kororoit Creek
Is this where the river meets the sea? This is Kororoit Creek. It flows right here through Melbourne’s western suburbs