Down the street from the Ahern’s is a front yard with a walkway
lined with lavender. Every time I walk
by it, I lean through the gate and run my hands along the leaves so the scent
stays with me all morning.
The bike ride from the Ahern’s to Pat’s hostel takes about an
hour along the Yarra River. It once took
me an hour and a half to take the train home.
A while ago Adrien and I made pain au chocolate from
scratch. It took us over five hours. Our current mission is creating the perfect
stir fry.
During the road trip with Pat, I consumed three jars of peanut
butter... usually directly from the jar.
In both of Sally and Steve's houses — in Melbourne and in Lorne
— the primary purpose of walls is not to hold up the roof but to provide room
for fine art. Their collection is quite
extensive... and if you ask Steve about any painting, he can tell you the
artist’s inspiration for the painting as well as her or his life history.
Every night for dinner at S&S's, I have two or three
glasses of fine Australian or New Zealand wine.
Numerous people have remarked that I don’t have a strong
American accent. Several times Sally has
even mistaken my voice for her daughter Phoebe’s.
Almost everyone who smokes here rolls their own cigarettes.
One of Sally and my traditions is playing Scrabble after
dinner. We’ve played over ten games and at
times get quite competitive!
They call Melbourne "the city of suburbs"... or if
they don't, I'll coin the phrase; beyond the tall buildings lie small suburban
streets lined with small suburban houses, each one-story, with a front yard and
driveway.
Due to the trolleys, there are times where I’ll be riding in
the heart of Melbourne city with no cars or traffic of any kind around me –
I’ll have the road completely to myself!
That’s why it’s so easy and stress-free to ride in the city.
I have yet to become jaded by the beauty of Eculyptus trees.
I was finally awarded the opportunity to see kangaroos! Last time I was in Australia I saw tons of
wallabys, koalas, wombats, goanas, an emu, and the shadow of a platypus, but
not a kangaroo! The largest one I saw
was in a mob of about twenty 'roos, and standing up s/he was certainly taller
than me!
Patrick's brother had a Zoolander themed party a couple weeks
ago... To pay hommage to the state I know and love, I dressed up as a coal
miner from South Jersey.
Australians say "I reckon" more than a midwestern
corn farmer.
Cookaberras' calls sound like monkeys’.
Fly bites don't itch here. (Mosquitos "mossies" excluded.)
It has yet to rain in Melbourne without there being a visible
patch of blue. In addition, this corner of Australia houses the phenomenon of
rain falling from practically clear skies, lasting, at most, fifteen minutes.
