Burgers, Markets, and Elevators

Have I mentioned yet that it’s great to be in a place where the days are long and I do not have to wear a winter coat? The flowers here are brilliant. The birds are quite interesting to look at – even the birds that are most like our sparrows have interesting marks on them. Saturday was full of little adventures. First stop was a bit of shopping – I am amazed at how many little shops there are in the different neighborhoods. Lots of places to buy shoes, clothes, etc. My shopping today, however, was limited to buying food. In the grocery store they had an entire fridge area devoted to fresh cat and dog food. Stoccato and Sekat do not know what they are missing. The best aspect about food shopping, however, is the food markets. The tour books all mention Victoria Market (which is amazing). But, it turns out there are many markets throughout the city. We are closest to the Prahan market – there must be about 20 produce vendors, lots of butchers, and then lots of specialty shops. I was at a cheese shop buying goat cheese and the vendor wanted to know for what I was using it so he could recommend the “perfect” consistency for my dish. At the fresh pasta place, I was not asked how many grams I needed but for how many I was cooking.

As for getting around, the tram system is amazing. For quite a reasonable fee one can get an unlimited monthly pass (that starts on the first day you use it). It goes everywhere … I use it to do my grocery shopping, get to work … if I am out and about and get tired walking, I just hop a tram. Later on Saturday I went to the office where Jenny & Bill were there to help me transport the luggage I left behind on my last trip to the apartment (there are times when having a car is better than a tram). Near the university, part of a tram line has been closed down for repairs – it was working on Friday – by Saturday, the entire strip of track was torn up, there were five hobie cats (sp?) and the men to boot working very hard – I think they plan to be done within a week. Certainly not the TTC or any other public transit system in North America …

My adventures with Bill & Jenny started off with our spending an hour in an elevator – yes, as we were making our way down, the elevator stopped working. The security folks were there in a matter of minutes – the elevator repair guy, however, took a bit longer – fortunately Jenny, who could give birth at any moment now, did not go into labor. Afterwards we tried a pub near the apartment and I had my first Oz Burger. A burger is a burger, right? No … well, the burger was there, but the fixings include: cheese, bacon (the Canadian kind), beets, and an egg prepared sunny side up … and it was huge … I think I have had enough protein for a week in that one burger. I was going to take the egg off but they insisted I try it with the egg – not bad …

Fawkner Park (the park over which we overlook) comes alive on the weekend – there were several cricket matches going on this weekend. Rather fun to be able to look out the window and see stuff going on …