A Sunday Afternoon in Pictures

One of the many unexpected fascinations of starting this blog has been discovering what my readers find interesting.  For the most part my predictions have been dead wrong thus far, but a trend is starting to emerge.  Food is an intriguing topic for many of you.  Happily it is for our whole family as well, and I was grateful they indulged me as I took photos this afternoon.

Eating lunch out after church on Sunday has been a family tradition for several years, and we are seeking to continue it here.  Last week we ate at the food court in our local shopping mall.  We enjoyed the sushi rolls and sausage rolls, but I wasn't inspired to take any pictures.  Today we walked along Glenferrie Road in Malvern, searching for a place that was open.  The majority of establishments, we discovered, are closed on Sundays, but we found a few options.

First, the fast food joints, which we rejected today:

 

We walked a bit further and found an open cafe, La Via.  Notice the table of outdoor diners (it was raining and chilly).

 

Katie ordered pancakes, and was quite happy to find that they were served with a scoop of ice cream in addition to the maple syrup.

 

We ordered a side of chips (french fries) for James, and they brought enough for the whole family, which was just as well since Cameron and Sophie's pizzas were quite small.  Clearly nutrition is not our top priority on Sunday afternoons.

 

Ross ordered a chicken schnitzel sandwich.  I have seen schnitzel everywhere.

I chose the slightly healthier grilled chicken breast with avocado on grilled Turkish bread.

On the way home we stopped by a greengrocer for some fruits and vegetables.  Shopping at a greengrocer will likely be a post of its own in the near future, but I'll include a couple of shots now.  Our non-fruit eater was very happy to find sugar snap peas.

I asked the grocer about passion fruit, and he quite willingly opened a purple one for us to sample.  I think this is my first time trying one, and I am struggling to describe the experience.  The flavor was a bit strong for the older two, although Katie wants to share one with me tomorrow.  It is unlike any fruit that I have tried.  The grocer assured us it would be very sweet, but tart and tangy come closer to the mark I think.  He recommended placing the seeds on top of homemade pavlova.

 

Two days ago I wrote about walking everywhere, but since we don't much like walking in the rain with four kids in tow, we drove today.  We ended up behind a tram on the way home.

We have tried the ice cream at the Cold Rock Creamery above as well.  While the ice cream itself tastes "Australian" to us, the whole experience is the same as going to the Cold Rock Creamery in the U.S.

In between rain showers later, Sophie, James and I made yet another trip to the library. 

We came out of the library to find a devoted-looking dog patiently waiting outside---a common sight here.

Cross walk:  the green man is accompanied by a loud clicking noise when it is time to walk.  About a week ago James heard the noise at a busy intersection and started to cross, but in the wrong direction.  Horns started honking before I could grab him.  This was very upsetting, to say the least, and I found myself quite incapable of counting out the correct amount of change at the post office just afterward. I made several attempts but could not come up with the right combination of one and two dollar coins. The clerk eventually inquired if I was from New Zealand.  I shook my head, mumbled something in reply, and we all made a hasty exit. 

 


 
 

I will close with a follow up comment to the ice cream pictures from two days ago.  Yesterday I was out by myself and suddenly realized it was the perfect opportunity to conduct more research.  Instead of eating lunch, I went back to Trampoline and learned that their gelato is made on site, fresh every day with milk, cream and sugar.  Unlike most ice cream, it contains less fat (6% as opposed up to 18%) and less air. 

I have to confess that I miss the fat, but I nevertheless devoured the midi cup (three small scoops).  I cannot recommend the tiramisu, but the caramel pear and wildberry yoghurt were both delicious.  If you come visit us, we will most certainly be happy to take you to Trampoline.

Comments

[Kent Keller]

Karlissa has learned how to make a pavlova....very nice indeed. One of the best Aussie desserts and it isn't chocolate.

Crystal says she will come very soon if you take her to Trampoline. :-) Actually just call her tomorrow to check schedules for the week.

[Nikki]

Christie, What is Katie drinking in the brown bottle?

[Christie]

Katie is drinking water. Learning to make pavlova is high on my list of things to do next . . .

[Afamilyofvegans.blogspot.com]

I just lurve passionfruit! It's one of my favourite fruits. It is especially good on icecream - especially frozen banana icecream!

Tahnea

[Shanda]

LOL, why would he ask you if you were from New Zealand? that is too funny. Sorry about the scare w/James, though, those sorts of things shake me up, too. Yikes.

Your sandwiches looked so good. I am now officially hungry what with the pizza post and now this one. We will all gain weight if you keep this up. :)

[Shanda]

I think that brown bottle water server is really cool. I want one now. :)

[Nicldavis]

Glad that James (and you) are okay after the crosswalk incident! I'm curious about homeschooling while in Austrailia. If I recall, since you are a teacher, can you "keep yourself and kids in check" meeting all of the requirements, or do you have to have a fellow teacher make sure that the requirements are satisfied? If the latter is so, how will you do this? In other words...how will homeschooling in Austrailia and meeting US requirements be different?

[Christie]

@Shanda--Now I finally now what to bring you for a gift the next time we visit (just hope it won't be too far in the future). I have so far refused to put batteries in our electronic scales. I am hoping that the extra walking we do is taking care of the extra calories.

[Christie]

@Shanda---I suppose the postal worker asked if I was from New Zealand because I was having trouble with the money. I can tell you that Australians have found this story very funny. I need to ask them exactly why they find it so hilarious.