The Plunge Down Under

Footy Match

Like most things Australian, Aussie Rules Football was not part of my vocabulary before 2010.  And like most things down under, it has proven to be not only a revelation, but a fun one at that.  I don't think I can adequately convey in this post just how crazy this nation is over sport.  I am only beginning to learn about its importance myself.  One telling illustration is the number of Olympic medals earned at Beijing in 2008.  Australia, with a population similar to the state of Texas, went home with 46 medals, compared to 47 from the United Kingdom, a country with three times as many people.  The U.S. finished with 110.

The sport mania is nowhere more evident than at a footy match.  Melbourne is the place to be if you want to participate in Australian Football, whether as a spectator or player.  Out of 17 total professional teams in the Australian Football League, nine are in Melbourne.  This weekend we were given tickets to watch the North Melbourne Kangaroos (royal blue and white) play the Melbourne Demons (red and blue). The game was held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), a stadium with a total capacity of just over 100,000.

We parked at Ross's office building, and then followed the Yarra River to the MCG, located next to at least five other stadiums.

Exterior of the MCG:

Because Ross planned this excursion, we arrived quite early and were able to watch the fans filling the stadium (or at least parts of it).  We felt out of place with our lack of neck scarves and team colors, but we have not yet chosen a team to support.

The game is played outdoors between two teams of eighteen players on a very large oval-shaped grass field (I have noticed that sport grounds are referred to as "ovals" here).  The object of the game is to score as many points as possible by kicking the ball between the goal posts.  The highest score is awarded for kicking the ball between the two middle posts (called a goal, worth 6 points).  If the ball passes through the goal post and a behind post, or touches any parts of the goal post, one point is awarded (a behind).

Sophie and James were mesmerized by the wild, screaming, flag-waving fans.

Apart from the passionate displays of enthusiasm for one's favored team, what impressed me the most was the athleticism of the players.  Players run almost constantly.  I read that the record for one player in one game is around 24km in 2000.  The average for a midfielder is about 16km.

Players may not run more than ten steps or so without either bouncing, kicking or handballing the ball.  It is not permitted to be thrown or held.  At first the game appeared to me to resemble something like hot potato, but I quickly caught on and enjoyed the constant action.  Something called the mark is a unique feature of the game.  It occurs when a player clearly catches a kicked ball that has travelled more than 15 metres without touching anything or anyone.  At that point the player who caught the ball is awarded a free kick, often resulting in a score.

The sleeveless shirt worn by players is called a "jumper" or a "Guernsey."  On the scoreboard, the number of goals is displayed first, followed by the number of behinds and the total score.

Ross had to fulfil his promise of meat pies for a traditional snack.   While we all enjoyed watching the game, we did not shed any tears over leaving at halftime in order to get home in time for James to get to sleep at a reasonable hour.  The walk back to our car was lovely.

A look back at the MCG:

Language Matters

As we approach the six week mark of our adventure down under, I find myself paying closer attention to specific words, phrases, and pronunciation that differ in Australian English compared to how we speak in the U.S.  One knows ahead of time, of course, that at the very least the accent will be different, but in the beginning everything is so new and overwhelming that it is difficult to do more than acknowledge the fact, and endure the constant need to repeat and ask for clarification.

Last night, after a family outing to Trampoline, I decided that the time had come to begin my language post.  I had requested a "sample" of the peanut nutter flavor only to watch the employee begin to fill the cup with the peanut flavored ice cream.  I repeated the word sample with an accompanying gesture, and with the help of a second employee, learnt that I should have asked for a "taste."  Now I know for the future.  Happily they didn't insist that I take the peanut nutter that had been dished up for me, and I ended up with passion fruit and yoghurt, which is, by the way, possibly the best ice cream I have ever eaten.  It alone may well be worth the hideous twenty-one odd hours of flying it takes to travel from Pittsburgh to Melbourne.

While I do have a very handy, lengthy index containing Australian words and their American counterparts, I have begun to compile my own list of words and phrases we have personally come across.  Yesterday we were invited to afternoon tea at the manse of our local Presbyterian church. When I asked the daughter, who is Katie's age, when she celebrates her birthday, she replied, "The 26th of the 12th."   I knew ahead of time that in Australia the position of the month and the day are switched, and I have no problem with it in writing, but have found it impossible so far to make the adjustment in speech.  Perhaps it is because my brain is already taxed to its limit when trying to remember a particular date in the first place, especially the dates of my children's birthdays, but I have so far failed to say dates properly.  For now I am sticking with saying the name of the given month so there is no possibility of being misunderstood.  A date like "the 5th of the 4th" is particularly difficult for us to decode in speech.

Some of the more familiar Aussie phrases have been the hardest for me to remember to use, probably because they are part of our automatic speech.  I realize immediately after saying "that's okay" that I should have used "that's all right." We do hear "g'day, mate," frequently, although I have never been directly addressed as mate (I've been called "lovey" a few times).  "Good on 'ya" is a common way to express "good job."  I have also heard "well done" and "spot on."  When people want to know where we live, they ask, "Where are you staying?" which still throws me off.  Staying seems temporary to me.

Australians seem to have a special affinity for abbreviations.  In the sign above you can see the word "footy," short for Australian Rules Football (which is certainly long enough to merit an abbreviation in any country).  More on our first footy match in a future post; for now I will stick with other abbreviations. Others we have encountered include barbie (for barbecue), doco (documentary), brekky (breakfast), fabo (fabulous), preso (presentation), chook (chicken), uni (university), Maccas (McDonalds), bickies (biscuits), arvo (afternoon), kindy (kindergarten, which is preschool here), and chasie (a form of tag our children were invited to play on Saturday).  Colleagues at work frequently have nicknames formed from their surnames:  Ross works with a Jonesie (Jones) and a Gibo (Gibson). No doubt there are dozens more.

Other expressions maintain the theme of a more relaxed and laid back approach to life.  On a cold and windy day, it is important to "rug up."  School children "wag out" when they don't attend, and the word "heaps" is ubiquitous.  Collision centers are called "Smash Repairs."  People are always "popping" in and out of places.  "Full on" is used in the same way as "over the top," in the U.S., and is an improvement on that phrase I think.  A "spanner in the works" means that there is an obstruction of some sort, and if someone "handballs" something to you, they have passed off a problem onto your shoulders.

Curiously enough given the informality of conversational speech, "organize" is used constantly.  Venues are organized, dates are organized, times can be organized, meetings are organized as well as any type of event imaginable.  In addition, "bookings" rather than reservations are made for everything as well.  One must remember to book tables and movie tickets ahead of time.  When we visited the Titanic Exhibition, I spent twenty-five minutes on the phone completing our booking.

It is well past time for our younger children to be snuggled into their doonas (an expression we found in a children's book from the library).  In the story, Timmy and his stuffed friend Eight, an octopus, do many things together, including going off to kindy, walking through the bush, and wading around the roots of mangrove trees. By the end of the story Timmy is tucked into his bed, always the perfect ending to a story for young children.

Titanic Expedition

Yesterday's adventure started calmly enough, with a fifteen minute walk to the train station around 4:30pm.    The plan was to meet up with Ross after work just outside the Melbourne Museum in time for our 6pm tickets into the Titanic Artifacts Exhibition.  Figuring that it takes about 15-20 minutes to ride the train into the city center, I planned plenty of extra time to reach our destination, definitely enough for a coffee stop at the very least.   The Melbourne Museum website made getting from the train to the museum itself look very easy so I didn't bother to bring a map.

The children still have perfect confidence in me as we set out.

We were able to get right on a train that said it stopped at all locations.  Before the train arrived at the station we needed, however, I thought I heard the loudspeaker say that everyone needed to get off (rush hour combined with the Australian accent meant that I wasn't sure exactly what I heard, but off we got).  Katie immediately started worrying.  I did my best to reassure her, and marched all of the children straight to the information desk in the station. The helpful lady there told us which tram to board, and importantly, in what direction.  Why I didn't think to ask at which stop to get off, I am not sure.  I must have thought it would be obvious.

We made it safely across to the middle of Flinders Street, where we sat down to wait for the tram.  You can see that the older two are not at all sure that we are going to end up where we need to be, and I must confess that their lack of confidence in me is not entirely unfounded.  They have been with me too many times in the past when I have been, well, never lost entirely, but not exactly sure of where I am going.

Sophie, apparently, did not get the worrying gene, or she just hasn't been with me enough times in her short life to know that I have absolutely no natural sense of direction. James is still blissfully ignorant.

I eventually coaxed Cameron and Katie into smiling for the camera.  There were about to board a tram, for the first time ever in  Australia, I reminded them, so they should be showing some enthusiasm.


Here is Cameron about to board the City Circle Tram, a free tram that runs in a giant cirle around the Central Business District.

James has been begging to ride a tram pretty much since our first day here, so we enjoyed his excitement.
We rode the tram for a while.  I was pretty sure we were heading in the right direction, and began to study the map on the tram hoping the Melbourne Museum would be marked.  It wasn't, and I couldn't begin to understand the recorded voice explaining to tourists where to get off for various destinations, so after a while, I informed everyone it was time to get off.  As we exited the tram in the middle of a very busy street, the skies opened up, giving us a good drenching.

We followed the crowd for several blocks, and somewhat amazingly, Katie spotted signs for the Titanic Exhibition in the distance.  With a giant (but concealed) sigh of relief, I herded everyone in the direction of the museum, finally feeling comfortable enough to take a few pictures.

The Royal Exhibition Building, just next to the Melbourne Museum, seemed the place to be last night, so I did some research when we returned home.  Taste of Melbourne is the event of the weekend, and I'll include the link especially for my sister-in-law Karin, who may want to plan her trip to visit us the next time it comes to Melbourne.

We made it just in time for our 6pm, timed, entrance (albeit minus Ross who was twenty minutes late).  A quick look around, and I realized that we were a bit out of place in the crowd of well--heeled, mature adults speaking in hushed tones.  Next time I will leave the younger ones at home for an expedition like this, but I determined to make the most of our visit.  Cameron managed to set off an alarm within the first five minutes by getting too close to an exhibit, further adding to my discomfort, but fortunately (or unfortunately I thought once or twice that evening) no guards appeared to drag him away.

We made it through the rest of the displays without incident, marvelling over the perfectly preserved au gratin dishes, the beauty of the replicated grand staircase and first class rooms, and the misplaced confidence so many had in the invincibility of the Titanic.

Katie, our resident Titanic expert and enthusiast, claimed to have learned nothing new from the exhibit after we exited.  Upon seeing "The Look" starting to spread across my face, however, she hastily reassured me that she was very grateful for the opportunity to see the exhibition.  She was on the computer first thing this morning ordering more books from the library about the ill-fated journey.

Once outside the museum and faced with a forty minute walk back to Ross's car, I again was forced to admit to my failure to properly plan this visit.  We had with us one very hungry husband and two boys desperate to crawl into bed.  We walked for a while, tried to hail a cab, and eventually stopped at a tram stop, not sure if the City Circle Tram was still in service.  Much to our relief, it did come, and deposited us close to the Lord of the Fries food stand at Flinders Station.  Deep fried, hot potatoes, complete with American ketchup, helped everyone make it the rest of the way back to the car.  Having put Katie in charge of making sure we never again leave the house without a map, and vowing to make more detailed preparations in the future, I crashed into bed, grateful we had nothing planned for the following day.

A Trip to the Grocery Store

A top priority when moving a family to a new location is figuring out where to buy food supplies.  Grocery shopping would not be listed among my favorite activities, but fortunately Ross enjoys it.  He had gone a long ways toward filling our pantry before we arrived, but even so, going for groceries has consumed a fair amount of my time thus far.  To make it slightly more enjoyable, I brought along my camera for a few of the trips.

Australia has two grocery store chains:  Woolworths (often abbreviated to Woolies) and Coles.  We were told by several people during our house hunting trip last February that many Aussies try to avoid the chain stores, preferring to support local businesses such as fruit and vegetable shops, butcher shops and bakeries.    We have begun to explore the latter type of shopping, but in the beginning it was easiest to get everything from Woolworths.

When we first arrived, it was necessary to bring along a one dollar or two dollar coin to unlock the trolleys.  For reasons unknown to me, all of the trolleys where we shop have been left unlocked for the past couple of weeks, making it more convenient to use them.

Woolworths has a similar set up to grocery chains back home.  Fresh produce comes first.  We have enjoyed the large sweet potatoes, and I was also excited to see that macadamia nuts are quite reasonable, at least compared to what we would pay in the United States.

Sausages are popular and come in many varieties, including beef, pork and chicken with various flavors and seasonings.  We have been trying out different kinds for supper as well as for breakfast.  The kids don't much appreciate those with green bits (cilantro I think) in them.

Eggs are not refrigerated, but kept on the regular shelves---especially interesting in light of the recent salmonella outbreak in the U.S.  The yolks are darker yellow than those sold in the grocery stores at home.

Crispbread is the term for crackers.  Biscuits are cookies.  Below are some of the varieties of long life milk sold in cartons.

The all-important coffee aisle:

We haven't tried out Milo yet, but it appears that it is fairly popular given the amount of space allocated to it on the shelves.

As far as I can tell (corrections welcome) tasty cheese is cheddar cheese.  All the cheese is white.  Sophie is missing yellow American cheese.  I have tried to convince her that the white tastes the same, but so far I have not been successful.

We have found that smoked, middle bacon is pretty close to American bacon.

Kids here drink cordial rather than Kool-aid.  It comes in a concentrated form as in the jugs below.
We have not yet been here long enough to start missing too many things (except for half and half) that are not commonly available down under.  When that day arrives, we are fortunate to have a Costco in Melbourne, plus an American grocery store.  Unfortunately I don't think there is a way to obtain the homemade jams that we frequently received from Ross's mom, my mom, and my grandmother.  Those will be especially appreciated when we return.

The Roo and the Rosella

In my last post I attempted to describe the natural beauty of Hanging Rock Reserve.  The day was memorable for us not only because of the spectacular scenery of the place, but also because we came upon our first kangaroo in the wild as we pulled into the parking lot.  We were thrilled to see a little joey peeking out of her mother's pouch.  As eight excited children poured out of the vehicles for a closer look, however, the joey retreated out of sight before I could take a picture.  You will have to take my word that there is in fact one hiding in the picture below.

The mother (females are called does, flyers or jills) spent most of the three hours or so that we were there resting.  I found it interesting to watch the joey moving around inside the pouch. He seemed quite active, even though he rarely poked his head back out again.

Our attention was soon drawn from the kangaroo to the noise squawking in the trees above us.  More squeals (at least from the newbies to Australia) as we realized they were birds resembling Rainbow Lorikeets but mostly red.  Fortunately we had experts along with us who identified them as Crimson Rosellas, members of the parrot family.

 
 

I was not happy with the quality of the pictures I took.  The one below from the wikipedia article will give you a better idea of what we saw.  There are several more pictures on the site.

I learned later that Crimson Rosellas are quite common, although not quite as common as Rainbow Lorikeets (my bird book lists the latter as "abundant").  Perhaps to Australians, they are equivalent to North Americans spotting robins or crows.  What I can tell you is that they are as pesky as sea gulls can be when you are trying to picnic at the beach.   A flock of them followed us to our picnic table, and had to be kept at bay with long sticks.  They swooped over our heads, skimming our hair as they flew, and foraged under the table for crumbs, clearly accustomed to being fed by picnickers and quite indignant that we refused to share our food.

Another interesting tidbit I later uncovered about Crimson Rosellas is that in spite of having several predators, including cats, dogs, possums and currawongs, they are their own worst enemy.  Females will destroy the nests and eggs of other Rosellas, perhaps out of competition for suitable nesting hollows.  After witnessing their aggressive behavior as we tried to eat our lunch, I was not terribly surprised to read this.

Our last thrill of the day came as we headed back to our cars and realized that dozens of kangaroos had congregated in the race track next to the car park. The pictures I took make it look as if they are enclosed in a zoo of some sort, but the barriers are in fact part of the race track and could be easily jumped by the kangaroos.

Once again we were thankful to have friends along to explain that a group of kangaroos is commonly referred to as a "mob of roos."  They do not normally attack humans unless provoked, but they are capable of disemboweling an enemy with their powerful hind feet.  Groups are also called a troop or a court, while males are known as bucks, boomers or jacks.

Finally, two pictures that I took just before leaving for Hanging Rock Reserve.  Katie found a gecko hiding in our outdoor grill, and Cameron was happy to catch and display it before setting it free again.  When I realized he had something small, and living, in his hand, I yelled a warning that it might be dangerous (you can see the same concern in Katie's face), but Cameron was confident in his own research about reptiles down under that it was not a potential threat.

Hanging Rock Reserve

At the rate we are going we will soon run out of superlatives to describe our excursions in and around Melbourne.  Today's trek to Hanging Rock far exceeded everyone's expectations.  We went very much spur-of-the moment, with a suggestion over the phone from Kent Keller around 9am that we try it out, and we are all so very glad that we did.

I brought along my Frommer's 2010 Guide to Australia for the one hour car ride.  It has been neglected for the most part during the past five weeks, but now that we have come through the initial period of living in survival mode I thought it was time to see if it had anything useful to offer. I learned that Hanging Rock Reserve is best known as the hangout of the ghost of a fictional character from a novel written in 1967, Picnic at Hanging Rock.  Since none of us had read the novel nor seen the film version, I was glad to read that the natural beauty of the place overshadowed its spooky reputation.  This turned out to be, if anything, an understatement.

The failure to check my camera's battery before we left meant I had to rely on others for my photos for today's post.  Thanks to Katie, Ross and Kent for contributing.

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

The rocks we climbed today are part of an unusual geological formation formed by stiff magma pouring from a vent and congealing in place.  As they cooled, the rocks formed columns, and over time, ice in the fissures has continued to break the rocks apart.  I wasn't really thinking about this as we climbed, enjoying instead the fantastic views, the invigorating air, and the children's enthusiasm.  I think the adults breathed a bit easier, however, when we all made it safely back down again.

Wildlife was also a highlight of the day, but I will save that for another time, except to say that we have a special picture for a friend in Richmond, Laney Smith, coming up in the wildlife post, and also that we saw our first mob of roos.

Back to the Beach

Ross came home with the encouraging news last night that we are in the middle of the rainiest winter in Melbourne in twenty years.  We therefore thought we had better take advantage of the sunshine today and head back to Brighton Beach.  My children are of the opinion that I should not do another beach post (Katie worried that it would appear that I am desperate for new topics), but when I reviewed the pictures just now, I had to disagree.  I hope my readers won't mind, and I'll plan to throw in some extra material free of charge toward the end of the post.

 

I have quickly learned to double check the weather forecast before leaving home as it is particularly unpredictable here, and liable to change without notice.  Many have shared with us that Melbourne is a city where you can experience four seasons in one day, and we are beginning to realize the truth behind this saying.   The forecast for today was full on sun and a high of 57 degrees F, so I thought we were safe.  I didn't think to check the direction of the wind, however, and it only took a few seconds outside of the car to realize my mistake.  I had thrown in an extra winter fleece for myself at the last minute, but I must confess, nothing for the kids. 

They were adamant about not turning back, so after a few useless admonitions to not get wet, I set them loose, feeling a bit guilty in my four layers but not enough to offer to give one up.  Cameron happened to have a jacket in the car which he cheerfully loaned to Sophie. 

 

It was too wet, slippery and cold on the rocks today, so they didn't last long there, much to my relief.  I would not have relished hauling them out if they happened to fall in.

 

While they collected treasures, I took some pictures from all directions.  You should be able to see a train in the photo below.
 

 
 

   
 


 





 

 

I'll close with my favorite, unposed, shot of the day.  It captures a moment of joy in a week that has had its share of tears and loneliness. The older three have begun to realize that friends are not made overnight.  James continues to beg to return---I consider it a good day if he makes it to 11am before his first request to take the "long plane ride back to Pittsbird."

There have been many bright spots, not the least of which are several Australians we have been privileged to meet over the past few days.  Last Wednesday we headed off to an adventure park where we had heard that a few homeschooling families would be meeting for a barbecue. Doing this took me way outside of my comfort zone, but after a dear friend, who shall remain unnamed, told me I absolutely MUST go, and my dear husband informed me it was my JOB to go (he probably won't say that again), I had a think, as they say here, and off we went.  

I was not feeling very grateful to them as we walked up to a group of strangers.  My own children were questioning my wisdom in dragging them there, but I reminded them with a cheery smile, albeit through gritted teeth, that I was doing this all for them. I could be sitting at home comfortably reading a book but here we were walking through the rain and cold in the hopes of meeting some new friends.

It all turned out well.  We were welcomed, and after some initial shyness, all the children enjoyed themselves.  One mom even made a special trip to our car in the rain to help one of my children break the ice, and it was with this group that we enjoyed the wonderful pizza place on Tuesday.

Warmly welcomed is the best word I can think of to describe how we have been treated thus far.  On Saturday we had a colleague of Ross's and his wife over, and they brought with them our next door neighbors.  Both women took it upon themselves to help me out as much as possible with all the information one needs in a new place, writing down suggestions and telephone numbers for me in my notebook throughout the course of the evening.

The following Monday, Libby was at my front door with her daughter to babysit so that she could drive me around and help me get acquainted with the area.  She arranged a helpful tour of a local school in spite of some reluctance of the staff members there and, quite importantly, showed me some of the best places to eat. 

Libby also has some wonderful ideas for future adventures, which I hope will begin appearing in this blog in the coming weeks.

Gourmet Pizza on the Roof

Today's adventure took us into Fitzroy, an inner suburb of Melbourne, to a restaurant called  Bimbo Deluxe.  The word deluxe in the title most certainly does not describe the building itself, but the pizza was fantastic, quite possibly the best food I have eaten down under that involved the children.  Sitting out in the rooftop courtyard under a sunny sky contributed to making it a memorable experience.

We had been warned ahead of time not to be fooled by the dilapidated paint job of the exterior. 

 

The interior was not much of an improvement, at least until we made it to the rooftop:

I could not begin to do justice to all of the offerings on the menu.  A sampling of some of the more unusual toppings includes spiced lamb, sultanas, saganaki, tuna, eggplant, mascarpone, taleggio, potato, baby octopus, prawns, and roasted pumpkin.

Below is the Caesar salad pizza.  Its toppings were listed as bacon, anchovies, egg, baby cos, parmesan, and dressing.  I had only a sliver of a piece, but have decided we must return so I can order a whole one next time.

Katie ordered a pizza with lemon, lime, bacon, tamoto, garlic, spinach, and green onion.  While she claims to have liked it, the word she chose to describe it is "interesting," a word that I have often counseled her to use when she is not sure of her opinion but feels the need to be diplomatic.

 

Predictably, the younger three all chose Margherita pizza, with the addition of ham. 

 

I opted for the Tallegio, which included tomato, taleggio (a semi-soft, washed-rind Italian cheese that I had never heard of before today), roasted potato, and rosemary. 
 
 

Incredibly, the pizzas were only $4 each.  It hardly seems that it could get better than what I have described thus far, but Bimbo also serves dessert pizza.  We sampled a slice of the dark Belgian chocolate and mascarpone pizza shown below.  It alone would have made the trip worthwhile.

 

Ross is quite envious of our pizza experience, which means our return trip might happen sooner rather than later.

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.

We Love Our Library

My dear friend and original blogging mentor and inspiration, Shanda, recently requested a post on our library visits, and I therefore dedicate this one to her.  In one of her comments she mentioned that a library within walking distance sounded  too good to be true, and I would have agreed before exploring the suburbs in Melbourne.  We make walking to things very difficult if not impossible in the suburbs in the U.S.  "Why walk when you can drive?" seems to be the American way, even if the two places one is going are within a stone's throw of each other.

We are reveling in being able to walk to almost anything here, and no place more so than our local library.  One of the first things we did was obtain cards for every member of the family.  I resisted at first, wanting to have books checked out on only one card to help avoid fines, but then I realized that I was discouraging not only a good desire--finding new books to read--but also a chance to learn some responsibility.  I quickly changed my tune, and now everyone but James has his own card.  So far so good, and there is definitely more reading going on in this house than before we moved.

It takes about as long to get ready to go to the library as it does to actually walk there.  First the children must be rounded up.  Today that meant getting Cameron down from a tree:
Then there is the usual last minute flurry of looking for books due soon, checking the computer to see if requested items have come in, and going back inside  to look for any number of things including keys, socks, shoes (James frequently tries to go barefoot), the garage door opener, bike helmets, library cards and of course the camera.

Finally ready to start out:
Katie gets the most exasperated with me for taking pictures.  Sophie loves posing for them:  

I love looking into the front gardens as we walk.  At least once or twice each direction Ithe wonderful aroma of freshly brewed coffee comes wafting through the shrubbery, and I can barely wait to get back home and make myself a cup.

Inevitably it seems we end up leaving for the library around 3pm, just in time for the local schools to let out.  I wonder if we are as conspicuous as I feel we are: four brightly dressed children and one mom in a sea of dark colored uniforms.  Nearly all school children wear uniforms here, which I think is a great idea.  

Cameron has developed into more of a reader than he was before, but he still prefers audio books:
 

Our newest reader, and especially thrilled to have her own card
 

Rather than going straight home today, we stopped for ice cream.  Buying a kiddie cup for everyone set me back twenty-five Australian dollars, so this will not be something we do all that frequently. Our excuse was that a friend of Cameron's emailed and requested information on the ice cream flavors here, leaving us no choice but to do some field work in order to properly answer his queries (thank you Evan!).

I'm realizing now that our field work was not conducted properly after all as we only tried vanilla, strawberry and chocolate.  That can only mean one thing---at least one return visit to sample the more exotic flavors.