MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
I was greeted at the Melbourne airport by Lindsay Wakefield, a client/friend of my brother-in-law Brian. He was the first person to ever meet me at the airport with a sign- how cool! He brought me back to the apartment in Melbourne and it felt good to be in a home. His wife and three kids were staying at their country home, which we would visit in a couple days so, poor guy, he was stuck with me.
I found myself quickly break away from the Kerri who had been living in the bush the past 4 weeks and more toward the Kerri who loves the big city livin'. Lindsay took the next few days to tour my around the funky city of Melbourne. Everything was so artistic! It was amazing how much a city could be enhanced with the touch of art. Bland buildings were hard to come by- everything seemed to have something unique about it…and that was just the exterior. Between the buildings lay hidden lanes filled with enticing smells of food and coffee. You felt like you had been instantly transported into a charismatic European city. Other lanes were designated for graffiti and local artists were allowed to go wild with their spray paint, producing some great urban art. I went down AC/DC Lane where upcoming concerts were publicized- lots of hidden music running through this town as well. And then there was the fashion! I felt very underdressed while perusing the oodles of chic shops for women. I spent the day shopping and bought a hot orange/red long sleeve mini-dress made of wool. Hotcha! I can’t wait to wear it with black boots.
I think I’ll spend the rest of this post talking about the food. Oh my god. I couldn’t fill myself up. I had four Italian meals in 5 days. The tomato sauce stain would barely dry on my shirt before I asked what I could eat next. There was not one baby veal safe while I was in this town. The Wakefield family must have really wondered about me. I was fulfilling every gluttonous stereotype they had about Americans. And it didn’t just stop at the Chicken Parma pub food that Lindsey made me try. My sweet tooth could have fallen out from sugar exposure. I finally fell in love with Tim Tams and tried them in assorted flavors, as well as chocolate wafer sticks. This was the city for exploring so I also ate the popular breakfast of Muesli (granola) with milk and snacked on more assorted nuts than any other time in my life. There was also a dessert called “Sticky Date” that rocked my world. Oh and then there were the vanilla pancakes with mixed berry capote! And the chicken sangy with toppings galore! Plus the garlic chips (fries)! Oh, oh, oh, and sooooo much sushi! Oh my. Go ahead and add the calories up. I couldn’t count that high.
Lindsay was a well-informed bike tour guide and we took our time around the many sports complexes in Melbourne. He told me all about the famous Melbourne Cricket Grounds, Australian Open courts, St. Kilda Road, Luna Park, Acland Street, boardwalk area and other city traditions.
The farm house was so refreshing. I honestly have run out of adjectives to describe all the amazing things I have come across. I am almost always sporting a smile and thinking, “Wow, that’s awesome.” Their ‘hobby’ farm consisted of 70 acres, 7 grazing cows, 6 chickens, 2 miniature horses, and 2 dogs. They grew just about everything under the sun- basil, chives, eggplant, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini, figs, lemons, grapes, apples, pears, plums, pumpkin, and possibly more. I loved this life! I really want to grow my own food when I return to the States. It’s everywhere here.
Lindsay was passionate about music and introduced me to some great artists- Paul Kelly, Sarah and King Bees (his twin sons’ band!) and Bruce Springsteen to name a few. Ok the last one I knew, but I really hadn’t been exposed to the right stuff. Bruce’s Live in Dublin album was incredible! We watched it on the projector screen and I felt like I was part of the band. Lindsay was also a big fan of Australian football- Australia’s most loved sport! Forget rugby, these guys are tough! I told them that if they could arrange marriage with one of them, I would stay for good. Still waiting…
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