Saturday, February 25, 2006

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

I knew the black skies were an ominous sign, but I didn't expect that the thunderstorms would dump enough rain to turn my street into a lake! The sidewalks on either side of the street are full of water, and I am currently very happy that my apartment sits above ground, even though I am on the first floor. I guess it's a good thing that my parking spot if/when I eventually use it is in another building on higher ground. I'm sure the water has entered the parking garage underneath me. There are at least 6 inches of standing water on the road at the moment, and rain keeps coming.

Article: "The Day Summer Went Psycho"

Sunday, February 19, 2006

Snowy Mt. Tam



On Friday it was snowing at the peak of Mount Tamalpais. I guess the kids in Marin can actually have a true "ski week" without traveling up to Lake Tahoe.

Saturday, February 18, 2006

Walk The Line

Today Michelle and I headed down to Melbourne Central to see the movie "Walk The Line," about the lives of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash. We both thought the movie was fantastic. Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix did a great job of singing like June and Johnny. There are lots of scenes of various live concerts throughout their careers, which anchor the timeline and move the plot along in the movie. I definitely recommend checking out the film if you haven't already seen it. It's worth it for the music alone.

After the movie we headed back up to Sydney Road and Michelle also treated me to dinner at Curly Joe's Restaurant. We both had some garlic bread and pizza. Then it was back to Michelle's house for tea and tv, and after that I headed home.

Thursday, February 16, 2006

Happy Birthday To Me!

Today is my Australian birthday. If I want to be really precise, I don't turn 31 until around 10:30 am tomorrow morning. I like that I can get away with spreading my birthday over two days (thank you international date line). Tonight I had dinner with Fran and Rosemaree at an Italian restaurant called Luna Rosa in Preston. The food was delicious. Fran got me this great card deck on the "Shopping Secrets of Melbourne." It covers every type of shop hidden away in various parts of the city. Tomorrow night I am having dinner with Julie, which should be fun. It was ten years ago that we celebrated my 21st birthday with cake at The Fitz Cafe on Brunswick Street. We may have to return there for an encore bite.

Saturday, February 11, 2006

Melbourne Food and Wine Festival

Today I met up with Fran at the Docklands for Wine at Waterfront. Both of us had not been to the Docklands area before, so it was also an opportunity to check it out. Docklands is a former industrial area and port that has been redeveloped in the last ten years. There are tons of high-rise apartments buildings in the area and everything is brand new. It is kind of strange to be down there because the architecture doesn't fit in with all the historical buildings throughout the city. You wouldn't think that you were in Melbourne.

We had lunch at the Vic Harbour Kitchen and Bar and then headed to the waterfront for the wine festival. There were representatives from almost 50 wineries throughout the state of Victoria. Each region has its own specialties, so we had a wide variety of wines to sample. There were a lot of people who turned out for the event. The other big draw was all the yachts from the Volvo Ocean Race. Melbourne is the stopover city for Leg 2 of the race. Tomorrow they will set out for Leg 3, which goes to Wellington, New Zealand for a quick stop, and then onto Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for Leg 4. Fran and I wandered through the racing village to get an up close look at all the yachts in the race. The masts are so tall that to get out of Victoria Harbour and under the Bolte Bridge they have to do the "Bolte limbo," where the yachts tip over as far as they can to one side. I'm sure it would be pretty amusing to watch.

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Mama, I'm Coming Home

After much deliberation I've decided that I am going to spend the first term school break in the lovely surrounds of the San Francisco Bay Area. I'll be back in town from March 10th - 25th. Yes, I will be missing the Commonwealth Games here in Melbourne, but that's ok because I get to visit my family and friends whom I miss heaps. I had too many frequent flyer miles that were begging to be used, and if I didn't fly to the States in March then I wouldn't be back in the Bay Area until Christmas (there aren't any frequent flyer seats in June, and my parents are coming to visit in September). I can't wait to catch up with everyone! Should be fun.
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