Aussiehalley - Halley Down Under

scamming free internet from new and exciting locations

they like to eat outside here. a lot. it's winter. so many restaurants and cafes with outdoor seating open. and they're all eating outside. okay, not everyone, but enough that you walk by like, are you crazy? no, not crazy. just australian.

It's been quite the culinary adventure. on the whole, we've been eating very well. I have personally conducted a fairly comprehensive study of the french toast of melbourne in the past week or so. (I've been on a french toast kick. don't ask.) The best was at a(n outdoor) cafe downtown the morning of my meeting with my advisor. the key was a combo of pretoasting the bread, I believe, and a homemade syrup with a bit of butterscotch. so good. but I doubt you care about that particular study of mine. so lets move on.


so, I've been enjoying the food because we've mostly been eating out. almost all the time, since we just moved into the apt. last night we had "Adventures in Safeway," the liveaction movie, starring Halley, Christine, and Eric. It was a bit of a mix between Supermarket Sweep and a reality show where our heroes only have 17 bucks and change to buy food to make dinner for three. We made it with 45 cents to spare. (No, we didn't remember to keep some cash on us for groceries.) Unfortunately, we ended up overcooking the thai noodles and made ourselves some nice gruel with roasted veggies and tofu. The peppers added a nice bit of flair. That's key: you always want to have some flair with your gruel.

The funniest part of the story is that 24-hours before, we accidentally had a 100 dollar lunch. (A bit of a mix-up with the bruschetta...) And then flash forward: peppers and gruel. There were apples a la Nutella for dessert, though, so Dead-Weight, Scurvey, and Speedy all lived happily ever after.
Next episode: Our heroes go grocery shopping tonight.

oh, I have an actual address now. (phone line soon to follow.) If you'd like it, drop me an email.

The apt is furnished with all the basics now. Christine and I were a bit sketched out getting the beds, though. We get this number for a mattress wholesaler and call over for the address, because why would it be in the ad, right? So we find the place where it should be. We are at a quiet intersection with homes on two of the corners, and two seemingly abandoned buildings on the other two corners. One has a "for lease" sign up, and the other says something about furniture. But the metal garage doors are pulled down. Hmmm. I had just spoken to the guy on the phone so he was there somewhere. We get closer and find this sketchy little staircase with a plant at the top (for ambiance, maybe). We figure, this is the only open door anywhere around here. So we go. Up. -- Nope. Just some guy in his apt. Meanwhile, we're just kinda standing there, like, uhhh, we're confused. I'm behind Christine on the stairs and can't really see in, and just hear her say, "this is the wrong place, isn't it?" the guy was all pissy and says, yeah. Now, if you live above a store without doors, you'd think maybe I shouldn't keep my door wide open, or maybe I shouldn't be shocked when people wander in, right? So, I call again. The guy is like, "Bang on the metal doors when you get here." uhhhh, okay. that's not weird. long story, shorter - we were bad ass and bargained the guy way down. paid cash. (got a receipt, of course. it wasn't that sketchy.) and got the beds a few hours later.

random street encounters:

excuse me? (yes?) would you marry me?

Tatt's Pokies. charming establishments. sounds dirty. short for Tattersall's Poker Machines. (slot machines.) not quite as dirty.

making friends on the trams because christine and I are carrying enough pillows and blankets and assorted other home goods for 15 people. Christine ended up wearing the Santa sack of pillows over her shoulder, I held 7 large wire dresser bins, and we both held a crap ton more. It's amazing how nice people will be after you bump like a pinball down the aisle to your seats. I'm not sure if it was pity or amusement.

Everyone is terribly trendy and put together, but in a really casual way. I'm glad I brought a bunch of my funky bright knit scarves. Since it's winter, we've seen a great display of layers on parade as we've sat at all our little cafes, sipping coffees, lattes, and juice blends. The best was at the Sunday arts and crafts market at St Kilda beach yesterday. (no, we didn't go in the water. I almost got soaked, but that was different.)

In fleece, but enjoying the palm trees and bright winter sun.

posted by Halley @ 2:55 AM