Tram Challenge Route #1. City to South Melbourne Beach

Lindsey and I were both free on Saturday. It was a nice day. We decided to do a tram challenge and decided to take the #1 to South Melbourne Beach because - well - the beach

Tram route #1 is another long route, running from East Coburg to South Melbourne. We went from Flinders Street. I assumed that the beach was in South Melbourne, although I had always thought that South Melbourne wasn't actually a bayside suburb. It turns out that South Melbourne in fact is not a bayside suburb, the beach is in Albert Park and it is called the "South Melbourne" beach for historical reasons, which also explains why it is the South Melbourne Life Saving Club and not the Albert Park Life Saving Club.

Very confusing!

It was a bit disconcerting that Lindsey and I both got severe wedding alerts just as we got off the tram. The wind had picked up. It was now overcast and cold. It was beginning to rain. We had planned to check out the beach and have a mooch around the shops and check out the cafes and coffee shops. Instead - we went into the pub next to the final tram stop.

The bay is beyond the palm trees. We
could see it but weren't motivated to
go onto it

The pub is called the Bleakhouse, which we thought might be because of the wind blowing in off the bay. Google suggests that it is actually named after Dickens' novel of the same name. It is a large pub which wasn't very full when we went in at 12:30 but which had filled up nicely as we left. It also does a roast special on Saturdays as well as Sundays. I have been in a few pubs which do roasts every day and many pubs which do Sunday roasts (although not all do). I don't remember having been anywhere that does Weekend Roasts. Of course - we ordered it.

Roast beef, roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding (all delicious) and roast beetroot and mushroom duxelles. The beetroot was strangely sweet. The duxelles was ok. I would have preferred something green. 

I hadn't realised just how close the South Melbourne beach is to me, Port Melbourne and Middle Park. I intend to go back out on a day with better weather and have a proper look around and maybe even tie it in with a day when the South Melbourne Market is open and have a mooch around there as well.

I now have three half finished tram routes. I have decided that I must finish them before doing any others!

Smith & Deli

I had forgotten that if you went along Degraves Street off Flinders Street you would find lots of little eateries and fun shops and interesting things. It looks like a dingy alleyway but behaves like one of Melbourne's laneways. So much had I forgotten, that I might as well never have known. 

Then Freyja and Simon took us along it on TCF's first morning here and I was reminded. We went for dumplings. And very delicious they were too.

There are lots of interesting places to eat, including a branch of Smith & Deli which is a partner to Smith and Daughters, with another branch of Smith & Deli in Collingwood. They serve interesting and delicious vegan food.

Our friend Sandy is over from Perth. She eats vegan. Lindsey and I arranged to meet her for lunch in Smith & Deli. And it was very delicious

I had teriyaki tofu with sweet corn and broccoli with miso and sesame. Sandy had MacnCheez with two salads. Lindsey had "chikin" with the broccoli and sweet corn. Then we shared a raspberry and passionfruit cruffin.

A perfect lunch sized portion

My share of the cruffin

It was quite busy with lots of people coming in for takeaway orders and a steady turnover on the small number of tables upstairs. I have definitely added it to my list of places for lunching.

We all came back to my place for a bit, then Sandy went off to the station to go about the rest of her afternoon. Lindsey and I went to our Japanese class. 

I came back from the class and had a portion of a lasagne that I made a week or so ago. It was a big one and I sliced it up and put the portions in the freezer so I could have it as something quick when I come back from the classes. I have some portions of chicken and veg stew as well. Better than eating disappointing burgers, KFC or other fast food on my way home. Also cheaper!

And Home

Tabitha, Cally and Flynn are now back in the UK and if not actually back at home then surely very close to it.

They had a reasonably leisurely day on Monday. They moved out of their holiday rental and went to Freyja and Simon's place. I know they had intended to go swimming but I don't know if they actually did. They did go and look at the Northcote shops. I did not go out and join them. It was raining and cold, and I was doing the surgery rosters for the rest of the year. I did, however, join them all in Lygon Street for dinner. We were going to go to a pasta joint but Lindsey doesn't eat pasta and I wanted pizza. Lindsey doesn't much like pizza either but there are more choices at Papa Gino's than there were at the pasta joint. Alas - not much that Freyja could eat and what there was, was not delicious.

It was a bit disconcerting when they brought out the large pizza that Tabitha, Lindsey and I intended to share but did not bring out the pasta, vegetarian or vegan dishes for another 30 minutes. They said it was because they were busy but they weren't especially busy when we put the order in. I suspect they had forgotten the rest of the order. 

I was particularly unhappy that they left such a long gap between the pizza for the grown ups coming out and the two children's meals. Fortunately our "children" are not toddlers. That might have been uncomfortable for everyone. And I will go to the pasta place with Freyja and Simon on another occasion. I do like pasta and they have things that all three of us can eat.

Then Simon and Freyja took Tabitha, Cally and Flynn out to the airport and Lindsey and I went to our respective homes on the trams.

Lindsey and I went out on the trams yesterday too. It was a public holiday and we went out to Victoria Gardens so we could go to the greengrocer. My flat was almost bereft of vegetables after I skipped the market on Sunday in favour of getting ready for the lunch party. I also wanted to go to Bunnings on the way back for some potting mix for my new tomato plants. Now I just need to fill my plant pots and actually plant the tomato seedlings. I also want to buy a new parsley plant and some oregano but didn't do that yesterday. There is plenty of time.

Weekend

It was Tabitha, Cally and Flynn's last weekend in Australia before returning to the UK at just after midnight tonight. And they made the most of it.

They met Tabitha's friend and her children for lunch on Saturday. They had planned to go to Luna Park for the afternoon but the forecast was for thunder, wind and heavy rain. They didn't go! They went to Melbourne Central instead and then hopped on the City Circle tram which runs past my place. So they came in.

I had run the carpet sweeper over the rugs. I had swept the floors. I had. I promise I had. Flynn was sitting on the floor, playing with Whiskey (Brandy was under the bed - he doesn't approve of children!). He ended up looking like a yeti!

I may need to buy a vacuum cleaner to supplement the carpet sweeper- although the vacuum cleaners I had in Eilish Court never really dealt with the cat fur. I suppose I could get rid of the rugs, but before I got them cat fur just blew around the flat and made me sneeze and irritated my eyes. I may just have to ban people coming here who are wearing black clothes and especially from rolling around on the floor with the cat.

Yesterday we had a luncheon gathering at the Queen Victoria Women's Centre. The weather was lovely so we used the upstairs room with the balcony outside. We had intended to use that room last year at Freyja and my 110 year old birthday party but the weather was awful and we moved downstairs to a larger room. Matt, Belinda and Will came from Warragul. Suzie, Chris and Little Lili came from Ballan. Old friends Robert, Susan and Rod came. Wendy was there, as was Ross -  and of course Freyja, Simon, Lindsey, Taffa, Cally, Flynn and me. We had a good time with lots of food, chatter and fun. But next time I need to bring less chicken (not no chicken, just less) and many, many more party pies and sausage rolls. Oh - and more ham and cheese on the charcuterie board, less salami and chorizo and no twiggy sticks. Nobody ate any of the twiggy sticks. And no salad. Nobody ever eats the salad! 

Then Tabitha, Cally and Flynn went to Luna Park and everyone else went home.

Sydney

When Lindsey first suggested that we make a day trip to Sydney, I thought it was a waste of a day when The Travellers would only be here for two weeks. What would we do? Look at the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House? Go to Manly? Why?

We went anyway. Tabitha, Cally and Flynn were quite keen. We caught the 7:25 morning flight and arrived in time for breakfast in the Sydney airport. We might not have chosen to have breakfast at the airport but Cally and Flynn were hungry and we wanted them to be happy and energetic.

Then we took the train to Circular Quay and collected the opera house and the bridge

And then the ferry to Manly

It was an absolutely glorious day. Perfect weather for a visit to Manly. Cally and Flynn had brought their bathers. Lindsey had had the foresight to bring a towel. Manly has a surf beach.

The surf wasn't high - just enough to be fun. Cally and Flynn had a great time playing in the sea. 

We had burgers for lunch. Tabitha explored the surf clothes shops. We had a wander around.

Then Lindsey added an element of excitement to the day by announcing that she had lost her key pouch, which should have been attached to her little bag and wasn't. She has a tag on the pouch and could see that they had last been seen at the beach. Off she went to see if she could find them. I somewhat belatedly remembered that someone had handed to the lifeguard a little blue pouch she had found on the sand. I hadn't paid much attention at the time but it seemed worth checking in the surf club to see if it was hers. I rang Lindsey and she went to check. Good news! It was hers. It wouldn't have been an unmitigated disaster if they had not been found. Her car key was still with her and I have a spare key to her flat at my place so she could have got home. It would have been hugely inconvenient and extremely irritating but not a major catastrophe. Fortunately, by a series of happy chances, the keys are back with her.

A visit to an Australian sandy beach was on the list of things the children wanted to do. Tick! (Most Australian beaches are sandy; some are more sandy than others.)

It was a good day. We could have gone to a surf beach near Melbourne but the weather was indisputably better in Sydney yesterday and it was more exciting to go to Sydney than the Mornington back beaches. Also, I don't think the Mornington surf beaches would have had lifeguards yesterday.

Happy seagulls, playing in the water

Melbourne Zoo

One of the things that was high on the list of things that Tabitha, Cally and Flynn wanted to do while they are in Melbourne was a visit to the zoo. Cally also wanted to go to Rottnest Island to see the quokkas, which wasn't really a practical option if you are in Melbourne for two weeks. Flynn wanted to see the rhinos. The rhinos are in Werribee. The Melbourne quokkas are in Parkville. A dilemma.

Tabitha resolved it by pointing out that they can see rhinos in the UK but they can't see quokkas.

We went to Parkville. Freyja and Simon joined us.

The weather played nicely; it didn't rain, it was neither too hot nor too cold, it was not too windy.

A good day for wandering around the zoo.

Then we took the tram to Brunswick and had lunch in The Cornish Arms.

Next time they come we will go to Werribee so Flynn can see the rhinos and we can all visit the elephants. If they come for a bit longer we could also perhaps go to Perth. They could fly in via Perth and we could meet them there. I have never been to Rottnest. I could be persuaded.

Melbourne Aquarium

I had never been to the Sea Life Aquarium in Melbourne. I go past it very regularly but had never had any reason to go in. It's not that I don't like aquariums I just hadn't got around to going or, indeed, had anyone to go with.

Yesterday, I had willing companions and some spare time. So Tabitha, Cally, Flynn and I met mid-morning and ventured in.

My first surprise was the number of people who were there. I had been expecting it to be reasonably quiet, mid-morning on a Tuesday. My second surprise was the number of school parties that were there. I was not expecting schools. Or children. It was also expensive. It would have been a bit cheaper to have bought the tickets online but I didn't know that and I didn't have enough signal to do it in the foyer, which is what the woman on the desk suggested.

A selection of what we saw:

Flynn's jellyfish
Cally made one too but I didn't get
a proper photo of it

Flynn having a VR meet up with sharks

I enjoyed the visit. It wasn't the best aquarium I have ever been to (awarded to The Deep, in Hull, and the freshwater aquarium in Gifu). On the other hand, it absolutely was not the worst either (hands up the aquarium in Ise, Japan which was dismal). It just wasn't very exciting. It might have been more exciting, I suppose, if we had done the glass bottomed boat ride and Flynn very much enjoyed the VR meet up with sharks. Still, it was clean and bright and spacious. I might have enjoyed it more had it been less busy. I am increasingly unhappy in crowded spaces and I do not enjoy the company of lots of noisy children.

Then we went to meet Freyja for lunch at the Queen Victoria Shopping Complex

It wasn't raining so I got my photo
under the clocks

Freyja went back to work and the rest of us had frozen yoghurt in Yo-Chi for dessert. Then Tabitha, Cally and Flynn met Ross at the state library and I came home. 

A tale of two cities - and two weather systems

So everyone did enjoy the wildlife park. Friday was Sovereign Hill day. Unfortunately, one by one everyone except Cally was struck down with some form of gastro. Tabitha, not much; Freyja a bit more. Simon and Flynn were struck hard. 

Even so, they managed to achieve quite a lot of their plans. They caught up with Pat for coffee. They visited Buninyong, where Ross and Anne live. They saw the kangaroos in the paddocks at Mount Helen. Cally and Freyja had a good time at Sovereign Hill and then went to the movies.

Simon and Freyja drove back on Saturday afternoon. Tabitha, Cally and Flynn went to the lake with Ross and then came back on the train later in the day.

In the meantime I stayed in Melbourne. I went to my Japanese class on. Thursday evening. I went out to Northcote to play with Ghost on Friday. I went to the plant nursery to buy some tomato seedlings. I did useful things at home. I pottered around.

And the weather was warm and sunny and summery in both cities.

It was none of these things on Sunday, when Melbourne reminded us emphatically that spring weather is fickle. The temperature plummeted and the rain swept in with enthusiasm.

Tabitha, Cally and Flynn met an old friend of Tabitha's and her children at ACMI. Then I met them under the clocks at Flinders Street station - inside rather than the more traditional outside on the steps. It was raining!

We dropped into Daiso and then Kmart. Then we went back to the flat in East Melbourne, where they had stayed on Saturday night. Lindsey came back from Cairns. And we moved them to their new digs in Collingwood, a 10 minute walk from the flat. Although, we took them and their stuff round in Lindsey's car. It was raining! Also - they had quite a lot of bags to carry. 

The apartment that Freyja had found for them is absolutely gorgeous. It is spacious and light and quirky. I would almost be tempted to sell my place and buy it - if I could afford it (I almost certainly couldn't) and if I thought my knees and hips would cope with all of the stairs (unlikely!). Also, it isn't for sale.

Then we all hopped on a tram and came back into the city for dinner in The Quarterhouse

The weather wasn't quite as dreadful yesterday. Still rainy but showers rather than continuous, flooding rain. Freyja gathered them up and took them off to play in Northcote. Lindsey went to work. I went to the Library at the Dock to collect a book that was waiting for me. And we had a Family Gathering at The Fox in the evening. We haven't had a Fox Night for some time and most of the people who came aren't available for lunch on Sunday. Flynn finally got to meet some children, even if two of them are considerably younger than he is.

And the rain returned just as it was time to head home!

It is not raining this morning. The sun is shining in a clear blue sky. Here's hoping that continues!