Australia: The first week

Hello everyone! We've been in Melbourne for nearly a week now, and have had a chance to get our bearings. Here's how the first week has been.

On our way to Pearson -- bye Toronto!

The Flight
We left Toronto at 6:40pm Saturday March 16th and flew to Melbourne in 25 hours (with a stop in Los Angeles). The Toronto to LA leg was easy with wifi on the flight, snacks (purchased at Pearson for the mere price of a kidney), and extra leg room on our seats. The flight to Melbourne was long. The in-flight entertainment had a display with Los Angeles time, Melbourne time, and time remaining. I celebrated both when the hours remaining dropped to single digits and when there was less than an hour left. The food was actually really good (beef stew for dinner; eggs, spinach, tomato, and cheese for breakfast), so way to go Qantas.

The Arrival
We arrived in Melbourne at 9:20am Monday March 18th. It was grey and cloudy, but a huge relief to get off the plane. We got through immigration very quickly (I've been asked more questions trying to return to Canada), collected our bags, and met the driver we'd hired to help us get them into the city (we're staying in the neighbourhood of South Yarra, it's very trendy). It didn't take long at all to arrive on the doorstep of our temporary accommodations with all our belongings several hours ahead of schedule.

South Yarra: Airbnb success
At this point, the rain had stopped so it was warm and sunny. Dave guarded our suitcases while we waited for our apartment to become available, and I went to get something cold and caffeinated in the commercial area nearby (Toorak Road, for those following along with a map). At least along Toorak Road, they are crazy for French patisserie. Everywhere has crepes, macarons, and croissants, so it kind of felt like being at home in Montreal, except I've never seen a coiled danish called an "escargot" before. I'd read in advance that Melbourne is very into coffee and cafe culture, but I didn't realize they had new names for everything I thought I knew. The "iced mocha" I ordered ended up having ice cream in it, which was both unexpected and delicious.

The garden with its resident ginger cat.

Settling in to our temporary apartment.

Eventually, we got our things into our apartment, changed clothes, and had lunch at "kanteen" -- a very cool restaurant on the Yarra River. I had the best lamb, green bean, and okra curry ever, and Dave had (delicious-looking) smoked salmon and poached eggs.

The Yarra River from kanteen's patio.

We booked our accommodations on airbnb, partly thanks to a recommendation from Catherine E. We're so happy that we did, we really like the place we're staying, especially because we aren't paying hotel rates.

Life
Since the first day, things have been a bit less interesting, and a lot more like work. We've had to set up cell phones (mobiles) and banking, and find ourselves an apartment (which is an ongoing thing). I've been into work, met a bunch of wonderful people, and begun a lot of health and safety training along with a little bit of science. The weather is lovely (not too hot, not too cold), and all the conveniences we're used to at home are available here.

We bought our first Aussie appliance, a coffee grinder, because most of the coffee in the grocery store is espresso ground, and we need a coarser grind for our aeropress. Of course, we will keep everyone posted on the fun things we do here, but we will need to get past the stage where we are spending our days filling out forms.

Birds-of-paradise, just an everyday garden plant.

All our love,

Liz and Dave

Coffee Glossary
coffee = espresso
long black = americano
flat white = latte no foam
iced coffe = ice cream, coffee, sometimes whipping cream on top
iced mocha = ice cream, coffee, chocolate sauce, sometimes whipping cream on top

Random Photo of the Day

Part of the show involved invading the audience's personal space.

This is from last February's Nuite Blanche, at a random experimental dance performance. It was free, and very unusual.

Dave updated my iPhoto to the latest version last night, inspiring me to go through and tag/place more of my photos. I'd forgotten about this until I came across an "unnamed event".

Business Cards, Montreal

Often, when I'm running around accommodating fabulous lifestyle, I pick up business cards from the places I visit. I'm not sure why. I tend to remember the places that I like and look up phone numbers online if I need to make reservations, so I've never actually used one of the cards as a reference. I just can't throw them out, even though they're adding to a pretty serious clutter situation - they're glossy and designed with care, and it is nice to have something physical to take back from an experience.

Chez Ennio is hands-down my favourite restaurant in Montreal. I've been there so many times over the past three years, and the whole experience is like nothing else - I don't have wonderful Italian grandparents to cook me fabulous food. Ennio gave me this card when I showed up with a party of five on a busy Thursday night, and I managed to put my foot in my mouth by trying to explain that it wasn't usually too busy during the week. 

 L'Enchanteur is a lovely pub and restaurant up near the Jean Talon market. I went for brunch, which was very good, and not too expensive, but also not worth the hike. They serve their water in old wine bottles, which is very rustic chic of them. It was an excellent place to chat with friends for an hour or two.

Los Tios is on Crescent street, and is notable for its teensy tiny patio, awesome lunch menu, and delicious sangria. It's perfect for soft shell tacos and sangria on a hot summer day. Even though the terrace is tiny, it doesn't get as busy as the huge patios around it so I've never had trouble getting a seat outside in a small party.

Machiavelli is very conveniently right across the street from the Charlevoix metro station and next to a SAQ. The patio is in the back and has a lovely backyard feel. The food isn't cheap, but it's not terribly expensive either, and the kitchen only runs a few specials each night so what they serve is good. There are some basic pasta and meat staples for the picky eater, too. BYO wine makes it a very affordable nice dinner out.

Mardi Gras...?

Mardi Gras - also known as Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday, and Pancake Tuesday - is more than just a wicked party in New Orleans. It marks the beginning of Lent, a time of fasting before Easter, and so is always in the spring. Apparently, it is also at the beginning of July in Montreal.

The Festival International du Jazz comes to a close today, and they have put together a Mardi Gras parade .... because it's Tuesday? And New Orleans - which is all about jazz - celebrates it spectacularly?

I think it might just be because Montreal loves a party. I like walking home and seeing this guy driving down my street:

Followed by the biggest marionette ever suspended from a crane:

These photos were all on my phone during the last couple of blocks of my walk home. I have 20 minutes to decide if I want to grab my SLR and try to get some better shots before the parade gets underway...

Losing Confidence in the Signs of Spring

After a weekend of sangria,

sunshine,

and patios,

the weather has decided that it is a tease. It is cold, windy, snowing, slushy, and miserable. Our plans for a Thursday soccer game have been put on hold because the pitch is currently under 5-10cm of snow. Montreal, you win this round.

I'm moving to California.

Maybe Africa.

Signs of Spring

Minus ten degrees Celsius. That's the average winter temperature in Montreal. If you've ever lived in the northern reaches of the world, you know that statistic is nonsense. Temperature means nothing without a windchill factored in. If you hate the cold as much as I do, it usually feels like minus a million.

Winter in Montreal sucks. Many of my foreign co-workers moved to Canada hearing little else about it other than "It's cold! Haha! We'll think of you when we're on the beach at Christmas, mate!". That said, this past winter has sucked a little less hard than usual. The snow was gone by mid-March. If that doesn't sound remarkable, here's a picture from March 11th 2008:

Montreal approaching spring. Really! Look at all the melting snow on the sidewalk. 

This winter, there weren't very many days where it dipped below -20, let alone -30. This winter, there was never this much snow on the ground at any one time. This winter, my dad didn't get a chance to use the snowblower that March 2008 prompted him to buy. This year, on March 11th, it was 10 degrees ABOVE zero, and people were walking around in shorts and T-shirts.

SO, because I'm a horrible Canadian for loving how early spring has come this year, and thinking that this global warming stuff isn't so bad, I (maybe) lost it a little when I saw the first daffodils blooming in the hospital garden today. I might have cooed. I might have forced Jesse to stop walking, just a second please please I need to take a picture of the flower.

Daffodil. Date stamp: April 19th. It happened. 

Unknown blue flower. The onset of spring has co-incided with the installation of "Hipstamatic", A riotously fun photo app, on my iPhone.

Green grass, green shrubs, spring spring SPRING!!

Spring is wonderful, the same way Fridays are wonderful. Sure, Friday isn't the WEEKEND, but it's great because you're so close you can taste it and since it hasn't started yet you're not sad about how soon it's going to be over.

Maybe I need to live somewhere where it's summer all year round.

The Inevitable

I guess it had to happen sooner or later, but my beloved macbook pro is beginning to show signs of age. I'd noticed for the last few months that she was beginning to go. Her battery would drain more quickly, her responses were less spry. 

Today the warning came: "You don't have enough free hard drive space to run this application". Uh oh. 

Here were are together, when she was brand new.

Dave has offered to upgrade my hard drive if I buy a new one. I'm reluctant, and the best analogy I can come up with as to why is like this: I'd trust him with my life, but not if that involved open heart surgery. Likewise, my laptop. I don't want to watch as its poor case is opened and deeply embedded parts are removed and replaced. I want it in the hands of someone who will be able to/have to replace it if they end up destroying it.

I'm going to make my first pilgrimage to the Genius Bar at our local Apple Store today. Hopefully they'll be able to make some suggestions to get my beloved laptop up in tip top shape again. 

Urban Herb Garden

I love cooking with fresh herbs.

Unfortunately, herbs at the grocery store are $1.99 for a handful of leaves that are going to be dead in a couple of days. Since Anna and I don't like paying for food we won't eat, and I don't like basil enough to eat it all week with every meal, we decided that we would try growing some herbs at home to harvest when we want to spice up our meals.

Today, I went to Jean Talon market to pick up the herbs, and then jaunted down to chinatown to buy pretty and cheap containers for them. Now we have chives, basil, and mint planted in lovely china dishes. Not only do they smell fabulous, I am betting that they will taste delicious too.

The potting process itself was pretty painless and occurred in the kitchen sink. As a child of the suburbs, I'm used to gardening on the lawn or deck. In the absence of outdoor space, the kitchen sink works very well. It just feels weird stashing the extra potting soil in the pantry. What do people do without garages and sheds?

Sometimes life *is* like Sex and the City

You know the end of the opening sequence to Sex and the City? When Carrie is walking down the street all stylish and then a BUS comes out of NOWHERE and splashes her and her tutu with water?

Picture that, but with icky Montreal slush, a bigger wave of it, and no tutu.

At least my coat is semi-waterproof.

This occurred on my way to go skating at the old Port. It was a fun afternoon, even though I took a spill and landed on my knees. I thought it was fine, it only hurt a little. Then I woke up this morning:Notice how the left knee is visibly larger and purple-er than the right knee. Ouch!

Montreal in the Winter

Here are some city pictures that I took during a brief spell of good weather.

I love my walk home.

This is the balcony for the building where I work. It's symmetrical on the other side. There are picnic tables hidden under all the snow.

The cityscape as viewed from walking down Atwater.

Still Atwater, but in this shot you can see my two favourite Tudor-style buildings.

Reasons that public transit shouldn't run early in the winter

#1: If you miss it (as you are liable to do), you're sitting out in the cold until the next one

#2: If the margin of "it could be early" is more than five minutes before it's supposed to come, you're sitting out in the cold for long enough to get cranky and frostbitten. 

#3: If you happen to be almost early enough, you can't run for it because the sidewalks are covered with ice so even a slow walk is perilous

#4: If the bus in question runs less frequently than every 15 minutes, this escalates from being annoying to being a reason to go home and get back in bed.

If the city wants to encourage more people to take public transit, make it less of a trial. I know they can do it. 

Myths of City Living

Since reading "Bright lights, big ass" I've been thinking a lot about how the glamourous city life is often so so far from reality. And not just because I can't afford a single pair of designer shoes.

This morning, for example. It was excellent until I left the house (early!). I'd done my makeup, flat-ironed my hair, was rocking a super-cute outfit, life was good. I was at the bus stop (early!) and waited around for the bus, until it arrived on time.... but packed. Even though I was one of the first people waiting, I ended up at the back of the line to get on. Everyone boarded, and then I was holding out my pass and the bus driver closed the doors. Seriously. He drove off, leaving me standing there in a snowbank. First of all, I'm not that big. I'm pretty sure I would have fit. Second of all - I was there FIVE MINUTES EARLY. The people who show up late should be the ones who have to stand out in the cold another 15 minutes.

Needing something to life my spirits, I decided to spend my 15 minutes wisely and grab a comfort latte at Starbucks. I was standing waiting for the drink at the bar when I saw the next bus pass by, almost empty, FIVE MINUTES EARLY. I got my drink, resigned to going to the subway station a block south to wait for the next one somewhere warm. Once outside, I noticed the bus that had passed was very delayed at the stop half a block north. There was a giant snow bank between the people area and the road. Little old ladies can be slow climbing snowbanks. I was pretty sure I could make it, so I hustled, sloshing latte all over my gloves as I ran. Then, the second bus within touching distance pulled away from me without letting me board. Time to kill another 15 minutes.

I spent them cold and in the bus shelter.

When I got off the bus (not too crowded, but I'd still had to stand), snow clearance was going on in earnest. My commute ended with me running up a packed snow hill away from a fast approaching snow plow.

Observation #1- I'm never making fun of tractors in rural places again.

Observation #2 - I'd like to see any of the sex and the city girls OR jen lancaster pull that off in cute heels.

Observation #3- When it takes an hour to pull off a 10-15 minute commute, you have a problem.