Early Morning In the City

Sunrise over Bridge Street. 

For those of you who still love sending snail mail, I still love receiving it!

My address:                   11 Bridge Street
                                      Northcote, VIC
                                      Australia 3070

Nana Trolleys

The PRESTON MARKET is an easy train ride away from Northcote and Collingwood, so Nadia and I decided we'd check it out on Saturday morning. We learned the following:

1. Get there early with all the Ya-yas and the Nonnas and you'll miss the crowds.
2. Buy your eggs last or they'll end up sitting dangerously at the bottom of your enviro bag or trolley.
3. Resist buying random exotic produce  just because it's there ---- make a list and stick to it or you'll end up with bunches of Radishes and Star fruit because "they were such a good deal".
4. Make sure you have a coffee and an Italian biscuit when you pause for a break. 
5. Nana trolleys are the BEST!

We came with Enviro Bags and left with trolleys! Nadia bought black, and I bought the red one.  

Our Limes

Probably one of the best things about our house is the lime tree in the courtyard.

Limes as big as Navel Oranges!

All I need now is some Frangelico!

Late Afternoon Commutes on Melbourne Trams

How lovely is it when half the tram gets off at one stop?! Everyone left on board exhales and moves into their own space. The tram travels one stop further down the street, across from a park where the grass has just been mowed. Everyone on board inhales deeply.  Pranic breathing on public transport.

Last Week's Phrase of the Week

Bloody Hell....

Note to Self #24

Remember to blog major holidays!

I forgot to document Easter in a timely fashion this year! oops. So here's an Easter bunny who was devoured from the ears down a few days ago....

John & Kathie Visit

I am so lucky to have such a lovely family! And how good is it to have them visit me in Australia?!

On their way to a medical conference in Sydney, my Uncle John and Aunt Kathie have stopped in the Melbourne area to spend a few days with me. We met up in Lorne, drove to the Yarra Valley and spent an overnight there. Part of yesterday was about enjoying some wine tasting in the Yarra, and today they got special insight into Paola's Melbourne. :)

John at a Cellar Door.

We stayed at  The Strathvea in Healesville. Here's a corner of the wraparound deck of this beautiful 1920's guest house.

The grounds at The Strathvea.

Still Life

Lorne Still Life

It's the Easter holidays and School Term break, so I've been down in Lorne for a mini break of sorts. 

Even though life is still busy down here, it feels calmer and cooler than the city. The water is warm (19 degrees)  and it feels gorgeous to paddle in and catch some fun waves. The air is soft and salty and I've been running along the beach in the mornings and inhaling big deep lungfuls of it. 

The leaves are turning colour on the poplars down here, and while it is warm and in the 20's during the day, it does get cool at night. Last night, we turned the clocks back 1 hour and now it really feels like autumn will begin to settle in. 

Life is still this weekend.... and it's still life. I feel like it's kind of all on "Pause". We'll see how it all plays out in the coming weeks.