La Vie en Rose

14th July, Bastille Day, a huge celebration for La France.

However, L'esprit de la Revolution came to Melbourne too.

20 years ago, Port Philip had a very large French community.

Port Philip is also home to the fabulous South Melbourne Market, my new discovery.

The French owner of the seafood eatery, Renan Goksin, has decided to bring the festivities back. Renan, is quite a character and definitely a local celebrity.

As we are complete seafood whores these days, we headed on down there for a pescetarian feast and a bit of Edith Piaf on the accordion.

A fabulous way to spend a Saturday afternoon. We think it's wonderful that you can shop for your fruit and veggies and in the same space go and enjoy food of such high quallity as this!

Sharing little plates of delectables, tapas style is one of our most favourite ways to eat. We call them our "linky lonky lunches", a bit of this and a bit of that, a "nice tasty nibble", says the Hubster and always with a wink!

Claypots Evening Star you are not just an evening star but a bloody good lunch time one too.

Enjoying the vibe at The Evening Star

Mussels with Ginger and Tamarind

Tiger Prawn in a rich garlic butter

Swimmer Crab in a Thai Broth

Clams (vognole) in a Sherry Beurre Blanc

Renan!

Time for a bit of Alfie Boe and Les Mis now I reckon.

A kick up the bum!

"Life is like a coin, you can choose to spend it any way you like, but you only get to spend it once"

It's just what I needed. Even if the terse delivery of "that's pathetic" made me blush and hide behind my hair.

Liz, one of Hubster's colleagues from the UK came over. The three of us went out for dinner. Five minutes in and the tour de force of "Liz" was evident.

A young girl growing up in the 60's and a pretty hedonistic time of it in the 70's, 80's and beyond. I don't know for sure but I gathered it to be the case.

Liz tells it how it is, 60, a single, independent, extremely well read and travelled woman of the world. She clearly does not suffer fools and on the surface is the kind of lady that scares the hell out of me. However, I believe and in fact my own life experience tells me, that beneath there will be an extremely caring person and given more time I would love her to pieces and she would realise I am not the blonde bimbo she initially encountered. (same old story for me!)

She directed her steely gaze at me.

"So what exactly have you seen and done in Melbourne, what are you doing to fill your days?"

Well you lot know that it mainly consists of dog beach, food shopping, the odd coffee and being a house sheila - so far.

You know that feeling when you shrink and become smaller and smaller and in my case a little squeakier of voice.

Boom. Liz delivered her verdict.

So from now on I do something new every week. Even if it was a trip to the pictures, seeking out a new market. I have a willing recruit to my cause and ally in my lovely friend Anthea so we are stepping out together.

Liz, we thank you.

Nspresso Pod Art! (ya wished you'd thought of it yeah?)

Liz you wanted me to do Art Gallery's. This is "Coffee Shop Art". Just choose your pod and good to go!

Girls need to talk. I will progress..........

The Radders turns 2!

Happy 2nd Birthday little man.

You are the first dog we have ever had from a puppy.

When you came to us, we didn't realise how very poorly you were and we nearly lost you. After just 2 weeks with us, you had truly stolen our hearts and the prospect of losing you was unbearable. You wanted to be with us just as much as we needed and wanted you to be, we all fought together and against the odds you pulled through. An unbreakable bond was made.

We have seen you grow into your long legs, your big wonky ears and your clumsy puppy paws.

We have known what it's like to need a drawer full of spare shoe laces.

We soon learnt that books, phones and remote controls if carelessly left lying around, made excellent puppy toys although the Christian Louboutins were unforgivable!

We shared your wide eyed joy at your first snow and the sand under your feet on your debut trip to the seaside.

We also bore your anxiety and more when you had to go into quarantine and delight once again when we could bring you home.

Little do you know but our world revolves around yours pretty much and hope it does for many, many years to come. You make us smile every day, we just simply couldn't love you more, you being you makes a very happy US.

Together we are family, together we are the T-J's.

P.S  Happy Birthday today too to my lovely Mum-in-Law, a little older than Radders but just as young at heart.

Fish n Chips!

Fish and Chips taste even better when you eat them at the seaside, don't you think?

A glorious Winter's day, a slight nip in the air, bright sunshine and clear, deep blue skies and a 20 km bike ride for the best fish n chips, Bayside.

We cycled up to Half Moon Bay at Black Rock to take a look at the ship wreck of HMS Cerberus.

She was deliberately sunk in 1923 after 53 years in service. She acts as a breakwater in Half Moon Bay. It was a popular scuba diving site for many years until a severe storm in 1993 broke up the ship and it was declared too dangerous.

The Cerberus Beach House Restaurant commands wonderful bay views from it's first floor vantage. Below is a fabulous fish and chip shop. All cooked fresh to order, you do have to wait a while but it is definitely worth it. We will certainly be back to try the restaurant minus our unflattering cycling helmets!

We would highly recommend, the Barramundi in the lightest of batter. So moist and fresh.

We heartily tucked in as the Winter sun massaged our backs with warm, soothing rays and drank in the views. Just stunning.

Food Glorious Food!

Pistachio Macaroons!

Prolific Pulses!

Most products that I’ve purchased, particularly food, are locally produced or made.  Buying Australian whether it be food or goods is a big thing here, even if you pay a bit extra. The Aussies have totally bought into the "Buy Aussie" philosophy.

I love shopping "properly" for food! (Does a Tom Cruise stylee jump on the sofa!)

Yes there are huge shopping centres and big supermarkets too but if you lament the loss of a great butchers and a friendly fishmonger on the British High St, then Melbourne doesn't disappoint.

Melbourne has some fantastic markets; South Melbourne, Prahran and The Queen Victorian to name a few. Browsing stall after stall oozing with fresh fruits, vegetables, cheeses, dried goods, spices etc is a passion of mine. They also have lots of cafes and all sorts of entertainment too like cookery schools and food festivals.

I never understood my Dad's fixation with DIY/Hardware stores. He would browse through rows and rows of nuts, bolts and screws much to my disdain. "A screw is not just a screw, there are round heads, flat heads, all different sizes, lengths and they all do different jobs" he would explain. Dad I get it now, I could apply your logic to a Chili just the same!

I love walking to my local High St and going to a real butcher or fishmonger for fresh meats and fish. Often they ask me what I am cooking and I enjoy sharing recipes and cooking methods with them and there is always  a bit of banter, of course!

The fruit and vegetables here are not only abundant in variety and at peak freshness but taste absolutely delicious. I had forgotten that a tomato and an apple don't taste of water after all.

I love the diversity of food too. I can buy orange, red and white sweet potatoes, passionfruits, pomegranates, persimmons, paw paw, mangoes and avocados straight from paradise. The lemon grass, galanghal, ginger and garlic not to mention the chillies are so fresh and pungent, less is definitely more!

The diversity of food in Melbourne is also wonderful. Whatever your taste, there is a restaurant for you - not far away.  There's Italian, Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, Indian, Japanese, French, African, Portuguese even Croatian (comes up for air) and of course delectable Seafood too.

We are just a bit spoilt and the added lbs are testament to that!

I know I'm not Aussie cos.......

Beetroot on a burger

Woolloomooloo

Sandringham Yacht Club

It's serious!

* I don't think “rooting” for something has a sexual connotation, it means I'm looking for my car keys at the bottom of my bag.

* I pronounce Melbourne as ‘Mel-bun not Mel-bin’.

* I say "Sandring-um" not "Sandring-ham"

* I still use the ‘L’ in the word ‘Australia’

* I  say "beautiful" not "beudiful". Hubster however, now says it the Aussie way.

* I find it strange to see huge fibreglass bananas, prawns and sheep on the highways.

* I cant pronounce‘Woolloomooloo’ and think it's a funny name for a place but I love it.

* I am secretly petrified of the killer wildlife, a true Aussie is secretly proud.

* I find it odd that the $1 coin is twice as big as the $2 coin.

* I can't tell the difference between Aussie and Kiwi accents! ooops sorry

* I think beetroot on your Hamburger is weird but it's actually very good.

* I think ‘excuse me’ is polite, but to an Aussie it sounds rude, whilst ‘scuse me’ is always polite.

* I don't find the Winters "flamin freezin mate!"

* I haven't got the hang of abbreviating every word, all of which usually end in -o: arvo, combo, garbo, metho, milko, muso, rego, servo, smoko, speedo, righto, goodo etc.

* I don't understand Aussie Rules Football

However

* I do know that the barbecue is a political arena; the person holding the tongs is always the boss and usually a man. And the women make the Salad. (It's the same back home, we just don't get the weather)

* I do say ‘no worries’ quite often, whether I realise it or not but not as much as the Hubster.

Finally, I just love all the idiosyncrasies, similarities and downright alien of this place.......most of the time!

Tu me manques (I miss you)

There is nothing more beautiful than English Summer flora.

Delicate.

Complex.

Exuberant.

The wonderful work of Miss Pickering reminded me that I had made this flower study from the flowers growing in my own garden in England last Summer.

I miss their sweet scent and how they always made me smile.

Now I know why I took these pictures, for "missing" days just like these.

Other things I miss from home are:

Bacon (here it's highly processed and partially cooked)
Brilliant online shopping
Indian food (yet to find an authentic restaurant)
Sunday Roast with Yorkshire Puddings in an Olde Worlde Pub
Sunday Newspapers
Undulating, rolling hills of green
The Dawn Chorus

and of course YOU!

Aussie Rules Footy- what the heck?

Before I am shot down in flames, Aussie readers please put tongue firmly in cheek, please understand this is from a "Sheila's" point of view (I know I should be cleaning the BBQ).

For readers everywhere else, to post about AFL footy is a brave (stupid?) move especially from my somewhat ignorant stand point.

It's just an opinion.

I quote.....

Melburnians are nuts to the point of fevered obsession about this game. If you say you dont have a team, expect a look akin to "What?  Have you just landed from Mars?"

Somewhat close to rugby. It is an overall, sport of doom. It gives men a wide-open space in which to kill each other in a legal fashion.  It is the most confusing sport you will ever watch!!

Ironically, despite being called Aussie Rules, the game seems to be devoid of any clear rules at all. Ask 10 different people to explain them, you will get 10 different answers.

Players run around an oval cricket field in any possible direction, kicking and passing the ball where-ever they feel the need.

A game where ball control and handling counts for nothing, as long as you kick the "flamin" ball.

A game that is simple and one-dimensional and doesn't require much thought process to follow or participate in... 'catch, kick... catch, kick....'

It results in ridiculous scores like 12-152. If I was watching such a game, when the score reached 12-50, I'd already be in the car park going home.

It can result in awful injuries and comedic bust ups.

But on the plus side, the players do seem to have a good time as they are often laughing during play and although the game seems to attract "pretty" boys, some of them aren't too sore on the eye.

What's my team? I live Bayside, gotta be the Saints of course!

"oh when the Saints go marching in....oh when the Saints go marching in....oh how I want to be with St Kilda........"

hmmm! I suppose it's catching

Slippers!

We took the train into the big city.

We bought new slippers,we are of a certain d'age, we need slippers.

We still love Melbourne in Winter, beautiful.

We stocked up on yummy goodies from home.

We will consume them whilst wearing our slippers and silly grins, no doubt.

We walked and yackity-yacked along the Yarra.

We relished a seafood lunch at "Ludlows" on the "oh so fabulous" Southbank.

We went home and wore our slippers.

We like "We" days.