Today we are going to St Kilda, a seaside town south of Melbourne. I get up and Lime Bike to Woolworth's for coffee, fruit and pastry. On the return I discover that the crosswalks are paved in cobblestones and the coffees are jumping! Like a dope I put the mango under the coffee carrier to cushion it (see where my priorities lie??). Not only did it trampoline the coffee, but the ripe mango got tenderized at the same time. Back at the Airbnb we eat and enjoy. 😀
While taking the tram to St Kilda we pass the arts district and the trees are wrapped! Woo hoo! Reminds us of Christo and his NYC Central Park exhibit and the Pont Neuf emballé, which we saw on our honeymoon.
First stop is the Shrine of Remembrance, WWI memorial. War is very depressing. When Australia sent 80,000+ men to WWI the state of Victoria was about 1.2M people and Melbourne Australia's capitol. I think the tour guide said 19,000 died.
The Shrine of Remembrance from one of the entrance courts. Walls are angled like WWI trenches. Red color symbolizes Aussie soil (and blood). Red dots on white are poppies.
The exhibits also include WWII info. Neville Chamberlain appeasing Hitler, then Churchill saying: you were faced with a choice between dishonour and war, you choose dishonour and you will have war.
One last stop, the "taste of combat" exhibit about military cooking. Would not be complete without a spreadsheet!
BEST BEFORE: 23.11.2025
THE EVOLUTION OF MILITARY FOOD
As the famous expression goes, 'An army marches on its stomach', yet the contributions of those who cook food, research and develop rations or serve hundreds of hungry men and women, often goes un-recognised.
Step into the world of military catering and discover how, and what, troops have eaten from the Boer War to Afghanistan. Hear stories and anecdotes from cooks on submarines to soldiers eating field rations. Learn about the skill and ingenuity of Defence chefs and their ability to adapt to circumstances, whether cooking in combat zones or delivering fine dining for diplomats.
This exhibition uncovers all things food and catering in Australia's military from the 'hard-tack' biscuit to the dairy, gluten, and nut free ration pack.
Go on...tuck in!
Now onward to St Kilda Beach. The tram line gets us there in no time. And the "myki" card for transit is easy to buy and use (after the helpful information person explains to me what I must do). Haha, I feel somewhat non tech savvy trying to figure out where to buy and how much to put on the card.
At the beach we see a vegetarian restaurant within minutes. I say to Kathy "let's eat at the first place that looks at all good." Then I'm wondering, perhaps it is all vegan, what will we do? Never fear. Sister of Soul does not disappoint. I get a Jungle Noodles ("not for the faint of heart") and Kathy gets Smashed Avocado with extra egg on top. Yowza! These people can cook! Delicious -- in fact my noodle dish is easily better than the Thai rolled noodle dish I had last night at a Thai restaurant. Beat that! After eating lunch we notice they have pavlova on the menu. Remember, pavlova was invented in Australia, so it's a national treasure we must experience. It does not disappoint.
St Kilda has a grungy Santa Cruz feel to it. Perhaps it's the amusement park? Who knows.
We rent bikes and ride south along the beach path. The wind is blowing about 20 knots from the SW so we feel it for an hour as we make our way. Where the trail is sheltered from the water there's not much wind, but no view. When there's a view there's wind.
Kathy mentions that Robbin and Dan are bailing out on the Great Barrier Reef as well, even though they are already in Cairns. 4.85" of rain yesterday and apparently there is a hurricane coming. 5" of rain is not already a hurricane?? I don't want to see the real thing.
After hanging out to admire the ocean view we turn around for the return ride. Ahhh Sun, sand, rippling water, blue sky and a TAIL WIND. This is biking at is best. Naturally the return ride goes quickly.
We train and tram back to the apartment. We are getting much better at navigating the very dense mass transit system here. So many choices! Hmm what would it be like to live here?
Now time to cool out before heading out for Indian food again.
Tomorrow we have Peking Duck restaurant reservation for dinner. We will improvise until dinner. Queen Victoria Market for breakfast, Melbourne Museum after that, then home to pack and relax until dinner time.
It stays light until really late. Here's a photo after sunset from our apartment.
Still sad about the GBR! But sounds like it was the right call to not go. Sunny skies in St. Kilda look much better. Hope you all are taking down avo toast ideas! Btw - what # country and city are we on? :)
ReplyDeleteWell if you don’t count the US (Southern Cal and Hawaii) then this is country #1, and city #2 (Sydney, Melbourne, with Adelaide still to come).
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