River cruisin'

A city always looks different from the river. Melbourne is no exception. The Yarra actually starts off as pristine clear water in Gippsland and runs 242 kilometres out to Port Philip. It's 'muddy' complexion is caused by the easily eroded clay soils of the water catchment...and it passes through nine all up. Intensive land clearing by European settlers was the start of the slippery side from clarity to soiled. So often the way.

 The Southern Star Observation Wheel or Melbourne Eye had such potential. It is 40 storeys high and was intended to attract 1.5 million visitors a year. Which you would hope for, given that it cost $100 million to construct. It took two years to build, opened and within a month of the opening, buckling and cracks in the structure meant that it had to be closed. The 2009 heatwave was blamed. Reconstruction work began at the start of 2011, with the hope that the wheel would be turning by the end of the year. Last month, the wheel broke free from its restraints and began turning in strong winds, resulting in minor injuries to one of the workers as he fled the site. There is no completion date for the wheel. Easter 2012 at the earliest. It is unlikely that I will ever take my life in my hands and take on the wheel. 

 Bolte Bridge, I know it well. This is the infamous bridge where I spent many a weekday afternoon in imposed reflection and patient meditative thought when a truck had jack-knifed and blocked an exit, thus holding up traffic or a car had broken down in a lane thus holding up traffic...It's an impressive bridge, all the same. twin cantilever bridge for the engineers amongst us.

 The Port of Melbourne is Australia's busiest port for containerised and general cargo.

Williamstown

Originally Melbourne's first sea port, Williamstown is a little bit Akaroa, for Christchurch readers...a nice place to visit on a sunny day, stroll around and buy a crystal or a $10 pair of skimpy shorts, have lunch, preferably fish and chips from somewhere with a ridiculous name like The Town Fryer or Hunky Dory. I did none of that, but had a lovely time all the same.

 Willliamstown Botanical Gardens.

 Sittin' on the dock of the bay watching the tide roll away.

Lyttel fish pops home

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STg8MB7g62M

While the visit back to the home country may have turned out differently from what I had imagined or had been led to believe, in the full and satisfying wisdom that is retrospect, it was perfect. I reconnected with friends and with my broken city and without wanting to sound annoyingly new age, I have come away again feeling grounded and calm.

As one who abandoned Christchurch and came to Melbourne to breathe, it was humbling to be back with those who stayed. Those who, in the five months since I left, have absorbed into their everyday life road closures and detours, an increase in shipping container walls around the city, a lack of places to go and things to do, further demolition of properties and decisions on the particular colour and shade of their zoning. My Christchurch people are so resilient and optimistic, but they are also tired.

I, on the other hand, felt happy to see the progress. The Christchurch water is back to its delicious pre-quake and pre-chlorinated wonder, bars and restaurants and shops and businesses are re-establishing themselves...largely in containers...I was glad to be there.

Sumner

 Deans Bush Market

Lyttelton

 Cashel Mall, CBD

 Sumner again

 Taylor's Mistake

 Addington

 Sydenham, Wayne Youle, Shadowboard Mural I seem to have temporarily misplaced my sense of humour.

Sydenham, cnr Wordsworth and Colombo. Back of the rdunit, a horse float. Newsgirl for 6 mornings felt good. Mine was the last voice to be heard from the Student Union rdu studio at the University of Canterbury on 22 February. I had been up doing some training with Spanky, the rdu Breakfast With Spanky host, in preparation for a Tuesday lunchtime current affairs show. I had just done a voice break when the earthquake hit. Spanky and I stood under the doorframe and then we all had to run down the stairs out of the building. But rdu keeps trucking on.

. 

Christchurch Aiport. Departure day under blue sky. Lovely Christchurch. Thank you ALL x

Chez Dré

Chez Dré is a patisserie and boulangerie in South Melbourne. It opened earlier this year and is the clever conception of AnDREa Reiss and her business partner, Steve Sam. Andrea worked as a pastry chef for four years in Paris and knows her stuff. The cakes and sweet treats at Chez Dré are incredible. Works of art.

I had a very unimaginative (on my part, given the vast array of other possibilities) croissant and coffee. The croissant was just like in France! Which is what I was after!

Day off

First day off in 10 days. 33°. Hot. Note to self...must get a fan. It's pretty heady stuff in my room on the third floor. Maybe because of the heat, maybe because of all the coffee coursing through my veins from one of the new guys at the cafe practising his coffee-making yesterday, I awoke with the sun and went for a walk down the beach towards St Kilda.

Not that I needed more coffee in my system, but feeling the need to have someone else serve me food, I wandered down to Jerry's where the Jamaican barista always remembers I speak French (from being in there with French Karen) but doesn't remember that I don't drink soy lattes. I must look like a soy latte kind of woman, or something. Every time.

Errands in St. Kilda, swim in the outdoor pool in Albert Park, Christmas shopping in Elwood.

Then, buoyed by my successful independent-Jo Jo-dines-solo-and-also-does-cultural-stuff-alone Friday, I decided to go to my sister-in-law's brother's play in a pop-up theatre in Abbotsford. By pop-up, I of course mean temporary, and by theatre I mean primary school classroom. And seeing as I was over there, it seemed like a good option to try Huxtable, which is in Collingwood and so, just around the corner from the aforementioned pop-up play.

I looked at the online description for Huxtable and I am going to include it here. As far as I can tell, the following is just a collection of words...I find it very hard to know from these words what exactly the idea of the restaurant is or the kind of food one might expect...

"Huxtable is a collection of practices, observations, beliefs and experience accumulated over a many years in the industry and squeezed into one business model. When deciding what to apply to this model the brief was simple ‘All the things that work and none of the things that don’t.’

We believe we’ve chosen correctly.

Huxtable is a place where anyone can come and enjoy great tasting, uncomplicated food matched with wine and beverages that express consideration and experimentation delivered in an environment that is comfortable and easy to use"

Basically, what I think they're saying is "We make nice food. You should come and eat the nice food and, hey, have some nice wine to go with it and you and your friends will sit about having lovely times and chatting and laughing...ha ha..."

The best thing is, I think they were right when they came up with their crazy philosophy. The waitstaff were excellent, the chefs just quietly and efficiently got on with their work in the open kitchen, nice selection of wine and the food was delicious. 

Ideally, one has friends at a place like this so that you can get a few plates and share. The independent dine alone Jo Jo was slightly thwarted in this but what I did have was exceptional.

I started with tempura eggplant prawn fritter with shiso. Shiso is a little like a japanese basil, except it is a little more fierce looking than the innocuous basil. The fritter was crunchy on the outside with a delicious moist and flavourful filling.

Next was the quail with a green mango and cashew salad and roasted chilli dressing. Clean, fresh flavours. Melt-in-the-mouth little bird.

Dessert was a deconstructed version of cheesecake: creme fraiche cheesecake, strawberries, citrus crumbs and mango sorbet. Divine. Taste sensation. Over too quickly.

Then on to Abbotsford and possibly the world's first dramatization of Anders Breivik's massacre in Norway. The writer, Tobias Manderson-Galvin, who deserves fame, if only for his name, based his play on Breivik's 1500 page manifesto. Actually, T M-G deserves fame anyway. Some might say, "too soon" for a play about the events of Breivik's life which led to his shooting and killing young people at a summer camp on Natoya Island, and yet, The Economist successfully raises questions and addresses issues of the media's role in atrocities as well as the racial prejudice with which people view the world. Clever cast, completely in role and in the moment. Bravo.

City life

From the French Festival, I headed into the city. I have long fantasized about eating at Movida, or even Movida Next Door. Spanish Tapas. Melbourne institution. But if there is one thing worse than dining alone, it is standing at the end of a bar, alone, waiting to be served, and feeling hyper aware of all the couples and groups of friends drinking and eating and chatting and laughing. I don't blame the staff at all, it was very busy. But I felt alone and unseen and I left.

 I found my way back to Coda where I had been on another occasion and was treated like royalty for all my solo-ness. I sat up at the bar and had champagne and a mini assortment ( 3 plates) of delicious asian-slash-european wondrousness.

It has been Melbourne Music week and I almost missed out through apprehension of  going to a gig on my own. But this was adventure Friday and I was on a roll. I headed to St. Michael's Uniting Church in the city where I was bathed in the most glorious music from three indie folk bands signed to the Mistletone record label: Wintercoats http://mistletone.net/label/the-orbweavers/

Montero http://mistletone.net/label/montero

and The Orbweavers http://mistletone.net/label/the-orbweavers/

Bliss.

  

One of Europe's most innovative temporary architectural installations is set up on the banks of the Yarra for Music Week. Kubik is a french-inspired cafe by day and an open-air music venue by night. It is constructed from interconnected glowing water tanks which change colour in response to the music. 

Paris to Provence

You can imagine my excitement when I heard about the Paris to Provence festival being held this weekend at Como House, a historic homestead in South Yarra. Paris to Provence is a celebration of France and frenchiness in Australia. 

 As soon as I walked into the grounds of Como House, I was transported to France. There were people speaking French, french food, wine, music, costumes, French products. I was in heaven.

 After a happy time wandering the stalls, sampling caneles, macaroons, wine, cheese, I emerged from my little French experience with French dvds, children's clothing, French earrings...none of which I needed but I was so caught up speaking French and wanting to ingest it all that I couldn't help myself...damn those French and their beguiling ways...

French bull dog, dressed for the part