Markets

The sushi is very different: you buy individual uncut rolls -- and while some is the same, lots is very different.  Here we have a "Super California" roll (on top), a veggie roll (with fried bean curd -- lower left); a seafood special (lower right) and a Teriyaki Beef!  They do lots of sushi with cooked meat -- or with tuna salad and things like that!  Definitely takes some getting used to, but Casey loves the seafood ones.
Ripley really enjoying the Hawaiian (pineapple and strips of fried ham) pizza from the market.

Casey showing off a mango as big as his head!

We spent the morning at the South Melbourne Market. It makes our local farmer's market look teeny. It's a permanent covered market, a few tram stops away. I drove us there today, since we all went. Drove in my first roundabout, and only tried to turn into the wrong side of the street once!

The market is huge -- tons of clothes, junk, etc. But you go there for the food. Dozens of fruit/veg places -- we've only gone to a few so far. Check out the enormous mango we bought! They also have lots of meat places, but since I don't recognize half the offerings, we've skipped that. They have dim sum (called yum cha here), asisan supermarkets, and lots of delis.

Tomorrow, I might take the tram back to get some seafood -- we didn't manage to find the seafood places this time. Since I've got a monthly tram card, I can ride the tram whenever -- very convenient! Ripley got some Hawaiian pizza for lunch, so she was in heaven. Casey spent the time taking pictures of us on Dave's cell phone (having mastered my old one, he's moved on to mastering Dave's -- he keeps asking if he can make a video call -- didn't even know that was possible!).

BONUS MATERIAL:

If you are really bored, you can track where we go at these websites:

• South Melbourne Market: http://www.southmelbournemarket.com.au/
• St. Kilda Art and Craft Market: http://www.esplanademarket.com/index.php  

(we didn't get to the art market today; went shopping for some kid clothes instead, but that is the enormous beach Sunday arty market about a 15 minute walk from us)

Catching up

Path right by our house, on the street, next to the sidewalk!

Interesting houses on our street

Our local shops (complete with "Penny Farthing Cycles")

Another interesting house just down the road.

I haven't been much of a blogger.  Until a few days ago, we were offline, except for trips to the local library.   I had written a blog entry, but can't figure out how to paste it into this, so I'll save it for later.  It seems overwhelming encompass the past two weeks when I haven't been blogging, so I've been avoiding this, but maybe I'll just write a bit to get things going.

We've finally settled into the house -- cleaners came today, so it is finally clean.  We love it, but it was pretty scuzzy.  The baseboards were all filthy, there were cobwebs, unidentifiable stains on cabinets, etc.  Now it feels much better now seeing smears everywhere -- and we can see much better out of cleaned glass!  

One of the things I like best about being here is being in a city where everything is accessible.  Australians are really into local little shops, so we can walk to two sets of shops very easily (and a 3rd on a longer walk).  There is a post office, mini-supermarket, hair dresser, news agent, and a couple of restaurants and cafes and the local library.  (We got Indian takeaway tonight from there that was very yummy.)  The shops in the other direction is a big street, with lots of restaurants (including the kids' current favorite, an Italian place that's been around for years), shops, bakeries, etc.  It is also where the kids' school is, so I see us doing some daily shopping at the little supermarket there too.  

The other day, Ripley biked and I walked to return library books, then stopped to buy a drink for Casey, who was playing basketball at the park behind our house.  Since it stays light until 9pm or later, we have lots of after-dinner playtime.  

Above are some pics from my walk one morning -- even though our house is pretty character-less, there are lots of cool old Victorians on our street.  And our little shops are pretty cute as well!  Finally, despite us being a main road, there is a wooded path back to our house from the shops!  All in all, a 10 minute walk with plenty of entertainment.