Five days in Melbourne, and it feels like I never left! I arrived into Melbourne at 9pm on Wednesday, feeling fuzzy, dozy, hungry (the 'beef' and 'chicken' plane food looked- and tasted- decidedly suspicious) and probably stinking a little of sweat and stale-air. Lucky Patrick. God only knows what dreadful sight greeted him at 5am on Thursday morning, when he had to shake me awake for the 4 hour drive to Corowa, NSW, a little bush-town right on the border of New South Wales and Victoria. Think I was mentally halfway between England and Australia until our Maccy D's breakie stop; a Bacon and Egg McMuffin has never tasted so good. After that, I slowly woke up into the real world, and could actually appreciate the bush-scenery either side of the road- chalky-grey mist dancing over the straw-like fields, made all the more eerie by the rising pink sun behind it.
It was certainly interesting to get an insight into Patrick's engineering work, as well as everyday life in a tiny rural town; I'm happy to say it wasn't a 'local town' for 'local people'! Luckily the sun was shining, so I could just sit by the river and really get stuck into House Rules by Jodi Picoult- a novel about a crime-obsessed Asberger's boy, Jacob, who becomes the main suspect for a girl's murder. This is my first of Picoult's novels that I've read, and I'd highly recommend it; her technique of writing from different characters viewpoints works really well here, leaving out enough information between the narratives to keep you guessing whether Jacob actually committed the crime.While I'm on the subject, quick shout-out for another fantastic book I've read recently- One Day by David Nicholls. Two fantastic protagonists, genuinely funny writing...please read it!!
Anyway, I'm veering off topic- always get carried away when talking about books! We're staying in the suburb of Yarraville right now, thanks to my old boss, Matt, and his lovely housemate Alicia. I'm really liking Yarraville so far; it seems like a great place to live...only 15 minutes from the city by train, and with its own Irish pub and cinema! What more could you ask for? Sali, Alicia and Matt's rottweiler, is adorable as well...never seen a dog with such kind eyes (especially when lasagna's about!)
Right now, I'm chilling out in the only non-chilly place in Melbourne- the State Library of Victoria (for those of you who are also my Twitter friends, yes I used that joke on there as well...the furnace-like warmth in here is zapping any original words from my brain!). I knew Melbourne was going to be cold, so I don't know why it came as a shock to me...brr, brrr and brr again. Still very happy to be here though, and to be able to do all those things I either couldn't, or felt guilty about before...like eating Eggs Benny on a Sunday, before heading to Southbank for a lazy-day of cider drinking. Bliss. The re-discovery of Melbourne doesn't stop here...watch this space!
It was certainly interesting to get an insight into Patrick's engineering work, as well as everyday life in a tiny rural town; I'm happy to say it wasn't a 'local town' for 'local people'! Luckily the sun was shining, so I could just sit by the river and really get stuck into House Rules by Jodi Picoult- a novel about a crime-obsessed Asberger's boy, Jacob, who becomes the main suspect for a girl's murder. This is my first of Picoult's novels that I've read, and I'd highly recommend it; her technique of writing from different characters viewpoints works really well here, leaving out enough information between the narratives to keep you guessing whether Jacob actually committed the crime.While I'm on the subject, quick shout-out for another fantastic book I've read recently- One Day by David Nicholls. Two fantastic protagonists, genuinely funny writing...please read it!!
Anyway, I'm veering off topic- always get carried away when talking about books! We're staying in the suburb of Yarraville right now, thanks to my old boss, Matt, and his lovely housemate Alicia. I'm really liking Yarraville so far; it seems like a great place to live...only 15 minutes from the city by train, and with its own Irish pub and cinema! What more could you ask for? Sali, Alicia and Matt's rottweiler, is adorable as well...never seen a dog with such kind eyes (especially when lasagna's about!)
Right now, I'm chilling out in the only non-chilly place in Melbourne- the State Library of Victoria (for those of you who are also my Twitter friends, yes I used that joke on there as well...the furnace-like warmth in here is zapping any original words from my brain!). I knew Melbourne was going to be cold, so I don't know why it came as a shock to me...brr, brrr and brr again. Still very happy to be here though, and to be able to do all those things I either couldn't, or felt guilty about before...like eating Eggs Benny on a Sunday, before heading to Southbank for a lazy-day of cider drinking. Bliss. The re-discovery of Melbourne doesn't stop here...watch this space!
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