Melbourne is just cool

Editorial note: our MacBook keyboard died, so blog posts may be sparser or more pic heavy until we can get a USB keyboard sorted out.

Melbourne – we have in the past described it as the odd child of Brooklyn, Seattle, and San Francisco. But I think that’s unfair – it’s so much a City city, unique, quirky, wonderful. Melbourne is Melbourne.

We stayed with my dear friend Anna, who lives in Preston with her partner Sim and daughter Aelwyn. It’s so great to see a dear, longtime friend after nine years – since we last hung out we added Fiona, and Aelwyn grew into a super-fun bookworm. We love you guys – thanks for having us.

Last time around Anna took us to Preston Market, and I needed to go back. It’s a big ol’ market hall, with fruit and vegetable stands, many butchers, delis of all kinds, and hot food vendors galore. I had a Turkish gozleme, which I’ve not seen at home in San Francisco. Delicious – like a quesadilla, sorta.

*If we lived here I would probably die of sausage overdose.*

We spent a lovely day in the city, taking the train in and the tram back; the urbanist in me is always happy to see car-free ways to get around, and the system here is exceptional. Sim is also a policy nerd, and we all wandered the alleys and gabbed on about wonkish things. Awesome.

And after two days, fantastic eats, seven Hi-Lo books (thanks to Aelwyn for introducing us to them!), and tons of catching up, we picked up a rental car and were on our way. Thanks, Melbourne. You are wonderful. Thanks, Anna. You’re a great friend.