Anzac Day

Marching band clarinetist

Anzac Day Parade
Yesterday was a national holiday here, Anzac Day, in honor of the first significant WWI battle by Australian forces. More details here. Mark had the day off, and we attended a parade in the morning along St. Kilda, a major street into downtown. The parade was similar to a Fourth of July parade, but without floats or beauty queens. Much more sophistocated and serious with marching bands, bagpipers and officers and their families, some riding in military vehicles, some pushing walkers or riding in electric scooters. Much Australian flag-waving. We walked over to the Melbourne Cricket Ground to see about attending the footy (Australian rules football) match but they were sold out, and we didn't spot any scalpers (don't know if that happens here).

So we headed over to the Fitzroy neighborhood, first stopping in Fitzroy Gardens, a beautiful park with several attractions, including a Fairies tree and minitature Tudor village (see photos). It was a sunny day and we were both ready to stop walking and sit down for lunch after that. I had a veggie burger and fresh fruit. The veggie burger was a large patty without bun or sauce but was delicious. It put the frozen Gardenburger veggie burgers I'm used to eating at home to shame. We wandered around Fitzroy, which is kind of a mix between Hawthorne and Mississippi neighborhoods in Portland. Lots of funky stores, bookshops, cafes, and artsy benches. We caught the tram back home and I took a nap.

Our internet connection in the building has been down for over a day and was magically up again this afternoon (Thursday). No specific explanation from management but I'm glad it's repaired. All my coursework is online, except for a couple textbooks I'm reading. It's amazing how much I depend on the internet connection to work these days. Luckily the timing couldn't have been better since yesterday was a holiday and I had planned to spend the day out with Mark.

We are realizing how much energy it takes to constantly be exploring here- not only deciding what to see or do, but to figure out where it's out, how to get there, etc. We've spent several evenings lately at home, listening to music (M. downloaded most of our albums onto the laptop before we left!) or watching bits of TV (we have 4-5 channels) or reading. It's different than "tourist mode" because we'll be here for a while so feel we have time to see things. Sometimes I just want to stay inside and unwind and think. I didn't have much of that last quarter when I was always rushing around doing work, or studying or trying to fit in time with friends. I would love to start writing again, even if just journaling on a regular basis.

One of the things we've both noticed about Melbourne, is it's a very urban environment, and like many European cities, people really dress up. Mark sees men in suits everywhere...even if a few of those suits look shabby, we've observed, they are still worn. To my dismay, the fashion theme here is "mod/retro" and I absolutely hate it. Think Twiggy. Think sweater dresses (too long to be a shirt, too short for a dress), wide sleeves, bright geometric clashing colors, and ankle boots. I am walking around in jeans and my beloved hoodies and Columbia sportswear hiking shoes and feelin' like the makeover police are going to grab me any minute. Oh well. Hoodies are just so darn comfortable and unlike geometric print wraparound mini-dresses, they don't care if you have that second helping of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream...