Porsche Delivery

This week we've been off for a quick trip to Melbourne. My father in law decided (to various interested parties' disgust) to sell his Porsche. Yay spontaneous road trip!!!! Most expenses paid!! Woo!!

Wallendbeen Church 

Also, take note. When I say Porsche, I do not refer to a flash, new, expensive sports car. I refer to the brown 1974 coupe' which has been mostly sitting undercover at his property the past few years. It is old, a classic some might say, and delivers as much, if not more, unique class and style than today's new cars. We've a bit of a penchant for the older, used material things if you haven't yet noticed, most things included (music, style). I guess it may have something to do with my particular interest in modern history...

Concrete bridge across the Murrumbidgee

Once we got on the road, we had the opportunity to visit places we wouldn't usually go and made the time to take the road less travelled. Take for example the above causeway/bridge near Sandy Beach, somewhere near Wagga Wagga. Here we were following roads that we thought would take us in the general direction and then when we hit the main hwy (the Hume) we relaxed and cruised and made up the km's there.

Following the Porsche along an anonymous road (anonymous only because I can't remember where or when this was taken)

Old Refreshment Rooms, Junee Railway Station 

After a late night exchange with the new happy owners of the Porsche we were all in the one car for the remainder of the trip. We found our way through the country around Kingslake, a part of Victoria that was hit particularly badly when the fires came through a few years back. The country is beautiful, rolling green hills with scattered eucalypt forest, especially green due to the recent rainfalls they've had. Once we hit the outer northern suburbs of Melbourne it was a surprisingly quick route into the city. We had to stop first at Eurobrit, a specialist motorcycle store. Some hubs for a Moto Guzzi were in order. The chat proved especially helpful as well, making connections and learning the who's who of the parts world concerning Norton's and the like.

Magpie warbling at Yea as the sun begins to show itself behind the clearing clouds

From here I was dropped in Toorak at Como House, a Heritage building encompassing a mix of Regency and Italianate architecture in the more affluent suburbs of the city. Main highlights for me included the vegetable gardens and Esmerelda the Plymoth Rock hen, the only left until a restock.

Como House

Unfortunately the house is only open for tours on weekends. The importance of upkeep of these treasures harking back to our history are crucial and a higher standard of management by those in the upper levels of the management of these building would improve the works of the volunteers who are at the ready to contribute time and effort. These beautiful time capsules are an opportunity just waiting for development and use. The lovely volunteer at the desk informed me that for some peculiar reason the house was only allowed 6 private functions a year. It is astonishing why there would be a limit put on such things occurring when they are a potential major source of income to keep these places going. One is left stumbling for reasons behind such things but for the moment the grounds are ship-shape and well worth the visit.

Como House vegetable garden

Vegetable gardens take two, featuring marigolds and rosemary

From here I enjoyed figuring out the tram system back towards the city, with some help from helpful locals. All those I was fortunate enough to converse with were either a great help or, another fellow traveller, provided good conversation through the trip on foot. I made it to the grounds of the Botanic Gardens, where the Remembrance Shrine rests. At the moment they have an exhibition of the battle of Pozieres, a particularly poignant battle due to the huge losses sustained by the Australian troops. It was chosen due to it's centenary commemorations.

Dodgy panorama of the Remembrance shrine

While I really savour modern social histories, the dates and details so frequently mentioned when speaking of such atrocities have never seemed to stick in my mind. When one pursues information or discussion about such military histories the dates are presented as so very stark and I feel this is a failure on my memory's part. Despite this, specific pictures, stories and experiences stand out. The one that struck me particularly was the aerial photograph of the Moquet farm before and after the battle, only weeks apart.

Another thing that strikes me particularly is the actuality that it was someone's farm, people actually worked here tending animals and paddocks (or fields or the French equivalent). That thousands of people lost their lives on this particular patch of ground is mind numbing. The numbers and event itself surpasses reality when comparing it to home. I can't even begin to imagine thousands of men fighting over organised borders of patches of land in Australia. Our history as a country is fraught with brutality but the sheer concentration in one location I guess is difficult for me to visualise.

The morose mood was gradually lightened by a child about 4 constantly asking his grandparents questions about anything relating to the exhibition and otherwise, wherever his young mind took him. One particular exchange stood out to me:

Child (on viewing a film on the Battle of Pozieres): "When you go to heaven do you take your body with you?"
Grandparent: "No, it's left on earth"
Child: "If you can't take your body with you, how do you play cricket and stuff?"

Children are so often the voice of reason.

La Trobe's cottage, just nearby the Shrine

From the exhibition I climbed the staircase up to the top of the Shrine, well worth it for the beautiful architecture they've chosen to immortalise the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice (Some may question what for, but that is for another time). From here the walk back to modern life through the Botanic Gardens is grounding and gorgeous. You almost forget you're in the middle of one of Australia's major cities.

A remembrance garden for the pioneer women of Victoria. I want one.

That night we visited the Berlin bar, tucked away in the second story of a random building in Chinatown. It is divided into the East and West, the west modelled off a James Bond film. The experience is well worth the visit. It's unusual for a couple in their early 20's to be in bed before 10 but we managed to fit in a lot and had to rest, before driving back to the border the next day.

That morning we fitted in a trip to the Old Melbourne Gaol, the reviews you read are true. A fabulous stop for a bit of history. We also popped into the State Library to have a look around. Enjoy the fabulous pictorials.

State Library 1

State Library 2

Old Melbourne Gaol

On the drive out of the city we stopped at Thornbury for lunch. We saw a little cafe' called 'Le cafe Flo' and decided to drop in. It was raining and pretty cool (temperature-wise). We stepped through the door and a wall of warm air met us and we had fallen into a little cafe' in a small French town, even the waitress was French. Oh, how I love French cuisine, so rich, flavourful and delicious. The perfect way to make our exit.

Beef Bourguignon with a simple mash and salad. So yum

The road home delivered us through the Riverina and Central west NSW, visiting rellies and picking lemons, mandarins and oranges. The country is gorgeous at the moment, rivers full to the top of their banks and the hills green. Such a pleasant drive, even when there were a few hours spent on the Hume.

Adventures over, today I'm spending catching up with real life again, working this afternoon. The chooks are out scratching around, the dog is at my feet in front of the fire. It's not a particularly late shift so I'll have time to relax with tonight's slow cooked dinner once I get home, a Cauliflower Balti, what a joy slow cookers are. It's about time I get to finishing up some of my assignments.

Until our next little catch up,

Caitlin.