Sunday Ramble in the Garden State

For the US-centric among you, I am not referring to New Jersey. Apparently, Victoria is the Garden State of Australia. I discovered this today while exploring the lovely Prahran Market (pronounced pahran because the first 'r' is a bit silent).

Not everything was open because it is Sunday, but it was still exciting enough for me. I purchased local raw honey and fresh eggs, fresh bread, produce, sausage and a quinoa salad. Everyone was so nice, and whenever I told them I had a cold I always got a piece of ginger in whatever form they sold it in. Candied from the nut stand and honeyed from the honey stand. So sweet!! I took a few photos to give you a flavor of the scene today. There was a live band in the courtyard. The pictures of the predator did not come out well, but he stood imposingly in a tattoo parlor. The tree lined walks were along Fawkner Park on the way home.

I learned from the honey vendor that raw milk is called "bath milk" because you can only buy it to take baths "Cleopatra style", as she put it. That sounds quite luxurious, but not likely something I'll do since most apartments don't seem to have tubs around here.

And how am I navigating and communicating in this fine city you ask? With my multitude of gadgets of course. I now tote around an iPad, an iPhone, a Blackberry (corporate and local), and a pocket wi-fi to get them all connected. I will clearly have to ditch some of this eventually, but for now my transition makes it necessary.



I stopped by an Ugg store on Chapel street and was appalled that they are just as expensive here as in the US. Plus I discovered that they are considered house shoes around here and most fashionable people would not be caught dead wearing them out. Take that NYC fashionistas!