waking up strong in the morning

Those of you keeping up with me on facebook will note that I have re-discovered breakfast. For the life of me,  I cannot understand why America has not caught on to beans on toast. Truly a great invention. Even better, I have mastered soft-boiled eggs. Why, you ask? Because I love poached eggs, but they are such a challenge. So soft-boiled eggs offer a similar consistency with 1/5 of the work. And they go so nicely on top of beans on toast! It's a great way to start any day.

So, I got around to uploading pictures from my camera, at last. Here are some of my quaint little house on Chapel Street, taken when I first moved in last week:



 my room, although it's been re-arranged since

the humongous kitchen. you probably can't tell from this photo, but trust me, it's enormous

the lovely living room

laundry!!!

our jungle of a backyard. we've had it mowed since, so it looks more normal

And that's where I'm living. There are 3 other housemates, Jess, Jaki and Keegan. Keegan is leaving at the end of the month to go travelling to the states and then the UK. Jess is leaving in June to travel in Europe and then work in the UK for 18 months. It's apparently the thing to do in your mid-twenties! ;-)

I had a truly splendid day today. Jess is out of town for the weekend and offered me use of her bike while she was away. The weather was gorgeous, so I took the Fireball out for a spin. We headed first to Albert Park. Most of you know that in New York, taking my bike to Prospect Park every weekend was truly one of the highlights of 2009. I hoped that Albert Park might be able to step into these shoes. Sadly, no. The path was fine, lakeside, 4.7 km, but flat flat flat, so not much of a workout at all. And unlike Central Park and Prospect Park, Albert Park is not a wooded respite from the city. There are trees, yes, but the city is still very much present and looming. Also it seems as though some work is being done to prepare the streets through the park for the upcoming Formula One Melbourne Grand Prix, although that's just a guess. Anyway, here's a pic of the lake:
it looks good here, but it just really wasn't that nice

Anyway, once I finished my loop of Albert Park, unsatisfied, I decided to ride down to the beach and see where my wheels could take me. Good call!


I had heard tell of being able to ride your bike all the way around Port Phillip Bay, and I discovered part of that trail just south of the main promenade at St. Kilda Beach

the view south, the direction I was heading

looking back towards the city

At this point I had already been out for about an hour and a half, and the Fireball has the world's most uncomfortable seat, so I didn't make it much further along the beach, just to Elwood, the next town down from St Kilda. Much quieter than St Kilda, but essentially the same. I liked these two dogs who were out to play:


After that, I turned around and headed home. I was in a terrific mood after all of this, despite my sore rear end. Something about being out on a bike has always seemed to really lift my spirits (not that they were down, per se). With an awesome playlist on my iPod, or just enjoying the sounds around me, I never need company, and it's one of the few times that exercise feels good, and not like a chore.

Once my job situation solidifies I am definitely going to get my own bike - with a comfy seat!

Comments

  1. Scooter Girl13 March 2010 at 02:01

    Be sure you let any housemates coming to the states know they can stop by Sarasota if they want to! (We do still have a bed in "your" bedroom!) (Altho maybe not for long!)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Unknown13 March 2010 at 02:24

    Beans on toast! DELICIOUS. I can thank my English fiance for introducing me to that.

    Looks like you're having a great time down there!
    -Jess (Davis)

    ReplyDelete

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