Australia Article Archives - Trails and Days

Daily Walks Through Victorian Neighborhoods

Australia, Australia Article, Melbourne / January 31, 2019 February 10, 2019

I have always been a big fan of architecture. Well, my twin sister is an architect so there may be a correlation here. Individual houses are always my favorites. Not only do they always vary in shape, size, colors, vegetation around them, but they also make your mind wonder of the people living in them. They tell a story.

Australia has some very specific architecture that you rarely see anywhere else in the world. A curious mix of Victorian style houses and ultra modern homes. Surprisingly, these two worlds work together in harmony and with the vegetation around them.

I do have a preference for the charming Victorian houses as they really seem to be from another world. A weird mix of colonial architecture and colors that you could expect in Africa two centuries ago, with ironworks you could see in New Orleans… Quite intriguing!

Anthony and I have been going almost every day on walks through nice neighborhoods. Mainly because we do not have a car and it is on our way to the library where we work! Or because Anthony managed to get me out of bed at 6.30am for a morning walk!

Well, I have to say it is really rewarding to wake up that early and get out of the house. You get greeted by hundreds of birds (who seem to be having a morning rave) and the beautiful colors of the sky.

The best is when we make it all the way to the beach. Everything is calm and still, the first lights of sunrise are playing with the waves and the “Spirit of Tasmania”, a passenger boat linking Melbourne to Hobart, Tasmania, slowly approaches the shores.

Houses and Trees

Australia, Australia Article, Melbourne / December 20, 2018 February 8, 2019

House near Toorak Melbourne — when a tree is the reason you bought the house

When we moved to South Yarra, we welcomed the change and new surroundings to explore. Here are some shots on an evening stroll around the area.

Houses Melbourne — A neat row of our favorite houses across from Como Park

Flowers near Toorak Melbourne — brilliant flowers

Trees near Toorak Melbourne — more eucalyptus

Fruit Tree Melbourne — neighborhood fruit tree

Door Melbourne — always something charming about doors

The most beautiful man you’ll ever meet [2/2]

Australia, Australia Article, Melbourne / October 15, 2018 February 10, 2019

Remember “the most beautiful man you’ll ever meet”?

Well a week after we saw him the first time, we happened to be walking down the same road we saw him on before. This time I had my camera with me and I thought “wouldn’t it be cool if he was there and I asked to take his portrait?”

From a distance I could see that there were three or so men sitting where he was the last time. I thought one of them had to be him. I was a bit nervous walking up to the group because I wasn’t sure really how the conversation would go. “Hey how are you remember you told me that you were the most beautiful man I’d ever meet?” He probably said that to everyone who walked by that day. Oh well a chats a chat and this guy was obviously a veteran of sidewalk smack and I’m not so shy either so here we go.

So as I approached and recognized him sitting in the middle of his two mates, I asked how they were doing. He treated me like a casual old friend had walked up, answered “good good” all while reaching out his left hand for me to grab with my right. We shook hands for a few moments. And then all of the sudden I didn’t have much to say. He asked me my name and forgot to ask him his. One of the other gentlemen was on his feet shuffling slowly to kick a rock off the sidewalk that otherwise may be stepped on by a passerby while the other, a small round man with checkered slacks a vest and flat cap stared off into space. We exchanged some small talk and I mentioned that he told me the other day that he was the most beautiful man I’d ever meet. Now in the same way he had told me that he just responded “Hey I help people man. I help people.”

Now it’s easy to pass off interactions with the atypical as the typical crazy guys talking nonsense. But every interaction we have with anyone is as much or as little as we make it to be, right? I looked at his blue-gray eyes and with nothing else to say asked “can I take your picture?” He said yes. So my novice hands pulled out my big camera, he made a grin, and I took a few shots. I showed him how they turned out. He didn’t much care. I thought I did him justice in that moment. I then said my goodbye and he grinned. He told me I was a good bloke. When I started to walk away he called out again looking me in the eyes and said “I help people.”

However “just-a-mad-bloke-on-the-side-of-the-street” this encounter sounds, (yes I use “mad” and “bloke” from time to time now) the funny thing is that he did help me and anyone else who reads this and takes something away from it. There are these odd yet impactful moments that arise spontaneously but require you to be open to your environment to catch ’em. Keep your eyes and ears open and have a chat. You might just find the most beautiful man you’ll ever meet.

A sunny afternoon in the Yarra Valley

Australia, Australia Article, Melbourne / October 7, 2018 February 10, 2019

On Saturday, Agathe and I went with Marion and Josh to the Yarra Valley. Wine country. After driving about an hour and half from Melbourne you arrive in a semi-mountainous countryside. The road we came in on straddled acres of vineyards sprawling far and away. Spring colors were in full bloom on a day that could have been summer for all we knew. Our first stop was Chandon, a well-known French champagne that has vineyards in various countries around the world too. They claim to use the same traditional methods of making champagne at these destination vineyards as they do in France. After a generous tasting with our French server, imagine that, we spent our day traveling from winery to winery, tasting many Shiraz, blends and even gin, we had a picnic in a regional park with old trees and unfamiliar birds. It was a great of a day as any. I hadn’t thought much of Australian wine coming from Europe and the US, but what impressed me in particular was: the passion and flair of some of the smaller winemakers and the high quality of the wine. Which leads me to a much broader question:

Does Melbourne really have it all?

Coming from someone who’s been here for less than two weeks it’s hard to say. But from what I have seen, Melbourne is successfully incorporating much of what’s good in Europe and the US while leaving out the bad, like:

Things work and run efficiently;
With modern and historical influence;
And a high quality of life;
People are kind, polite and like to have a good time;
Access to the sea, wine country and good weather;
Many people are from international backgrounds;
Professional opportunities abound

These are some of the reasons Melbourne is rocking it right now. It feels like the modern “land of opportunity” — what America used to be for many though with far more social safety nets. How unjust of them..

Cheers to a good gin,

Anthony P.S. If you make it out to the Yarra Valley, Four Pillars Distillery ought to be on your list. Before the tour, I didn’t know how to properly drink gin (spoiler alert: hold it in your sealed mouth for 15-20 seconds before swallowing) nor did I expect to have a gin-guru comedian as our guide. Hats off to him!

A stroll through St. Kilda and the most beautiful man [1/2]

Australia, Australia Article, Melbourne / October 1, 2018 February 10, 2019

Jogging along the beach yesterday in St. Kilda and we saw a penguin.

There’s a bridge leading from the beach into the harbor where sailboats are scattered. Looming in the background is a panorama of the Central Business District (CBD) aka downtown. I’ve never had such an uninterrupted view of an urban landscape spontaneously arising and disappears again as the water meets the city then meets the open land from left to right.

The penguin was perched alone on a rock jetting out from the bridge. He looked relaxed.

On our way home we passed through an indigenous art store. Paintings of “Dreamtime” captured my attention unlike any other style of painting I’ve seen in recent memory. Dots bring to life animals and colors with a “time out of time” profundity of landscape that you can feel surrounded by when staring away. Generations of raw experience, emotion and stories expressed on a simple piece of canvas. Despite all of the art I’ve seen in my life, I’ve never quite seen it in the way I did today.

After leaving the shop we walked through quiet streets of Victorian style houses on our way home and saw a man sitting on a ledge wearing a long wool coat. Giving a little chit chat to each person that passed it seemed. I was ready for a little back and forth, “Hi how are? Fine thanks.”

Instead he turned to me, looked me straight in the eye and said, “I’m the most beautiful man you’ll ever meet.”

That’s one of the last things I expected hear to truth be told. I know the average guy talking to himself and others as they walk by with no real agenda can be capable of saying some strange things, but this was different. It was funny. Serious. Convincing. It stuck with me. The most beautiful man I’ll ever meet?