Monday, June 21, 2010

BIT OF A NOTHING WEEKEND REALLY

That's right - it was a nothing weekend really.

On Friday I was in the City and this scene reminded me of the Cafes of Paris.
As you can see, winter is well and truly with us but never gets below zero, well hardly ever.
The weekend was NOT looking good.

You think to yourself, what can I blog this weekend and then before you know it, the weekend has gone and you are back on the treadmill at work. Usually our weekends are so busy that we don't have time to relax but this weekend was different. I enjoyed a pint of Guinness with my 89 year old Dad on the Saturday Arvo. He's a bit of devil really and he seems to know every face that walks into the cafe/bar where we enjoyed the pint. Maybe not always by name but when he forgets a name, there's always the G'day Maaaate!!!
Then it was off home to a few jobs on the "List".

First was to take the excess magazines and books out to the garage or the dumpmaster. We find it difficult to just dump any form of printed literature but Sue's Cook Book and Magazine collection is at the point of obsession. She'll say its a passion and I don't help the situation when it comes to birthdays and christmas. When I can't think of a special present, its off to the book shop for another cook book for Sue.

This whole five level book shelf is full of Sue's cook book collection and that's after she culled it.
There's even another bookshelf in the bedroom full of cookbooks. Nowhere for my cycling books.

I see a few gaps, but it won't take her long to fill these. The usual international chefs and cooks are amongst the collection along with our own very favorite Australian ones.

Not Limoncello - scroll down
Our lime tree has gone crazy this season so Sue decided to experiment with the limes.

Limoncello was something that we discovered on our 2006 trip to France and Italy (check out our mid-weekly French Travel Diary) and Sue occasionally makes a brew. Our lime tree this year has gone crazy so she decided to make a brew of Limecello. Let you know how it works out soon.

Sunday morning was wet and I'm a fair weather rider, nothing worse than a wet bum, shoes and socks so we decided that a breakfast in a nearby cafe on the bay with a view of the winter waters lapping the sand would be invigorating. Fortunately we are a little over a kilometre from some great cafes and bars that are on the bay. This one is actually on the beach and has a great view. We sat with our hot coffee and raisin toast watching joggers, dog walkers and the odd (very odd) wet and miserable cyclist pass by.

A little later in the morning I had a call from Dags and Nico to go for a ride in the Arvo for a quick 50 kms and since the skies had cleared, I agreed. We decided to pedal down to Port Melbourne and back. As we arrived at our turning point, we discovered that the Spirit of Tasmania had docked. Sue and I sailed across Bass Strait to Tassie for our honeymoon in the early 80s with our MGB below. We were spoilt by a very smooth and calm trip over but the return trip made me bad company. Very rough!!!!

That's Dags on the left doing his "aahhh my hearties" pose while Nico says, "Come on Dags, lets get back on the road, I need a Merlot".

Anyway, we pedalled back home to the nearby suburb of Black Rock where an old Art Deco garage has been renovated into a trendy bar. An end of ride dark ale was in order to signal the end of our weekend.

A bit of a nothing weekend really.
How was yours?

6 comments:

  1. I got drunk on limoncello once. I don't really drink so it hit me hard.

    ReplyDelete
  2. No wonder it hit you hard, being made from vodka it packs a punch. One small glass with an expresso after dinner is fine.
    Leon

    ReplyDelete
  3. The Spirit of Tasmania, what a lovely name for a ferry! How long does the trip take? Do you get to sleep aboard? Martine

    ReplyDelete
  4. LB,
    It is a lovely name and yes you do get to sleep overnight (if the weather is good). It was an overnight trip when we did it.
    I think it was a smaller ferry and it was called the Princess of Tasmania. Tassie is a great place, a bit like parts of the UK and settled before Melbourne.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I am in awe of Sue's collection of cookbooks. She has even more than me !!
    Although they say diamonds are a girl's best friend, I would rather have a cookbook any day - it's a lot more useful.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sue also loves diamonds but she married the wrong man.

    ReplyDelete

Love to get feedback so no reason to be shy - have your say.