Weather Watch

September 26-30th 2014  Weather Watch 

In love with an Aussie Blue Sky x

This is what I love the most about Melbourne, is the huge Aussie blue skies. They turn up unexpectedly and lift me up. I can't help but smile :-). I took these pictures at 10am this morning. I wasn't planning to post something today, but I just had to share these. Taken quickly with the iphone in my neighbourhood. These are true colours, no enhancements. Infact the colour is even richer in the flesh. I decided to completely flood the post with them today, just like they flood my soul with happiness :-)  

Weather watch next 5 days

Thought it might be interesting to watch the weather over the year to get a feel of when the best time to visit might be for you, if weather is an important aspect.

Place to Be: Sunday morning @ the Tan

Finally I have made it to the famous Tan! 

Which I have heard mentioned many times, from a cross section of people who I have met along my journey here. Most go at the weekends for a morning run or walk.

Its a Melbourne Place to Be ...  I think!?!

Anyways, from the Hawthorn Meetup group on friday I met the Fay, who organises a walk with Meetup on Sunday mornings. I really enjoyed meeting and talking with Fay on Friday, so I thought this would be a good thing for me to do this morning. And I'm pleased to also announce that there are blue skies again in Melbourne! - even though the air has a slight chill.

Well it was a 30 minute drive to the Tan, from my house. The parking is free (2-3hrs depending on your spot) I met four ladies at the rendezvous and we spent the next hour
Walking the Walk & Talking the Talk LOL!
Well I did title this blog 'laugh' didn't I and humorous lines will crop up..... I know its not exactly belly laugh :-) x

I was surprised to discover that the Tan is actually around the outside of the Royal Botanical Gardens, I always imagined people running around in the park ?! This iconic 'Tan Track', is 3.8km.
So pictures are from the outside of the Botanical Gardens. The gardens look lovely so I think it will be a future visit and post! 

Here are some iphone shots taken on the walk to give you a sense of place. 

 After the walk, a visit to a nearby cafe Domain Brasserie. Many Melburnians were enjoying brunch in cafe along this strip. I just had a skinny cappuccino and couldn't resist a strawberry muffin ....  much to the horror of the other ladies .......   but it didn't stop me :-)

Domain Brasserie,
181 Domain rd, South Yarra

view from inside out

A muffin too .....

Muffins ...a very popular
treat in Melbourne :-) yum!

 

This Google-maps shows the red pin dropped at The Tan - it gives you an idea where it is in relation to Hawthorn and Balwyn suburbs I have mentioned so far.

Saturday Morning Escape in Balwyn

The Palace Balwyn Cinema,

What's one great way of spending a Saturday morning with a friend? 

Well in the suburb of Balwyn they have the fabulous 'Palace Balwyn Cinema' 231 Whitehorse Rd, which has a stunning Art Deco interior. Its an original single screen two-level cinema, which has been lovingly maintained, expanded and updated to keep  'the charm and aesthetics of its long and fond history.' It screens the latest blockbusters, right alongside arthouse films. So you can see something slightly quirky if you wish.

Yesterday my friend and I took the opportunity to swoon over Colin Firth in a romantic comedy 'Magic in Moonlight'. Set in the 1920's era, it was just the perfect film to watch in this Art Deco cinema! 

This is the second time my friend and I have sneaked off, (while our families are immersed in their own worlds of work or play and we are surplus to their needs!) for a daytime movie and we're finding it great 'escape the everyday' time and quite refreshing. This time we also ventured next door and perused in a second hand bookshop.

Then we had lunch in Arthur Radley cafe, nestled in between the bookshop and the cinema. (the cafe is listed in Melbourne good cafe guide).

 

Arthur Radley is a character from
'To Kill a Mockingbird' a book I read at highschool

Silver Dollar burgers were fab :-) I give them 4.5/5

Arthur Radley Lunch Menu

This google map shows you how close to Melbourne the Suburb of Balwyn is. Can you also spot Hawthorn, which is where I was walking with the walking group,  yesterday?

Glimpse of Hawthorn with Friday walking group

Glimpse of Hawthorn with Friday walking group POST 1

Seven years of living in Melbourne and I'm feeling its time to broaden my horizons and explore more of Melbourne suburbs. What is the best way to do this I wonder? 

One idea I had was to look for a walking group. Melbourne has a culture of locals regularly walking their local area for exercise. Often on their own or with another friend. 

Now I fancy walking and exploring with others, hoping it will be social too. I always like the opportunity to broaden my friendships / acquaintances. I love learning about other peoples experiences and perceptions of life, I find it quite fascinating how different we all are!

The website Meetup, seems a good option for me. It has a handful of groups, so its just about finding one that also suits my schedule, I really want to walk during the school day. Hawthorn walk and talk fits the bill, and its a newly started group, run by the lovely Kate who works for the Hawthorn Community house. Kate also happens to be an expat from England who has been here for many years and as part of her job, she is starting up new interest groups in and for the local community. So I stepped out of my comfort zone and decided to join them. Today was my second walk with them and I took a few pictures along our walk, to give you a glimpse of the variety of houses and features of this Suburb, which is apparently 6 kilometres east of Melbourne's central business district. 

Walk and talk around Hawthorn group

I'm imaging that I will become a regular of this group, as they are planning to do a handful of different walks and rotate them. So in the end, I should get quite familiar with Hawthorn. This also suits me because Hawthorn is right next to Kew, which is where my son goes to school. As I'm here every day, it will be really great to get to know where the good places to hang out are and what is on offer to do while I'm here. 

So I'm quite enthusiastic about it all. I'm thinking I will post a few photos of the suburb each time I go on a walk and try to record something different each time. I find the variety of buildings interesting, so I will feature those that catch my eye, as well as Aussie suburban nature. This should build up into a good visual record and help me to remember!  Hope you enjoy my journey getting to know Hawthorn too.

interesting cafes

trams run in the roads

grand houses

suburban parks

Every now and then you catch glimpses of the tall city building of the CBD, reminding you how close you are!

And of course I ALWAYS try out another cafe
 whenever I can :-)  This is the Counter Cafe, 
96 Auburn Rd, Hawthorn, VIC

Cute Little courtyard, blankets supplied to keep your legs warm :-)

Great selection of home-baked cakes & slices :-)