Re-entry to City Life: Melbourne

Evan and I arrived in Melbourne yesterday and immediately realized that being here is a perfect way to ease ourselves back to reality. It’s a bustling city, much like Seattle or Portland. Aussies describe it as “funky,” which it is. Across from our hotel is the Prahran market, which we are consistently mispronouncing. The market is gorgeous, with fruit stalls, prepared foods, meats, fish and cheese from around Australia. Queen Victoria Market in central Melbourne is similar but about three times as big. We are continually astounded by the number of qualified butchers selling incredibly beautiful cuts of meat. Australian food historian Barbara Santich told us a few days ago that Aussies eat more meat than anyone. It’s true – and their markets are proof.

This afternoon we are off to a “footy” game. That is, Australian Rules football. Of course we’ll drink beer, which will be quite a change from Mountain Goat brewery, which we visited yesterday. The two founders, Dave and Cam, gave us a tour of their gigantic industrial space with exposed brick and hulking tanks of hoppy brew. We’ll be thinking of those goats whilst we sip beer from cups at the game. “Carn the pies!”