Mid-week date night

Inspired by our last rooftop movie I bought tickets to the Open Air Cinema in St Kilda.

We stopped by the Espy for some yummy mexican in the sunshine.  NB: 7:30pm and STILL gloriously sunny!

Uh huh- that's right.  Melbourne is putting on an amazing show this summer.  Ignore the 'raining on monday' part.  All things considered it's been a super summer. 

We got to the cinema early - like the biggest keen beans!  And still had 45 mins to kill.

So we decided to go wandering along the pier.  I'd been wanting to do it for a while but our last attempt was thwarted by the crazy winds that are customary at St Kilda beach. 

Check out that glorious sun.  No editing of the photos.  It's just gorgeous. 

I still get a kick out of the sunny relection on the city buildings.  You could be walking in what would otherwise be a shady street, but for the sunny reflection bouncing off a building and lighting up the   entire path.

I was thinking - what could possibly top off an already amazing date night?  Beers, mexican, sunshine, rooftop cinema, beach, walks on the pier at sunset... and...PENGUINS!!!! (oh and rats/Rakali - but I'll ignore the part).

The little guys are a tad hard to see - but the slow coaches who can't go out to see because they are shedding their coat were hidden in the crevices of the break wall.

AND THEN... it got EVEN better.  Fire men were milling around the pier to put out a spot fire underneath it.  I die.  I simply adore firement.

AND THEN... my iphone died.  AND THEN... we watched a super weird/trippy movie (Melancholia) and I froze to death in the icy winds on the roof top.  Melbs is warm during the day but a little chilly in the breeze on the bay.

I knew nothing about Melancholia except it stars Kirsten Dunst, is a Lars Von Trier's film and Margaret gave it 5/5 stars.  I LOVE Margaret and 9.5 times out of 10 we like the same movies. So it was a total no brainer to buy tickets for this film.

I've since done a bit of Googling to figure out if I would like the film if I were to understand it a bit better.  In the transcript of 'At the movies' Margaret aptly says: I don’t think that you can approach this film on a realist level actually.  She also says Well, you can call it silly stuff but for me there are two films this year that really tried to embrace the human condition and explore the complexities of it and that was Malick with THE TREE OF LIFE and it’s Lars von Trier with MELANCHOLIA.





To which David responded: Both, I would suggest, flawed films.  I think they’re both very ambitious but very flawed films.

And so it seems that this is the 0.5 times out of 10 where I completely agree with David.  Except I would have called it 'nonsensical, trippy shit with no narrative and no point.  Although very pretty and Kirsten Dunst has a super hot bod'. 

All in all -trippy movie aside - it was a frigging awesome evening and a testament to why and how Melbourne keeps ticking my box.

It's the small things

This evening could have been a regular school night. Well, if I had routines in my life, I guess is what I mean to say.  BUT there were suprises around every corner. Each making me stop and say "Melbourne, I love you for keeping things interesting".

This is what I saw on my walk home tonight:


1. a cute boy's face.

2. A cute fella striding it out on the walk home. 

3. Cute boy perplexed about the pedestrian button (what is that called anyway?) being located 3 metres from the crossing.

 4. Cute boy, much happier when the pedestrian button at the next set of lights was conveniently located.

5. Local flats with parking notices in Vietnamese.  

 ... and turkish, no wait, vietnamese again.  Hmm. Must only be vietnamese and turkish speakers who are parking at the flats.  WTF?

6.  Trying out a new local.  One of about 50 pubs in a 5 block radius.  Slight exaggeration but still, there are a lot of pubs in our hood.  This one was hosting a Holden Fan Club AGM.  I had to walk through the middle of it to get to the bathroom. Awkward much.

7. It was probably 8:15pm and the sun was still in the sky.  I friggen' love sunsets and extended daylight hours in Melbourne in summer. 

 8.  Sunny tram tracks.

 9.  Sunny laneways.

10.  And a spot of Thai for dinner.  I said 'thanks' and 'That was yum' in Thai - which prompted chats and tourist brochures from the sweetest little thai girl/lady.

Lunchtime sunshine. I love u.