Seven Seeds coffee

 Fabulous coffee just on the south side of Melbourne uni. I wandered over one day that I spent at the nossal institute and just had to return with Richard in tow. They roast the coffee on the premesis. Amazing aromas wafting around the warehouse structure. They do tastings on thursday mornings, only 8 ppl max, so you gotta book. The entrance is hidden, looks like just another warehouse on a street lined with them. But equipped with my handy iPhone google maps it was easy to find.

Good atmosphere, good food, though limited menu (no bacon ) it's an interesting menu nonetheless. We were seated pretty quickly, though it was hopping on a Saturday morning. Be prepared to get cost with other patrons if you get seated at the larger tables. Thumbs up from me. Too bad it's a bit too far. If I venture that way again I want to try the new "Pope Joan".

Parents Visit (part 2)

The parents made the long journey across the great ocean to see their world-traveling daughter.

Only minor panic when we learned that their flight out of San Francisco was canceled. The reroute to Sydney turned out to be a good thing allowing us extra time to visit the iconic city and visit with the in-laws. They stood up pretty well despite the jet-lag and were royally stuffed and trussed by all the wonderful cooking that Richard's mom undertook. Only two days here, we took little day trips out to Manly, Bondi and the City Centre to see the Opera House and Bridge at a leisurely pace eating yummy food and drinking tasty coffees (though not as good as in Melbourne) along the way. 

In Bondi, it was a beautiful day, not as cold as in Melbourne.

Then we left for Cairns, in Tropical North Queensland. Destination: The Hilton (of Course) and the Great Barrier Reef! This was also just a quick trip so we tried to pack in as much as possible in each day.  First day: Venture out to Green Island for a day trip of snorkeling (and diving for the brave), its one of the closer islands out towards to reef. Trial snorkeling in the AM, Mom saw a baby ray and Richard swam with sea turtles, lots of big and colorful fish. Dad was re-aquainting himself with this inner-fish. Then we took a glass-bottom boat tour to see what could be found further out. 

Sharks!

Look at that coral, and big giant fish.

Next day we rented a car and drove out to see some of the Daintree Rainforest, just the outter edge, via the Coffee Museum in Mareeba (CoffeeWorks). Tons of sugar cane fields along the roadsides and coffee plantations out in the Atherton Tablelands.

Coffee Museum

Rainforest walk

We spent the last lazy day exploring the Northern Cairns resort beaches before heading back to Melbourne.

Saturday morning coffee at Nineteen Squares

Actually I go for a soy chai these days and after trying out different places, I've found my favorite here.

Situated just down the street from home, this is where I come to get out of the house. And its the first choice for our weekend coffee on a lazy weekend morning. We got the recommendation from the local funky people who work at the barber shop where they give you a free beer with your hair cut.  This is confirmed by a top 3 bean rating in the Melbourne Coffee Review App, though its not found on Urbanspoon at all. Food is supposed to be good here too.

It's a tiny shop, the name signaling the total square meterage of the place, only seating available is outside. It gets pretty busy at times that the only seats available are upside down milk crates. Now that it's getting colder it's harder to enjoy a hot cup at the outside tables. But it's still worth rugging up to get out of the house and to our favorite trendy coffee spot. Always staffed by funky Baristas who make up for their surly attitudes by adding a quick "darling" or "love" to their speech, they attract a large, loyal clientele.

Today is a rainy, cold Saturday and we're here after a quick trip to the Veg Out farmers market. Autumn leaves are everywhere and it feels like Halloween time. I've been looking for big orange pumpkins to carve into jack o lanterns but can find none. So by now it's probably akin to normal thanksgiving-time weather here while everyone back home is complaining about the start of sweltering temperatures and sunburn. The change in season here has sparked the desire to update my winter wardrobe. But I just
can't follow through with the outrageous prices here.

Brother baba budan

We made a trip into the city during the week, and what better excuse to try out one of the highly rated Melbourne cafes listed on the "Melbourne Coffee Review" iPhone app. Melbourne is a town renowned for its cafe culture, giving the city a European vibe, which can probably be attributed to its high concentration of European immigrants like the Italians and Greeks, bringing with them a fondness for exquisite espressos whilst situated under the sun on a busy city sidewalk. They also bring with them superior coffee-making techniques that only enhance coffee's amalgamating flavors. 

Having the highest rating of 3 whole beans, we decided to try out Brother Baba Budan located on Little Bourke Street in the CBD. As always, I ordered a soy mocha and Richard got a soy flat white as they are called here. No drip coffee in Australia, only espressos with varying amounts of milk. Strong stuff. The coffee was amazing, though I am not so much a coffee connoisseur to note the subtle flavorings. But I can tell the difference between good coffee and bad. This was definitely good, nutty according to Richard. And as the pictures show, the edgy decor provides a quirky atmosphere for the businessmen and students who nip in for a quick sip which is all that is allowed for lack of space to stretching out and camping as can usually be the case in American Starbucks establishments. I liked it, and out exploration into the city that day which allowes us to incorporate ourselves into "normal" society for a brief moment. I made Richard sit on the sidewalk afterwards just to watch all the people coming and going to work, to the tram, a shopping excursion, tourists, all sorts of strange people are out there. 

Coffee