Warrnambool Saturday 2.09.08

We booked the "Bride and Groom" package with our apartment in Warrnambool which gets us a couple tiny bottles of champagne (now gone), a little package of chocolates (partially gone) and a breakfast at "Figsellers" about a block down the street. We decide this is the morning for breakfast so we mosey through the amazingly light residue from the festivities of the night before and settle in for some poached eggs on toast with sausages. They have a local paper available and we are able to check out the rest of the "Wunta" activities for the weekend which include a car show (that we already passed), and jazz in the park this afternoon. Tomorrow is the "Undy 500" where local celebrities run around in their undapants, along with family activities at the lake and fireworks in the evening. We are so lucky.

We now have an opportunity to check out the city and wander the streets for a couple hours poking into shops here and there. In a kitchen store a lady makes us a latte with chocolate sprinkles while we are nosing so we do our best to find something to buy and wind up spending 50 bucks. It’s always amazing what a little hospitality will do for business. We also check out the local Target (they are everywhere here) and at the bakery next door find a couple of ham and cheese Danish for tomorrow morning.

When we get back to our digs we have the desk person book a table for us for dinner and after sitting for 15 minutes decide that it must be time for Jazz in the Park! It is about a mile walk to the botanical gardens and there is a very nice crowd considering that it is still probably 60 degrees with a mixture of clouds, sun, wind, and the occasional spit of rain. We find a beer tent and grab a couple Cooper Pale Ales and as we turn around a table opens up in front of the stage and yet very near the beer. We are so lucky.

What a pleasant way to spend a Saturday afternoon. The music is very good, the beer is cold, and John discovers the "Kransky" which is a type of Polish sausage that he has on a bun with a fried bacon and onion mixture, grainy mustard and tomato relish. Mary tries a bite or two and another fourth of it dribbles onto the ground but it is still an excellent experience. At about 4:00 we are leaving at the same time as the 80-something couple next to us, and Mary volunteers us to haul their lawn chairs back to their car for them. She is explaining that we are from Minnesota that is very near Canada and we are convinced that the lady has decided that we are very nice Canadians. We are kind souls but not good diplomats. We check out cricket practice at the adjacent fields before wandering back.

Dinner is at "Beach Babylon" and we have their special seafood platter for two which includes a half lobster, oysters Kirkpatrick (baked with bacon and Worcestershire), shrimp, scallops and assorted other fish cakes and nibbly things along with a pile of garlic cheese bread. We need one more dash of local color so stop at the Irish Pub on the way back for a Guinness before bed. It is better than our mini Champagnes and we will sleep well tonight.

Today’s local headline: Swan acts to curb bank fees The Age (with rising interest rates the government minister is stepping in to reduce other fees charged by banks)