Sunday, I rode the train in to attend Mass at the Cachedral.  I arrived at 9:50, so missed the 9:30 Mass.  I took more pics outside and spent some time in the gift store while waiting for the 11:00 Solemn Mass.  I am glad that I got to attend that one. 

The outside bells began playing 10 min before Mass.  Beautiful!!  Then little at a time, a bell would drop out until there was just one gonging a beat.  Then the entrance antiphon was begun to that beat in Gregorian chant by the adult men in the choir.  Awesome!!  Then that wonderful organ began to play!!  I knew the song, but by then was too choked up to sing. Then the procession appeared: one altar server in black and white bearing the cross; behind him, two side by side carrying candles; behind them three, the center one swinging incense, the outer two wearing plain long stoles in addition to the black and white.  Then came the all male choir beginning with boys around 7 or 8 and ending with the adults.  They were wearing red cossacs (?) and white surplices (?).  Then came 2 more servers with candles, two permanent deacons, a priest carrying the mass book, then , to my suprise and delight, the bishop himself!  Much of the Mass was sung using melodies and phrasing that is common all over the world, so I was grateful to be able to join in fully.  It was one of the most beautiful Masses I have ever attended, and I spent much of the time in tears.

After Mass, I took more pictures until the lights were turned off.  Most of the marble is a pale amber color and all of the side windows are amber colored, giving the church it's warm gold appearance, but making good photography difficult.

I caught the train back home, and happened to be sitting in front of four LDS (Mormon) missionaries, one of whom was black and referred to his mates as "bro"!  We stopped at a station where hundreds of people were exiting another train and heading down the staircase to a "footie" game.  One of the LDS fellas said "Look at all the ppeople, bro!"  The other replied "I'd love to be a missionary going up!"  I was glad to be facing away from them so they did not witness my amusement!

Walking home, I took the opportunity to take some more pics. (Of course)

Monday, we got up early, took the boys to school, the Paul, Julie, and I drove the Great Ocean Road.  We leeft the house a bit past 7:00 AM andd arrived home around 9:00 PM.  The roads were twisty and hilly, lined with sub-tropical forest like the roads in the Mountains album, so I did not photograph those.  However, the views of the Bass Strait between Australia and Tasmania and of the South Sea betewwn Australia and Antarctica were awesome as you can see in the photos.

We arrived at the Twelve Apostles just before sunset.  There were originally 12 rock formations, hence the name, but 5 have fallen into the sea.  There was a land bridge that could be walked across to one of them called London Bridge.  Then one day London Bridge fell.  Luckily, the tourists were already on the other end and did not fall, but I bet it was a bit nerve-racking waiting for the rescue helicopter.  I will let the pictures speak for me about the rest of the day.

 

I am taking a little time to blog before Mass.  Golly I miss daily Mass.  Anyway, since last blog, we have been up to the Rialto.  As you can see, there is a 360 degree view of the city.  If you look closely at the pictures, the bay can be seen in the upper left of the ones looking  that way.  The city goes clear around the bay, but this cannot be seen in the pics because of the clouds.  It was VERY windy that day, and I had a hard time holding the camera still enough to get a good picture.

 

Julie took me to St Patrick's Cathedral Friday.  When you look at those pictures, have your screen on bright and your room dim so the pictures do not come out real dark.  I really cannot add anything to what the pictures say.  It was an awe-inspiring visit.  Today, I am going to get courageous and take a train into the city all by myself to attend Mass at the Cathedral.  The music from that organ must be wonderful, so I hope they play it whiile I am there.

 

We also went to a display of illuminated manuscripts dating from 800 to 1600 AD.  No pictures allowed as the light breaks down the delicate old materials.  The displays were under glass casings and very dimly lit.  Illumination basically means decoration.  These are pages and books made of very thin lamb or kid skin.  The writing is done by hand using home-made inks and feather quills.  The decoration is extremely elaborate and intricate.  The labor involved was intensive, and a single book would take a person years to produce.  Therefore, books were VERY expensive.  Usually books were produced by monks in monasteries as many monks could produce a book or two per year.  More, if it were a large monastery.  They are all done in Latin since anyone educated enough to have the means to buy a book could read and write Latin.  This way, a book produced in France could be sold in England, Spain, or Germany, etc. and therefore had a wider market than a book that could be sold only in the country of origin.  Also, very few people could actually read and write in their native language.  I am continually amazed at the intricacy and balance of the writing and decoration, since there was no erasing an error.  Several of the manuscripts had gold leaf in their designs.  Absolutely breath taking!

 

We walked in the city quite a bit, so there are several miscellaneous pictures.  In Australia as a whole, about 74% of the population is of Anglo-Celtic ancestry and 19% European.  In the city, about half is European and the other half is Asian, Indian (India), and Middle-Eastern.  Many people wear the Middle-Eastern dress, especially women.  A great variety of accents can be heard from the many races represented here.  However, I have not run across one Hispanic/Latino person and only two Africans that were not white (South Africans).

 

The drivers here are at once both aggressive and polite.  They are generally careful about obeying the rules of the road, but drive fast and close together within the rules.  For instance, if you put on you ticker (turn signal), they must - and do - make room for you.  There are lots of roundabouts here, with etiquette about using your ticker in them.  They also have something called hook turns.  If you are turning right (think left, as they drive on the left) you pull all the way to the left and let everyone coming from behind AND ahead of you go before you turn.  This is so that you  do not get hit by a trolley (like San Francisco street cars), which all have the right of way and run on tracks inn the middle of the street.

 

Time to go to Mass.   I'll have Juliie read this and publish any corrections after I get back.

Yesterday, June 10,  we drove up through the Black Spur, then to Mount Dandenong.  It was fairly clear when we started, but of course it clouded up by the time we got to the look-out stops.  The roads were all 2 lanes with lots of winding and hills.  We were driving pretty slowly, and every time there was a wide spot, we'd  pull over and let people pass. The tree ferns were glorious, as were the peely-bark trees (otherwise known as Mountain Ash, a type of (Eucalyptus).  The peely-bark  trees actually shed their bark, leaving their trunks and branches bare and pale.

 

After the Black Spur,  we stopped for a bit of pub grub.  Julie had chicken parmesan (a common dish here), and I had some fish and chips.  There are not to-go boxes here unless the establishment is licensed to provide take-away (carry out) food, so have to sneak out our leftovers.  We have decided that we will try to split meals from now on. 

 

Then we got back on the road, drove for an hour, and found that we had made a big circle.  Talk about taking the scenic route to the scenery!!We arrived at Mount Dandenong about an hour before sunset.  You can see clear to the bay around which Melbourne is built.  We stayed until dark as you can see by the pictures.  I did not hold the camera very still, so many of the night pics did not turn out well.  I did figure out the panoramic assist, but unless the pics are viewed as one, it doesn't look the same.

 

Today, Julie and I manned the  booth at the mall while Paul attended to some business elsewhere.  Julie left me alone when she went for smokes, and I discovered that I had picked up enough about the product to answer most questions.  However, I was always happier to not be alone in case I had something wrong, thereby misinforming potential customers.  Then we came back home to do sundry chores.

 

For fashion anything goes, but people as a rule don't seem to care too much about their face.  This is more apparent in the women who do not tend to wear make-up.  However, both sexes will generally not have missing teeth replaced, and crooked teeth are very common.  Even Julie's dentist suggested she not replace a tooth that was just behind her smiile line!  We were amazed since this destabilizes the rest of that side of the mouth, causing more teeth to be lost, followed by lack of chewing and excessive wear on the other teeth.  Amazing!!  Also, they do not wear much suncreen, and with the hole in the ozone abouve Australia, people of both sexes look kind of weathered.

 

If people guess that you are from North America, they will ask of you are Canadian.  This is because Canadians get insulted if you think they are American, but the Americans don't get insulted if you think they are Candian.  The Iraq war really lowered our international prestige.  As a rule, people here do not make eye contact when passing on the street or in the trains or buses, so at first they seem cold and aloof.  However,  if you have reason to be talking to them, they are friendly.

I forgot to say in my last blog that when Burger King came down under, the name had already been taken, so they are Hungry Jack here.  The menu prices are for sandwiches only.  Nobody really has value meals here.  Look at how the drive-thru is neatly planted rather than an alley like so many are in the USA (BK E 10th excepted, of course).

Play the video even if you do not like Steve.  (I cried when I heard that he died)  Anyway, he is perhaps the world's best-loved Aussie (pronounced Auzzie), and the song is Aussies best-loved song.  It could be called their unofficial national anthem.  Most Aussies know all the words to "Waltzing Matilda",  but not the words to their national anthem.  Swagman or swaggie = bum or gypsy; Billabong = oasis or watering hole; Coolibah tree = a species of  tree; Billy = pot of water for cooking; Jambuk = sheep; Tuckerbag = bag for carrying belongings; Squatter = landowner; Troopers = police or sheriffs 

Friday was cloudy but relatively warm so we went to the off leash dog beach.  The sky was magnificent.  The dogs had a great time.  There were some pointers there  and another golden retriever mix.  There was a little black dog that kept trying to herd every other dog like they were sheep.  Another little black and white shaggy thing was mounting every other dog.  His name was Charlie, which is pronounced "Chahlie" over here.

 

There are some different pronunciations here.  If there is an R in the middle or at the end of a word,  they generally do not pronounce it.  For instance; garlic becomes gahlic, and ginger becomes gingah.  However, if a word ends in A, they will tend to drop the A sound and add an ER sound. For instance; the singing group Abba becomes Abber, and a spatula becomes a spatuler.  The H in herbs is pronounced, so it sounds like a man's name to me. Aluminum is spelled aluminium and is pronounced the way it looks.  Filet is spelled fillet and is pronounced fill-it, but buffet is pronounced buffay like we say it.  (And they think we are the strange ones)

 

Saturday, we spent the day at the mall.  We went there to help Paul with his booth which is promoting his business.  Julie got a hair cut there.  Hair products are about twice the price as in the USA.  Fashion is pretty much anything goes.  I covertly took a picture in the hair salon demonstrating this.  The women here do not wear hose.  In the summer they wear nothing on their legs. In the winter, they wear tights of many colors and patterns with their dresses/skirts, or leggings and no socks.  Hair color (artificial) here tends to vivid reds, even on older women.  There are way more spiky hairdos on both men and women.  I also see way more dreads (dreadlocks). 

 

There are way more Asian people here than I see in the States, as well as Middle Eastern people.  Perhaps half the population is something other than European.  There are Asian and Mid-East markets and eateries everywhere.  There are also many Fish-and-Chipperies.  If you do not like ethnic food or fish, you'd have a very limited selection of places to eat out.

 

Yesterday we caught a train to town after Mass and wandered about downtown Melbourne (Melbuhn).  There is some great old architecture here and many specialty shops.  There are very few stores like Wal-mart or Target where you purchase nearly everything at one stop.  If you want a wicker basket, you go to the wicker shop, pet food is at the pet shop, kitchen utensils are at the kitchen shop, etc.  I was able to  finish my shopping, and now can just relax and enjoy. 

 

The weather remains cloudy and chilly, so not sure when we will do the beach drive, the Blackspur mountains, or the tower in the city.  Perhaps we will have to do them in the clouds.  

 

 

Wednesday we went on several errands.  Eye doctor, vet, post office, grocery, scout shop.  I spent way too much money at the scout shop.  I also posted some cards to the States for Father's Day and for Ryan's and Andy's birthdays.  Julie made pumpkin and leek soup which is very good.  It is getting colder here as Australia moves deeper into winter.  Clear days are harder to come by.

Thursday was clear and fine, so we went to the Healesville Sanctuary.  I saw many animals that we do not see in the States.  Notably, koalas, echnidnas, tasmanian devils, platypuses, and kookaburras.  Many of the enclosures were the walk-in type.  We were in with the wallabies, kangaroos, bats, and many birds. Once, a pelican rushed toward us, scaring Julie a bit  (she hurried behind me and hid there).  We ate at a bistro in  the sancuary where I had some delightful Indian curried chicken with a yogurt sauce. We saw several animals that were in a night exhibit, and it was too dark to get decent pictures.  The most memorable of these were the platypus and the bilby. The bilby is a marsupial that resembles a rabbit.  Since rabbits are an invasive creature here, they have substituted the Easter Rabbit with the Easter Bilby.  The scenery was magnificent as can be seen in the photos.  I really enjoy my new camera, as it is VERY esy to get great pictures, or to fix so-so pictures.

Today is again cloudy, so we will not be going to the mountains or the tower where you can see the whole city in 360.  Before we do that, I'll have to figure out the panorama assist on my camera.  I still have  to pick up something for Ryan, and Julie is needing to run some errands.

June 3. Today we went to the Queen Victoria Market, or the Queen Vic as they say here.  There were shops like at a fair in the States.  There were booths selling everything from Asian and Indian (India) to shoes to underwear, to Aussie touristy things.  A whole area was dedicated to a farmers market type resh fruits and veggies, and another to fresh meats and cheeses.  We met a fella wearing a Nebraska Cornhuskers shirt.  The fella was from California, had gotten the shirt while in Japan, and is engaged to an Australian.  It was too crowded to get many pics, but I think there are two in the new folder.  On the way home, got several good sunset and park pictures, also in the new folder.pictures, also in the new folder.

It is late fall here, but temps near to what they were when I left SF.  Left on May 27, arrived here May 29.  I did not have May 28 due to having crossed the international dat line.  Qantas has TV's in the back of the seat in front of each passenger from which you can watch movies, TV (if receiving), or listen to music or radio (if receiving).  There is also a station where you can track the progress of the plane.  15 hours across the ocean was fairly boring.  First day sat around recovering from jet lag.

 

Australia is experiencing a drought that has lasted 10 years now.  There is lawn and garden watering only 2 days per week from 6 to 8 AM only.  Lots of homes have what they call greywater recycling units.  Greywater is the water that goes down the drain from your tub, washing machine, and dishwasher.  The water from these sources goes into a holding tank and is then pumped into a lawn and garden irrigation system that is totally underground by several inches.  No above ground sprinkling allowed.  A person has to use eco-friendly soap in the bath/shower, laundry, and dishwasher.  The toilet and kitchen sink are not included.  Many houses also have rain barrels for collection of what rain they do get.

 

May 30 went to a food and wine show,  spent all day.  The foods were mostly sauces and seasonings, many of which were Asian and African.  I purchased a bottle of dessert  wine and a bottle of pomegranate juice.  Also was able to pick up some gluten free breads and pastas.  They are big on gluten-free labelling here, so shopping for my intolerance is relatively easy.  Took most of the May 30 pics outside the exhibition hall where the food and wine show was held.

 

All the homes here have vents in the outside walls of every room that cannot be closed.  This makes for some chilly mornings.  Paul and Julie have a gas fireplace in the living room which they taught me how to operate since I am the first one awake most mornings.  The vents are there because of a Radon concern.

 

May 31 we hung around the house again.  Paul's boys were with us.  Very delightful boys!!  Ben is 8 and Christopher is 11.  Downloaded pics to the website.  I fixed Julie's hair for a swanky dinner dance fundraiser for the boy's school, then sat with the boys while Paul and Julie were gone.

 

June 1 after Mass Jullie and I went to the mall for a few things she needed.  Passed a store selling bongs.  Ate at  an Arabic fast food joint called Ali Baba.  I had a lamb k'bab, which is a wrap with lamb, lettuce, tomato, onion, and lemon cilantro sauce in it.  Food here is about twice the price as the US.  At the grocery I sampled some chicken sausage with spinach and pine nuts that was so excellent, we decided to purchase some.