more on the inner west of sydney
So Mr Right always tells me it's okay to just keep going back to the same place and really get to know it, every square metre of it, like the back of your hand.
And thus, I know the regions of Glebe, Newtown, Annandale, Leichardt, Petersham and Enmore best of all in Sydney, with knowledge also of Summer Hill, Strathfield, Concord, Croydon, Erksenville and Stanmore.
On the weekend, I travelled around with Splatty from the airport to the Sham; from the Sham to Enmore along back streets like Salisbury Road. I listened to her stories of households in Newtown (the house where she and Mel didn't talk to each other; the office block that Osh turned into a home; the one bedroom flat that her parents and step siblings camped out in for a week). I tracked the shortest way back from King Street to the Sham in the taxi in the rain (best $10 I spent), and tried to picture in my head where the train lines were, where the main roads were and where the delightful local high streets where. I always noticed this in Melbourne, that most neighbourhoods have a nice little high street, with a local cafe and a local little interesting shop.
So, I guess there's a lil bit of the Melbourne community vibe happening in the inner west.
It is nice to have nice shops, not shops that make you feel as though you have to be a consumerist to fit in, but ones that genuinely sell things you like to look at and find interesting.
We popped in and out of the Glebe markets on the Saturday (got coffees at the back cafe table, ate yummy food, sat out in the park to eat, chatted and didn't buy a thing), I met her Mum (in shock at navigating the inner city traffic of a Saturday lunchtime, she being a dweller of the Hills region of Sydney), and then headed off to the university campus so she could do some study and I could swim. Technically I could have swum in the uni pool, being a student, but it was far easier to use Victoria Park. Was very unfit in a swimming sense, and only did 500m, but it was fun to be there again, to remember other visits (Jules swimming 100s of laps whilst I read a book), to laugh at the characters you find in a library (girl too loud on mobile phone, cool girl with cool girl pants, friendly guy that babysits your laptop cord). And all the great books in the library! Once you get over the nerd value of being there on a Saturday it becomes quite fun.
Ms P says 2 of her girlfriends in Melbourne want to start a bar that is a library. Something around the idea that lots of books sets up an inviting ambience, or a self selecting environment... and I said that many of my favourite moments were spent in libraries with late evening openings, like the Adelaide State Library when it was renovated. I liked having an environment that was dedicated to reading and learning and listening and looking; that we were all alone together, enjoying solitude in a collegial clubby environment. She exclaimed that that was what her friends thought too and wanted to promote and preserve.
And thus, I know the regions of Glebe, Newtown, Annandale, Leichardt, Petersham and Enmore best of all in Sydney, with knowledge also of Summer Hill, Strathfield, Concord, Croydon, Erksenville and Stanmore.
On the weekend, I travelled around with Splatty from the airport to the Sham; from the Sham to Enmore along back streets like Salisbury Road. I listened to her stories of households in Newtown (the house where she and Mel didn't talk to each other; the office block that Osh turned into a home; the one bedroom flat that her parents and step siblings camped out in for a week). I tracked the shortest way back from King Street to the Sham in the taxi in the rain (best $10 I spent), and tried to picture in my head where the train lines were, where the main roads were and where the delightful local high streets where. I always noticed this in Melbourne, that most neighbourhoods have a nice little high street, with a local cafe and a local little interesting shop.
So, I guess there's a lil bit of the Melbourne community vibe happening in the inner west.
It is nice to have nice shops, not shops that make you feel as though you have to be a consumerist to fit in, but ones that genuinely sell things you like to look at and find interesting.
We popped in and out of the Glebe markets on the Saturday (got coffees at the back cafe table, ate yummy food, sat out in the park to eat, chatted and didn't buy a thing), I met her Mum (in shock at navigating the inner city traffic of a Saturday lunchtime, she being a dweller of the Hills region of Sydney), and then headed off to the university campus so she could do some study and I could swim. Technically I could have swum in the uni pool, being a student, but it was far easier to use Victoria Park. Was very unfit in a swimming sense, and only did 500m, but it was fun to be there again, to remember other visits (Jules swimming 100s of laps whilst I read a book), to laugh at the characters you find in a library (girl too loud on mobile phone, cool girl with cool girl pants, friendly guy that babysits your laptop cord). And all the great books in the library! Once you get over the nerd value of being there on a Saturday it becomes quite fun.
Ms P says 2 of her girlfriends in Melbourne want to start a bar that is a library. Something around the idea that lots of books sets up an inviting ambience, or a self selecting environment... and I said that many of my favourite moments were spent in libraries with late evening openings, like the Adelaide State Library when it was renovated. I liked having an environment that was dedicated to reading and learning and listening and looking; that we were all alone together, enjoying solitude in a collegial clubby environment. She exclaimed that that was what her friends thought too and wanted to promote and preserve.
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