Chomping at the Churro

I started off the day with another run. This time, I wanted to make sure I had my camera with me, given that the first time I had gone running, I didn’t have my camera with me. It was a shame because it was such a peaceful morning and it really was beautiful.

This time, the run was not so peaceful. People were beginning to scurry, getting to work, or trying to squeeze in a gym workout before the working week began.

Still, I made my way down Lonsdale Street, running past a curious collection of finance firms, accounting firms, and lawyer firms in amongst strip clubs and massage parlours. As I ran I couldn’t help but think, “I sense a theme…”

The reason why I had chosen to run in this direction today was that I wanted to check out the Telstra Dome. Out of all of the destinations in Melbourne that I had listed to visit, two of them were at no one’s recommendation. As in, I, and only I wanted to go to them. The first was the MCG, the second, the Telstra Dome. (Hah… I sense a theme with those two as well.)

I had planned out where I was going to go, though when I arrived at Spencer Street, I began looking for the footbridge to take me to the Telstra Dome. Most of the famous Spencer Street/Southern Cross station was closed off due to it being so early in the day, so I completely missed it. I felt myself getting further and further away from the Telstra Dome, so I began to run in the direction of where I thought it was. As I ran up the hill, I looked over my right shoulder, and I saw the footbridge right in the distance.

Ah bloody hell. Never mind, I would go across the footbridge on the way back.

What annoyed me greatly was that at this point, the battery on my camera decided to die. It was a beautiful morning, and the pink sky over the Docklands and lashing above and behind the Telstra Dome were just gorgeous, and I was seriously pissed off that the battery happened to die at that point. It’s as though someone up there didn’t want me taking photos - the day before I didn’t even have the camera with me, and today the battery died. Goddamn!

I looped around the Docklands, taking in the crazily coloured buildings and random sculptures and artwork then went up the steps of the Telstra Dome.

I did a lap of the stadium, then crossed the foot bridge and headed back to the city, running down a different street.

By the time I got back to the hotel, it was over an hour since I had headed out. And the back wasn’t complaining at all. Running really is much better for me in Melbourne than at home. Hopefully this’ll be better for me when I get back to Auckland and get into the hills again - though perhaps I should look at finding a flat route to run on.

After going home and having a shower and washing my hair, I promptly headed back down Swanston Street, snapping a few photos of the cathedral before getting on a train at Flinders Street.

I was only going as far as Southern Cross, as all I wanted to do was get some goddamn photos of the Telstra Dome to make up for the morning’s madness.

Just like in the morning, the place was deserted.

As was the Docklands. It was a quiet place, great place to stand and look out to the sea and enter a daydream.

I made a mad dash to get back to the hotel, change into my exercise gear and make a beeline for the Borders. This was the part of my trip that I was easily most excited about - above the shopping, the chocolate, the Telstra Dome and the MCG. I was meeting Desci, who writes Melbourne Human Female, for some Body Combat and some lunch. You may have seen Desci’s comments on DYHAXLIT, though what you guys don’t get to see are the emails that she’s sent me when I’m down. These emails have touched me so much that I keep them starred in my inbox, and revisit them when I’m having a bad day.

She was waiting for me near her gym of choice. I do think it’s a great idea if you’re meeting a blogger to begin with a fun exercise meet. It really loosens you up and instils a strange comradeship that can’t be explained.

Being the passionate Les Mills-er that I am, it was great to see the reach that the Les Mills classes has had all over the world. And it made me feel that much closer to home in a foreign country - to be able to get on a plane and do the same choreography that I would do at New Lynn; it makes it so much easier to get over the intimidation of being in a new scary place.

The the gym we went to was a quaint thing, two studios with wooden floors that were smaller than the smaller studio in New Lynn. What was quite cool was the window at the back of the studio that looked out across the city. Unless someone was abseiling down the window, no one could check out your ass while you were Doing Your Thang in the studio.

The instructor was a great bundle of energy, and reminded me very much of Kris - with a little less crazy. I really enjoyed the class, and gave my vocal chords a good working out, getting into the shouting and whatnot very easily. I did notice though that I was the only one who was breathing so heavily that I could barely speak at the end of each track. I’d like to think it was because I was pushing myself hard rather than because everyone else was fitter than me. Let me be just a little bit arrogant, people.

I enjoyed the class, and was thrilled that I got a hardcore workout in. The fact that it was the second in workout in the day made it even sweeter - I didn’t think I’d manage to do the two-workouts-in-one-day thing while I was over here; undoubtedly there’ll be a couple of days where I’ll be too tired to exercise, so getting two great workouts in is a real bonus.

After the class, I went on a few weights machines and did a bit of stretching, before heading off to the showers. I shake my fist at Australia’s water restrictions - we really are a privileged lot in New Zealand; even when we are in the midst of a crisis, I can’t remember when we are restricted by legislation.

When we were done at the gym, I brought Desci up to my hotel room for some lunch time lovin’, rrrrrrrr!

…

Okay, okay, I lie.

We dumped our gear, and then had a wander down to Desci’s chosen lunch destination - Oriental Tea House.

There, Desci and I just babbled like mad, it was fantastic how we both clicked.

The food was delicious, and the tea!

I bought two packets, one for myself, one for Worker Kay, to take home, it was that tasty. Oriental Tea house is what I’d regard as a slightly upmarket, western-targeted Yum Cha place; making Yum Cha less intimidating for the masses. My experiences with Yum Cha have always been with my Chinese friends, and they’ve taken me to places where they didn’t speak English and the menus written in Cantonese. (And yes, this is in Auckland. I expected that sort of thing when I was in Hong Kong, but I was surprised by the insulated nature of the Yum Cha places.

Oriental Tea House has a great range of high quality, fresh Chinese fare. Desci and I ordered a set lunch menu. Every item was delicious, hot, and fresh. It also helped that the conversation was in abundance and the company was great.

Even after our food was done, we continued to sit and chat. It was only when I got up to find out which delicious tea we had drunk that we made a move. Even after we walked back up to the hotel, we sat down for a while and chatted for a bit longer.

I was ecstatic when Desci suggested that on Wednesday morning we meet up for a bit of breakfast. I enjoyed her company today, and knowing that I was going to see her again? That news probably made my whole week.

I went back to my hotel, had a shower to get ready to meet Tully. Despite being in the middle of a house move, she asked me if I was free to meet her in the evening.

Tully met me and we walked towards Fitzroy, the flat where she will be moving out from and into the suburbs.

The walk was short, nice, and through the Carlton gardens, past the fountain (turned off, again, I shake my fist at Australian water restrictions. Can I give Australia some of New Zealand’s rain, yes?), and the old exhibition hall.

Tully and I chatted for a while at her place, and then after a while, headed off down the road to have dinner at a tapas bar - Anada, on Gertrude Street..

I had never been to a tapas bar before - even though they are popping up in Auckland and I am very curious about them - so the whole experience was very interesting. I would almost call it Mediterranean Yum Cha. We ordered a number of dishes and got to sample many delicious flavour combinations. Well, we looked at the menu and ordered whatever items we could understand. For a lot of the items, I bet you would’ve been able to see the huge question marks floating above our heads, we were that puzzled about it.

Everything that we ate was gorgeous - though I did notice that I seemed to be getting the larger half of everything. Hmmmm, pass it all to the tourist, they’re on holiday, they’re allowed to eat more! Mind you, I *was* staring at everything longingly, so I would gobble up The Larger Half Of Everything with great gusto. And I told myself I’d been for a run AND done Body Combat, so why don’t I just neutralise everything out with the NOM.

The meal ended with some absolutely delectable churros; which I remember Shauna writing about - though I did not consume mine with tea, I dunked those things in the warm melty chocolate like those things had never been dunked before. Really, I would drop one in there and say loudly, “Ah GODDAMMIT” and spend another five minutes trying to fish the bloody thing out. By then, the churro was well and truly dunked.

Tully and her flatmate very kindly drove me around the city, along with Aussie vs. Kiwi banter to boot. It was quite an eye opener seeing the city at night. For the past few days that I’ve been here, I’ve always been cooped up in the hotel at night - seeing nothing but the view from my hotel room - so being able to look at the city at night was a different sort of beauty. Some of the older buildings were lit up, and glowed against the night sky. We went past one building and I went, “oh my god, it’s GREEN!”, as the lights that were alight outside it were, indeed, green. You don’t get to see that during the day.

It had been a long day, though definitely the best day of this trip so far. Desci, Tully, Body Combat, Dumplings and Churros? A damn good day.