Melbourne has the strongest coffee culture...in fact its an integral way of life. People meet at all hours for "a coffee" and its such an easy way to conduct business or catch up with friends. I love it. Truth be told, I've been hitting the hot chockies and herbal teas these days trying to stay away from the actual caffinated drink....but still, one is able to have a nice conver over a steaming cuppa!

This morning DH and I met with a friend for our post weekend catchup and to just hang out. One story lead to another and he recounted this quaint little tale that I felt compelled to share with all of you....

While travelling around Bali my friend met and expat (aussie) who had decided to take advantage of the 'good living' that one can have in a place like Bali for super cheap.....he purchased a beautiful home by the water and pretty soon became a local in the night scene. One night, he met up with 2 attractive ladies, one slightly older than the other. He invited them back to his love shack....one thing lead to another and they ended up spending the next week together....day and night gelled into each other. After a week or so over breakfast he felt a bit of tension and realized that the females weren't getting along like they usually did.....finally, he couldn't stand it any longer and had to ask what the heck was going on, the younger one stood up and blurted out, "Mom's just being a right bitch!"

Yes, you can just imagine the look on this young man's face.....priceless....

We've been living in Australia for about 14 months now and people often ask us what we miss living here and not in NYC anylonger. Its a funny question, almost predictible. Most of the time, I can't be bothered to get into it so I'll give them the standard, "Only people, friends and really good friends....but you never know, they may move out of NYC one day soon as well." They are usually satisfied with this answer and leave me alone. Which is fine with me. I guess I'm too busy setting up our new life here and don't have time to stop and ponder the true answer to this question.

Well lo-and-behold, something hit me yesterday, something very small but I know one of the things that I do miss....its "flavor." And what I mean by "flavor" is "color-mixed races-vibe-rhythm-flavor". When one walks down the street of NYC you notice the different tones of skin, the different/diverse smells, the many languages spoken.....you're thrown into a world of culture, coolness and languid energy. Mind you, this doesn't happen ALL the time, there are areas and times when this is not prevelant but its usually there....

I was transported to this place after hearing an interview on the radio (here in Melbourne) of an American Black musician....there was something about his tone, the words that he used....things that reminded me of some of my friends who I'd left behind.....this feeling then took me to some of the cafe's, bars, lounges where we used to go that you can't find anywhere else in the world....

Its definately hard to describe in words.....and I'm sure that there are a heap of cool/other worldly type places here, that's not the issue, its what I know and what I miss right now....