Kookabura sits in the old gum tree...

So I'm sitting at the family beach house in Wye River, on the Great Ocean Road, Southwest of Melbourne, and Megan's brother and niece are sitting on the porch, surrounded by king parrots, kookaburas, and cockatoos.  It's a freaking tropical zoo, they swarm to get birdseed (Raw meat for the Kookaburas), which is amply provided for them by Megan's stepmother.  They crash into the glass to get our attention.  They sit on the porch railing waiting for feeding time.  It is wild.  We in North America think of all of these birds as tropical, and here they are, just hanging out by the beach...

And what a beach it is.  Obviously, the entire southern coast of Australia is beachfront (and cliffs above the ocean too), and there is this huge stretch of coastal road built after the Great Depression used to get people to the coast, and out surfing (among other things).  This road is called the Great Ocean Road, and it is simply one of the most stunning drives in the world.  Imagine winding curves through Eucalyptus tree forests, where sheer cliff dropoffs are all over the landscape, creating a winding coastline where you can see for miles.  I can't do it justice, pictures can't do it justice, it's one of those things you really just need to see.  While we were driving, it rained, so for part of the drive we had a rainbow in the ocean.  I don't think I've ever seen an entire rainbow before... Beginning and ending in the sea.

Before we came out here, I spent some time in the Queen Victoria Market... one of the largest markets in the southern hemisphere.  And what a market it is. 5 aisles of farm produce (an aisle being an entire city block, at least), an entire organic section, a food court, a meat/fish section the size of a mall, a deli section with meats/cheese/farmmade butter/bakeries/etc..  And that's just the food.  There's a million silly trinket stalls taking up an area as big as the rest of the market... 

I was walking through the deli, finding things for lunch, and decided I wanted some Smoked Tasmanian Salmon.  I walk up to a stall, ask for some, and inquire as to the quality.  "It's pretty good," the saleslady says. 

"No No No. I don't want pretty good.  What's better?"
"Um, we have some Awesome stuff..."
"Yes! I want Awesome stuff!"

So she goes into the back (of a tiny stall), gets an unmarked package, and gives me a taste. "Smoked ocean trout"  It was awesome. Light, slightly briny, tasting like the ocean...

Some of that, some Aussie triple cream brie, and a baguette make lunch.  Walked around the city, fell in love with it some more.  Sat for a while at the Federation Bells, a bunch of differently toned bells that play for 3 hours a day (non-consecutive), and which you can submit musical creations online... very cool!

So, down to the pub now, and then I'm cooking dinner for 15 people tonight.  You know me...