TONY V AND EVA V

今晚老天爷还在下毛毛雨，我们在卡尔顿见面。TONIGHT WE HAVE A FANTASTIC TIME WITH Tony and E who are our long time friends from Belgium. Tony and I were colleagues, he in USA, I in Singapore, then Malaysia, then Australia. 不知不觉 I have known Tony for 22 years. Tony worked as a specialist at the Ohio factory and helped me in the initial years of selling narrow aisle products in Asia. When Tony retired he and E decided to move back to Europe. Tony & E were born in Holland but they preferred to live the rest of their lives in Brussels.

上一次我们与他们俩在墨尔本见面的时候是在六年前的今天。那次 we went on the Great Ocean Road drive and looked after them.

Tonight we pick them up from their hotel on Queen St and have our dinner at Lygon街, Carlton. I thought they would enjoy the Saturday night atmosphere and restaurant scene there. And they do. We decide to let our noses do the picking and eventually settle for the Seasons Provedore reataurant on Lygon St. It's a cosy little Italian restaurant and the table service is excellent. We order spaghetti Tagliatelle and lamb shank and sip our BYO De Bortoli Windy Peak Semillon Sauvignon Blanc and Brown Brothers Moscato.We prefer al fresco dining and mingle with other diners and passers by. The night is chilly but not very cold, besides, the outdoor heaters are in full blast .....

"The Lygon St atmosphere here is so much like the night scene in Rome", Eve comments. "There's nothing like this place in Sydney, is there?"

We catch up on their happenings, their recent trips to India, Bali, and their impending trip to Ohio. One of their daughters work as a volunteer in Sulawesi and has recently returned to the US in frustration with the lack luster responses she gets from the locals on the environment programs she is implementing there....

"You must come visit us in Belgium!"

"But I find the task of finding the places to visit in Europe daunting!"

"If you decide to come to Europe we will help you plan your trips. We will take care of the itinerary for Belgium, Holland and France. There are so many things to see and do!"

看来我们一定要去欧洲走一走啦！

晚餐过後我带队去Brunetti for dessert，但 Brunetti 店里边人山人海，我们找不到座位坐，只好走回去 Seasons Provedore 隔墙的 Gelatisimo 吃意大利雪糕当我们的甜点。

希腊区 － Oakleigh

星期五晚上下着毛毛雨，我的另一半说不如我们去希腊区吧。我们在网上看了一遍资料後就决定去 Backbone Grill 用餐。

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希腊区 is located at Oakleigh, specifically on Eaton St. After the WWII many migrants from Italy and Greece came to Australia and settled in Melbourne. The Italians in Carlton and the Greeks in Northcote and Oakleigh. I don't want to have Souvlaki or kalamki for dinner and I feel like meats. SM obliges me and we settle for Scotch fillet grass-fed beef from Launceston and she, suckling pig with lemonates potatoes and fasolakia.

Backbone Grill is warm inside even on a rainy night. We select a private table and watch the chefs prepare our meals. SM's suckling pig does not look appetizing but looks are deceiving. It is so tender and fragrant. My steak is cooked medium and goes well with English mustard.

"How did you like your meal", the cashier asks. "We love it, especially the pork was so tender!". "You know, the lamb and the pig have been on the rotisserie since 8 this morning so it is tender."

Wow, that's wonderful food. We love it.

Outside Backbone Grill, "Let's go and have dessert", SM cajoles. Righto and we duck across the pedestrian mall to a place we enjoyed going from years before; Vanila cakes and lounge.  

I am looking for my Baklava but they can't find it on display. But they have Varitou which is very similar, and SM goes for two types of desserts which I have forgotten their names. Oh they are heavenly nice. So sweet and so calming.