Biking craze (interspersed with more dessert photos)

Biking and desserts seem to be a major theme in our lives these days. This past week involved checking out some new areas and doing some more biking. Both last weekend and this weekend, we went on a bike ride along the shore (going south from our area). This weekend we went a bit further than last, although it wasn't that sunny. Even with the clouds, it was pretty, and there were stretches of the path lined with plants that smelled wonderful, especially combined with the smell of sea air (Naomi thought the plants smelled sort of like pepper). This is a picture from last weekend to prove our new-found past-time.

During this past week, we met a couple (friends of a friend) who also just moved to Melbourne from the US, in an area called Elsternwick. It seemed like a nice area and had delicious Italian hot chocolate (it was very thick, almost like pudding!) and cake. These next two photos are part of our burgeoning series of 'close-up photos of food' taken by Colin.


Now back to the world of biking. Apparently, we're not the only ones in Melbourne who like biking. For those of you who follow sports, you may be aware of Australia's recent excitement that one of their own won the Tour de France. (He was apparently only the 3rd non-European to have won the race). They held a welcome home parade for him in Melbourne (he was born in the Northern Territory - a state in the north - but now owns a home near Melbourne). Naomi went to see what all the hub-bub was about on Friday. There were a lot of people packed in the big main square and lining the street he rode down. The parade really just involved him riding a short-ish distance from the main art museum to Federation Square (during which he went very slowly, shaking everyone's hands). I (Naomi) couldn't see much past all the people, but had a pretty good view of one of the screens. Lots of people were wearing yellow and arrived on bikes. The below photo shows the Premier of Victoria (the state Melbourne is in) handing something to Cadel Evans (there were also lots of cute banners saying "Yell for Cadel").
Here you can sort of see the crowd. After a speech by the Premier (I believe he's like the state governor), they showed a pre-taped message from the Prime Minister congratulating Cadel, and a statement from the 'opposition leader' was read by a presenter (interesting...). There was a lot of pride in the air - at least by all the official people. They also were very excited to present Cadel a giant banner with a picture of a yellow jersey saying "Australia Congratulates Cadel."
Our biking adventures will continue...but for now, wishing you all a great week, wherever in the world you are!