Yes, today is the first day of Spring in Australia and New Zealand. Who knew? It just never occurred to me that there was any other way to mark the change of seasons than with the corresponding solstice or equinox, and yet apparently there is. (Luckily you all back home can still wait a few more weeks before you have to accept the fact that summer is over!)
As an aside, meanwhile, a quick check of Wikipedia reveals that in Ireland Spring traditionally starts on February 1st which seems downright insane given how bitterly cold it must still be in February in Ireland. On the other hand, in Sweden the meteorologists define the beginning of spring as the first occasion on which the average daytime temperature exceeds zero degrees Celsius for seven consecutive days. That makes some sense at least though this approach allows for Spring to start on different days depending on latitude and elevation.
Anyway, back here in Australia, we have a day of professional visits today so there won't likely be any pretty photos or funny stories. So I'll just mention dinner last night. We decided to stroll down to Chinatown. One little block is just crammed full of Asian restaurants. No way for us to know which one to pick so we chose the most crowded one. While eating our chili king prawns and noodles we noticed a long line snaking away from a tiny window next to a bakery. In the entire time we were eating the line never got any smaller. We had no idea what they were selling, but we were darn sure we wanted some.
So after dinner we joined the line. The sign said:
Emperor Cream Puffs
$.35 for 1
$1 for 3
$2 for 7
$4 for 15
$5 for 20
Fresh and hot
So we were in line to get the local equivalent of Krispy Kreme doughnuts!
Needless to say, at the back of the line we figured we'd get 3 just to see what they were like.
By the middle of the line we realized they were only about 1-1/2" in diameter so we had upped our intended order to 7. But by the front of the line we realized that if you bought 15 or more they actually packed them in a little kind of Tupperware container. So 15 it was.
I wish we'd had the camera, though the sign said 'no photos', because in this tiny little room - not much bigger than a king-sized bed, was one girl and an amazing little assembly-line machine that squirted out the dough on two sides of a cast-iron mold, snapped the sides together like a book, worked its way around like a little model train track, injected the custard and Voila! out dropped the little cream puffs right back in front at the window.
Very cute and VERY YUMMY!
As an aside, meanwhile, a quick check of Wikipedia reveals that in Ireland Spring traditionally starts on February 1st which seems downright insane given how bitterly cold it must still be in February in Ireland. On the other hand, in Sweden the meteorologists define the beginning of spring as the first occasion on which the average daytime temperature exceeds zero degrees Celsius for seven consecutive days. That makes some sense at least though this approach allows for Spring to start on different days depending on latitude and elevation.
Anyway, back here in Australia, we have a day of professional visits today so there won't likely be any pretty photos or funny stories. So I'll just mention dinner last night. We decided to stroll down to Chinatown. One little block is just crammed full of Asian restaurants. No way for us to know which one to pick so we chose the most crowded one. While eating our chili king prawns and noodles we noticed a long line snaking away from a tiny window next to a bakery. In the entire time we were eating the line never got any smaller. We had no idea what they were selling, but we were darn sure we wanted some.
So after dinner we joined the line. The sign said:
Emperor Cream Puffs
$.35 for 1
$1 for 3
$2 for 7
$4 for 15
$5 for 20
Fresh and hot
So we were in line to get the local equivalent of Krispy Kreme doughnuts!
Needless to say, at the back of the line we figured we'd get 3 just to see what they were like.
By the middle of the line we realized they were only about 1-1/2" in diameter so we had upped our intended order to 7. But by the front of the line we realized that if you bought 15 or more they actually packed them in a little kind of Tupperware container. So 15 it was.
I wish we'd had the camera, though the sign said 'no photos', because in this tiny little room - not much bigger than a king-sized bed, was one girl and an amazing little assembly-line machine that squirted out the dough on two sides of a cast-iron mold, snapped the sides together like a book, worked its way around like a little model train track, injected the custard and Voila! out dropped the little cream puffs right back in front at the window.
Very cute and VERY YUMMY!
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