Day three: Sunday

Today Caroline and I enjoyed a late start and a great breakfast of poached eggs on rice cakes with bean sprouts and tomatoes with basil. Today we were headed to the Kite Festival! After making sure all the cameras were charged and our lunches were packed, we walked to the train station and bought ourselves some tickets. After a very short ride, we were in the neighborhood of Darebin. While walking toward the park, we could see the kites already flying and smell the food frying. It seemed the entire city was headed toward the festival, dogs and all!

The park has this awesome lookout that's been built upon what used to be a land fill. You'd never guess; it's sculptured beautifully with large dark rocks and sand, and the view from the top provides an amazing 360 degree panorama. The sun was full and bright and the sky was a perfect blue, with the occasional white fluffy cloud floating by. In all, a perfect backdrop for all the colorful kites!





The event was a genuine celebration of the sport of kite-flying. People of all ages we there, and the spirit was friendly and welcoming. As the hours rolled by, the park filled up with an amazing number of people and the sky became alive with soaring, ducking colors. Booths were selling starter kites, and plenty of people brought their own. Even though the airspace became crowded and strings got tangled, all was in good fun. As Caroline and I ate lunch in the shade, we watched a stray kite land on the rooftop of a neighboring house, and we found great entertainment in watching the owner (and his son) rescue it. ;)

After lunch we wandered around more. A marching band went right past us:


and then we splurged on a slushie (I had blue) and sat down to watch an African band.

Many uninhibited people got up to dance in front of the stage; young children and their mothers, some fellow ethnic dancers from a different show, and this one crazy guy:



The long hours in the sun (and the FUN!) had us pretty worn out by the end of the day. Back at home, we decided to make use of our what-we-think-is-marrow. Caroline had the great idea to make a casserole out of it, so we hollowed it out and stuffed it with a mixture of hamburger, the meat of the marrow, rice, and some herbs and spices. While it was baking, Caroline's brother Chris showed up to replace a belt in the car he's loaning her. We invited him in (Caroline made him dinner as a thank-you) and when the casserole was done, offered him some. He declined, as any guy probably would, so Caroline and I took our first tentative bite...


And LOVED it!!

Another AWESOME day comes to an end!!
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