An afternoon in the CITY

This afternoon we decided to try Sacs Gluten Free cafe, which used to be named Silly Yaks and obviously specializes in gluten free foods, mainly breads, cakes, and cookies. Our ulterior motive is to form a roster of cafes suitable for all-day writing stints. The place has to be fairly quiet, have comfortable seating, a view of something, and have good food at fair prices. We can't feel in the way, either. And it has to be fairly close to home or easy to get to.

So we loaded up the laptops (just in case we got lucky first time out) and after returning the two overnight rentals, headed into the city. We stopped at a couple of Op shops along the way but didn't find any must-haves.

Walking into Sacs, I noticed a sign on the door that forbid the entry of outside food. Sacs stands for Special Allergy Cafe and Store and is has quite a reputation. We sat down and ordered lunch and for a while, we were the only ones sitting down at a table. One by one, customers would come in to buy a loaf of bread or a few desserts (which looked SPECTACULAR), but by the time our meals were served, the lunch crowd came filtering in.


I ordered the gnocchi ragu:


And Caroline ordered a steak and bacon pie:


Both dishes were great and I wouldn't have known either were suited for dietary restraints. In fact, there were several other dishes that I'd love to go back and try. AND DESSERT!!!! Although not really suitable as a writing cafe, I still give it a major two thumbs up!

Since we didn't get any writing done (but wanted to) Caroline took me to the State Library so we could sit for a while there. What an amazing place! The building is HUGE and crowded with high school and college-aged kids, both eating on the front lawn and packed into the many computer/reading rooms. They are doing homework. And being quiet. It's WEIRD.

We checked out the Victorian Writer's Center, a writing group that recently moved into one of the buildings connected to the library. One day soon, Caroline is going to join the group.



After stowing my backpack in a locker (yes, the library has a rental locker room), we passed through SECURITY and made our way into one of the less crowded reading rooms. The room was massive, with a second floor bordering the edge and a huge glass dome ceiling. The center of the room was filled with tables and chairs and on either side, rows of long work stations with power outlets. We found a pair of empty seats next to some girls working on math homework and quickly got to work. It's a great place to be if you need a more disciplined work environment, as the near-silence while everyone around you works puts a you-should-be-busy-too feeling in the air. We stayed for a couple hours and squeezed out a few hundred words before deciding to take our leave in hopes of beating rush hour.

For dinner that night we got set up with leftover fajitas and another movie, Into the Wild. But about an hour into it, Caroline's brother Chris called and wanted us to accompany him to the art gallery where he's been working, while he did some late-night touch-ups. We put everything away and got changed back into presentable clothes, and he picked us up around 8.

The art gallery is located on the second and third floors of an old building that used to be a house. Chris has been doing renovations since before my first visit to Australia and he walked us through all the transformations he's made. His work is incredible (walls and windows removed or installed, lighting rewired, paint, even a huge movable wall that is both functional and beautiful. Caroline and I looked at the questionable artwork on display while Chris worked, and encountered the third floor's resident Ghost Cat.



I do not understand most modern art:



But to each their own, I guess. I think the trick to selling artwork is to have a huge gallery opening and get everyone drunk enough to shell out hundreds of dollars. Who else would spend that much for a 'Golden Vagina' original print??

When Chris was done working we followed him to Grill'd and stole some of his fries as he ate and we talked about the differences between Australian and American culture.

Back at home, we tried to finish Into the Wild but the night was late and we had to save the ending for the next day. *yawn*

*Tracked my Tour today...