Sunday, June 20, 2010

Nice Cafe on the Beach



Yesterday I gathered all my energy and embarked on a long bike ride from Bourke Road in Camberwell to Port Melbourne. It was a good day...not too cold, sunny but a little windy. When I am not riding I love a little bit of wind. I remember when I was in highschool I used to love going to the roof of my house (terrace) and stand feeling the wind in my face...I guess it has to do with that feeling of freedom. Windy days were my favourite. Now when it's windy, especially if I am riding, I think of how much harder it is to get where you want to go. Headwind is the worst. My bike felt like it was glued to the concrete, it was hard to move it forward. My only hope was to get wind in favour on the way back, however it doesn't work like that as the wind has a mind of its own. I pumped my tires and that helped a little. Traffic was bad. Cars everywhere and people doing stupid things, parked cars were also crazy opening and closing doors, getting into cars or coming out of them the ignorant way (that is without caring who comes behind). Finally once we crossed over the Yarra river things settled and I enjoyed the ride more. The music in my ipod was shuffling from Piazzola to The Decemberists and I enjoyed a variety of moods. Once in Port Melbourne, I wanted to find this cafe that I saw once on our way back from St Kilda. It is sort of in between St. Kilda and Port Melbourne and it sits right on the beach. It was further than I thought but we found it. It was 4 O'clock and it was about to close!!! I really find it so annoying that beautiful places close so early on a Saturday or Sunday...why? What a weird thing it is. It's like everyone is afraid of the sunset. Can you imagine how nice it would be to sit at this place facing the ocean and see the sunset while you have a drink? Anyway we had our coffee but it wasn't as enjoyable as the noise of the closing of business made the atmosphere a rushed and unsettling one. I really would like to see this multicultural Australia embrace the nocturnal habits of Europe and South America, only to be able to enjoy a drink at the beach or a coffee at night without having to worry about the watch.

Ayer tome coraje y embarque en una bicicleteada larga desde Bourke Road hasta Port Melbourne. El tiempo estaba lindo, no muy frio y soleado pero un poco ventoso. Cuando no estoy en la bici, me gusta un poquito de viento. Me acuerdo cuando estaba en la secundaria me encantaba subirme a la terraza y sentir el viento en mi cara. Supongo que eso tiene que ver con ese sentimiento de libertad. Dias ventosos eran mis favoritos. Ahora cuando esta ventoso, especialmete si estoy en la bici, solo pienso en cuanto mas dificil se hace llegar a donde queres ir. Viento en contra es lo peor. Mi bici parecia pegada al asfalto y era dificil moverme. Mi unica esperanza es que a la vuelta el viento este a favor, pero nunca pasa porque el viento tiene sus propias ideas. Le puse aire a mis ruedas y eso mejoro un poco la situacion. El trafico era un desastre, autos en todos lados y gente metiendose y saliendo de autos estacionados sin mirar quien viene atras. Una vez que cruzamos el Yarra la cosa mejoro y el camino fue mas disfrutable. La musica en mi ipod variaba de Piazzola a Los Decemberists y disfrute de una variedad de animos. Una vez en Port Melbourne queria encontrar este cafecito que una vez vi sobre la playa. Resulto mas lejos de lo que pensaba entre St Kilda y Port Melbourne. Llegamos a eso de las 4 y el lugar estaba por cerrar. Como puede ser que un lugar tan lindo sobre la playa cierre tan temprano un Sabado o un Domingo? Es como que tienen miedo del anochecer. Tomamos un cappuccino y comi una medialuna calentita con mermelada pero no fue muy lindo porque escuchaba como estaban empacando y limpiando para cerrar. Me gustaria que Australia abrace las costumbres europeas o sudamericanas y los cafes permanezcan abiertos hasta tarde para disfrutar un atarder mirando el mar y bebiendo un cafecito calentito sin preocuparme de mirar el reloj.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow! What a beautiful descriptive passge Ale.Your choice of words made me feel I was there.Love the photos too.xo Tonia

vale said...

Que lindo suena eso...un cafecito caliente en un barcito en la playa al atardecer con un abriguito puesto mmmmm, quiero sentir eso...

vale said...

Que lindo quedo el blog con ese fondo, muy lindo.