Also on Pom in Oz was a little posting by Charlotte who had just moved to central Melbourne and she was seeking similar aged girls to have some fun with. You can see her little face in the photos above. It was like a sweet lonely hearts ad and although I'm not as young as Charlotte, we can say we are the same generation. So our first date was just for drinks straight from work and she very cleverly scheduled a 9pm netball game she had to go to so if I turned out to be awful she had a good excuse to leave! Charlotte arrived in Melbourne a few days before we did to be with her boyfriend. She has met lots of people through her boyfriend but is keen to make friends of her own and I admire that quality in her because it would be very easy to just hang out with her boyf and his friends. She has visited the city on various occasions so had a head start on us in that respect and she has already secured work too. We did get along on our first date, no doubt helped by the wine, so much so that we had our second date a week later which was yesterday. I could tell she liked me though as this time we decided to not just have drinks but extend to dinner too! :)
I should really put this into the restaurant section but I didn't take photos and no doubt we'll go again so I'll do it properly then. We went to a little alleyway called De Graves Street where there are a few coffee shops, wine bar type outlets and went to De Graves Espresso Bar for some food. This place was recommended to me before we arrived in Melbourne by Andrea whfrom Core Design. She even drew me a little map and said it was a great little gem for coffee and food and she's definitely right. Thanks for the rec Andrea!
We started off with a glass of wine and followed that up by ordering some tapas. We had chilli prawns, bruschetta, garlicky mushrooms, chorizo and patatas bravas; a veritable feast. Continuing with Spanish theme we washed it all down with a jug of sangria. A BIG jug of sangria that never seemed to end! A bit of chit chat here and there and we decided to head up to Max Brenner's for hot chocolate.
Charlotte had the Italian Thick Milk Chocolate and I had the the Dark Chocolate Mocha as can be seen in the photos. She said her's was yummy and I declared mine that way too. We were in the shopping centre that houses a Big W and I was in need of a toaster so we decided to call in and do some shopping too. So far dates with Charlotte include wine, food and shopping so long may they continue!
I bought a $5 toaster (equivalent to £3) and Charlotte was going to buy the $5 matching kettle but decided to upgrade and went with the $8 one instead! We are both very proud of our purchases but our other halves were decidedly less enthusiastic. Charlotte's boyfriend wants to upgrade to a better and pricier model which is funny given that they currently have no kettle. Sounds like he'd rather have no kettle than a cheap one! And Steve, well he said he thinks my toaster won't do more than two rounds before blowing up and the fact that it is white and therefore doesn't match the kitchen means it needs to be kept in a cupboard until it is used and then returned to that cupboard! Men - such snobs!
Well I had some really nice toast for breakfast this morning and I hope Charlotte enjoyed a cup of tea or whatever she is using the kettle for!