| We are visiting Australia for the first time in three years in April. And so I am beginning to make lists - lists of who we have to see, appointments we need to make, affairs that need to be taken care of and - most importantly - things I want to eat. Like chicken rice from Ricky's Chicken Rice. Mmmm. How have I gone three years without chicken rice? And Violet Crumbles. I looove Violet Crumbles. We have to go to Ding Hao for yum cha, and the Red Rock Noodle Bar for drunken noodles, and have gelati at that place on Rundle Mall that I've forgotten the name of. Cibo! I think it's Cibo. And pizza at the Rostrevor Pizza Bar. And I'm gonna bring back a tin of Milo, and find somewhere that'll do me a roast lamb roll, and you know the weirdest food I miss? Salad sandwiches. They're just not the same here. Everything's cut too big, and there's never enough filling, and they hardly ever put salt & pepper on them. Plus, no-one ever puts beetroot in a salad sandwich in England. They just don't seem like real salad sandwiches if they don't have beetroot.
But that's not the end of it. Lists of things to take back with me, lists of stuff left in Adelaide that I want to have here, every day I think of a new list. I'm not really a natural list-user, though. I think them up & rehearse them over & over in my head instead of writing them all down. If I write them down, I forget that I've written them - or I put them somewhere safe & forget where they are. Should we stay with Mr Ata's parents or my brother? I know Mr Ata has asked his parents, and they said yes, but maybe we should stay with my brother. I think Mr Ata's other brother will stay with his parents as well, that'll make for a crowded house. Plus, I'd like to spend some time with my brother & his wife. But I don't want to be a nuisance, and I know he works crazy shift hours, and I also know she goes to a lot of effort for guests. So maybe we should stay with my in-laws. I have floated the possibility of not staying with anyone & going to a hotel instead, but I suspect that someone will get offended if we do that. I think I've mostly convinced Mr Ata that we should hire a car, so we won't be dependent on buses/lifts/borrowed cars. Plans, plans, and more plans. |
