St. Kilda Festival

Yesterday we happened to be eating breakfast at a place on Fitzroy St., a popular street close to our hotel that leads to the beach and is filled with restaurants, cafes, and bars, when we began to notice an abnormally large quantity of people heading towards the beach. We asked our server what was going on and she told us that it was the day of the St. Kilda Festival. (St. Kilda is the neighborhood where our hotel is located—about ten minutes out of the downtown district). Lucky us—we happened to be staying in St. Kilda during the St. Kilda Festival!

Thousands of people streamed into the St. Kilda area yesterday. The festival turned out to be more like a giant block party, with street performers, bands, and kiosks set up along the beach. Will and I walked all through the area, and stopped at a restaurant that we saw served nachos! (I was so happy!!! And they were pretty good, although not Sunset Grill quality. The salsa was more like marinara sauce with diced onion and green peppers, but they served it with sweet chili sauce on the side, which was an interesting touch.) We also met a man from Germany who ran away from the German army when he was offered ten passports to ten countries for ten thousand euros. He was heading to Spain—his third country—today and eventually planned on winding up in South Africa as his final destination (apparently if he goes back to Germany he’ll be arrested). What a tender slice-of-life moment… sigh.

All in all, I highly recommend the St. Kilda Festival as a great way to spend the Sunday before you start your first day of work (well, not me, but Will!).

Nachos

Aboriginal Muscians with a surprisingly perfect Aussie accent