The signs of Spring are around.

The Noon Flowers are in full bloom at the salt Marsh in the Jawbone Reserve.

Also the water birds are returning to the mangroves and mudflats to feed and breed. The wet conditions in inland Australia may mean that some birds may not come to the coast but stay in the inland wetland. But it was great to see some arrivals like;

Spoonbills;

Egrets;

White faced herons;

And the old friend that rarely leave, the Australian Pelican. This one was catching a fish. Hunting, priming, then strike. Two attempts for two fish.

There are also beautiful views in and from the reserve.

Another sign of spring is finally here was the nice turn up of Guzzis at the monthly coffee catchup on Saturday.

A collection of bikes at the coffee kiosk in Lygon Street an Italian Hub in Melbourne

While it’s still a battle for Spring to kick winter out the door, it will prevail. Such is the cycle of the seasons. Meanwhile way up north in Queensland. Julia Creek has experienced its hottest ever October day- 43.9c.

When travelling in Europe people ask me – What is the weather like in Australia? I answer – It depends where and when. The above is a good example of why!

Its a Southern Hemisphere October but doesn’t feel like Spring

Its been a wet spring in Australia with floods right across the country. Even parts of Australia that is normally desert is in flood.

In the little part of the country that I call home, Melbourne, has had its fair share of rain and at one of the local fields the new sport bicycle water skiing has been invented. And a fun sport for the family as we can see.

But for me my cycle trail is often blocked at the causeway at Koroit Creek Estuary which floods at high tide.

One of the quaint aspects of this little part of Melbourne is the little fishing villages up the little inlets.

There are breaks in the rain and that is an opportunity of enjoying the aspects of beauty of my part of Port Philip.

I hope you enjoy this little aspects as well.

Back Home in Melbourne, Australia

Back in Melbourne and the adventure riding gear all in the wash soaking out months of sweat and grime it was time to adopt a change of style from Adventure biker to Urban biker and head into Melbourne’s palace of food Victoria Market.

Its strange the things I was looking forward to doing when getting back home. I bet shopping and cooking wasn’t what came to the top of mind!

After 6 months of cooking on a single burner camp stove and eating in cafes there is a certain joy to being back in a fully equipped kitchen and cook some of my favourite meals.

Mmm stuffed peppers with sauteed potatoes and fish curry !

But the itch in my feet never really goes away and I had missed the Australian bush a lot while traveling in the Northern Hemisphere.

There have been lots of rain and floods on the east coast of Australia. So on the first fine day I headed to the Otway ranges for a day trip…

to take a walk in the temperate rain forest and…

to check the flow in a couple of the waterfalls.

After many 6 months of riding a motorbike the old legs needed some TLC so it was back on the bicycle to get the old hip and leg joints moving.

Spring is in the air and despite the rain the weather is mild. And already people are venturing out onto the local beach.

Agh the joy of traveling from Autumn to Spring with another summer around the corner.

Nice to be back home in Melbourne, Australia!!

Vignettes in Tuscany

After crossing the Cols from France into Italy (http://piecemealadventurer.com/2022/09/06/three-col-passes-to-italy/) I headed south to the Mediterranean coast and then east to Tuscany as I had a little time before I wanted to be at Lake Como.

From Savona to Lavante the road winds from coastal Mediterranean and over the headlands and through the sprawling city of Genova.

How lucky was I when this lovely young Swiss couple couple asked my to join them for dinner in Trigosa.

Next day it was a long ride along the coast to Tuscany and the village of Altopascio.

Murals around the town mark that the village is a stop on the pilgrim trail with many walkers in the village.

A day in Florence gave me a taste of the beautiful city and a plan to return.

Over the mountains from Altopascio is the other iconic city of Bologna. Famous for inventing Bolognese sauce, lasagne and mortadella so a city famous for its food and for its porticos.