NEW TOWN

for the past week or two now we've been able to leave the apartment for a day of exploring without bringing a map or guidebook. we have a feel for where things are and how generally to get there. we get lost from time to time but that's all part of the process of discovering a new place. so today we embarked on a map-less and guide-less walk to newtown which is essentially the last frontier of the immediate city suburbs we had to explore. we didn't have a planned route, just an idea of how to get there. so we set out and found ourselves on some empty and sceneless streets. we had to cross a small highway. about 20 minutes into our walk, we were on a side street, questioning our direction and why that part of the city seemed so deserted when we heard it...the clinking of coffee spoons and clanking of dishes. the low hum of conversation from a distance. we nearly kept walking but then looked up to see a cool little sign that read CAFE GIULIA, we were hungry and needing coffee, so we went in.

the crowded cafe was a long galley of a space bookended by a huge street facing window and a sunny outdoor patio. it was all pea green and kitchen chrome with the requisite chalkboard menu and paintings on the walls. the grill was sizzling in the open kitchen and the counter-top was filled with freshly cut fruit and pureed vegetables, yummy breads, and artfully prepared brunches. it was both grungy and gourmet at the same time and the latte was delicious. by far the best cafe we've been to. though we are not technically tourists, everything is still new. so finding places like this, off the map, makes us excited to be in sydney.

oh, and they played belle and sebastian on the stereo.