Beaches, Not All Equal

beauty of LorneIt’s times like this, when I’m really relaxed, that I think about the beach. I grew up in Port Douglas, which is a really tourist-heavy beach town, so I always felt just a little bit above the people who just came there on holiday. I knew every inch of the place, of course. Fortunately I’ve grown up a bit since then, and I can’t really feel superior since I moved all the way down to Melbourne for work. Reaping the consequences of that now that it’s winter…

But here in the café, Johnny’s obviously intending for a kind of nautical theme. I like how the tip jar is shaped like a lighthouse, and the exposed wooden beams really make me think of a sailing ship. My friend still back in Port Douglas told me to go on a beach holiday if I was feeling too homesick. All signs point to Lorne, accommodation luxury and the world class beaches are…sandy. But as sandy and luxury as the whole place is, I doubt it can replicate a Port Douglas winter, which is amazing by the way (hovering around 25, no jellyfish or sharks, clouds are a rarity). But yeah, again, if I was really missing that stuff I wouldn’t have come to Melbourne of all places. Sometimes in life, you have to sacrifice some things, and weather has become one of them for me. I certainly wasn’t finding a real job up there, unless I wanted to work in my friend’s surf and beach trinkets shop. Not that it wouldn’t be fun, but it’s not really a mega career starter. Man, growing up really sucks.

Still, here I am. Better make the most of it, confirm that St Kilda’s beach is really as bad as everyone says it is and then…I dunno, maybe genuinely look into accommodation. My company needs things like Lorne function venues, so I don’t know…maybe I can nudge them into a beach retreat and I can score it all for free. Still, it’s nice that I have a café that reminds me a bit of home. Great coffee, too.

-Noel

Rosa from Bolivia

conference centresWhile I love the ability to prepare food for people the way I love to eat it, and making a good cup of coffee for someone’s first sip of the day, by far the best part of my job is all the amazing people I am blessed enough to meet through my trade. Like I’ve said a thousand times before and will continue to say here again, I just love talking to people! And in my line of work, some of the people I have the pleasure of talking to are truly inspirational.

Take Rosa for example. Sitting at table 23 every morning at exactly 9 o’clock, Rosa has become a favourite of mine over the last several months. A travel blogger from Bolivia, she keeps me in the loop about her exploits around our country over her morning short macchiato. While I’ve managed to discover that she is, in fact, a Bolivian national, Rosa is always far happier talking about her work. Just this morning, for instance, we had a very relaxed conversation where she told me about the conference centres she’d inspected on behalf of the freelance writing agency she works for. All she wanted to talk about was the amazing places she’d been to, particularly Lorne, a small town on the Great Ocean Road. Rosa just simply couldn’t stop raving about Lorne, country Victoria, and the accommodation she stayed at. All my efforts to change the subject away from Victoria to her travels elsewhere in the world were, as usual, entirely in vain. She’s a very forceful woman, that Rosa. She steers the conversation where she wants to, with no thought of the will or interest of others. Regardless of what it is exactly she’s been through, I know that she’s suffered a lot. It’s truly wonderful to see her here, such a strong and confident young woman!