I'm thinking I was maybe a little bit too excited for the beginning of winter and instead I should focus on autumn while we have it. The last few days have been chilly but sunny, which is the best find weather because you can wear jeans and a cardi while still enjoying clear, bright skies.
Something that annoys me a little bit about Melbourne is that we rarely get to experience the full range of the seasons properly. Sure summer is hot and winter is cold, but autumn too often feels like winter and spring looks like summer (with more rain). I get super jealous of people who live in places where the leaves actually turn brown, yellow and red in autumn instead of remaining evergreen, so when I see evidence of something like this in Melbourne I really have to stop and admire it.
I've tried to spend the maximum time possible outdoors this weekend as it's been my first weekend off work for a very very long time. Ikea is a bubble, it's a whole other world, especially when working in markethall where there aren't even windows. So yesterday after afternoon tea at the Windsor for my aunt's birthday I dragged my mum (on crutches) to Fed Square to check out the book market and sit on the steps listening to jazz music. We only got snippets of jazz because it was 4pm and they were just setting up for their 5 o'clock show, but it was still a really nice atmosphere there with everyone sitting around and chatting. I think Melbourne (and Australia in general) needs more communal public areas like the town squares they have all over Europe. That way we can actually feel like a group of people rather than just a crowd of strangers. That's just my opinion anyway.
