will work for chocolate

last week our Perth friends came to stay with us for a week. of course it rained the entire week! so  a lot of time was spent in various cafes. they were mighty impressed with Monsier Truffe, a french cafe in Brunswick, that also functions as a chocolate factory.  you can even watch some chocolate making action through a small viewing window.  my favourite, is the enormous archaic cocoa bean crusher (see 2nd pic) that at first seems like an enormous industria interior feature until the french owner comes out and begins to actually use it!  importantly, the coffee is goooood! 

Check out the Age review (which also means forget about getting a seat in this place on the weekends)  http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/restaurants-and-bars/monsieur-truffe-20110728-1i1w6.html

and on Day 2 further down the road for more chocolate with cake

nomads and calico tents

i've spent a lot of time in the goldfields of central Victoria for work and holidays,  in fact my career in archaeology began in Fryerstown at a Chinese digging site. I returned home this morning from a few days in beautiful Maldon and surrounds. a couple of weeks ago i was a bit further northwest for field work, recording and surveying some old golden towns. i have always loved the story of the prospectors and pioneers, and when you find remnants of this history...well,  there is just so much to imagine, it was one hell of a hard life. one of my  favourite things to do is just drive around, take an unsealed road here and there, getting a bit lost, because that's when you find all the good stuff.