(This actually taken on , but it’s filed under since I didn’t want to make another month on the main page just for this entry.)
I’m pretty sure that this was the last time I actually was able to go out for a meal. A small pot of tea with scones, clotted cream, and jam, served at a cafe in the Royal Botanical Gardens.
All the way back in , Graham and Em were in town for a conference and we had brunch here. Graham, in extremely British fashion, ordered this, all while insisting that it was really a “teahouse” and definitely not a “cafe.” Hanging out with them was definitely the highlight of my October, since that was when basically all of the shit in my life starting piling up. Being able to chat with I trusted and had known since undergrad was really healing and helped me feel like the world wasn’t quite so bleak for a time.
I had been chatting with Allison and she mentioned that one of her friends was visiting Australia. Emily was taking advantage of the cheap coronavirus cruise fares and had flown from New York to New Zealand and to take a weeklong trans-Tasman cruise. I’m pretty sure she was literally the last new person I had an actual conversation with since quarantine started. I so rarely get people who visit me in Melbourne because of how isolated Australia is from the rest of the world, and it felt good to play host and show someone the cool parts of town, even if it was only for an afternoon.
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