around the world in eighty minutes

This afternoon I went from Italy to China, bought lunch in Japan and then took a leisurely trip down memory lane to the old days.

I live in virtual Italy - walking distance from a fresh cheese shop where they hand make buffalo mozzarella, a fresh pasta shop, an italian bakery and pizza to die for. I'm spoilt. Sometimes when I go in the middle of the week I am the only one in my local supermarket not speaking Italian (I could try but once I'm through the pleasantries in my high school Italian there's not a lot of food bought!).

Another local suburb is very Asian influenced and the specialty Asian supermarket is a package designer's and food lover's dream. Through quite random experimentation, since language is an even bigger barrier here, I have found some wonderful things. Today I got fresh rice noodles for home made pad sie eiuw (sp?), these fantastic seaweed snacks which we love, some frozen edamame (soy bean pods), fresh soy sprouts (never had them), new soy, mushrooms, green tea and some mung bean seeds.

I bought lunch from a favourite sushi shop in the mall and then came home via the local Salvos (op shop). If you've seen the badge on my sidebar you'll know I'm joining in a vintage sheet swap and I was hoping to find some today, hoping but not confident. I'm not a great thrifter, I don't have great luck and I know I'm not patient enough, I usually lose faith half way through a likely pile. Today for some reason the gods were smiling. I got three lovely thick cotton sheets, this little dog bowl, a 'brand new with tags' A-line denim skirt in my size for $6 ($90 on the tag!) and an as new cushion made of Natural linen with mother of pearl buttons for two dollars! 

At the oppy they were playing the local Christian radio station which proclaimed itself proudly between songs as 'Your Sinatra Station'. Amongst all the 60s manchester and seventies clothes that didn't seem too out of place! And after all that when I got home this parcel was waiting, all the way from New York New York. Lovely Aki's beautifully wrapped  frame pouch. It was a good day :-)