Australia // Somehow I found myself collecting cups...

"Life happens, Coffee helps"

--- mY sTory ---

That's it... I can't even remember how happened, but it did happen (it was in Sydney btw). 


Here in Italy there is not much that culture - unfortunately. I mean...I love hanging out at cafes, smelling the perfume of fresh coffee beans and spending hours admiring people in their "traffic". But...

at the same time.. 

...I even like running from one part to the other of the city holding a cup ...one of the greatest satisfactions in life (at least for me).

I remember that in one of my several jobs there, I have also worked as a cashier at a coffee shop. And once...a guy said "Oh.. s*** the bus is here, it doesn't matter for the coffee .. I ll take another time" (it was already paid, almost done) and... I just ran straight away outside from the bar and I handed the taking away cup while he was taking the ticket on the bus and I will never forget his words "YOU MADE MY DAY"... I was so happy to hear that cos... it is exactly what happens to me when I have coffee in the morning...


"Oh Jerry, don't let's ask for the moon. We have the stars..."


But let's go back to the cups...
For sure they were pretty cool, full of colors and nice indie fonts....yeah...I know... I follow the crowds...but honestly... I like being in the system ;) I always think that it is the way you live it that makes it all another stuff. I guess I got about 80 empty and dirty taking aways cups, hidden (for the joy of my flatmates) a bit everywhere...When it was time to travel back home I had two choices:

EITHER - to bring all of them with me 
OR....
- to take funny pictures and leave them there... (not at the beach of course ;)

Joanna was there with me (miss you!) and she supported me :)

"I have always depended on the kindness of strangers"

Europeans do not normally know that an Australian coffee culture really exists. And as an Italian... I was just saying...no way...we know how to make real coffee... but... I was wrong!


I myself was a bit skeptical when I was told the various tecniques and coffees there. I thougt that they just had an Americano, while as you can see from this chart, you can get quite confused. I think... If I remember well, it's all a matter of coffee amount and froth consistency (??).. please Lance (the barista at the coffee shop where I used to work) correct me if I am not expressing myself in the proper way...

So I have learned that there are: double shot, latte, flat white (my fav), mocha, long black, mugaccino (a capuccino served in a mug - nice word) and that there are lot of types of milk you can choose for your beautiful take away cup (soy, skim, almond, rice, whole...). 

The hardest part of all this was to understand what the hell an aussie was saying to write it down on the cup and ending always with "cheers" (for this read my other post: "Let stalk strine, the Aussie slang - part I").

For today... I guess I am done... tired.. but next time I will have a couple of words on the most popular coffees brand there (Campos, Aromas, Allpress, Vittoria etc.)



And remember... that "Nobody puts Baby in a corner" lol ;)

The answer my friend is blowing in the Gumtree!

Ciao a tutti, amici miei!
(Hallo to everyone, my friends!)

Well, it's one of those rainy days in Milano and it's time to set my mind off for another trip. Australia is so far but one of my friend I met during my East coast travel (Julia) is going to come to Milan for the New Year's Eve and it will be fun to share some nice memories together.

That's why I feel the urge to add one more chapter to my story. And having a look back to some pictures I took there I found the paper of a fortune cookie I had once at the Fox Studios @ Moore Park. It was saying:

"You are kind hearted, hospitable, cheerful and well liked"

It's something I always wish for myself.

There is even a nice story about the time I was @ the Fox Studios, but that is another lucky story I will tell you on another day :)

As a city traveller I like to share what I've lernt while travelling and so far I've not talked about the most important thing, that is what you need in that crazy jungle ... that is money.

If money is important to all of us, you cannot even imagine the importance in Sydney. According to some surveys Sydney was in the first 10 most expensive cities in the world in 2014 (which was the year I was there). However it looks like the situation has changed for this year due to a weaker Australian dollar ... not good.

But let's go back to money.

How can you find that? Easy... by working.

There are different web-sites. The most popular for the travellers community is Gumtree.

Gumtree is an interesting tool not only to look for a job but also if you need a room to rent or to buy things at a good price. It's def the bible for everything.

This website was born from the minds of two entrepreneurs (Simon Crookall and Michael Pennington), who had the idea to set up a classified ads website for Aussies, Kiwies and South Africans arriving in the City.

---- mY sToRY ----

It was ... WeDnEsDaY, 18th JuNe 2014

During my first week there I was 24/7 on Gumtree. After only five days I managed to have my first place and job. GREAT!

I remember it was really hard to find a decent room for a good price. I was so sad that for 200 bucks I was only able to find a bed in a sunroom or in a tent in the living room. Can you believe that?

But in the end I got to Randwick (Eastern Suburbs) where I met three awesome guys (Robert, Max and Justin). It's a pity I didn't take a picture with them all... because they are really great! I miss you guys..

Some friends of mine at my birthday party - 9th June 2015

That evening... I still remember... we had a nice cup of coffee together and I understood from the very first moment it was THAT my place.

And I met these nice people thanks to Gumtree.

And thanks to it I started my adventure.