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Australia Comes to San Jose
At the end of my foot-bound travels about Santa Clara chronicled in "Walkabout," I came upon the Australian Store in San Jose (www.AussieProducts.com). Sadly, at that time, the store was closed. Though, I was able to get a catalog from Krista, over the barrier of the baby gate by the employee entrance. I had to be content with a catalog, just like a little kid of the last generation, wishing upon a Sears's catalog before Christmas.
That is, of course, until the store reopened.
The Australian Store, sans Durango
(Christyne's white Durango -- what else? -- is typically parked in front. For once, I had a shot at this angle)
If the preceding shot appears crooked, that is only because I was too giddy to keep my cellphone camera straight. Just think of this landmark edifice as our local Leaning Tower of Pisa. OK, maybe the architecture's not on par -- this is Silicon Valley after all, but the souvenirs here far exceed those of Pisa. Why? Simple.
This is where they sell Tim Tams.
At last, I was able to enter the temple to the perfect coffee biscuit, and walk its aisle of betrothal.
The Path to Biscuit Bliss
So dizzy did I feel at the prospect of my arranged matrimony with packaged pastries, I seem to have momentarily collapsed. That or I just neglected to rotate the image.
The Flags Appear To Be Marching On The Floor...
Closer I came to my intended. Rapture was soon to be mine, in bite-sized biscuit form. Picking myself up from the floor, I glance over to my right, and there she was, all laid out in splendor.
The Rows of Tim Tams
Skipping the mere milk chocolates like a lover spurned, I focused on those packs screaming "Cardiac arrest! Code Blue!" -- the double chocolates.
Tim Tam Double Chocolate Biscuits
In addition to the double chocolates, I grabbed a bag of assorted cookies, like a kid on Halloween.
Tim Tam Assorted Chocolates
What they didn't have, which I hope to see in the next shipping container to leave Australia around the first of August, are the Dark Chocolate Tim Tams. Therein lies my destiny, for as with coffee and the fairer sex, my taste buds seem to prefer such unsugared intensity. I noticed that they also carried the assorted creams Kellie and her equestrian friends munch upon during their breaks. These appear to be useless for sipping coffee through like straws, and have little cocoa content, so I passed them over.
The Assorted Creams
Having acquired a few packages of Tim Tams, good for a few days at least, I looked about at some of the other things the store had to offer. The shelves facing the Tim Tams offer a variety of goods sure to strike chords of sympathy in Aussie ex-pats, but which only amuse a foreigner like me, and inspire more creative fusion cookery.
Shelves Full of Australian Imports
Then I turn, naturally, to the recommended reading materials.
Survival Guides to Australian Adventures
(In need of one on slang and swear words -- much the same thing in Oz)
Here's something my Land Rover wanted me to get. I told it it needed a few door dings taken care of first.
How To Confuse Kiwis and Californians
The Australian Store is just starting to build an Internet presence, just like yours truly. They've even put a link to "Walkabout" on their Facebook fan page. No doubt this starry-eyed entry will join it soon. They have better signage though, at www.AussieProducts.com. I just stick my thumb out on the Information Highway.
Sign of the Times
Once home, the Tim Tams are safely ensconced in my freezer, alongside a bag of coffee and a few other essentials for good living.
Traveling in a fried-out combie
On a hippie trail, head full of zombie
I met a strange lady, she made me nervous
She took me in and gave me breakfast
And she said,
"Do you come from a land down under?
Where women glow and men plunder?
Can't you hear, can't you hear the thunder?
You better run, you better take cover."
Buying bread from a man in Brussels
He was six foot four and full of muscles
I said, "Do you speak-a my language?"
He just smiled and gave me a vegemite sandwich
And he said,
"I come from a land down under
Where beer does flow and men chunder
Can't you hear, can't you hear the thunder?
You better run, you better take cover."
Lying in a den in Bombay
With a slack jaw, and not much to say
I said to the man, "Are you trying to tempt me
Because I come from the land of plenty?"
And he said,
"Oh! Do you come from a land down under? (oh yeah yeah)
Where women glow and men plunder?
Can't you hear, can't you hear the thunder?
You better run, you better take cover."
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