Pics of St. Kilda goodness!

Here are the pics from my tasty weekend adventure. Enjoy calorie free!

Packages from Mom! (minus the candy corn because I ate it...haha)
Mmmm hot cocoa!

Port Melbourne

St. Kilda beach.

Beach!

Cool community veggie garden!!

Luna Park!

Ooooooo aaaaahhhhhh.

I basically ate the whole left row.

St. Kilda. :)

Awww, cute little ducklings!

Albert Park

St. Patricks cathedral, maybe??

Halloween decor! Sweet!

Mom is fabulous- everyone else needs to step it up!

Guess what came in the mail today!?! More packages from America! Woohoo!

Thanks to my lovely mother, I had an afternoon feast of hot cocoa and candy corn. Mmmm mmmm good.

Thanks, Mom, for the lifetime supply of hot cocoa (I'll go through it in a day though, it's that good) and the Halloween candy corn (I've already eaten half the bag....)

Dad, especially, you had better get it together. I know you can't work your iPhone or text or send emails or post comments to my blog, but I know you know how to send your favorite daughter packages! At this rate, you had better send me a pony or something.....

Love you Mom ( let's just wait and see about the rest of you...)!

I ate too much in St. Kilda.

Hiya!

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend. I know I did!

However, let's just start with the fact that just now I was itching my neck and something came off on my finger. What could it be but, yes, a baby spider. My room is being taken over!!! Every night now I find another baby spider crawling on my bed. Seriously people, just clean this room once in a century! Geez.

Anyway, back to non-scary stuff.

City day went like this- Queen Vic Market to City Baths to Smith St. to Brunswick St. to Fitzroy Gardens to Flinders St. to Albert Park to St. Kilda to Luna Park to Acland St. to Port Melbourne to lost in Port Melbourne to bus back to city to Flinders St. again to Fed Square to Melbourne Central to Home.

Got all that!? Yes- big day! Sooo much walking, by the end of it I couldn't even bend my knees! Ouch.

Queen Vic was lively as usual. Brunswick and Smith St.s had AMAZING vintage clothing shops (yet I still couldn't afford them. haha). Not sure what the City Baths were even about- do people bathe there? I don't get it..... Albert Park was...pretty? However, too much walking made me annoyed so I didn't enjoy it too much. St. Kilda was...like Santa Monica sort of. Beach. fun. sun. with Luna Park (think Lagoon).

Oh, but Acland St. (reason why I hoofed it the 3+ miles from the city to St. Kilda). YUM YUM YUM! Bakeries, delicious bakeries everywhere! Acland St. is what I imagine my heaven will be like.

I made the mistake, however, of picking the first bakery I found. Next time I'll do the walk down and be more choose-y because let me tell you- walking a few miles in a sugar coma is not the most fun I've ever had.

After eating my own weight in sweets, I wandered back down the beach path and found my way to Port Melbourne. I figured I'd just find a familiar street and walk back up to the city, but it didn't really work out that way.... I got slightly lost and it was getting late and the streets were increasingly empty, so I hopped on a bus headed back to the city (turns out I was only 2 stops from the Aquarium-area!).

Anywho, after miles and miles of walking and walking, I was pretty wiped out and my Halloween socks were starting to smell (thanks again, Mom!) so I wandered my way back to where my bus comes. It was after 7pm at this point, so the shops were closing up anyway.

Generally I'm not a fan of the bus ride back, but I'd never had such an enjoyable ride. :)

I haven't uploaded the pics from this weekend yet, so you all will just have to wait patiently.

On another note- I made rolo cookies on Sunday and they were DELICIOUS! I ate some, I fed some to my new friends, and I took the rest to work today. So far nobody has stopped at just one-- good sign!

Oh! Oh! I've booked my Down Under travels! Five weeks and counting!! Eeeep!

Cairns- Great Barrier Reef- Whitsunday Islands- Brisbane- Australia Zoo- Gold Coast- Surfers Paradise- Sydney. Can't wait!!!

Finally getting around to posting Aquarium and such pics....

Pics from the Aquarium weekend. Not in the picture-uploading mood, so I'll be choose-y. Enjoy nonetheless!


City

Melbourne Aquarium

Turtle!!!

GIANT wrap around tank.

Happy stingray haha.

Shark!

What is this creepy monster??

Poor ugly fish.

City from Aquarium






PENGUINS!!!! Sold.

Me with my buddy penguins.

Mating season at the aquarium

Hello All!

This weekend's wanderings led me to my most beloved Melbourne experience so far- the aquarium! There I was, wondering down Flinders St. when out of no where pops an aquarium! I had no idea it was so close! Immediately I run inside to the price tag on the wall....gulp. Thirty-two dollars? Eeep. That's a lot. When all of a sudden, I round a corner and BAM there they are- PENGUINS! Eeeehehehe. Yay! That's it, I'm sold. I hop in line and whip out my credit card for my close-up with the little buggers. And, man, were they cute!

Twenty minutes of oooing and ahhhing later, I wander off to see what else this place has in store for me. The next section harbored fewer cuddly creatures, and more of things that look like the aftermath of 3am betos (Note the eel in the accompanying pictures). Next came tales of fish from the waters of Melbourne, some horny frogs, and a petting-zoo session with a starfish. Down a little further was a giant tank with a turtle (sweet!) and a shark and some pretty fish. Then came a few jellyfish (meh, I've seen better), then....duhn duhn. duhn duhn. Sharks!!! Aside from the penguins- this was my favorite! GIANT tanks of sharks and sting rays and fishies and a turtle. They swim under and over and all around you! So much fun! Thirty minutes later of head up, mouth ajar, I emerge from the aquarium a changed girl (after a pit-stop at the gift shop, of course). Well, maybe not that changed, but I was pleased with my findings.

Now, yes, I've talked this place up quite a bit buuuut, I must confess that it still wasn't as awesomely fantastic as the Baltimore Aquarium. Don't worry Baltimore, you may have one of the highest crime rates in the country- but you win this one!

After that came some more wanderings and more discovering (of the food variety).

Lord of the Fries. Yuuum. Vegetarian burgers? Check. Delicious fries? Check. Gluten free? Check! Whaaaat!?! Was Lord of the Fries sent from heaven just for me?!?! It was! It was! Delicious. After gobbling up some burger and fries (too many, in fact, because I spent the rest of the day feeling quite ill... don't worry LOTF, I still love you.), I met up with fellow intern- Kate! Back for a round two in Melbourne. We walked over to Brunswick Street, sadly, too late (late like, 5pm late, seriously...) because this street is pretty much my new favorite shopping street.

All future trips to the city will go like this- Queen Vic market -> LOTF -> Brunswick St -> done.

After taking Kate to Big W for a lovely American style coffee maker (yeah, you're welcome. haha), we parted so I could head back to the 'burbs and she could get her coffee making on.

The story doesn't end here though, folks. I met a nice girl on the bus! She was fun and we laughed about how much we hate public transportation and the crappy exchange rates (she's from Malaysia- she's wins). Then this little old lady sitting next to us joined in! She loved us. We are fun.

Then came Sunday. Rocked up to church again (20 minutes later than anticpated- thank you public transportation for failing me yet again) and this time they were there! Met some very lovely people who have taken me under their wings and promised to hang out with me- and I didn't even have to bake them cookies! Haha.

Now is about where the story ends. Went home, took an extended nap, now blogging, then sleep! Glorious, glorious sleep. Can't wait!

Til next week!

xoxoxoxoxoox.

P.S. Happy Birthday Jessi!!! Yay! I'll eat some cake in your honor.

Pictures that go with previous post. Read first, then look.

My cookies! So tasty. I've eaten most of them now...

View of the city from Doncaster.

Chinatown.

Fun Indian music concert.

Educate me.

Awkward.

Very lovely tapestry.

That's what I thought, too.

Oh, joy. Can't wait.

Seriously!?!?! Not funny.

Uh huh.

I'm glad they have a sense of humour about it.

It's climbing the wall! Haha.

People.

Very cool.

I'm sorry.

Melbourne Museum.

Royal Exhibition Building. Craft fair today.

I wet my pants at the Melbourne Museum then baked cookies!

Oh, Queen Victoria, how well you feed me. A trip to the city must always involve fruit. Yummy fruit. Yummy mostly cheap fruit. I like when they yell at eachother. You're selling your bananas for 1 dollar? Oh yeah? Well then mine are 50 cents. Excellent. I win again. I ate a banana then a pear...then another pear. Goodbye fruit.

After my less-than-stellar experience at the City Museum, my coworkers raved about the Melbourne Museum and how amazing it was and how it was waaaay better than the other and that I just HAD to go. I'm a sheep, so I went.

Well, let's just say that after having spent countless hours over the last few months at the Smithsonians, I need to let my standards down, just a weeeee bit. No, wait, a lot.

Yes, it was a thousand times better than the City Museum (booo- City Museum!), but...well, uh.... Never been to the Smithsonians? Okay then, this place might just work for you!

I started in the Aboriginal section, which actually was really good (probably only because they don't have this one in DC. haha). There were countless stories about the half-Aboriginal children who were stolen at random from their families and taken to be 're-educated.' This happened into the 70's. We're talking NINETEEN 70's. Wow. Very sad. There were other bits about being taken from their native lands and having their artwork and stories taken from them. The irony? I took a picture of that artwork....is that wrong? All around worthwhile section.

Most of the next sections I just moved quickly through (in some cases out of fear). Next up was natural history, bugs, bones, blah blah blah...Sea life? Been there, done that. Bugs? Move on. Then we come to the part where I peed my pants....Spiders. Live ones. The kinds that are probably crawling under my bed as I type this...eeeeep. Don't worry though, because they've now developed anti-venoms-as long as I can get myself to a hospital. Well that's comforting.

After spending much too much time gasping and squealing and after many stares from passers-by (who didn't seem as petrified), I moved on to the body. Had I not seen BodyWorks, then this could have been cool. ...maybe. As a mostly typical squeamish American, I get a little weirded out about public nudity. To teach about the natural process of human growth, they decided it would be a good idea to take full frontal shots of people from age 10 to 50. Awkward. Nudie granny? Uh, no thanks.

Moved quickly onto the digestion system. It showed me all the way from whole foods to slurry to almost clear liquid to poop! I love poop. This part was fun. Sam, you would have giggled like a little school girl. Then on to the Miiiind. This section had some cool interactive tools, but I was a little shy this time about pushing kids out of the way so I could play. Those pushy Americans. Maybe next time when I've perfected my Aussie accent.

Last up, the story of Melbourne! This was fun. But mostly I just liked the exhibit about shoes through the years. It's always so funny to me how young this place is. 1901 people, 1901. My car is older than this city. Shoot, Liz's undies are older than this city.

Quick stop in the gift shop, then down to Fed Square. Free Indian fun music concert! Sweet. I danced. A little. Mostly in my head. I was hoping to get down to St. Kilda (the beach!) or to the Harbor, but it was getting late and I didn't want to get stuck anywhere, so I just spent the rest of the time wandering around the city. It all shuts down around 6pm (I know, right? Very annoying), so after a few hours of wandering around, I hopped on the bus headed back to the suburbs (note to self- move out of the suburbs!).

I'm in desperate need of friends (anybody have one for me?), so in an attempt to win friends, I went home and baked cookies to take to church (I know- I'm THAT desperate) and entice people to talk to me. Sadly, the church thing didn't work out (they knew I was coming, so they planned stake conference), so I ate four of the cookies myself. Out of spite. They were delicious, and no, they weren't gluten free. And yes, I am regretting that choice. Well, sort of- they were really good!

Well folks, that's all for this week. I'm making a massive attempt to get to the Gold Coast for some fun in the sun in the next few weeks. I'll keep you posted!

P.S. I wore shorts today and it was AWESOME. What's that? There's snow in Utah? Hahahhahaha. This swap is actually starting to work out for me!

P.P.S. America- get it together! Every time the exchange rate gets more even, my angry face gets angrier and my wallet cries a little.

Thanks, Mum!

Note the awesome socks. :)

Yay, Mom! I have officially received my first package in Australia (so stoked!) and it only took a week to arrive!



This means, of course, that the rest of you need to step it up and send me stuff.

If you didn't read my 'Goodbye' post, then you may not know that I LOVE and am devastated that I'm missing Halloween. If you aren't my friend on Facebook, then you don't know about my love of fat-free sugar-free low-cal hot cocoa.

You also don't know that they don't have this variety here. Pre-packaged. Calories laid out. All ready for me to mix and microwave and enjoy in 5 minutes time. Mmmmm.

Mom, you've made my day- scratch that, my semester!


Can't wait for Thanksgiving! I hope the tofurky isn't bad by the time it gets here....

Spring forward to 'Mut' mooncakes and cityscapes.

Hello everyone!

Forgive me if I'm a little off tonight. I've just experienced Spring Forward. Yes, because it's spring here. This is weird.

Here's the weekend breakdown for you (because I know you all are glued to your computers waiting for my next post...)!

Friday:

Public Transportation, i hate you. Waited for 40 minutes in the freeeezing cold for a stupid bus. Three should have come. They didn't. I no longer tell any bus drivers 'thanks' out of spite for them all.

Spent the night hanging out with the boss at the State gathering of Liberal people (who are actually conservatives in disguise). The boss is very popular so while she socialized I stood there awkwardly (which isn't really so far from my usual self).

Saturday (sorry, no pics, forgot my camera!- I know, I suck at this):

Moon Festival in Box Hill! The boss took me along to the yummiest smelling festival ever. Dancing dragons that looked more like dogs, people eating rotten eggs, very strange looking eats that actually smelled delicious (where was Andrew Zimmern), and the yum yummiest dog I have ever eaten (just kidding, mom!).

Moon cakes= joy. You can't actually go wrong with bean paste and rice, in my opinion. Yum yum yummmm! I had the fruit and 'mut'. It was sweet and delicious and I wanted ten more but then it just kind of turned into this brick in my stomach. Yes, perhaps the after effects of moon cakes aren't quite as delighful as the melt in your mouth goodness.

After walking off some of the moon cake, I headed home for a relaxing evening of cinnamon apple tea and Shantaram (everyone MUST read this).

Sunday:
Caught an early-ish bus to the city. As if I didn't hate the bus enough, they tell me that the free weekend travel was only for September. Fine, jerks, take my last $10!

First stop- City museum. What to say, what to say.....Uh, how about, I want my money back? Most giant waste of $8.50, in my opinion. Saw some gold, old pics, and some other old Melbourne stuff. Nothing that I couldn't really see or learn somewhere else....They rope you in by putting it in this cool old building with a Batman sign outside (founder of Melbourne...sort of). It worked, and I am forever minus my $8.50 and an hour of my life, give or take.

Next stop- Quick look into St. Paul's Cathedral then Federation Square. Hilarious street comedians and LOTS of old people. He kept messing with old ladies that walked by. Messing with old ladies is ALWAYS funny. Stopped for a quick lunch with a great view then on to the National Gallery inside the building. Nice art (it's no Smithsonian, but it will do).

Up next- Crossing the river to the arts district. Arts and crafts stalls, people rolling joints along the river (yes, folks, this actually happened), and lots of rasta people. Quick look around then on to the Shrine of Remembrance. I actually didn't plan on searching this out, I just happened upon it (and glad I did!). Great view, somber stories.

Then-Royal Botanical Gardens! I'm a big fan of gardens and it was their Spring opening celebration. I could stroll for hours. I spent a good portion of the day here, but didn't manage to see it all- it's so big! I'll give it another go sometime soon.

By this point it was getting late-ish, so I just mosied on back through the city to the bus stop. Then home, where I am now, sitting on my bed ready to pass out.

I will admit that this post isn't as hilarious as usual (yes, I know I'm funny), but I blame my tired brain. Tired from too much walking and penetrating brain-melting Australian rays.

Don't give up on me yet! I'll be funny next time, I promise.

Til then!
xoxo

Mmm. 'Fruit and Mut'. My fav.

Moon Festival!

Yarra.

Federation Square

Somehow I don't think this was just there.

I feel the same way.

Royal Botanical Gardens

RBG. Love this tree.

RBG.

RBG.

Note the boy to the right in the group. Craaaazy dancer.

View from Shrine of Remembrance.

Not yet a master of the wrap around.

City. Lovely.

Shrine of Remembrance. (war)

Sam.

Thousands of people in a 3 hr line for the Dali exhibit. haha. good thing I think Dali is whacko.

Cool ceiling at NGV

Jane Austen exhibit at NGV!!!! Yay Jane!

Fun dancers.

NGV. Lovely place to spend ones day.

Yarra.

Indigenous art.

Hmmm. Kind of creepy....

The view during my lovely lunch.

Flinders Station.

Little boy who didn't seem to be afraid of this hilarious comedian.

Inside St. Paul's Cathedral.

St. Paul's Cathedral.

Federation Square.

WTF. A flood in downtown Melbourne.

GOLD!!!

Batman. No, really.

Old torture chair. And by tortue, I mean dentist.

City Museum. I want my $8.50 back.