Getting to Perth, Freemantle, and Margaret River (aka everything but Perth itself)

Every so often, you come upon flight attendants who actually enjoy their jobs and have fun with the passengers. You know when the plane parks people usually start getting up before the fasten seatbelt sign goes off, even though they tell you not to as soon as you land? I remember this one flight when I was younger, as soon as the plane parked some people started getting up, but the chief purser goes on the speaker and says: “uh uh uuuuuuunuh” and people sat down so fast, it was jokes. Well, I had another jokester on this flight, and he pulled tons of one-liners. We were in line waiting to take off, and usually no one listens to what the flight attendants say over the speaker phone, and this guy knew it, so he starts telling people that while we wait, we can have a look at the in-flight magazine, and, to see who was paying attention, tells us to flip to p.17 because it teaches us how to shoplift more effectively. Then, after we take off, he says the usual: “if there is anything we can do to make your flight more enjoyable, please let us know” but adds: “and, if there is anything that YOU can do to make OUR flight more enjoyable, please let us know, too”. A super enjoyable flight later (one that I slept through, but that most people watched the free entertainment on [the visa machine was broken, so they gave it to us for free]), we land, and he tells us, as usual, “to open the overhead compartments as items may have shifted” but then adds: “and may fall out and knock your head off”. Super jokester. And I’m pretty sure he was Scottish, so super entertaining accent on top of it!

 

Anyways, I land in Perth early, and hop on a bus to UWA (University of Western Australia), passing through downtown (the only time I’ve been in the city, so far). I get off the UWA, and Ducky comes to meet me to bring me back to rez aka college! Yay epic reunion! We get to his college, which is the relig college on campus. Like giant Jesus on cross at the entrance, and decent chapel in front. Yeehaw. Drop my stuff, pay for a mattress/ breakfast, meet up with Kari, and head for lunch (semi-illegal, because lunch is not included in my plan, but “we didn’t know that”). After meeting a bunch of Ducky’s friends at lunch, including this Asian girl who is apparently really jealous of me because she really wishes she was Jewish, it’s time to go touring, and apparently the place to go is Freemantle, because they have super cute market and we can have a good Australian dinner there. We go through a couple of markets, buy some souvenirs, get minorly lost, get some Aussie equivalent to Cold Stone (called Cold Rock lol), wander some more, then go for burgers at this brasserie called Little Creatures. After dinner, we head back to college and decide to stay in and chill around here with Ducky’s friends, who were drinking what they call “goon,” ie: cheap wine in a bag. Like $10 for 4L cheap. Classy Australian invention. We have an early wake-up call, so around midnight it’s time for bed.

 

Breakfast at 7:30am, then it’s time to go to Margaret River, a big wine-producing region about 4 hours south of here. Ducky planned the weekend for me, but a bunch more people wanted to join, so in the end we are 2 full cars heading there! The non-Jew car (minus Mel, who is Jewish) headed there first, because they had a tour planned at noon that cost $55 and took them to 4 wineries and the fruit and nut factory. We, however, being the Jews we are, left a bit later because we decided to drive the area. So Jade drove us there, but then I decided to be designated driver, and drove between the vineyards and spit, instead of swallow, the wine, which is what you are supposed to do, anyways. Slash yes, I know a lot of jokes can be made here, thus the specifying of wine. Cool. Lunch at Dome, first, which gets interrupted slightly by an ANZAC day parade! There’s a band and a group of people marching, but soon after, the parade is over. Cars were actually in the middle of the parade, which was quite odd. Next stop, the vineyards, and instead of 4 wineries, we hit up, in just 4 hours, 11 vineyards. Whattup. Epic success. Like epic. And by the end, most of the car was fairly tipsy. After a nap at the hostel, Jade even woke up hung over! Slash also, should mention that we took a bunch of pictures at the vineyards. Because we are cool. And because the trees were “so pretty” (according to Kari, the nature lover). Dinnertime came around, and after trying and failing to find a restaurant to accommodate 10 people, we went to Settlers Tavern, this giant restaurant that was totally packed, and stared at tables as we waited in line to order our food. We jumped on a table for 6, that we squished in on for a while, and eventually the table next to us emptied and we jumped on that too, and pushed the tables together – success! It’s funny how all the restaurants I’ve been to since I got here are order at counter restaurants, get a number, and the waiters/ waitresses come find you. This restaurant is huge though, and I’m thinking that some of the food must get cold because it’s hard to find the number sometimes… I dunno. I think it’s a weird system, but that’s just me, I guess.

 

After dinner we go back to the hostel to chill, and I Skype for a bit, only that a stupid Indian girl decides that it’s a good idea to put a fork and stick it in the element of a toaster, causing everything to short. FAIL. Super pain the butt cuz I lose Internet time. Grr. It’s time to be sociable again, so I go back into my room, where apparently, the party is at. But I am super le tired, and somehow pass out as everyone is still chilling in my room (success on corner top bunk bed). Wake up super early for phone date, and everyone is still sleeping. After the call, I decide to be productive and do what I do best, puzzles. There are 2 fairly difficult puzzles there, but I don’t really have time for either, so I start on the less difficult one, with 1 hour until the others wake up for check-out. Meet some sketchy English guy who creeps me out, and try to ignore him, but he like lives at the hostel, so fail, he lingers. Continue working on puzzle and try to ignore (successfully, cuz other people get up and he bothers them). Then it’s time to pack up and go get breakfast. Eat some not-so-cooked pancakes with lots of syrup, go through a market, a fudge factory, and a bunch of stores, and finally go to the car and drive out to this olive oil factory. Do lots of olive oil sampling, and it’s off to stop #2, a vineyard we went to the day before for Kari to get her parents wine. After some more wine tastings, we head to the chocolate factory, where the Jew in us comes out. So, they have 3 bowls of chocolate chips (dark, milk, and white) and little white spoons in each, for people to take samples. Only that Ducky finds a paper bag that they use to sell the other chocolate and starts to grab handfuls of chocolate chips and puts them in the bag. Then he starts getting the rest of us to help him out, to fill up the bag the best we can. So we start casually going to the bowls, and then meet behind some shelves and fill the bag. It looks super sketch, and once we are satisfied with the fullness of our bag, we head out to the nut factory next door, where they have biscuit and chocolate samples, sauce/ dip/ chutney/ jam samples, and ice cream. I burn my tongue on a hot sauce, buy said hot sauce for “690 cents” and time to hit up a brewery at last! We get to Bootleg Brewery, and it’s packed. And I mean, packed. It’s ANZAC weekend, so it’s expected, but we can barely get in the place. And we have to pay slash are expected to buy a glass, at least. So we decide to try the next brewery next door instead, Duckstein Brewery. We get there, and it’s even more packed! And we still can’t get free beer. So we go into the vineyard that is attached, and get some free bread/ dipping samples and then get taste some wine while we’re at it. At this point, we are all full from our sampling, and decide it’s time to head home.

 

It’s a long ride, and at some point I doze off without realizing it. Wake up, and we’re about 1.5 hours away, and it’s time to stop for a late lunch/ snack. Somehow the topic of sleep comes up, and I learn that I had totally fallen asleep on Kari and passed out for like an hour! Oops jk. Fail on me. Clearly I can fall asleep anywhere. Semi-success? Anyways, we get back to the hostel around 5pm, Jade leaves, we get dinner, and Ducky and I decide to watch Pineapple Express – amazing call. Super funny, if you haven’t seen it. I totally laughed out loud. Might have shrieked a bit, too (in the laughing process). Aaaaaaaaand you are now caught up. Because that just happened. Like the movie ended right before I finished writing this. Success.

 

So, I feel like this blog will not live up to Kari and Ducky’s expectations, but hey, I am le tired. We had quite the busy last 2 days, and they were really fun but really tiring. So time for le bed. If there are any complaints about this blog, please go to Helen Wait. I know – lame joke. And if you don’t get the joke, read the name a couple of times.

 

So have a good night, mes amis, and I will write again soon, most likely from KL!

 

Lots of love,

Kat xo

 

Sydney Part 2

FML. Slash more FYL. Because it’s been a week since my last update and you are all anxiously awaiting this post, yes?

 

When I arrived back in Sydney, Jess (the HK roomie) was waiting for me with her baller Asian car and a silly camera to take candid ugly pics of me: epic reunion, to say the least. We then headed to Eddie’s in Potts Point to get my bag, which should have taken all of 10 mins (it’s like a 15-20min walk), but took a grand total of 45mins, because 1) Sydney has way too many 1 way streets, 2) Sydney has way too many crescents and is confusing to drive around, 3) Jess is Asian, 4) Jess does not know her way around Sydney even though she has lived there her whole life. Slash I love you Jess!!! Anyways, we finally get to Eddie’s to get my bag, and then drive to Jess’ in Newington, about 45 mins away, where the Olympic village is. We drive through the village, but it’s a bit hard cuz they have this Easter carnival set up, so we drive around it and get to Jess’. Her family is uber cute and made super om nom nom Chinese dinner for us, because neither of us has had a home cooked meal in a while (about a week for me, but a tad longer for Jess!). Slash did I mention that Jess had just gotten back from a 3 month world trip? I think she needs a blog more than me, but anyways…

 

After dinner we head out Sydney styles, aka “cruise”. We pick up some of her friends and drive into the city for Harry’s (token spot for drunken meals, famous for meat pies and hot dogs). We get back in the car and head to Lady Macquarie’s Chair, which has amazing views over the bridge. There, we are joined by the cutest and friendliest possum ever, as well as some bats. The story here is the possum (though bats in Sydney are HUGE!). Apparently possums are not very friendly and tend to run away from people, but this one just chilled around us, and actually got a little too close for comfort, so we went back in the car and chilled. The possum decides to climb up the no parking pole in front of us, and gets stuck at the top. Like seriously. Stuck. Does not know how to get down. And is sort of walking on the sign, turning back and forth, trying to figure out which way to get down. Way #1) jump down, way #2) jump to the tree on the other side of the pathway, way #3) jump onto our car. At this point we realize that the sunroof is open, and we should close it in case the possum jumps in. But this poor possum looked so unsure that we decided to put a cupcake on top of the sunroof (closed) to encourage it to jump on the car to get down. Finally it decided to climb down, head first, and instead we threw a cupcake at the possum, who happily grabbed it and ran away to eat it. And that was the night.

 

The next day was Jess’ graduation from Macquarie, so she set up a babysitter for me, ie: called HD to chill with me during the ceremony. So HD and I go around this not-so-attractive campus, and then go to the mall next door, since there really isn’t much to see. After we meet up with Jess and her friends (including her friend Jess Wong, probably the loudest Asian girl I have ever met) and also grab some of the post-graduation free food (sushi!) and sparkling wine (success!). After tons of picture-taking, we finally head out to lunch at the Ranch, this hotel/ restaurant near campus, where I had an om nom nom Aussie-land steak! Then it was off to the Chinese side of Eastwood (? I think) to get some dessert. Next, it was time to go home for a nap, because we had woken up early for the graduation, and we also had epic CUHK reunion that night!!! We head back out to Eastwood, but the Korean side this time, for uber huge Korean dinner. There were like 10 of us there (epic success!!!), and Kim ordered this giant meal for us (because he is Korean – success!) and then we even got to eat the store-bought cheesecake some of the CUHK-ers bought me! Slash gonna throw this in here because it is a really funny story (though slightly racist, so beware!): Kim had seen me twice the same day, because he had come to Jess’ grad earlier, and the first time I was wearing glasses, but the second time I put in contacts. So Kim tells me that I look better without glasses, because you can see that I have big eyes. Apparently his housemates call him ATM… because his eyes are like ATM slits!!! LOLOLOLOLOL

 

After dinner, we headed out for coffee, and after chilling for a bit, finally called it a night, since most of us were seeing each other again the next night, anyways. The next day, we slept in, and Jess cooked breakfast before dropping me off at the Sofitel to meet a family friend for coffee. After that, Jess, her friend Addison, and I went to Darling Harbour, with the intention of going to Wildlife park to hug koalas, only that it was a giant rip off and we couldn’t hug koalas, so instead we just wandered around the harbour and I got some O’Portos, staple Sydney fast food. We chilled by the water for a while and watched the fish and jellyfish swim/float by. Finally, we headed back to pack up the last of my bags and relax a bit before dinner at Super Meal in Chinatown with more CUHK people (who bought me dinner! so nice!), Eddie, and some of Jess’ friends. A super om nom nom dinner later, we headed to 3 Monkeys for my first Australian beer! We chill there for a  bit, and decide to go to our next bar, Maloney’s, only to discover that during Jess’ world trip, the place closed down!!! After we let the shock pass and acceptance sink in, we moved on to find Soju at a Korean restaurant, to relive our CUHK days. Paul starts stacking the shot glasses, with chop sticks in between, and then pours the soju into the top glass, which spills into the second glass, and soon all 4 are filled!!! First round, we do soju bombs, second round, straight soju, and then back to the bombs. After 3, I am tanked, and have to take a break before the last drink (which I totally can’t finish). The original plan is to stay out all night until my flight at 6am, but we are le tired, so HD and Paul head home, and Eddie, Addison, Jess and I head over to Eddie’s in Potts Point for a nap until 430am, before heading to the airport. Ya, I have the nicest friends in the world. Slash on top of the ride, Jess also got me Australian delights to bring home/ eat on the way, including Tim Tams, some candy, and Vegemite, which is apparently super dirty but super healthy, and I will make all the Montrealers try it with me when I get home so I don’t have to deal with it myself LOL. After super sad goodbye, it’s time to go check-in and leave Sydney for Perth, the last of my Aussie-land destinations. New blog to come.

 

Hugs and Kisses,

 

Kat

Canberra: the complete catch-up

Aren’t you all lucky that everything in Canberra closes super early so I have absolutely nothing to do from 5pm onwards? Thus the epic catch-ups that have happened on this trip. 3 days, 3 blog posts. Whattup. I’ll start from the top.

 

The bus driver called in sick and so we ended up leaving Sydney about 45 mins late, and arrived in Canberra just before 2, leaving me with just enough time to buy a disposable camera and visit one or two main sites. Minus that they don’t really have places that sell disposable cameras here. At all. Nor do they have free WiFi. Fail. So I buy myself a new camera (that I still don’t know how to work fully well, but it’s pretty baller) and head towards somewhere that I know I won’t be taking photos at (since I have to charge the battery, so I don’t want to go somewhere super cool). It’s getting late, too, so I opt for the closest tourist attraction: the National Film & Sound Archive. It was actually pretty cool in the end, and I got to learn about Aussieland radio and television, and got to watch chill clips from back in the day. Fun fact of the day: the highest grossing Australian film in history is Happy Feet, followed by Crocodile Dundee. Fun Youtube time: check out Skippy, Australia’s most famous kangaroo, and check all the fun things he’s done. Fun fact #3: Australians are obsessed with Ned Kelly. He’s Australia’s most famous outlaw, and was most recently portrayed by Heath Ledger. But there have been a bunch of movies, and a lot of art dedicated to him. He’s pretty much Australia’s Robin Hood. So after the archive I set back for the hostel, stopping quickly to buy some food for the next 3 days. Slash literally this entire trip have run into slash seen all of maybe 20 people? The city is dead, honestly. Like I went a full 20 mins before running into my first person. Get back to the hostel and discover that there IS free WiFi semi-nearby, at McDonalds. So, cool. I can get free WiFi, I just have to be fat. Slash they have 50 cent ice cream here – success! Come back home for dinner, then watch The Green Mile with a bunch of other people (yay being semi-sociable) before crashing for the night. Early morning the next day so that I can get to see all the sites I planned on seeing.

 

Next morning I get up and hit up McDonalds before heading to the National Museum of Australia, which is different from the National Gallery of Australia, which I visited after. The National Museum essentially tells the story of Australia, and is a super huge interactive museum. While the exhibitions were pretty interesting, the coolest part of the museum is probably the structure itself. Check the pics when they go up, because it’s so intense. Like architect had this whole nature motif going on. I think this is another architect thinks he is super cool and wants to give civil engineer cancer design. Which is so mean. But the building is still amazing. Anyways, so after about an hour at the museum, I head towards the Parliamentary zone and South Side. Slash that’s the thing about Canberra. It’s a fairly new city that was designed only after it was decided that the new capital of Australia would have to be between Melbourne and Sydney. There was a urban design competition to design the new city, and the model chosen resembled the capitals of some other countries, with the civic centre being separated from the government. The city is super symmetrical, and very symbolic. I’ll explain once I get to Parliament. So the walk to the National Gallery takes me past Commonwealth place, and also along a path that has a list of Australian of the Year winners. The list is kinda interesting, because some of those people seem to be on there only for their international fame, instead of doing anything really special for Australia. But maybe that’s just me. Anyways, so I get to Commonwealth Place, and this place has nothing to do with the commonwealth. I mean, the first flag I see is the American one, and last I checked, the US was not part of the Commonwealth. Then there were a bunch of European countries and a bunch of Middle Eastern ones, and I’m like, this isn’t right. Walk past the High Court of Australia, but there’s  a lot of construction going on, so I pass it by. Next up, the National Gallery. So straight up there is some really cool stuff outside the gallery, including this giant ball that looks like its floating, but really there is a bunch of fishing wire that you can barely see attached to the building on one side, and I guess the trees on the other? Once again, you can see the pic once it’s up. I get inside and immediately I know this will be an epic success of a museum, because unlike the one in Adelaide, the Rodin was front and centre at the start. Success! And the Rodin was followed quickly by a couple of Monets – even more of a success! I don’t know how they paid for it, but there was a lot of amazing well-known art, from Rodin to Monet to Gaugin to Picasso to Miro to Warhol. Amazing. And then there was some amazing Australian art, and if you can google this, you should. There was this amazing piece called “Austracism”. I forget the name of the artist but it was amazingly powerful. Its basically a bunch of excuses people give, ie: I’m not racist, but… with the word AUSTRACISM written on top of the excuses. Then there was this other piece by someone named Heather Ellyard, I think it was called “Inventories and Commentaries,” and it was just this amazing composition and I think it’s worth a look.

 

After a quick glance at my watch, I noticed it was 20 to 2, which meant I had to get to Parliament asap if I wanted to catch question period. Only that Parliament was no in session because everyone is on vacation until May 16 or so. Fail. So instead I get on a tour of Parliament, where I learn that everything is the same as in Canada, except that the Senate is elected and the houses… ARE NOT RED AND GREEN!!!!!! LIKE WTFFFFFFFF. FAIL. Apparently they wanted to be all super cool here, and so the H of C is a pale blue-green that is supposed to remind people of the Eucalyptus tree, and the Senate is PINK. That’s right, pink. Like rose pink. More floral inspiration. Slash there actually are some differences though between our governments and the way they function that I find really cool, but I will spare you for now. Instead, other cool things I saw/ learned. 1) They have an original copy of the Magna Carta in there!!! Like seriously!!! Holy Shit! 2) The Main Hall of Parliament is available for rent to anyone, and any band or choir that wishes to perform there can rent it for free, provided that the performance is open to the public (because tax payer money paid for the construction of the building, which cost $1.1 billion). 3) The building is equipped with a bunch of bars and restaurants that are not open to the public, but if you ever get in, you might notice that the bar is where all the business goes down, and also where members of opposing parties chill, because apparently here you are just as likely to be friends with someone in the opposition as someone from your own party, because of the wide spectrum that each party covers. 4) They have a couple of baller tapestries that were made at the time that the building was constructed, in the late 80s, and in order to date the tapestries, the workers sewed in the design of a comet, to recall the comet that was seen that year. 5) The people who designed the city said that Parliament House could never be built on top of the mountain, because then it would look like Parliament was above the people, looking down. Instead, the hill was cut, and grass put back on top and all around, to make it look less imposing. Also, people can go up on the roof, which is also symbolic, ie: the people are above the house. 5) The structure is super symmetrical with the H of C on one side and the Senate on the other. 6) If all the doors are open, you can see from the room where the cabinet meets straight to the Australian War Memorial, with the idea that you see the consequences of your actions when making important decisions. 7) There is a triangle that forms from Parliament House, with Parliament at one corner, the war memorial at the other (with British ties), and national defense at the other (with American ties). Success on learning a lot?

 

So after that, I headed to the National Archives, which was pretty cool and I got to watch some old clips, learn about Communism and the abolition of the Communist Party in Australia, and read the Law creating the Commonwealth of Australia, signed by Queen Victoria. After I went through it, I headed back to Old Parliament House, minus that you had to pay to get in, so instead I just walked through the gardens and back again through tent city, aka Aboriginal Cabinet. Ya, there are tents perma set up at the base of Old Parliament House, with a fire and flags and signs for the government and Australians to get off their land. Finally, I made my trek back to the hostel for some lupper, and here I am, watching Jon Stewart in the common room. Success.

 

And now you are up to date.

 

Anyways, I hope you have all been thoroughly educated, if not entertained, and I will write again, probably on my way to Perth on Friday!

 

Miss you all, and hope you are all doing well. Party hard (but not too hard without me!), and for those of you who are done with exams already and have left Montreal, fml because I will miss you, but have an amazing summer and I will see you next year or hopefully some time sooner.

 

Love, peace, and chicken grease,

xoxo

Kat

The Sydney blog, part 1

Hello faithful readers (aka Anthony, Jess, Elissa, and my family – if there are any others, message me and you shall be acknowledged next time lol),

 

So, last time I left you off at an epic cliffhanger: my trip to Bondi Beach. So mean, I know, but I was tired. Deal. As promised, I will now catch you up to the end of Sydney part 1 (ie: until Saturday night), and this will be followed by a separate post for Canberra. Legit? Here we go.

 

The metro system in Sydney is kinda like the one in Hong Kong, in that you pre-pay at a machine and depending on where you are going, the cost of your trip will be different. We were just going one stop, but the round trip still costs around $4. Then you have to bus to the beach, another $1.90 each way. It’s a really nice day, a bit windy, and we stop for lunch at some super hipster Paris café. Slash be forewarned: I will be using the term hipster throughout this post, as Sydney is hipster central. Eddie compares it to LA a lot and our closest comparison I guess would be Toronto (where Montreal is closer to Melbourne). The restaurant is packed so we wait a bit for a table and each order fairly large burgers which back home would cost around $8-10 but here costs $15. Because Aussie-land is expensive (I feel like I have complained about this before). After lunch we head for the beach for some tanning. Slash Eddie tanned. I napped with my sweater acting as a blanket because I was freezing! Like it’s super windy by the beach, and I dunno about you, but like 18C with the wind does not equal bikini weather for me. But apparently it does for the rest of Sydney. Slash topless tanning for others. And fluorescent speedos for old men. And quite a few surfers (success). After a couple of hours, it’s time for some beer, because hey, it’s happy hour. But happy hour in Bondi does not equal 2 for 1 beers, or anything close. It does equal $5.50 Stellas, though. Slightly confused: why are there only international beers on the happy hour menu, instead of local beers on tap? Don’t ask. Anyways. We finish our beers and head back home for a short rest before heading out again for dinner with Eddie’s friend Beth by the Quays, which, btw, has an amazing view of the Opera House and the bridge. So we have a quick dinner on the boardwalk (super tourist trap rip, but I survive), and then head to the movies for an Aussie-land clamation movie called Mary and Max. It’s quite a peculiar movie, with really funny parts, but then it gets super dark towards the end. It’s also got a bunch of Jewish jokes, because Max is an older mentally challenged Jewish man living alone in NYC. Considering there aren’t so many Jews in Australia, it’s interesting that they would make one of the main characters Jewish… I wonder if Aussieland people understand the jokes… After the movie we went for coffee/ hot chocolate on the boardwalk as we waited for Beth’s ferry to arrive, and then we went home again and called it a night. Oh! One thing I forgot about the bus ride to Bondi! Aussieland people are soooooo racist! Like seriously. And they are so obvious about it, too! There was an Asian man trying to get on our bus and he didn’t have correct change, so the bus driver told him to go to the machines inside and get a ticket there. The guy didn’t come back on the bus. But then two blond Australian girls get on without correct change, and the bus driver totally lets them on and gives them the right change!!! Fail! It’s rare to see black people here, though recently a lot have been coming from Africa, and people here seem so scared of them. Like they walk as far away from them as possible, and call them “blackies” and just look down on them. Such a fail. Canadian multiculturalism > Australian multiculturalism, I think.

 

Anyways, back to the story. So Friday is the official touring day, and it’s super warm out. As we walk to the botanical gardens, tons of shirtless Aussie men go jogging past us (success), and at the gardens themselves, there are even more Aussie men jogging/ tanning. I of course pay no attention to them at all because I have super sexy boyfriend at home, but they might have gotten in the way of some photos… The gardens are amazing, and they have a great view over downtown Sydney and the Bridge and Opera House. There are also super cool trees with really round trunks (view pic of Eddie hugging tree) and other cool areas. In the Asian section, we saw a mom trying to get her young daughter (maybe 5 or so) to pose sweetly for a pic. Just as her mom was taking the pic, the girl jumps out and holds up her index finger, and yells: “Number 1 girl!” Honestly, one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen. As we walked through the gardens some more, I noticed a bunch of bushes in the distance that read SEX + DEATH. Perplexed, we walked towards the sign, which was inf ront of a large pyramid, and discovered an exhibition about plant seduction and death (apparently flowers can seduce other things). We walked by and decided to not go in and instead continue our trek towards China Town, crossing through the downtown area along the way. We finally find it, and head into a food court, where, of course, I order more Malaysian food (if only we had Malaysian food in food courts back home). We head back up and get some Japanese pancakes for dessert, and walk around some more, before heading into Paddy’s Market, this giant market where they sell everything and anything (including the sandals I bought to replace my broken pair). Slash yes. I forgot to mention something again. Tried to repair the sandals with some super glue at Eddie’s before heading out to meet Beth at the Quays, and instead end up with super glue all over my fingers. And fml it hurts at the beginning and it feels like it’s eating into your skin and you can’t get it off!!!! Slash it totally came off over night and didn’t notice anything the next day, but still! Debated on getting a kids Habs jersey at the market too (ya, they had them there), but the market was closing and we had a long walk back. After heading the wrong way at first, we finally get back on track and get back to Eddie’s, but not before walking through Kings Cross, with its bright lights and half-dressed prostitutes. They couldn’t be any more obvious. Once again, we get home and decide to stay in for the night. Next day: Surrey Hills Festival.

 

We leave in the afternoon and walk by a bunch of people dressed up super nicely, like full out suits and ties and sundresses and cute little hats with lace! It’s incredible. And I want to dress up sooooo bad. Turns out there were races that day, and it’s a big deal in Sydney and everyone dresses up and goes! New plan: before the Hippodrome closes (if it isn’t already), we all head there in super baller clothes and party like it’s the 20s). Anyways, back to Surrey Hills festival. Surrey Hills is kinda like the Plateau. Its got tons of vintage stores, only the clothing there was more expensive than the clothing I was wearing, and tons of hipsters. As we walked towards the festival, we went by tons of super trendy cafés, all packed with tons of hipsters, and finally settled on a place for brunch. After a “Canadian Breakfast” – French toast, bacon (Aussieland bacon is actually ham, not bacon, but wtvs), and maple syrup – we continue on our path towards the festival. We really weren’t expecting much, except maybe from this band Eddie read up on that was meant to be a mix of electronica and country (don’t ask). We get there and it’s CRAZY. There is a group of crazy people on God knows what dancing like crazy people to house at the gate we walk through, then some kids on ponies trot past us, then we see giant slides and some fair games, and a shit ton of booths with people selling anything from vintage clothing to original designs to artwork to food and beer to greyhound adoptions. Eddie and I both picked up a bunch of artwork from this Asian guy who did simple graphic style art with all these messages behind his work. Lots of basic colours and shapes, with really cool meanings. I will show you when I get back! We also saw that electro-country band, who was quite possibly the worst group I’ve ever seen. Like, the first question on Eddie’s mind was: “how old are these people?” as we stared at the backup singer’s arm flab jiggle around. It was a total disaster zone. We left the festival grounds and headed home for a quick nap, before getting on the metro to go meet Beth in her neighbourhood (on the other side of the bridge) for some Italian. A bottle of wine, 3 pizzas, and 3 cannolis later, we headed back to Beth’s for some Aussie TV, including something (I forget) & Kim, a comedy about these ditzy middle-class Australian women, and Summer Heights High (which I have made like all of you watch already). By the end, we’re all pretty tired and decide to call it a night, and Eddie and I head back to his place, where I finish laundry and pack up for Canberra (Aussie-land capital, for those of you who don’t know [and most people don’t]).

 

The next morning at 7:45am, I left Eddie’s and took the metro all by myself (success!) to Central to catch my bus to Canberra, about 3.5hrs away.

 

(The End) 

My attempt at not being a fail blogger: end of Adelaide to Sydney

Alright, I know. I am super failing at this. I'm a week behind (more), and I am soooo sorry. But there is so much to do in Aussieland, and so little internet time, and NO FREE INTERNET CAFES! Like fml, I am currently in a dirty McDonald's in Canberra flicking at the flies around me. Fail. But now is my only chance to catch you all up, so I will do my best.

So, end of Adelaide. Well you know the basics (from the last post): trip around wine country, and trip to the zoo/ chocolate factory/ biggest rocking horse in the world, and also (not in last post), one last trip back to the beach before walking around downtown Adelaide for the last time. First off: Barrossa Valley (sp.?). Dude. It's crazy. There is wine EVERYWHERE. Slash vineyards, not actual wine flowing around in the rivers... But ya, I went to Jacob's Creek (the vineyard, AND the actual creek, though actually they have vineyards all around and like own the place. Seriously, their name is everywhere. But it's so commercial, I didn't really like it. You had to pay to taste the wine (they make you buy a glass), and it's so impersonal. No tours of the vineyard, nothing. Though that's the way it is in all the vineyards, minus that we had free wine everywhere else. And by everywhere else, I mean Penfold's, some Aussieland famous wine I've never heard of, Wolf Blass, and the vineyard Patrick worked at for a summer. They had some pretty good wines, especially Rieslings and late harvests. Success! After a long day of drinking, we headed back to Patrick's for tea aka dinner (don't ask) with his mom and sister, and I think that was the night! Slash I think before the vineyards I did my first easter egg hunt (not sure on the day, but I think it was that one)! I needed help, but hey, I'm a newbie. Next day we went to see the biggest rocking horse in the world, minus that it does not actually rock and was full of children, so we took a pic and peaced to an old school chocolate factory which was pretty baller (check the pics!), and then went to the zoo, which was actually more of a safari type zoo, but still, epic success! The pics should be up soon, I just had problems uploading them (sorry!). We saw lions and cheetahs and rhinos and zebras and buffalo and mongolian horses and giraffes and a whole bunch of other cool stuff! The zoo also has a hole bunch of skins and bones on display for educational purposes, but it creeped me out... I'm so squeamish lol. So, last day in Adelaide, we left early to go to Patrick's work to drop off my bags, and then I went to the beach at Glenelg one last time, before heading back to the city for more Malaysian food (haha, success!). Then Patrick went back to work and I got to wander around the city again. I went more East than I had before, and walked by the chillest neighbourhood, and went up to a nice vintage store where I found, get this, A NORDIQUES JERSEY!!!! But there was no price and no real way of finding out how much it cost, so minor fail. FML. Anyways, kept walking towards a big park and towards this super cool building I had seen bussing past, which turned out to be a National Wine Centre, which was super cool because I got to learn more about wine and played this computer game where I created my own wine (I made a Riesling) and then it got "judged"... and I created a Gold Medal wine! Success! Haha mad skills, man. Then I went back to Patrick's, got my bags, and got on a bus to Sydney to meet Eddie!!

So I was super excited to get to Sydney and see Eddie, and the flight was going well, and we were started to descend when FML we hit the 2nd most intense turbulence of my life. And I'm like, FML, I am going to die. WTF. The flight attendant picks up the speakerphone and is all: "Ladies and gentlemen, we seem to have hit a bit of turbulence, but it is nothing to worry about, so just fasten your seatbelts, this is normal". And her voice is shaking. And the plane is freaking out. And flight attendants NEVER do the whole reassuring thing on the speakerphone, they just tell you to sit down and fasten your seatbelts. Nothing about it being normal, and that there is nothing to worry about. Like 2 mins before we land, the pilot finally gets control and lands okay, so slightly shaky. I get off the plane as fast as I can, and go meet my shuttlebus to take me to Eddie's. Trick: they have trains to the city for $14, but you can pre-arrange a shuttlebus for much cheaper that takes you to your hotel/ apt if you live near Kings Cross, so success on Eddie for living in Potts Point! 

Finally get to Eddie's which is super exciting because I haven't seen him in like 2 years, and after I judge him for eating bread over passover, we hit up the supermarket for some groceries. We get home and make ourselves some dinner and a couple of drinks and just call it a night. Plan for the next day: Bondi Beach! 

Anyways, I know I have left you all in suspense because you all want to know about the sexy Aussieland surfers, but it is time for me to go! I will try to write back again and actually catch up this time before I go back to Sydney on Tuesday. 

Miss you all, and hope you are doing well.

Lots of love,

Kat

Adelaide and Kangaroo Island!

So by now I'm sure a lot of you have seen all the amazing pics I put up of Adelaide and Kangaroo Island (and if you haven't, what are you waiting for?!) Patrick and his mom have been hosts-extraordinaire, and I've been balling it up here for the past 5 days. Get ready for epic long post, because I have seen/ done so much here, it's amazing. Lots of people were wondering why I would ever go to Adelaide on this Aussieland trip, esp. considering I am missing out on Gold Coast and other cool places, but holy shit man, this place is amazing. 

When we were flying over Adelaide making our decent, I seriously thought I was landing in Hawaii or something. And I've been to Hawaii, and I know what it looks like, but seriously, like take away the thicker trees here and replace with palm trees, and it's the same place. The landing part, at least. And the airport is by the beach. So, maybe a bit off. The airport is super new: actually nicest airport I've ever been in, and I've been in a lot of airports. K, maybe 2nd nicest, after KLIA, but that place is huge. Anyways, I get out and I finally get the Aussieland weather I've been looking for! Success! Drag by bags on a bus and head downtown towards Patrick's workplace. I drop my bags and he has epic print outs for me of all the places I should go to today while he is at work, starting with the beach! Hurray! And it's one straight tram to the last stop, so I can't get lost! Double hurray! 

I get on the right tram and head straight to Glenelg, the cutest beach town ever. On the way, pass Caruso's fruits & veggies, and am all, fml must get back there to take picture before leaving (which obvs I do). The tram stops like right in front of the jetty, and you can see out to Antarctica (haha slash that's a lie, but you see towards Antarctica!). And honestly the water is so clear and blue, it's amazing (check the pics of my shadow in the water as I stand on the jetty - pretty sick!). So I take a walk on the beach before hitting up the local museum, where I learned all about the founding of South Australia and of Glenelg. It's a super interactive museum in the Town Hall, and super cute. Slowly head up the main street (Jetty Road, I think?) and get to what I think is the ONLY wireless hotspot with free internet in all of Australia (everywhere else charges!) AND I eat the best banana pancakes of my life before Passover starts that night. Epic success? I think so!

Anyways, I have to go meet Patrick in Chinatown for lunch, so I get back on the tram and head towards the city to meet up with Patrick and co-worker, and go through a series of underground malls to get to underground Chinatown food court. Seriously - do they need underground malls here? Like, it's not that it gets so cold and icy that people don't walk above ground.... lol oh well, either way, it was a super intense food court, with fairly decent Chinese/ Asian food. Patrick ate eel, and I judged him, and his co-worker ate lemon-glazed chicken (or something white-Asian), and I judged him more, but didn't judge out loud haha. After dropping them back at work, I hit up a historical walk of the city, and went by the Adelaide Arcade, the University of Adelaide, several art galleries, a war memorial, Government House, Old and New Parliament, the oldest Church in Adelaide, the oldest apartment block in Adelaide, and other fun buildings! Then went back to meet Patrick at 3:15 or so, as meeting time was 3:00pm, only to discover that it was not, in fact, 3:15, but 2:45, as Adelaide has special 30min time zone, ie: Adelaide IS Newfoundland. 

Anyways, finally we leave his work and take bus into the boons to a parking lot, pick up Patrick's car and hit up Woolworth's for groceries to get some kosher for Passover food/ spreads to go with my matzah. Gluten-free is my new friend, as there are no Jews in Adelaide, so no real kosher for Passover food. Have I mentioned how expensive food is in Australia? It's ridonculous!! Like triple what we pay, not only for fresh food, but for boxed food too. And don't get me started on the $4.00 - $8.00 boxes of frozen meals! So we are driving to his place and fml I think I am going to die as he is driving super fast and it is super curvy road, and then we see my first kangaroo! Slash it went away really fast, so no pictures of kangaroos until Kangaroo Island, the next day. Then we go by a One Tree Hill sign and I'm all, OMG THERE IS A ONE TREE HILL!!! Apparently the show was not so successful in Aussieland. We took picture of the sign in front of the town on the way back from Kangaroo Island though for my OTH enthusiast friends (you know who you are). Finally get to Patrick's house, and holy shitson it's on a giant piece of land and there are animals everywhere slash they grow food everywhere! It's super crazy! They have 2 peacocks that just chill and walk around all day, and chickens that lay eggs and also make more chickens, and fruit trees and herbs AND their water tanks are filled with rain water! Because that's how they get water here! Crazy! 

So Patrick's mom was super cute and went reading up on Passover and went through Jewish cookbooks to try to find recipes to cook up for the first dinner! We had an epic feast and it was a great success. 5 days in, and I have pretty much kept Passover as well as I do back in Montreal, so yay me! Slash also yay Patrick's mom who always tries to make sure she is making something kosher for me to eat :)

The next morning we woke up at 3:30am because we had a 2h 30min drive to Cape Jarvis to catch our ferry to Kangaroo Island. By the time we got to the ferry, the sun was just rising, and everything was so pretty. We got on the ferry and after 45 mins we reached land. I don't know why, but for some reason I was expecting to see Kangaroos running slash jumping freely around the island from a distance, but alas, that's not the way it works. We got in at like 7:15am, which meant we had 5 hours until we would be allowed to check in. This meant tourist time! We hit up the information centre for a map (which we could not find until a few stops after, but oh well), and then drove to our first tourist destination, Cape Willoughby, with its super famous lighthouse. Slash also made tiny stop at camping ground to check out the view along the way, and might have had re-occuring flashback to that Criminal Minds episode with the crazy guy who ate people, so had to leave. Saw sooooooo much roadkill along the way, it's ridiculous. I think we must have seen 3 or 4 dead kangaroos by the time we got to the cape (it's all dirt road, so I guess they think it's safe to cross, but it's not). I was getting worried that I wouldn't see a live one by the end of the day! Got to the light house, but it was closed! Tried to break in, and go around the fence, but by the time we got back to the front, it was open! Success! So we go in and pay the $2 to get a self-guided tour, only to realize that the self-guided tour does not include entry INTO the lighthouse itself! Fail! So we read the papers they give us, learn about all the fun stories about the lighthouse, and then go on a longer walk around the lighthouse (getting more bang for our buck) and read more about how everything worked back in the day. And then, on our way back up to the lighthouse.... I SAW MY FIRST LIVE KANGAROO!!!!!!! (slash second, but first on the island, and took first pic!) And to make the story more exciting, the kangaroo started walking away from us... TOWARDS ITS FAMILY OF 2 MORE KANGAROOS!!!!! AHHHHHHH epic success!!!!! Took lots of pics and then went back to the lighthouse, returned the guide papers, and left for Seal Bay. 

Get to Seal Bay and it's like money-making centre. Seriously. You can pay either to just go on the boardwalk, or to go on the boardwalk and a guided tour along the beach. Since there is time before the next tour, we hit up the boardwalk (where there are no seals, and you cannot really see seals). On the walk though, you can see this giant skeleton of a baby humpback whale that had been beached many years back (so sad). We head back up to the tourist centre to wait for our tour, and then go down to the beach to meet our tour guide, aka Steve Irwin, who loves the seals and gets mad if you get too close slash ask stupid questions. Stay on the beach forever watching mother seals teach pups to hunt in the water, seals playing, seals swimming, seals fighting, and giant group fighting, seals sleeping slash tanning, and other fun stuff. After a while, Steve Irwin decides it's time to head back, and we leave, spotting more hidden seals along the way, including one on the path to the tour centre, and then go to find our hostel.

We get to the hostel and there is no one there, but there is an envelope with our names and keys inside, and so we go to our room, which we expected would be a double, but instead was a giant room for 7... ALL TO OURSELVES!!! Success!!! Take epic nap until dinner, then hit up FISH, a (you guessed it) fish take-out restaurant run by a cranky woman who makes good fish but gives small portions. Had super yummy fish with salad, went to look for penguins, saw none, and so went back to hostel. Later in the night, head back out to find penguins, and instead come across a shitton of wallabies!!! WOOT! They are like mini-kangaroos, and super cool. Broke into the penguin reserve and went around with flashlights and saw 3 real Australian penguins! Success! They are more furry than Antarctic penguins, I think. Went back to hostel all happy for the night.

Next morning was epic tourist day, hitting up the west side of the island, starting with Little Sahara, this super cool desert with huge sand dunes that people surf board on!!! Had difficulty climbing it (check the pics haha) but finally made it up. Made friends with a French couple trying to surf board, and then went back down the hill, filling my shoes with sand in the process. Next stop: Kelly Caves. So the story is that this guy was riding his horse Kelly one day, and they both fall into this pit (cave entrance). He tries to get Kelly out of the cave, but can't, so goes to get help, but when he comes back, Kelly is gone! Kelly is never seen again, but people think he must have found another cave entrance or something and perhaps got out. The caves are super cool though, because it's all crystal, and over the past hundreds and thousands of years, the ground has shifted, and so some stalagmites and stalagtites (sp.?) that had met later were cut off from each other. There are also lots of cool formations, like the super cool ballet slipper. Then the tour guide took us further into the caves and showed us what it was like for explorers who went down into the caves back when they went around it with just a candle. And then she got someone to blow it out to show us what it would look like once your candle burnt out. And then I got scared. Until the lights went back on. FML. 

After a short walk outside and discovering other cave entrances, we went towards Flinders Chase National Park, home to Remarkable Rocks and Admiral's Arch (tell me you saw those pics, because they are crazy!!!) On the way, we stopped at a koala preservation area, and saw a whole bunch of super cute koalas, including a baby koala that was super close up!!! Epic success! We also saw a kangaroo and wallaby at the same place, so extra success! Seriously though, koalas are the cutest things ever, though apparently people who live on the island are not so pleased with them because they eat so much and do not so much, and apparently they want to go killing some off! WTF!!! I think we should get Paul McCartney to leave us alone about the seal hunt and go check out the problems in Australia, man!!! Slash have I mentioned that they eat kangaroo here?! 

So back to Remarkable Rocks and Admiral's Arch. CRAZY PLACES. I mean, CRAZY. AMAZING. INCREDIBLE. REMARKABLE. Like, holy shit son. These rocks are all granite and have been shaped by wind and the ice age and they are super intense cool. And so much fun. It's like a park for adults because we get to climb the rocks to take super cool pictures. And ignore Anthony's comments on my pics - there were no ladders involved and no photoshopping! Admiral's Arch was also super cool, because we got to see New Zealand fur seals as well as this super cool archway. The entire area smells bad because of the seal poo mixing with the rock, but it's so pretty that you (almost) forget about the smell. Plus the seals are just so cute play-fighting under the arch. Then we went back to the Flinders Chase visitors centre where we decided to do the walk to the platypus watering hole so that I could see my first platypus, but instead of seeing platypi (they were in hiding), we saw echidnas (kind of like porcupines) and ugly Aussieland geese and lots of dead trees, some with new ones growing through them! So there is some re-growth after the bush fires. 

So after that super long day we decide to head back to the hostel for some dinner and make successful stir-fry with gluten-free noodles before crashing for the night. The next day is our last, and we still have to climb Prospect Hill and see the capital, Kingscote! So the next morning we hit up those two places, doing a little historic drive around Kingscote and stopping at a couple of arts and crafts galleries, before heading back to the ferry for our ride home. 

Oh, right. Btw. Did I mention that as soon as I got off the ferry when we first got to Kangaroo Island my camera DIED?! Ya. Because it did. So thank goodness Patrick had a camera, but holy shit man I flipped the lid! 

Right, so back to Adelaide Hills we went, stopping at OTH for the epic picture, and then finally reaching home. Chilled that night, watching some Aussieland television by the same guy from Summer Heights High (some show about trying to find Australian of the Year) and then called it a day.

So I know I still have to blog about my past 2 days, which include trip around wine country and trip to the zoo/ chocolate factory/ biggest rocking horse in the world, but I am le tired from writing and this post has been long enough! So enjoy this post and I will get back to you soon!

Miss you all,

xoxo Kat

The delayed airport post!

LOL people-watching at airports is the funniest thing ever. People are just so stupid and just follow other stupid people like little flocks of sheep. Honestly, I’m sitting at my gate watching people from the flight before getting off, and some genius decides to turn left towards other gates instead of right to “exit and baggage claim,” and so all the other people coming off the plane keep turning left with confused looks on their faces. A couple of smart people read the sign and turn right, but then the stupid people are all, wow, “those people are stupid, can’t they follow a crowd?” and then turn left. Bahaha it’s entertaining. Slash the male flight attendant at the door is amazingly flamboyant and makes me really happy. Like he keeps tugging at the back of his blazer and pacing about with his head in the air… oh it’s amazing. Slash his waist is smaller than mine, and it’s bothering me slightly. Perhaps it’s because his shoulders are so broad. Unless he is wearing shoulder pads. FML that would be amazing.

 

Anyways, so just updating my way to Melbourne airport. Nothing super exciting. Just cab to bus station and bus to airport. But for those of you who ever fly domestic out of Melbourne, I will just give you heads up so that you aren’t waiting at a gate forever… When the guy at the reception of my hostel told me I could take a 5am bus to the airport (get there at 530am) for my 630am flight, I thought he was crazy. Like cutting it waaaaaaay too close, esp. with security and whatnot? Slash ahhahah the gay flight attendant just waved good-bye to someone. Oh. OMG. He is dating other gay flight attendant. SUCCESS. Hahaha that makes me happy. They just waved good-bye to the other crew. Amazing. Like a wave with your fingers. Haha. Epic. Anyways, so yes. I didn’t listen to the guy and took the 430am bus, which got me here for 5am. And I get to the counters and there is a sign that says, check-in closes 30 mins prior to flight departure!!! Dude. Like international flights, the GATE closes 30 mins prior to flight departure. And it takes (with all the walking and going through security) approximately 10 minutes from leaving off your checked baggage to get to the gate. Which closes like 5 mins before departure. Because boarding is 15 mins before departure. So, future reference if you ever fly through here, take your time, and get to the airport just one hour prior to your flight’s departure time. Success. And that is travel tip for the day.

 

Ooh also, I want to mention the fun souvenirs I bought from Victoria Market yesterday!!! I am SUCH a tourist. Successful purchase of aboriginal art, a digeridoo (however you spell that, slash also a mini one because they are HUGE), aaaaaaaaaaaand BOOMERANGS!!!! WHATTUP! Haha I AM that cool.

 

So, sorry for the lame blog post. I just needed to occupy my time. I guess you can say that I used you haha. But yes, I promise more entertaining/ exciting blog post from Adelaide and Kangaroo Island!!!