Ikea, penguins and the cockroach incident!

Hello everyone!

It's been a good week since my last post. Liam had 6 days off for Easter so we took the opportunity to wander Melbourne and get stuff sorted for out new apartment! FYI we still don't have an apartment! However, our box holiday apartment is now filled with the wonders of Ikea! Why we bought the entire contents of a kitchen and more before we actually have anywhere to put it, is beyond me! We had great fun picking stuff out though. Ikea has always been a positive experience for me. I don't know what it is; the open spaces, the daim cake or my general tendency to love buying things? Liam turned engineer on me and scrutinised chopping boards and saucepans. It was great! I picked things that were pretty and Liam actually checked if they were in any way reliable! Team work! Once we had an entire shopping trolley full of stuff we realised we had no way to get it all back to St Kilda, a good 40 minutes away! So we impulse bought 4 massive shopping bags and dragged our sorry selves, and many purchases, home on the trams. It was totally worth it though!

 On the apartment front, we're viewing one this evening that we really want, so fingers crossed! 

Easter in Australia is a strange thing! We were warned that shops and things would be closed on good Friday. We were surprised as at home it's just the pubs and offies. We were even more surprised, though, to find that all the shops were closed but all the pubs and offies here were doing a roaring trade! It was so strange. It seems it's a really big night out for people here! Then everything was opened on Saturday and even Easter Sunday. Sadly, I must report that the Australians don't do Easter eggs! I was heart-broken! We shared a toblerone but it wasn't the same! Everything was closed again on Monday as it was Anzanc day, a public holiday honouring Australian war veterans. We didn't know whether we were facing up or down at the end of it all! I will always be upset by the lack of Easter eggs!

On Monday, the only thing really open was the Aquarium! So we decided now was a good a time as ever! I have to say, I was fairly impressed. When you first enter, you see a big penguin enclosure full of big and little penguins! They were amazing. Here's me with a little dude who seemed very curious about who these weird tall things were!

They are such beautiful creatures. I don't know if I really like the idea of them being locked up like this. They seemed happy enough and had a big pool to swim around in. But I just don't think it's fair. I'm a big hypocrite, of course, for going to see them. And I did think it was awesome to see them. But I felt sorry for them being put on display like that. Oh there goes the vegetarian again!! There were loads of amazing fish too and a croc (see below ... no the croc's on the left. That's Liam on the right) and some sharks! Poor things!

I am afraid to report that there was a cockroach incident! Liam was hoovering and I was over in the kitchen area and all of a sudden a cockroach legs it across the room! I freak of course, but Liam, with hoover at the ready, sucks him up! We released him outside later. And by 'we' I mean 'Liam'. And by 'release outside' I mean 'put him in the dumpster downstairs'. Now, I don't think we have a nesting problem or anything. We had the balcony door open for a while earlier that day because I burnt toast and set off the fire alarm. We think he must have snuck in and hid out under the fridge for a while. At least this is what I'm telling myself!! He wasn't a big one at least! Will keep you updated! Ick!

Gelato update! I tried some of that dairy-free chocolate gelato. It totally lived up to expectation! Absolutely amazing! The rum cake was also delicious! It must sound like I'm stuffing myself but I'm actually being good! Kind of!


Oh Nora, here is proof that I am now tram-savy!

See, that's me ... on a tram ... ticket validated and all! FACT!



And to finish, here are some random Australian facts:

1. The birds here are really loud!! In the evening, around 5 or 6, they seem to meet up in palm trees around the place and chirp themselves silly. It's like a 'who can chirp the loudest competition'! It's amazing! But you wouldn't want to be having a quiet-spoken conversation anywhere nearby!

2. Sushi is everywhere and very cheap! It's very good sushi as there is quite a Japanese community in Melbourne. You can grab a big hand roll on every corner for $2.50! As well as China town, this is one of the few cheapest way of eating out!

3. China town in Melbourne is awesome! There are dumplings all over the shop! And pretty cheap. This is perfect for Liam and myself as many of you will know. Asian food all the way!

Us on a bridge overlooking a small portion of a massive city!


Until next time!

Conquering the trams and Gelato!

And so a week in Melbourne has passed...

It feels as though we have been here for much longer at this stage. I guess we all slip into a way of life wherever we are. My way of life has been pretty relaxed here in St Kilda! Unlike poor Liam who has been slaving away at work all week, I have been playing the lazy tourist. On monday I wandered as far as the St Kilda Botanical gardens to have a gander. This peaceful bit of joy is a lovely place to sit and soak up some delicious, not to mention much needed, Vitamin D. I sat there on a bench with my guide book and ipod (filled with a wonderful selection of melodies, thanks to ever gentlemanly Robert Hurely) and felt very grateful to those who make it their day's aim to keep such a place. After a little while there, my pastey Irish skin began to protest so I decided it was time to visit one of those delightful cake shops I had previously reported. I am sad to say though, that I made a poor choice from the splendid selection of treats. The pepermint slice was a let down, but I am convinced the rum-chocolate biscuit cake will make up for this in full. On this score, I must report something that probably won't excite most of you as it did me! The Ozzies are ones for their Italian Gelato. This persumably stems from the great Italian migration of the last two centuries. The important part in all this is that it is possible to acquire dairy-free chocolate gelato! A viable ice-cream substitute has long been on my list. I have yet to try said dessert, but will report in full once the blessed event has taken place!

I am pleased to say that I have conquered the Melbourne trams! The ticket validator is the green machiene, if ever any of you are in Melbourne and stuck like me! I admit I had to ask Ronan, a friend who also lives here now, and he happily explained the process. Humiliating as the whole thing was, I won't be forgetting how to work my tram charm for a long time! I have taken a few trips now, and almost feel entitled to laugh at all the other tourist that go around poking things with their tickets!

I ventured into the city centre on Tuesday to meet Ronan and procure some maps. It was about time! To Federation Square I went where they have a well equipped visitor's centre. I left with about half my weight in maps and brochures! There is so much happening in Melbourne, it's unbelievable! We won't be bored while we're here. Well, that is if we can afford it all. This place aint cheap for anything other than photocopying! I can understand now why people have such big salaries here. It probably works out the same as home. Note to self: must find a job!

Liam is getting on great at work. His colleagues are lovely, from what I've heard. The all-female cast of the research unit are delighted to have a male around to balance out the oestrogen! His red-headed boss is also delighted to have one of her own around, so it seems! She is taking us to an Ozzie rules match next month which should be interesting. How does one pretend to be a sports enthusiast? Luckily, because it is Easter, as well as Anzac day, Liam has a 6 day weekend! So he'll finally be able to recover from his jet-lag. Once that is done we'll go a furniture hunting. And I can show him around the parts of the city I now know. Being incredibly competitive, I am delighted to be ahead in this respect!

On the appartment front, we were offered the first one we looked at but turned it down, as the idea of communal laundry seemed far too uncivilized! I viewed a lovely place today and we'll hopefully hear soon whether we got it or not. I hope so, as the super long weekend won't allow for much appartment hunting. It's all very formal here. There is an arranged showing of a house which is usually only 15 minutes. If you miss that gap there's no other time to see it. Then you have to fill out lenghty application forms that would have you believing that you are applying for a morgage! It seems to be efficient though and the estate agents are lovely and helpful.

Tonight we're going for Tapas and drinks with friends from Ireland. Looking forward to this after my week of playing in-house chef. It is very hard to think of things to cook everyday! Mum I totally appreciate all the cooking you have done for me over the years!! Incidentally, the Ozzies are really into the Masterchef. I have decided to get onboard! The new season starts this sunday! The other television highlight at the moment is, of course, the wedding of Will and Kate. Coverage starts on MONDAY, 5 days in advance of the actual event. I feel sorry for the poor guys. We're 17,000 km aways: the spotlight shines a long beam!

On the insect front, we are still pretty bug-free! Though I had a nightmare about really big spiders last night! Hoepfully it's not a prediction!

Until next time...

Airport trains, hook turns and milipedes!

And so it has begun!

Liam, my lovely manfriend, and I arrived in Melbourne last Thursday morning bright and early. The journey was surprisingly pleasant with little incident to bother us, despite my predictably oversized suitcase exceeding weight allowance. We left from Shannon on Monday afternoon after some very difficult and tearful goodbyes, and a good weeping session in the duty-free. After a short wait in London we boarded our giant airbus into the care of the lovely people of Malaysian airlines. FYI, their uniforms are beautiful! Our 12.5 hour flight was smooth and comfortable, and involved some very delicious Malaysian food and a really good chocolate cookie at 3am. There was inflight entertainment thank God (unlike flight to and from Thailand - I am still traumatised!) which, for me, took the form of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One, and The Kings Speech. As it was a night flight, there was a lot of sleeping.

We arrived in Kuala Lumpur around 5 pmish local time which was very confusing seen as we were still working on Irish time. We had to get a train (yes a train inside the airport!) to the arrivals and from there we walked the 5 minutes to our hotel which was connected to the airport by a tunnel. I am ashamed to say I barely stepped on Malaysian soil! I blame it on yet lag. Once settled in we went for food where I had another homesickness-weeping session. To my embarrassment, I couldn't pull myself together so I think the staff thought I was dying or something. The noodles were delicious but I barely touched them, being so focused on getting back to our room so I could Skype home! Somewhere along the way I developed a cold and so sleep wasn't great, but we slept for most of the next day too, with the result of still being on Irish time!

The final leg of our journey with Malaysia airlines was just as pleasant as the first, though we were wide awake throughout the night and landed in Melbourne exhausted and jetlagged. Happily, we were picked up by my Dutch grandfather's cousin, Peter, and his lovely wife, Tina, who have been living in Oz for 40 odd years. We were well taken care of by these two amazingly energetic and generous people, who showed us around Melbourne and are helping us get our hands on a fabulous apartment. We stayed with them in Point Cook, a suburb 25 km outside the city. It's great to have family here!


My inital impression of Melbourne is that it is massive!! Also the driving is crazy and involves hooks turns. Basically, this means that at some junctions, if you want to turn right, you take the left lane instead of the right and wait for a gap. It is crazy! Tina explained how it is efficient and all but the concept is lost on me I'm afraid! The food is great here. We've already had great vietnamese and japanese. From what we've heard, we have a lot of eating to do to get through all of Melbourne's amazing and various restaurants! Yay!

 On Saturday we moved to a holiday aparment in St Kilda while we sort our an aparment. St Kilda is the backpacker districk of Melbourne so there is lots happening and loads of people around from differents parts of the world. Unsurprisingly, many an Irish accent has reached my ears. We seem to be taking over! There is a real cafe buzz over here, with the most beautiful cake shops I have ever seen. All my hopes to become fit and healthy in Oz seem defeated before I've even begun! Though Tina told me about a crazy palm oil diet she did recently. You mix palm oil with fruit juice three times a day for a week and that's it! I don't think I have a strong enough constitution for that one!

We're very near the beach, but have yet to venture that far despite the beautiful weather. However, we did have a go on the trams yesterday which, are the main form of transport in Melbourne city. Some are very old school, others are more Luas like. It's a lovely way to get around. We have yet to figure out how to validate our tickets though. I'd say the locals got a kick out of us trying to skick our tickets into various machiene-like objects on the tram to no avail! We'll get there eventually.

Now, a lot of you were concerned by the possibility of bugs playing a large part in my life here. The news on that front is that the city is much better than the suburbs! When we were with Peter and Tina there were quite a few spiders, though none of them dangerous. The more upsetting ones were the Milipedes that appeared at night. Also the giant cockroach on the front door was something I'd rather not encounter again. However, as I said the city is much better and I have encountered little on that score yet. I will keep you updated!

Liam has started his new job today in the Alfred hospital. It's very exciting! He wore a shirt and everything! I think maybe we're growing up or something! The hospital is a quick tram-ride away from here. I'm dying to hear how he gets on. I'll let you all know too!

Meanwhile, I will be busy this week sorting out our apartment. In Oz, it is more common than not to have unfurnished apartments. This means that there isn't even a fridge or washing machiene! So I have a lot to organise. Ikea and Target here I come! I'm also hoping to get to the botanical gardens that are nearby and try out one of those cake shops!

Until next time...