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!