WEEK SEVEN

I will get this up to date…

On Monday I decided to do some baking for the BBQ which Will and Toni had organised for Tuesday, and chose to avoid the idea of frangipane tarts which were still not perfected and went a good old default of cherry flapjacks and chocolate and berry brownies – something I had tried to make for mum before, which hadn’t turned out fantastic, but I put that down to the vegan ingredients, so fully loaded with dairy products, I set to work. Once again, the flapjacks turned out great – but you can’t really mess them up at all. The brownies on the other hand, had the perfect consistency (as before) but still a rather strange taste. Don’t think I’ll try them anymore – I have plenty other brownie recipes and one of them must turn out nice! So, I fixed them up by smothering them with white chocolate, and it seemed to do the trick – kind of!

The whole reason for the BBQ was because it was Melbourne Cup day – a horse race, which means that everyone gets the day off work – it is mad! I can’t imagine everyone getting the day off for the Grand National, but hey – no ones complaining. So, everyone just has big parties and have a great day off work, but it is still weird having a public holiday on a Tuesday!

So, the day of the BBQ – Will and Toni set to work making a huge range of dishes, and I was trusted with the potato salad. Simple. And it turned out great – even though I say so myself. I invited Phil and Rowan (mainly cos they are the only people I know here, but there were a few fringey types too, which was nice. We all chose a horse to back for the race, but didn’t put money on it (which is a good thing because my one didn’t win!) and for 2 minutes stood round the telly shouting for our horse! And then it was over, and it was back to eating and drinking – sadly the weather was a bit crappy, so Will lit a fire in the garden and once we had enough of real food, we moved onto toasting marshmallows on sticks found in the garden, being slightly too eager I just picked up the nearest knife and used it – surprisingly I actually didn’t burn myself – everyone was expecting it though! So, as the day got a bit colder and rainier people started leaving and we were left with the biggest table of food! There were so many different types of salad it was great – welcome to a veggie bar-be-que! Even all my dodgy brownies were eaten, as were the flapjacks, so they couldn’t have been so bad in the end, people went back for seconds - still it would have been nice if they had turned out better!

The next couple of days were spent trying to sort out my computer in everyway possible, which was harder than it sounds – stupid computer. I don’t think I have ever spent so long intensively organizing, installing and backing up in my life, and hopefully never will again, it was just so frustrating and time consuming! We also ate a lot of leftover salads, not really venturing into the hot food department for a good 72 hours! Me and Will also went for another hunt into the City to try and find some new shoes, and we trawled Smith Street – apparently great for discount shoes. Shame the pair I fell in love with were in the only non-discount shop we went into. A beautiful pair of red doc martens which would replace my others perfectly, but at $150 I chose not to, and left, comparing all other shoes to those ones – and for the rest of the day nothing was as good as them. I did try on a very cool pair of Dr Suess Converse which were great, but sadly didn’t come in my size, so they were left too. So close, and yet so far. Maybe I’ll go back and get the red ones one day…in the afternoon I spent the time wandering about Northcote with the dogs as Will and Toni went to the dentist – something I really should do as my tooth is still sore – 3 weeks later!! Oooops, maybe I’ll go soon if it is still sore, or, if I put it off long enough it’ll either get better or fall out. Not the best idea in the grand scheme of things. We had the dogs with us so decided to take them for walk in the park, and when we came across the playground it was too much for Will to cope with, and resulted in getting Joey to go down the spiral slide, strangely enough she actually enjoyed it. Turnip didn’t. We had dinner at Wesley Anne which is a great pub, with a lovely beer garden – there is a caravan in the middle of it all, and supposedly one of the owners lives in it. Not sure if convenience is worth living in the middle of a beer garden. Had a great baked Eggplant thing – weird because before I came here I thought I hated aubergines – apparently not if they are cooked nicely. Still can’t stand the skin though – eugh! And so we made our way home, well walked and well fed.

On Saturday I had arranged to meet with a lady from a dairy, who we had dubbed the ‘goat lady’. She doesn’t in fact have goats, but does make bloody good cheese, and I had phoned them up to see if I could go and stay with them for a fortnight – partly to learn how to make cheese, but most importantly, start racking up the days for my second year visa. 88 days in rural Australia doing farming is my target, so I thought I may as well try and get some out of the way before Christmas – whilst eating cheese. So off I went to St. Kilda Market to meet her, with the idea of buying a cake each from one of the fancy shops – who can say no to someone to turns up with a cake? Apparently not her, and it was decided that she would collect me on Monday and take me to her farm. As we had some of their cheese before I thought I should buy some more, so just before leaving I decided which one and went to pay – she said I could have it for free. I like this lady! I gave her a cupcake, and she gave me cheese. A fair exchange I would say. I was going to spend the day in St. Kilda, but as it was getting hot and I had cheese in my bag, I ate my cake on the beach and jumped on the tram back to the City to meet Will, who had been shoe shopping. And I do not say this lightly - $700 lighter, but with 4 pairs of shoes, we left the shop in direction of the discount Levis store. On the way there we walked past a shop with more Dr Suess Converse – so diverted in there only to find some in my size – brilliant. Done and dusted – both of us had managed to get shoes in one day. That night we went to the launch of ‘Revolt’ which is a new venue in Edinburgh, and I was not expecting what I saw when I walked in. It was a huge dark space, with a couple of stages, a huge mural and a lot of people dressed up, in what I later learnt was ‘Steam Punk’ clothes. And my god they were fantastic outfits! Toni had managed to get us on the guest list under the guise that we were working with Snuff Puppets, and so didn’t have to pay the rather expensive ticket price, in exchange for 30 minutes work. We both had to watch the ‘skellies’ and make sure no one jumped on them, and if they fell over we had to help them up. So, after a mischief making 30 minutes, which included me being dragged to the floor by one of them and dragged about a bit, that was our ‘work’ over and we had another couple of drinks. The guys in the puppets must have so much fun in there – they just get the chance to do whatever they wanted, and no one really seemed to mind at all!! I don’t know how they think of some of the stuff they get up to! The last band who played were called Volgograd, whose main singer is the guy from Moulin Rouge who sings ‘Roxanne’ (not Ewan McGregor!) and they are absolute fantastic! They fitted the night so well, and if I ever get another chance to see them I will go! Great music, great puppets, great night!

On one of my many internet searches of Sea Shepherd I found out that the ‘Bob Barker’ was in Melbourne Docks and giving tours at the weekend, so on Sunday we headed off to find the crazy eco-pirates, and I couldn’t quite believe I was going to see it. Not quite sure if it is incredibly sad to be so excited about such a thing, but I was, well and truly. And, after turning a corner there was the big black imposing ship of Sea Shepherd. Amazing. When we got up there we had a little wait until the next tour went round, so, looking at their shopping list they had written outside went to the closest supermarket to pick up some supplies for them, boring vegan foods (of course) but they did request vegemite too, which makes me feel slightly better that they are humans under it all! So, laden with goodies we set off in their direction again, and went on the tour. It is such a great boat, and it is really inspiring that they are willing to give up so much for something they believe in. And, although it all seems quite ramshakled on ‘Whale Wars’ it is a very well run, very well equipped boat. I even went on the bridge – where it all happens! It did nothing to quash my feelings of wanting to go on one of their campaigns, but, I think it is a bit of a tricky process – funnily enough they don’t just let any lefty-liberal on there, you have to prove you’ll be useful! Dammit! So, anyway, after being thoroughly blown away but it all (and taking a few photos!) we went to see their small stand of stuff for sale, and I bought a patch for my rucksack. Something I have seen on their website, but vowed I wouldn’t buy until I have been on the ship – well, this visitor day may be the closest I ever get, and so I bought one.

The next stop on our day-out was ‘The Village’ something in Edinburgh Gardens that Will wanted to go and see, so not really having any clue what it was I went along too! It was a lovely tiny little festival , with music, and stalls and sideshows – not much of any of them, but it really gave me the feel of Strawberry Fayre in Cambridge, lots of people of all ages out for a nice day. We did however arrive right at the very end of it all and although some people were packing up we still got a chance to have a look about and get a couple of drink. We also ran into one of Will and Toni’s friends who was doing a couple of acts in the ‘Miracles’ tent! So, after doing a bit of Front of House work (Front of Tent?!) I went to see him do his escape routine, which was great. Love a bit of freaky circus tricks on a Sunday afternoon! So, as the day wrapped up we headed back home in time for Toni to get ready for her trip to Taiwan and eat adequate amounts of lovely lovely cheese.

All in all it was a great week, despite the numerous hours spent in front of the computer trying to fix it, but it is now all done and I don’t need to worry about boring things like that anymore. Also, hopefully, sorted out some farm work which’ll mean I can get out of the city and see some more of the countryside – I can’t wait!

Again photos being rubbish so they will come soon!

WEEK SIX

Here we go...

On Sunday I had planned to go to St. Kilda to see the sights, and I had left it because I wanted to go to the artist market which was only on Sundays, and as Will wasn't up to much either that day we both went.

It was a beautiful day, and as we arrived the sun was shining off the sea and it truly looked lovely - nothing quite like a good seaside town - although this is no Blackpool, it is a seaside town with style - and great cake shops (another reason for wanting to go!). So, we wandered about the market and inspected their wares - some of them were magnificently ugly - some of them really shouldn't have bothered! Amongst the better items were some lovely stuff made out of wood, the best one being a box made from a tree trunk chopped in half, hinged, and varnished...the only reason it wasn't bought was because it wouldn't have fitted in my bag, and weighed a ton! Not sure Emirates would like me if I tried to take it home. Next stop was Luna Park, to get to it though we had to walk past the Palais, where Rufus Wainwright was playing that night - why didn't I have a ticket? But, we continued - to look at some great old rides, including a great old carousel, and dodgems! Classic old fashioned fun! As you had to pay per ride you went on, we both decided that the 'Scenic Railway' was the best of the lot - being a proper old rickety roller-coaster, so old the brakes were operated by someone standing in between the two carriages - safety first! Sadly everyone else had the same thought, and the queue was considerably longer than for any other ride, so after about an hour (I chose not to time it, too depressing) we were at the front of the cart, hearing the 'No Cameras' announcement, and ready to go. We had already heard the message a few times, so, naturally, I had my camera stored up my sleeve and Will had his phone ready! It was 3 minutes of fantastic views across the sea, and some pretty impressive bumps and turns! Loved it! Next stop was down the main street, and past some of then est cake shops I think I will ever see in my life, with every kind imaginable...but we weren't going to them yet as we were on our way to 'Lentil As Anything' which is a great place run by volunteers and you pay what you want for the food - fantastic. We had a platter of different currys, which were all amazing, and then realised we only had $50 notes on us...they were good, but not that good, so we scraped our change together and decided that was enough! It is kind of like Forrest Cafe, but smaller, and the food is better! It was decided pudding would be a cake from somewhere, so after staring through the windows at them all Will went for a Vanilla Slice which was apparently  'The best in the State' - a big claim, and I had a Tiramisu slice. So, equipped with possibly the best cake I will ever eat, we headed to the pier to eat it, and after being blown about by the wind we sat and watched the kite-surfers and stuffed our face with cake. Mmmmmmm. There was one more place we had to go which was the 'Espy' - a pub, and no trip to St. Kilda is complete without a drink from there - or so Will says anyway! It is an amazing old building, a cross between Bannermans, and something much more grand...it used to be a hotel, and although it is all a bit shabby it is still great, and really busy too (and if I had all the money in the world I would buy it and live there!). So, after curry, cake and beer it was home time!

The next day had been organised for a while with Phil and Rowan, and we were off to Ballarat, to the wonders of 'Sovereign Hill' an olde worlde town depicting life in the times of the gold rush in the area. A cool $40 to get in, me and Rowan were trusting Phil that this would be a good use of money (he'd already told us it'd be tacky but amusing, so it had to live up to that - not hard!) The train was at some silly time in the morning, so I was terrified I would miss it, but dragged myself out of bed, and to the train station to meet the other two. Or, at least that was the plan. As the train pulled off Phil and Rowan weren't on it - I was off on my own. After panicking for a little bit that I was going to go on my own (not quite as funny if you don't have company) I found out they could get the next train and meet me there - Phew! As that was sorted I could sit back and enjoy the 2 hour train ride through some great countryside. It is just so flat and empty here! Some of the train stations we stopped at were in the middle of a bunch of field, with a little road leading up to them - I was tempted to get off at one of them, but decided that proceeding hour of waiting would not be as much fun as the initial novelty wore off! So, once I made it to the place (after somehow missing the connecting coach from the station and having to make my own way there) it was definitely   time for breakfast - something I had planned for the train journey, but hadn't had enough time to grab anything. The first thing I came to was a bakery - perfect! I had a moment of my eyes being bigger than my stomach, and chose a custard tart - it didn't look that big until I took it out the bag and it was about the size of my hand!! Very tasty though - I considered keeping some for later, but scoffed the lot! Once Phil and Rowan arrived, we spent the day learning about life during the Gold Rush, including a hilarious video, a tour of a mine, olde worlde bowling, drinking int he bar, and musket firing,a trip to the sweet shop, and gold smelting - I even got myself weighed in gold, something I had done years ago on a family holiday - funnily enough I am worth a lot more now! The day was finished with a horse and carriage ride, and I got to ride with the driver of them - so much fun! We bypassed the gold museum, thinking it'd just be more of the same, and headed back into Ballarat to find some dinner. After some wandering about, we eventually went back to the first place we had visited, and all ordered far too much food - surely they should let you know if the food you are ordering is actually enough for three people!! After stuffing our faces, and then eating a bit more, we headed to the train station to go home. 

A couple of days later me and Toni went to the Japanese Bath House  Somewhere Toni had suggested a week before, but not been to. It is, essentially, a huge, very hot bath that 8 people can fit in, and you go in, strip, and get in. Slightly odd to begin with, but as soon as the awkwardness had passed it was lovely. A great way to spend an afternoon - relaxing and slowly boiling myself. The afternoon of luxury was continued at San Churro on Brunswick St. a chocolate cafe which has an amazing menu of chocolate related goodies so we ordered hot chocolate, and I got a brownie too, which cam served in a glass with lashings of cream too. The hot chocolate was more like melted chocolate and cream mixed up, but it was beautiful - as was the brownie, however I'm not sure both were needed, and we went away feeling very full - and slightly sick. The day was only slightly marred by the fact  my beautiful red shoes fell to bits!! Couldn't believe it - they have been everywhere with me for the last 8 years, and then, all of a sudden the stitching on the back just came apart. Gutting! 

The next couple of days were spent pottering about at home (and not spending money!) however, on Friday the sun came out properly so I paced up a book, and a blanket and went to the park to read. I also went into town to get some lunch too, and have a picnic. What a way to spend an afternoon! No complaints here! The next day the rain came, and the skies well and truly opened, we did venture out to spend the morning trying to find shoes for both me and Will, to no avail, but we did get frozen yogurt! Once we came out the shop it was bucketing down so me Will and Toni decided to have an inside afternoon and watch Sex and the City 2 - it is as bad as everyone has said! But, with rubbish weather outside it felt like a nice way to spend the time. By the next morning it had rained itself out, and we took the dogs out for a walk - me and Toni had decided to go and see 'A Social Network', so after a while with the dogs we headed to the cinema, only to get there and find out it had sold out!! I didn't think there were that many people in Yarraville!! We bought a choc-top ice-cream anyway, and headed home, vowing to go and see it another day. 

So, that has been my week - done lots, spent lots, and eaten slightly too many sweet treats - nothing changes here then!! 

(Photos to follow - can't upload them for some reason)

WEEK FIVE

Right, I really have to catch up now, so here is my 5th week in Australia...

On Saturday me and Will set off for the snow - not at the 5am start we firstly considered, but we set off with the dogs to drive towards the hills until we found snow - Will had been checking the forecast for the last 24 hours and we had a vague idea what direction we were heading in...the white stuff on top of the hills!

On the way we took a small detour to Yarra Valley Dairy to taste some cheese and wine - which we did, then  we bought some cheese (called 'George') and wine - that wasn't predictable at all! We continued on our journey again, and at one point all the trees were burnt which was the Black Saturday fires that destroyed the whole area including the town of Marysville that the fire ripped through, and destroyed everything apart from a couple of buildings. It is a strange place to drive through, with so many new-build houses going up everywhere and people living in caravans where their house used to stand. Anyway, we continued into the Yarra Ranges National Park and continued into the hills until we found what we deemed a suitable amount of snow. Getting out the car made me very grateful I had brought my many layers with me, and donned my scarf, hat and an extra hoodie before venturing out into the cold. We took the dogs up a track and it wasn't long before they were frolicking about - Turnip really looked the part as she was running through the snow which was a good few inches deep - and Joey just looked ridiculous as usual! We found some more, much better snow and it really was like being back at home - I came all the way to Australia just to find snow! On our way back we stopped at a local brewery, and I had an amazing cider - it'll take a lot to beat that one, but Will had a beer whcih tasted of chocolate and coffee - even better! We got home and Toni had made Mac & Cheese for dinner - just what we needed after such a chilly day - comfort food. 

The next day I pottered into the City, and to Vicotria Market, which I have been meaning to go to for ages, and finally made it - and it is so worth it! Within about an hour I had wandered about, and bought myself a great bread roll, and a little chunk of cheese and sat and made a little cheese sandwich, and then had cake and coffee all bought from the market. Bloody great! It does also have a whole bunch of people selling absolute crap which you have never wanted - but that's what's great about markets! After I had wandered about enough I headed off to the Immigration Museum - which was an odd choice, but really interesting actually, and in a beautiful building too. Was really nice to just take it all in - and slightly curse at the fact it is now so hard to move here! It used to be so easy! The rest of the day was spent on the free tram around the city, randomly jumping off at points which I thought looked intriguing - including Phil & Rowan's work, and from there I just walked through Chinatown and eventually through some back streets back to the train station. 

As I judge all cities I visit by the quality of their zoo, I decided it was time to go and see Melbournes and be able to make an informed decision on this city. As Will had never been either, off we went to Royal Melbourne Zoo. Fancy name - good start. And, in my humble opinion, it is a great zoo - points being taken off for the strange lay-out that just get's you lost - but the animals are amazing. Also, saw one I have never heard of before - a Tree Kangaroo - and they had a whole bunch of tiger cubs which were just playing with each other and learning how to hunt - gorgeous creatures that I am certain would make a good house pet! The best bit was the monkeys though - as usual! They have a huge viewing area over the cages, and the orangutangs came and sat right by the glass so everyone could admire them properly. 

 The next day I went to the Botanics with Phil & Rowan and decided to cycle part way there as it was a nice day, and I think it has been years since I was on a bike, and as Will's one was huge it turned out to be slightly more annoying than a normal bike ride - as every time I stopped I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to get going again without falling off, not the relaxing bike ride I had in mind, but it was still much quicker than walking, so one positive came out of it at least! The Botanics are beautiful and it was such a good day to be just walking about and enjoying the sun and the surroundings - and the lovely tea room by the side f the lake! We did see a turtle too, soaking up the sun which was pretty awesome, and I am sure there was much more wildlife there that we missed! We went for lunch in a great old American diner that Phil & Rowan had found before, and had a full meal of retro food, including an ince-cream float (called 'Spiders' here for some reason?) and a banana split for pudding - great place, complete with a proper jukebox and a full cabinet of Elvis photos and ornaments! So, after stuffing my face with ice cream and chips I was glad to have to bike to get home - and at least feel slightly healthier on the way home - as I rode along the river in the sun I really did feel like a kid again, until I fell off. 

                           

The next day I braved the bike again - to go up to Seddon to pick up some leaflets for Will, and everything was fine, until I realised that my bag was slowly wearing a whole in my knee. After a quick re-shuffle I was off again. Until I fell off again, and I decided enough was enough, that no-matter what bad things I have said about my own bike - I love it. With my one errand done, I decided I deserved a cake and coffee to soothe the growing pain in my knee (I like to justify the cakes I have with flimsy self-sympathy!). So, I walked the bike back to Yarraville, and went to investigate the Sun Theatre and to see Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps. The actual cinema is brilliant and old, and kind of like the Cameo, but slightly more modern on the inside. So, I got my 'choc top' ice cream and box of sweeties and went up to the screen to find out that there was only one other person there - so the two of us sat and watched the film, and I almost felt like offering him some sweets..but didn't. It's a great film, and I really enjoyed it, but I don't have the best taste in films, so don't take my word as gospel! 

The next evening was Will's Citizenship ceremony, which was all very official and Will was more excited about the Bulldogs scarf he got given, and didn't refrain from woofing when the speaker mentioned the 'doggies'. We went to the Station Hotel for dinner which is a great pub, and we had eggplant parma washed down with some pretty good beer! I am still not entirely certain what 'parma' is - but it is very good. 

As I had downloaded some recipes for stuff, I decided a day of baking was required, so headed off to get the ingredients before going to the end of festival Fringe party. It was an interesting afternoon with the Fringe staff - with a lot of dressing up and an interpretive dance by some of the management team to 'Circle of Life' in animal costumes...maybe you had to be there!?

The next day we all decided to go to the markets which were around the area, so started the day, in the rain at Yarraville Farmer's Market, which was all to be expected from a small rainy market - although Will bought some Catnip which apparently deters mosquitoes, so that'll be good if it works as I am being eaten alive! And we got a drink too, which was my first chai tea latte since I get here - not bad really! Then we jumped back into the car and were off to Abbotsford Farmers Market which had an amazing selection of cheese - some of which was purchased to accompany 'George', our cheese from Yarra Valley Dairy.The next market was Rose Street Artist Market which was full of lovely lovely thing, and it is a good thing I didn't have cash on me or I would have bough a lot of random but beautiful things! There was just so much there, and it'll be great to go back to for presents - maybe just presents for me! We then met Chloe for a beer in Smith Street with the dogs and then me and Will headed home leaving Toni and Chloe drinking...

When we got home I had a few hours to make my frangipane tarts, and then get ready for work, so started out and made the frangipanes, ready to get out the oven in 35 minutes - easy. Apart from the fact they took a further 35 minutes to cook, and even then they only came out the oven because we had to make dinner. As everything had taken much longer than planned Will had to give me a lift to the train station to get to work, and even then, when I got to the platform I got to hear an announcement saying the train was running 16 minutes late - this meant I really had to run at the other end, and even then I would still probably be a little bit late. So, Will came back to Yarraville and drove me to work - what a bloody disaster. The next four hours was spent bumping out the Melbourne Arts Festival venue in North Melbourne Town Hall - and still learning a lot about lights and projector screens! As I had just earned $100 I thought I could treat myself to some iced coffee and a snickers...what else would you eat at 1am? 

That's been my action packed week, still so much to do though...including perfect the frangipane tarts because although they tasted good, they really weren't cooked!