We arrived in Cairns on Saturday evening after having spent the previous week sleeping in a janky "hotel" in Kings Cross. We stayed there because: first of all; we couldnt stand the thought of waking up early to go to work and having to deal with idiot backpackers; second, we wanted our own room and third, we wanted to come full circle. We started our grand Australian tour in the "under belly" of New South Wales and decided we were going to finish off where we started. Good idea :) Our last few days were filled with fruit cups, pies (YES PLEASE) and fabulous company.
On Saturday we woke up, in varying locations and moved our stuff into Brit and Ali's apartment. We hung out with Chris all day and ate, talked and generally had an amazing time. When it was close to leave for the airport we went to Ali's and started to repack. Hannah and Gary were on their way back from the city to see us and it seemed like we would have plenty of time. Katie and I were planning to leave at 5:50 for our flight that left at 7:20. Ali was NOT having it. "You guys should go. You have to check in. Have this conversation on the way to the train station. MOVE IT" Essentially, Ali was our dad trying to get our asses in gear. THANK GOD HE DID!
We said our goodbyes to Ali, Chris, Gary and Hannah (all of which Katie wont get to see again before she leaves) and hoped on the train. When we got to the airport we went and checked in, went through security and went to have dinner. On the way we got caught at a store where Katie wanted to buy EVERYTHING, eventually we moved on and started to eat./ We were taking our sweet time when we finally finished and walked to the gate. When we got there the gate was empty...we ran to the gate doors and handed our tickets to the stewardess, they didn't work. When she scanned our boarding passes they kept coming back declined. REALLY? Where was Ali?? Apparently our seats were just moved and we had better seats that before. Phew.
When we got on the plane with both talked for a bit then passed out, as per usual. When we woke up we were in Cairns! We stepped out onto the tarmac to the most delightful smack in the face of warm air. It was a bit muggy but after Melbourne and the weather in Sydney it was welcome.
We hitched a ride to our hostel via taxi. We got to our hostel, Gillian's, and actually found that it was wicked nice. We got free dinner vouchers, our own en suite bathroom, there is a gym inside and a resort style pool. Of course, we did not pick this hostel ourselves.
We got in and basically walked around the city for a bit then crashed out. on Sunday, we did almost the same. We went and explored. The taxi driver told us that it was about a 15 minute walk to the outlet mall from our hostel. More like half an hour. We got to the mall and did a little shopping. We caught a taxi back and as I was about to close the door this sweet little old lady asked if she could share our taxi. naturally, I said "YES OF COURSE!" She got in and as Katie said "No good deed goes unpunished" What would have taken 5 minutes to walk, took 10 minutes to drive.
We went around in a huge circle as she gave directions which were SO CONFUSING. The poor driver kept doing exactly what she said and then had to correct himself when she would yell "NO NO NOT HERE! BACK THERE!" Over and over...it was actually quite painful. Thirty minutes later we got back to the hostel and were out again to book our reef adventure.
Unfortunately, the weather here has been quite4 tropical. Such that its hot hot hot for awhile then pouring rain. On Monday, we got rain. On Monday we woke up at 6:30 and caught a bus to Port Arthur which is about an hour north of Cairns. We got on a boat and were told that it was possible that it wouldn't be raining on the reef. The weather was really overcast and the water pretty choppy. For those of you who dont know, I get severe motion sickness on windy roads and on boats. What a joke this was.
ten minutes into the drive was about to hurl. My exact words "Katie, this is going to be the worst day of my life". She looked less than please and pretty concerned that she could do NOTHING about it. I sat there for awhile and finally moved to the back of the boat to get a breeze in my face. It felt MUCH better but I also was getting all the water sprayed in my face due to the choppiness. Excellent.
I finally was drenched and had the whole boat staring at me (yes, the entertainment as always) when I moved to the middle of the boat in the back and sat there on the ground so I would only get the wind and not the spray. I hadnt realized that it was also RAINING on me. What an idiot.
We finally stopped at the first site and I dove right in. I was NOT pleased with that boat. It was amazing. Underwater, you couldnt feel the choppiness or anything like that. The fish, coral, and HUGE clams were amazing. Everything you could hope for and more on a day like we had. We went to three stops total and in between the last two Katie and I fell asleep. We woke up to one of the skippers rubbing our backs saying, "Wake up ladies, we're here", "ha, thanks Dave". We went on the third dive and it was also really good. There were sharks and sea turtles. Aw!
On the way back on the hour drive I was really tired. I think it was from the motion- sickness pills I took. I had my head in my hands and was just sleepy. Everyone of the crew gave me barf- bags and the hostess kept asking if I was alright. YES YES IM FINE!! They didnt believe me and NO I didnt puke.
Over all it was a really fantastic day and I wouldn't have traded the weather for anyhing.
Katie and my last dance, last set of plane flights together, last set of unfortunate setbacks, hostels, sunburns, awkward sleeping situations, coffee shops and Thai food experiences while in Australia. Tomorrow were off!
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
"I dont have abs, I just have one large condensed ab. Look shes laughing!" Part II
So, after another day of walking around we went to Brunkswick street. SO RAD. It had a ton of vintage shops, jewelry stores and bookshops. We had lunch at Kate's soon to be place of employment "Bimbo's". It is a really cool spot that is not marked from the outside. IT has couches everywhere and weird decorations that range from, masses of Christmas lights to baby dolls dressed up in costumes, some of which are quite inappropriate. The place is also a club at night so it has a lot going on. After that we walked around the street some more and bought gifts (ooh you lucky few!) then we were on our way back to the hostel.
We met up with Kate and Sophie again to go out and see what Melbourne is like at night! My friend at the North Face told me about a few places to go so our first stop was "Workshop". It was pretty cool because we had to go through an old garage door type thing and up some stairs to get to this awesome bar that played music I decided to classify as "electro-groove". Something Katie and I normally wouldnt be into, but it looks like we are expanding our horizons. There was also what seemed like a patio but it was inside so clearly it wasnt, but there were a lot of palm trees,tables and benches. It was generally just a really laid back place.
We stayed there for a drink and then we went to a place Kate had found (that we NEVER would have found even with amazing directions) called "Sister Bellas". We never would have found it because it is up a dark alley past trash cans and to our luck, a pile of vomit Sophie so graciously pointed out. The bar is not marked in any way. We thought we were going to a place down a different alley because we could see a sign and a line outside, however, we turned down the alley before it...
The door was down and to the right, we went in, the only thing the bouncer said was "Just so you know,we close at eleven because of Good Friday"...Great thanks. The bar turned out to be a little more posh than one would think from the view on the outside. Except for the fact that Jenah asked for a Vodka Diet Coke and the barman said...um how about Pepsi, and opened a vending machine bottle of Pepsi up. Other than that, it was really nice. The music was also quite eclectic, from Radiohead to Bone Thugs, I enjoyed it. Well, at least half of it. We stayed there for a few drinks and then it turned out that Sophie was really hungry, thus we moved on.
Sister Bellas
The last place we went that night was called "Cookie".It was on the first floor of a tall building that housed a different bar on each floor. Cookie was a bit more posh than the other two. Everything also seemed to be really tall...the bar, the barmen, the stools, the mirrors (which were also really high, I couldnt even see into them let alone Jenah's attempts). The staff also had awesome uniforms. They had old fashioned plaid-ish shirts, huge old aprons and crazy hats that kind of made you feel like you were in a malt shop in the fifties. On our way back to the hostel we walked by a huge group of guys and one was explaining that he didnt need to have a group of abs if he just had one huge one. He said exactly the quote that titles this blog. Jenah laughed for about ten minutes. It was awesome. It was something you would NEVER hear the guys in Sydney talking about. Especially since they all have about 24 abs and like to show it. ALL the time. After that we were all pretty spent and we had to get up early again on Saturday so we went back to the hostel and passed out.
Cookie
The next morning we woke up at about 6:30am and rushed to the morning market to get food for the road. It was just like a farmers market at home except it seemed cheaper. It was really good so we stocked up and headed for the bus. We jumped on the tour bus and were off to the Great Ocean Road!
We drove for awhile and made a few stops so people could get motion sickness pills (I stocked up and swooped up the very front seat of the bus with Katie, the senior citizens did not seem to mind). It was a really windy (not like breeze blowing but curvy) road and it was beautiful but nothing more exciting than driving down 1 to San Diego. However, the trees were different and our guide was a never ending river of information. Part of the road was actually built by WWI veterans to give them a job when they got back from the war. At one point of the road it was so steep that the workers had to tie themselves to trees so they wouldnt slide down the mountain.
There were a few stops along the road such as the memorial sign that let you know you were now embarking on the G.O.R (since you couldnt tell by the other 9,000 tourist signs that let you know before hand). We also stopped at the road biggest tourist destination, for good reason, The Twelve Apostles:
We also saw the London Bridge, the Razor Back and Lock Ard Gorge. Outside Lock Ard, back in the day(whichever day it was, I forget) there had been a shipwreck and a man in the gorge saw a woman stranded with a piece of wood in the ocean so, he went to rescue her. He brought her to a cave in the gorge and he climbed out of the gorge (which took six hours) to go for help. He found a farm and brought help back to the woman. The man and the woman spent two weeks at the farm recovering before she went back to England to her brother. The woman never thanked her savior because he was of a lower class than she and she believed it was his duty to save her. That man received what today would be the equivalent of 2 million dollars. Crazy.
After seeing all of this we had a two hour drive home. We got back at about 9:00pm and went to the bowling alley to say Goodbye to our dearest Kate. We then went back to our hostel to rack out before another agnoizingly early flight. We took a cab to the airport and got on a plane to Sydney. When we got back to our apartment Steph, one of the interns who worked with Felix moved in with us. It looks as if she and Chris are going to try and stay in the apartment after we move out. Gooood luck!
That...was our trip to Melbourne. I didnt break anything!!!
We met up with Kate and Sophie again to go out and see what Melbourne is like at night! My friend at the North Face told me about a few places to go so our first stop was "Workshop". It was pretty cool because we had to go through an old garage door type thing and up some stairs to get to this awesome bar that played music I decided to classify as "electro-groove". Something Katie and I normally wouldnt be into, but it looks like we are expanding our horizons. There was also what seemed like a patio but it was inside so clearly it wasnt, but there were a lot of palm trees,tables and benches. It was generally just a really laid back place.
We stayed there for a drink and then we went to a place Kate had found (that we NEVER would have found even with amazing directions) called "Sister Bellas". We never would have found it because it is up a dark alley past trash cans and to our luck, a pile of vomit Sophie so graciously pointed out. The bar is not marked in any way. We thought we were going to a place down a different alley because we could see a sign and a line outside, however, we turned down the alley before it...
The door was down and to the right, we went in, the only thing the bouncer said was "Just so you know,we close at eleven because of Good Friday"...Great thanks. The bar turned out to be a little more posh than one would think from the view on the outside. Except for the fact that Jenah asked for a Vodka Diet Coke and the barman said...um how about Pepsi, and opened a vending machine bottle of Pepsi up. Other than that, it was really nice. The music was also quite eclectic, from Radiohead to Bone Thugs, I enjoyed it. Well, at least half of it. We stayed there for a few drinks and then it turned out that Sophie was really hungry, thus we moved on.
Sister Bellas
The last place we went that night was called "Cookie".It was on the first floor of a tall building that housed a different bar on each floor. Cookie was a bit more posh than the other two. Everything also seemed to be really tall...the bar, the barmen, the stools, the mirrors (which were also really high, I couldnt even see into them let alone Jenah's attempts). The staff also had awesome uniforms. They had old fashioned plaid-ish shirts, huge old aprons and crazy hats that kind of made you feel like you were in a malt shop in the fifties. On our way back to the hostel we walked by a huge group of guys and one was explaining that he didnt need to have a group of abs if he just had one huge one. He said exactly the quote that titles this blog. Jenah laughed for about ten minutes. It was awesome. It was something you would NEVER hear the guys in Sydney talking about. Especially since they all have about 24 abs and like to show it. ALL the time. After that we were all pretty spent and we had to get up early again on Saturday so we went back to the hostel and passed out.
Cookie
The next morning we woke up at about 6:30am and rushed to the morning market to get food for the road. It was just like a farmers market at home except it seemed cheaper. It was really good so we stocked up and headed for the bus. We jumped on the tour bus and were off to the Great Ocean Road!
We drove for awhile and made a few stops so people could get motion sickness pills (I stocked up and swooped up the very front seat of the bus with Katie, the senior citizens did not seem to mind). It was a really windy (not like breeze blowing but curvy) road and it was beautiful but nothing more exciting than driving down 1 to San Diego. However, the trees were different and our guide was a never ending river of information. Part of the road was actually built by WWI veterans to give them a job when they got back from the war. At one point of the road it was so steep that the workers had to tie themselves to trees so they wouldnt slide down the mountain.
There were a few stops along the road such as the memorial sign that let you know you were now embarking on the G.O.R (since you couldnt tell by the other 9,000 tourist signs that let you know before hand). We also stopped at the road biggest tourist destination, for good reason, The Twelve Apostles:
We also saw the London Bridge, the Razor Back and Lock Ard Gorge. Outside Lock Ard, back in the day(whichever day it was, I forget) there had been a shipwreck and a man in the gorge saw a woman stranded with a piece of wood in the ocean so, he went to rescue her. He brought her to a cave in the gorge and he climbed out of the gorge (which took six hours) to go for help. He found a farm and brought help back to the woman. The man and the woman spent two weeks at the farm recovering before she went back to England to her brother. The woman never thanked her savior because he was of a lower class than she and she believed it was his duty to save her. That man received what today would be the equivalent of 2 million dollars. Crazy.
After seeing all of this we had a two hour drive home. We got back at about 9:00pm and went to the bowling alley to say Goodbye to our dearest Kate. We then went back to our hostel to rack out before another agnoizingly early flight. We took a cab to the airport and got on a plane to Sydney. When we got back to our apartment Steph, one of the interns who worked with Felix moved in with us. It looks as if she and Chris are going to try and stay in the apartment after we move out. Gooood luck!
That...was our trip to Melbourne. I didnt break anything!!!
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
"It's not trying to be something it isn't, it just is" : Our Melbourne Adventure- Part I
To start our tale, I must begin with the night of Felix's going away excursion. Felix had a flight back to Germany on the Thursday that Katie, Jenah and I had our flight to Melbourne. The difference was we had to be at the airport at 430am and he had to be there at 230pm.
Wednesday night we decide that we are going to go to a place called Karaoke World...Classy I know. The place is actually really cool because you get a room to yourself with just you and your friends and you get to set the play lists and its only five bucks a person per hour ( the hour goes by REAL fast, let me tell you. Anyway, we get to Karaoke world and it's me, Katie, Jenah, Chris, Felix, Thomas, Vanessa, Brit and Ali. Some of those names dont mean anything to you but Ali definitely should. Here is Ali....
He is basically a teddy bear until you find out that he does Krav Maga which basically means he will kick the hell out of anyone. He is also in the Danish army and if one of mine and Katie's best friends here. LOVE him. He was the highlight of Karaoke to his girlfriend Brit's dismay. He basically stole one of the microphones for about an hour and sang his Danish heart out. My favorite was his rendition of "Shout" to which he sang every word, including the part where it lets you know there is a "musical break". So Ali is hammered as is Jamie our Canadian who is obsessed with the bay and refers to Katie and I as "Katie and Jacque- Baythizz" Aww. So after Karaoke we all end up going to Scruffy Murphys except Katie and Brit who are reasonable. Katie decided she needed a nap before the flight. Jenah and I decided to stay up until we got on the plane.
So, we're at Scruffy Murphys, Ali is motor boating Jenah and I like we are in Wedding Crashers and Jamie is just being loud. It gets to a point where everyone is just wrecked so Jenah Felix Chris and I jump into a cab and go home. Chris passes out and Felix Jenah and I wake up Katie and have a cuddle. Good thing Jenah and I had already packed because about twenty minutes later the cab calls and its time to go to the airport. Felix was passed out and the last image I have of him is being unconscious in Katie's pink sheets with his mouth wide open, our resident German (MISS YOU!)
We get in the cab and I am instantaneously tired and about to go into major bitch mode. You've all seen it. I get it from my dad, I'm sorry, I'm working on it. So we get out of the cab to find out that we are so early the airport isn't even open yet. Typical Australia. Open at the very last second just to get two more minutes of sleep. So finally we are allowed through the sliding glass doors which lead to comfort. At this point all Katie and I want is a fruit cup. Katie sees that there is one coffee place open outside the security gates (since we couldnt even check in yet) and goes over. There is CLEARLY a bowl of pre-cut fruit and a VAT of yogurt ready to be made. Katie asks the guy is she can have a fruit cup with yogurt. His response :"Uh...well umm, (looking around cluelessly), yea, youre going to have to wait for the chef to get here" WHAT! IT IS FOUR AM AND YOU CAN PUT FRUIT IN A CUP!!! I was LESS than impressed.
So we finally check in and nothing is open and I have to wait like ten hours to get a Boost Juice which was mediocre and then off we were to the terminal. I pretty much got on the plane and passed out. I fell asleep right after take off and woke up right as we touched down. Keep in mind Katie has been reading the Twilight series so throughout this whole trip (until the end of the Great Ocean Road) she's reading.
We get off the plane and have to decided where we are going to stay. You know how good Katie and I are at picking hostels so Jenah chose a place called "Bozo Backpackers". I rolled my eyes in extreme displeasure but was too tired to care. We got to the hostel after two shuttle rides and it turned out to be really clean. There were hardwood floors and the beds all looked really good. So we though until we laid in them and they creaked worse than the doors in a haunted house.
We had decided to take a two hour nap and then go walk around Melbourne's Central Business District and then go see Kate! We napped and when we woke up one of the girls in our room was there. We chatted to her for a bit and she said "Also, make sure you guys dont bring food in the room. While you were sleeping a mouse was running around because one of the other girls had left fruit in the bin". OF COURSE. Mice and cockroaches are something you just have to get used to here. We thanked her and went out on our way. We were FREEZING.
After being complete spoiled and having gorgeous weather in Sydney it was hard to believe what cold felt like again. I mean it was about the equivalent of 60 degrees but we FROZE. This clearly meant shopping. We went and met Kate at the bowling alley she works and and caught up with her. She told us we should go to the outlet malls and there was a free tram that would take us there. Excellent.
We jumped on the tram and got to the outlets. The first store was a hit and Katie bought an AWESOME jacket there that was about 200bucks cheaper than I thought it would be. We then went to an accessory store and Katie fell in love with luggage. She took forever trying to decided what she wanted and all the while I was trying all these crazy hats on that one would wear to polo match or something. Katie couldn't decide what she wanted so we moved on. The next stop was the UGG outlet. Jenah had been wanting a pair forever so Katie and I gladly went with her.
We all left with UGGS.
More shopping continued, Katie got one of the bags. I got jeans wooo exciting. After our adventure we went back to the hostel and changed because we had to meet Kate to go to St. Kilda for dinner and to see the penguins!
Here is St. Kilda, the long pier jetting into the sea is where you have to walk out to some rocks where the penguins come out at night.
We met her and took the tram which seemed to take forever as it was so crowded. WE got there, ate and went to the penguins! You arent suppose to take pictures of them because it blinds them. Of course there was a dude there snapping away with his camera and Kate had to set him in his place. These penguins are the smallest in the world and are nocturnal. SO CUTE.
Afterward I could barely keep my head up and we were finally on our way back to the hostel. We had decided to meet Kate at the Hertz rental to hire a care for Friday to do the Great Ocean Road. We met at 8am to find out that we are idiots. It wasnt just ANY Friday, it was Good Friday. Every car in all of Melbourne had been rented until the following Tuesday. UGH. So we decided to book a tour to do the Great Ocean Road for Saturday and Friday turned into a free day. We booked our trip and then realized we had a whole day of nothing ahead of us. We set out to checkout the city again.
Most of the things were closed because it was early on Good Friday but we had breafast and then left Kate and Sophie (her friend that was going to go with us) and Jenah Katie and I just walked hoping to get lost and find something awesome. We did.
Melbourne is known for being a more bohemian, laidback city compared to Sydney. Very very true. We found a back alley called "Centre Place" that was just rows of chops and cafes in little garage like things and it was COVERED in graffiti. All the furniture down the alley was milk crates to be used as you please. We found our own crates outside of a place called Hells Upstairs. It was awesome. I had the BEST bagel sandwich of my life. NO JOKE.
I dont think we could find that place again if we tried.
After that we walked down to the Yarra river and saw some cool art down there, nothing was overdone or overly modern or trying to hard to fit some kind of standard. Everything seemed to be just where it belonged. While we were down there Jenah said "Melbourne is just so cool. It's not trying to be anything it isn't, it's just like 'Im Melbourne, whatever'". It was so true.
Wednesday night we decide that we are going to go to a place called Karaoke World...Classy I know. The place is actually really cool because you get a room to yourself with just you and your friends and you get to set the play lists and its only five bucks a person per hour ( the hour goes by REAL fast, let me tell you. Anyway, we get to Karaoke world and it's me, Katie, Jenah, Chris, Felix, Thomas, Vanessa, Brit and Ali. Some of those names dont mean anything to you but Ali definitely should. Here is Ali....
He is basically a teddy bear until you find out that he does Krav Maga which basically means he will kick the hell out of anyone. He is also in the Danish army and if one of mine and Katie's best friends here. LOVE him. He was the highlight of Karaoke to his girlfriend Brit's dismay. He basically stole one of the microphones for about an hour and sang his Danish heart out. My favorite was his rendition of "Shout" to which he sang every word, including the part where it lets you know there is a "musical break". So Ali is hammered as is Jamie our Canadian who is obsessed with the bay and refers to Katie and I as "Katie and Jacque- Baythizz" Aww. So after Karaoke we all end up going to Scruffy Murphys except Katie and Brit who are reasonable. Katie decided she needed a nap before the flight. Jenah and I decided to stay up until we got on the plane.
So, we're at Scruffy Murphys, Ali is motor boating Jenah and I like we are in Wedding Crashers and Jamie is just being loud. It gets to a point where everyone is just wrecked so Jenah Felix Chris and I jump into a cab and go home. Chris passes out and Felix Jenah and I wake up Katie and have a cuddle. Good thing Jenah and I had already packed because about twenty minutes later the cab calls and its time to go to the airport. Felix was passed out and the last image I have of him is being unconscious in Katie's pink sheets with his mouth wide open, our resident German (MISS YOU!)
We get in the cab and I am instantaneously tired and about to go into major bitch mode. You've all seen it. I get it from my dad, I'm sorry, I'm working on it. So we get out of the cab to find out that we are so early the airport isn't even open yet. Typical Australia. Open at the very last second just to get two more minutes of sleep. So finally we are allowed through the sliding glass doors which lead to comfort. At this point all Katie and I want is a fruit cup. Katie sees that there is one coffee place open outside the security gates (since we couldnt even check in yet) and goes over. There is CLEARLY a bowl of pre-cut fruit and a VAT of yogurt ready to be made. Katie asks the guy is she can have a fruit cup with yogurt. His response :"Uh...well umm, (looking around cluelessly), yea, youre going to have to wait for the chef to get here" WHAT! IT IS FOUR AM AND YOU CAN PUT FRUIT IN A CUP!!! I was LESS than impressed.
So we finally check in and nothing is open and I have to wait like ten hours to get a Boost Juice which was mediocre and then off we were to the terminal. I pretty much got on the plane and passed out. I fell asleep right after take off and woke up right as we touched down. Keep in mind Katie has been reading the Twilight series so throughout this whole trip (until the end of the Great Ocean Road) she's reading.
We get off the plane and have to decided where we are going to stay. You know how good Katie and I are at picking hostels so Jenah chose a place called "Bozo Backpackers". I rolled my eyes in extreme displeasure but was too tired to care. We got to the hostel after two shuttle rides and it turned out to be really clean. There were hardwood floors and the beds all looked really good. So we though until we laid in them and they creaked worse than the doors in a haunted house.
We had decided to take a two hour nap and then go walk around Melbourne's Central Business District and then go see Kate! We napped and when we woke up one of the girls in our room was there. We chatted to her for a bit and she said "Also, make sure you guys dont bring food in the room. While you were sleeping a mouse was running around because one of the other girls had left fruit in the bin". OF COURSE. Mice and cockroaches are something you just have to get used to here. We thanked her and went out on our way. We were FREEZING.
After being complete spoiled and having gorgeous weather in Sydney it was hard to believe what cold felt like again. I mean it was about the equivalent of 60 degrees but we FROZE. This clearly meant shopping. We went and met Kate at the bowling alley she works and and caught up with her. She told us we should go to the outlet malls and there was a free tram that would take us there. Excellent.
We jumped on the tram and got to the outlets. The first store was a hit and Katie bought an AWESOME jacket there that was about 200bucks cheaper than I thought it would be. We then went to an accessory store and Katie fell in love with luggage. She took forever trying to decided what she wanted and all the while I was trying all these crazy hats on that one would wear to polo match or something. Katie couldn't decide what she wanted so we moved on. The next stop was the UGG outlet. Jenah had been wanting a pair forever so Katie and I gladly went with her.
We all left with UGGS.
More shopping continued, Katie got one of the bags. I got jeans wooo exciting. After our adventure we went back to the hostel and changed because we had to meet Kate to go to St. Kilda for dinner and to see the penguins!
Here is St. Kilda, the long pier jetting into the sea is where you have to walk out to some rocks where the penguins come out at night.
We met her and took the tram which seemed to take forever as it was so crowded. WE got there, ate and went to the penguins! You arent suppose to take pictures of them because it blinds them. Of course there was a dude there snapping away with his camera and Kate had to set him in his place. These penguins are the smallest in the world and are nocturnal. SO CUTE.
Afterward I could barely keep my head up and we were finally on our way back to the hostel. We had decided to meet Kate at the Hertz rental to hire a care for Friday to do the Great Ocean Road. We met at 8am to find out that we are idiots. It wasnt just ANY Friday, it was Good Friday. Every car in all of Melbourne had been rented until the following Tuesday. UGH. So we decided to book a tour to do the Great Ocean Road for Saturday and Friday turned into a free day. We booked our trip and then realized we had a whole day of nothing ahead of us. We set out to checkout the city again.
Most of the things were closed because it was early on Good Friday but we had breafast and then left Kate and Sophie (her friend that was going to go with us) and Jenah Katie and I just walked hoping to get lost and find something awesome. We did.
Melbourne is known for being a more bohemian, laidback city compared to Sydney. Very very true. We found a back alley called "Centre Place" that was just rows of chops and cafes in little garage like things and it was COVERED in graffiti. All the furniture down the alley was milk crates to be used as you please. We found our own crates outside of a place called Hells Upstairs. It was awesome. I had the BEST bagel sandwich of my life. NO JOKE.
I dont think we could find that place again if we tried.
After that we walked down to the Yarra river and saw some cool art down there, nothing was overdone or overly modern or trying to hard to fit some kind of standard. Everything seemed to be just where it belonged. While we were down there Jenah said "Melbourne is just so cool. It's not trying to be anything it isn't, it's just like 'Im Melbourne, whatever'". It was so true.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
This and That
Excited about going home because:
1. Taco Bell
2. Normal pricing (especially of Tequila)
3. Seeing everyone, yes everyone, you came after Tequila
4. REAL humor. Australians have the most messed up sense of humor ever. This makes watching television (especially the news) VERY painful
5. American TV shows. They are on non-stop here but of course we don't have cable at our house so all we see is the Simpsons.
6. MEXICAN FOOD
7. Guys NOT on steroids.
8. I get to be with people who love America
9. Trips to Michigan, Arizona, Florida, Washington and Oregon
10. Taking classes
Not excited about:
1. Filing for my taxes and Superannuation
2. Job hunting
3. Leaving everyone
4. The plane flights
5. PACKING
6. Getting used to looking the other direction when crossing roads
7. Regaining my drinking composure to the level it was at while I was in college. Get ready Michigan. :) Just kidding....
1. Taco Bell
2. Normal pricing (especially of Tequila)
3. Seeing everyone, yes everyone, you came after Tequila
4. REAL humor. Australians have the most messed up sense of humor ever. This makes watching television (especially the news) VERY painful
5. American TV shows. They are on non-stop here but of course we don't have cable at our house so all we see is the Simpsons.
6. MEXICAN FOOD
7. Guys NOT on steroids.
8. I get to be with people who love America
9. Trips to Michigan, Arizona, Florida, Washington and Oregon
10. Taking classes
Not excited about:
1. Filing for my taxes and Superannuation
2. Job hunting
3. Leaving everyone
4. The plane flights
5. PACKING
6. Getting used to looking the other direction when crossing roads
7. Regaining my drinking composure to the level it was at while I was in college. Get ready Michigan. :) Just kidding....
In the Near Future....
Katie, Jenah and I will be going to Melbourne! WE are going to visit our friend Kate who has been there for about 2 months now. We are also going to rent a car and drive along the Great Ocean Road, which is apparently the thing to do. I don't believe Ill be allowed to take a turn driving. I am not offended in the slightest.
Katie and I have also booked our flight to Cairns! We are going to be there for three days and during that time we plan to go to the Daintree National Park which contains the Cape of Tribulation, the worlds oldest rain forest (yes, older than the Amazon). We are also going to go see the Great Barrier reef and potentially go bungee jumping. Stoked. Our flight gets in from Cairns at about 10:30am on the 21st, which is the day before I fly back to SF (only to get on a plane that same day to fly to AZ) and Katie gets on a plane at 8:00pm the night of the 21st to fly to Christchurch, NZ to go on a tour of the South Island. Lucky!
Since we have all of these trips coming up, and Felix is leaving us, we have decided to give up the apartment and move out next week! This has lead to some painful thoughts:
1. HOSTELS. You know the luck Katie and I have with that...
2. Missing roommates...Felix leaving, Jenah and Chris probably staying in the Pink House again. Katie and I REFUSE to live there again for one night
3. Packing. As you can imagine, Katie and I have gained a decent amount of clothing/shoes while being here. Deciding what to take and what to leave and what to send home will be interesting
4. Sharing bathrooms again with strangers
5. Having to wake up at 530am in a room of SEVEN people to search for clothes to go to work.
...various other things but that's all I can think of at the moment.
AHHHHH.
So...for now, those are the plans :)
Katie and I have also booked our flight to Cairns! We are going to be there for three days and during that time we plan to go to the Daintree National Park which contains the Cape of Tribulation, the worlds oldest rain forest (yes, older than the Amazon). We are also going to go see the Great Barrier reef and potentially go bungee jumping. Stoked. Our flight gets in from Cairns at about 10:30am on the 21st, which is the day before I fly back to SF (only to get on a plane that same day to fly to AZ) and Katie gets on a plane at 8:00pm the night of the 21st to fly to Christchurch, NZ to go on a tour of the South Island. Lucky!
Since we have all of these trips coming up, and Felix is leaving us, we have decided to give up the apartment and move out next week! This has lead to some painful thoughts:
1. HOSTELS. You know the luck Katie and I have with that...
2. Missing roommates...Felix leaving, Jenah and Chris probably staying in the Pink House again. Katie and I REFUSE to live there again for one night
3. Packing. As you can imagine, Katie and I have gained a decent amount of clothing/shoes while being here. Deciding what to take and what to leave and what to send home will be interesting
4. Sharing bathrooms again with strangers
5. Having to wake up at 530am in a room of SEVEN people to search for clothes to go to work.
...various other things but that's all I can think of at the moment.
AHHHHH.
So...for now, those are the plans :)
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Just Another Day In the Life
Katie and I clearly work too much. I have had nothing worth writing about for the past two weeks, nothing even mediocre to explain in a mildly entertaining manner. However, I decided to try and collage some things together to at least obtain a laugh from a few sympathetic readers.
As you know, Felix and Chris moved in with us and it has been rad. I have come to the realization that Felix is irresistible to women, and yes men as well...
Felix is able to seduce the most seductive of all nationalities (discounting the French because im not quite a fan), the Italians...
This is Danielle the Italian im going to marry in the States so he can gain citizenship :)
Our roommate Chris and Felix also get along amazingly well....
And we all know he's always up for a good time...
In all seriousness, Felix is an amazing guy with an awesome girlfriend that Katie and I had the opportunity to meet when she came to visit. Felix is so adorably innocent, yet hysterically inappropriate when the time comes around. He truly is one of the nicest guys ever, unless it comes to killing bugs. Then he goes to Jenah (who is about 5'1'' and 100lbs) to do the job.
Chris is pure awesomeness as well. He's the kind of guy that you can tell is the youngest with older sisters. Hes always up for a cuddle...
I have kept saying I wanted to watch The Dark Knight because I have never seen it and Felix kept telling me it was on his computer and we were all FINALLY going to watch it, but FELIX then remembered that it was in German and I was totally bummed out. (How about that for a run- on sentence).
The next night Chris made me dinner, bought a cake AND had borrowed the Dark Knight (in English)! Sometimes it's the little things that make all the difference :) I've even watched, enviously, as he gave Katie a foot rub after she had a long day. Aw!
So, as to what has been happening lately, Katie went on a date with a forty year old. Awesome. The photographer that came into Ferrari called her later to find out about the lighting in the showroom in the morning and then proceeded to coerce her over the phone to set up a day and time for dinner. The day she was going out with him she looked at me and said "I literally have no idea how old he is. He might be forty and I don't remember what he looks like". Awwww haha. In the end she had a good time and had sushi for the first time a overall a good night. Unfortunately for him, that will be the extent.
I, under Katie's influence, got a little to intoxicated on Saturday and pulled a, what we will just call a "Jacque" and managed to lose my wallet, phone and yes, shoes. The wallet was returned however thanks to Facebook and the man told me that the found it on a sidewalk next to a bag that had shoes, and three bags of half eaten crisps in it...typical. I apparently just set them down and walked away. Really? Hmm.. Mom, dont be too proud, other parents might get jealous ;)
I also realized I can never ever be any type of famous because this blog will clearly be blackmail worthy at some points. Awesome.
Anyway...
Katie and I still miss Taco Bell with all of our SOULS. Katie still works about six days a week, I generally work five with some 14 hour work days in there. Vomit.
Today it is Mardi Gras which apparently is a pretty big deal down town and they do a parade and everything, however, today Katie has to work and I am going to the beach (yes, that's right. HELLOOOO Sunshine!) Then Katie will be going to the movies with her boss and I will be going to play laser tag, bowling and then we all are meeting up and going ...somewhere that has yet to be determined. I just remembered that I dont have shoes so most likley wont be going anywhere. Awesome.
As you know, Felix and Chris moved in with us and it has been rad. I have come to the realization that Felix is irresistible to women, and yes men as well...
Felix is able to seduce the most seductive of all nationalities (discounting the French because im not quite a fan), the Italians...
This is Danielle the Italian im going to marry in the States so he can gain citizenship :)
Our roommate Chris and Felix also get along amazingly well....
And we all know he's always up for a good time...
In all seriousness, Felix is an amazing guy with an awesome girlfriend that Katie and I had the opportunity to meet when she came to visit. Felix is so adorably innocent, yet hysterically inappropriate when the time comes around. He truly is one of the nicest guys ever, unless it comes to killing bugs. Then he goes to Jenah (who is about 5'1'' and 100lbs) to do the job.
Chris is pure awesomeness as well. He's the kind of guy that you can tell is the youngest with older sisters. Hes always up for a cuddle...
I have kept saying I wanted to watch The Dark Knight because I have never seen it and Felix kept telling me it was on his computer and we were all FINALLY going to watch it, but FELIX then remembered that it was in German and I was totally bummed out. (How about that for a run- on sentence).
The next night Chris made me dinner, bought a cake AND had borrowed the Dark Knight (in English)! Sometimes it's the little things that make all the difference :) I've even watched, enviously, as he gave Katie a foot rub after she had a long day. Aw!
So, as to what has been happening lately, Katie went on a date with a forty year old. Awesome. The photographer that came into Ferrari called her later to find out about the lighting in the showroom in the morning and then proceeded to coerce her over the phone to set up a day and time for dinner. The day she was going out with him she looked at me and said "I literally have no idea how old he is. He might be forty and I don't remember what he looks like". Awwww haha. In the end she had a good time and had sushi for the first time a overall a good night. Unfortunately for him, that will be the extent.
I, under Katie's influence, got a little to intoxicated on Saturday and pulled a, what we will just call a "Jacque" and managed to lose my wallet, phone and yes, shoes. The wallet was returned however thanks to Facebook and the man told me that the found it on a sidewalk next to a bag that had shoes, and three bags of half eaten crisps in it...typical. I apparently just set them down and walked away. Really? Hmm.. Mom, dont be too proud, other parents might get jealous ;)
I also realized I can never ever be any type of famous because this blog will clearly be blackmail worthy at some points. Awesome.
Anyway...
Katie and I still miss Taco Bell with all of our SOULS. Katie still works about six days a week, I generally work five with some 14 hour work days in there. Vomit.
Today it is Mardi Gras which apparently is a pretty big deal down town and they do a parade and everything, however, today Katie has to work and I am going to the beach (yes, that's right. HELLOOOO Sunshine!) Then Katie will be going to the movies with her boss and I will be going to play laser tag, bowling and then we all are meeting up and going ...somewhere that has yet to be determined. I just remembered that I dont have shoes so most likley wont be going anywhere. Awesome.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Oh When the Saints go marching in....
At the current moment nothing tooo exciting is going on in the world of Katie and Jacque. Katie is still being amazing at Ferrari and working 830-5 then going to the gym and I am working either 7-1 or any other random times at the coffee place or whatever other random times at the North Face.
The most exciting joint excursion we have had happened to be the day that "The Saints (went) marching in". Yes, the Superbowl which Katie and I both happened to have off. Our friend Louisiana Katie had found a bar called James Squire in Darling Harbour where the American Association of something or other had decided to meet and rally for the ultimate American past time (I honestly have no idea if that is how 'past time' is supposed to be). LK and I went and were there for kick off (which was our Monday at 10:00am) and started drinking, her with a Bloody Mary and me with a beer followed by several vodka cranberries. While we were watching the game we met some Americans (Shocking!!) Derek and Joe were both taking a year off from school at Syracuse to row in Melbourne and they were with their two Australian friends Tom and Nick. Katie finally showed up and we all hung out and ate drank and watched football. Generally it was an awesome morning.
After the game, which was awesome (we were rooting for the Saints due to Katie being from Louisiana in case you werent sure) we went to a place called Nicks for lunch. I had a pie. After that Katie, Katie and I went home except Katie got off the train and went to the gym Adan I got off and went to the gym as well. WORST WORKOUT EVER. Apparently one of the trainers at Katie's gym asked her if she wanted her free personal training sessions bad bad idea. :)
That night Joe called Katie and the two of us went and met the four boys at Sidebar which was basically under their hostel. It was super chilled out and we all just danced and hung out. Katie was introduced to this girl whose name none of us remember and the girl kept dancing with Katie..hmmm. When I was on my way back from the bathroom I see Katie with a look of pure terror on her face. Naturally I freak out and am like "WHAT HAPPENED?" There was no need for fear....Apparently the girl had asked Katie if she were into any of the guys and Katie said "No, not really" the girls response "Me either, IM into you" and then she tried to kiss her. I would have given all the money in my bank account (which I guess isnt saying too much)to see the reaction when that occurred.
Anyway, the rest of the night was uneventful in comparison and we all just danced watched a HAMMERED Nick make out with every girl he saw and then took a cab home though the guys kept trying to get us to go back to Darling Harbour and continue drinking with them...awww.
All in all good night...rough next morning :)
As a side note...I really hate that our grocery store are in our malls. So irritating for some reason..
The most exciting joint excursion we have had happened to be the day that "The Saints (went) marching in". Yes, the Superbowl which Katie and I both happened to have off. Our friend Louisiana Katie had found a bar called James Squire in Darling Harbour where the American Association of something or other had decided to meet and rally for the ultimate American past time (I honestly have no idea if that is how 'past time' is supposed to be). LK and I went and were there for kick off (which was our Monday at 10:00am) and started drinking, her with a Bloody Mary and me with a beer followed by several vodka cranberries. While we were watching the game we met some Americans (Shocking!!) Derek and Joe were both taking a year off from school at Syracuse to row in Melbourne and they were with their two Australian friends Tom and Nick. Katie finally showed up and we all hung out and ate drank and watched football. Generally it was an awesome morning.
After the game, which was awesome (we were rooting for the Saints due to Katie being from Louisiana in case you werent sure) we went to a place called Nicks for lunch. I had a pie. After that Katie, Katie and I went home except Katie got off the train and went to the gym Adan I got off and went to the gym as well. WORST WORKOUT EVER. Apparently one of the trainers at Katie's gym asked her if she wanted her free personal training sessions bad bad idea. :)
That night Joe called Katie and the two of us went and met the four boys at Sidebar which was basically under their hostel. It was super chilled out and we all just danced and hung out. Katie was introduced to this girl whose name none of us remember and the girl kept dancing with Katie..hmmm. When I was on my way back from the bathroom I see Katie with a look of pure terror on her face. Naturally I freak out and am like "WHAT HAPPENED?" There was no need for fear....Apparently the girl had asked Katie if she were into any of the guys and Katie said "No, not really" the girls response "Me either, IM into you" and then she tried to kiss her. I would have given all the money in my bank account (which I guess isnt saying too much)to see the reaction when that occurred.
Anyway, the rest of the night was uneventful in comparison and we all just danced watched a HAMMERED Nick make out with every girl he saw and then took a cab home though the guys kept trying to get us to go back to Darling Harbour and continue drinking with them...awww.
All in all good night...rough next morning :)
As a side note...I really hate that our grocery store are in our malls. So irritating for some reason..
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
For Whom the Bells Tolled...and Tolled...and Tolled: A Tale of Tasmania
Katie and I finally had at least 4 days off at the same time so we decided that we were going to take a random trip, Tasmania was the answer. Since Australia day was on Tuesday the 26th, and almost everyone has that day off, as it is a National Holiday, we left Saturday at 5:30pm and got in at 7:00pm and stayed until Tuesday (Australia Day) morning.
The three things that generally make a safe and enjoyable holiday are the following:
1. Choosing the right hostel
2. Figuring out where you are and where you re going so you don't get lost
3. Keeping all your belongings safe and intact
We failed on all accounts as per usual.
When we arrived, after a horribly irritating flight (I thought Katie was going to jump the guy next to her for invading her space and generally just being totally disgusting), we were dropped off at our hostel, the Central City Backpackers, which looks nice online... Its down an alley and is basically just molding over where it stands. Though it is also next to a Cathedral which is absolutely gorgeous. We dropped our stuff off in our room, which was up about 300 flights of stairs and around 600 corners (not exaggerating,) and decided to check out the city.
The idea was to start off at the harbour and go from there. As we were trying to get our bearings and find the water, Katie said we needed to go left because we were on Liverpool street. So, at the next opportunity we made a left down the Elizabeth St. Mall, it didn't look like we were going towards the water. Kaie said to me" I'm a city planner, Ive spent four years learning how to read a map. I got this!" She did not and we were indeed...going the wrong way. In her defence, we didn't live on Liverpool as she thought, but on Collins. An easy mistake :)
We walked around the harbour and down Salamanca place pretty much just seeing where everything is. We tried to find Battery Point which is an industrial area that has been converted into a bunch of pubs and homes and is suppose to be very nice, we never found it.
While we were walking down one of the main roads we were looking for somewhere to have a drink. Katie had picked a place called he Thirsty Camel but I had heard music so I said"No No dude, I have to find the music!" I start off at a mighty brisk pace and all of a sudden I realize that I need to be more aware of my surroundings. s I come to this realization, I hear Katie say "Um...Jac." before she can finish her thought I respond "Yea yea I found it too". The music was coming from the taxi cab right next to us. What an exhilarating night that would have been. Note to self- listen to Katie more often.
After walking around for a few hours we stopped at a pub called The Telegraph or Tele. When we walked in I went to the toilets and Katie went to the bar. As I came out I hear Katie asking the bartender what he thinks we should have...I walk over and she tells me that the bartender had told her that we couldn't have Long Islands because they were a "responsible" bar and only put a maximum of one and a half shots in their drinks. I thought about asking him where there was an irresponsible bar I could blow my money at but refrained.
We sat at the bar and some guy talked to Katie and we went and sat with him and his friends but they were nothing special so we went and sat outside and as we were on our way out (Mind you we were now drinking 151 and coke, we decided if a shot was the limit we were going to make the most of it. Mom, Henry and Debbie DON'T worry. This story ends up NOTHING like high school) I was stopped by this girl who told me it was her friends birthday and he needed a kiss. I acquiesced and gave him a smooch on he cheek. A few minutes later Katie and I were talking to him and his sister. As I was talking to him I asked what his name was,, he told me and I immediately looked a Katie and said "KATIE KATIE! Guess what his name is? It's one of your best friends...he s a guy and he used to live across the street" Her response "Dirk?" YES. It was hilarious because they were both shocked with knew anyone who went by Dirk. It was quite a laugh. The four of us then went in and took a shot. Katie and I stayed inside and danced and after awhile walked home. ON the way we were invited to a club by some dudes and as we refused they told us that it was no time for bed as it was only 10:00pm. This left us very confused the next day.
We were awoken against our will at 9:00am to the tolling of what sounded like 100 bells directly outside our window. They were incessant and had no rhythm. It was as if I had walked in there drunk from the night before and laid down a track of chopsticks and now that was being broadcast via bells from the cathedral all of Tasmania. SO painful. We were thus forced our of bed and went in search of a coffee shop.
We ended up at Gloria Jeans eating banana bread, a bagel and coffee. It was really nice and we just sat for awhile before we headed to the harbour to try and book a tour to Mt. Wellington. We got there and there was still room left so we booked a tour for 12:30. We assumed this was going to be a hike as it was two hours long so we went back to the hostel to change etc. We were wrong and I was car sick.
The tour consisted of a ride to the tip top of the mountain (which was VERY curvy and bumpy) when we got to the top we had 20 minutes to check it out. The views were amazing (and will be posted later). Basically indescribable, thus you can wait for photos :)
We got back to Hobart(the capital and where we were staying) and walked around some more. We went to Salamanca place which reminded us of Santana Row (for you Bay Area-ers?) and had lunch. Again I should have listened to Katie because the place we ate wasn't that good and she had noted to go somewhere else. Damnit. But we did discover a 24 hour bakery we wanted to check out later. We went back to the hostel and grabbed our books and looked for a coffee place to go read in. Apparently on Sunday's Hobart turns off at like 4. We could find nowhere to go and NO ONE on the streets so we ended up in a park reading. The problem was the weather in Tasmania is quite a bit cooler than Sydney ( we are ridiculously spoiled with weather. It was 104 when we left). We didn't last long before we tried to find a bottle shop which occurred about 2 hours later.
Back to the hostel we went to change and get ready. We drank most of the bottle and went out to find that, not surprisingly, everything was closed EXCEPT the 24 hour bakery! We went there..ate and went back to bed. However, none of this occurred until after I had dropped Katie's camera...the third camera we have gone though on this trip. The lens would open for NO ONE. How my heart ached....
The next morning we were up early again because we had booked a day tour. I went and got a disposable camera and we were on our way. The first stop was the Cadbury Factory. Katie's downfall. I wont even tell you how much she can eat in a day but it is a SOUND number. We got there and were a bit disappointed. We though we were actually going to see the machines that make it but we just watched a video and went to the visitor center...the free samples were gone before the day ended. We each got a box.
Next we were dropped off for a harbour cruise and the weather was perfect. We had a sandwich on the boat and then got a coffee (or cookie) and Katie and I actually fell asleep for the second half of the ride. Its rough trying to get sleep when you have a cathedral in your sheets with you. Anyway, when we got back to the harbour the bus was waiting to whisk us away again.
Bongorong Wildlife Park! We went in and were introduced to Hubert the baby Wombat who I LOVE. Officially the coolest animal ever. Apparently they are more aggressive than Tasmania Devils and aren't not to be messed around with. They have cartilage over there rear end so when they are being chased(they can run 40km per hour) they go into their little holes and put their butt up so the predator cant get in. If the predator tries to go over him he lifts his butt up repeatedly and smashes his predators head into the roof of his den over and over again.
Next we saw Tasmanian Devils which really are kind of pathetic. They look so sweet and innocent and sound scary as Hell but they are actually just scavengers who fake everyone out. They can only see one foot in front of them, and are slow as a chicken. Hence why they cant hunt anything and have to eat what they find. They are called Devils because when the convicts were camped in the woods they would hear this horrifying sounds but would never be able to find the creature that made them so they assumed it was the devil. After we saw a Koala named Banjo and got to feed the Kangaroos which are actually scary up close...the big ones anyway. They have this toe like a raptor and vacant creepy eyes.
Soon we were back on the bus and off to Richmond. A historic city which hast grown since 1870. It was SO cool. We walked over the oldest functioning bridge in Australia and went into the oldest Roman Catholic Church in Australia as well. St. Johns. As a non-practicing Catholic, it was one of the most awesome places I've ever been in. If you're interested email me, if not ill move on :)
We drove back to the city and went and ate at this fish and chips place that was actually on the water in a little boat thing that floated right near the wharf that you walked along. Katie got prawns and chips, I got fish, chips and attacked by seagulls. By this time we were just wicked tired and wanted to hang out in the room at our hostel and read/write in our journals/ nap. Did this happen? Noooooo
When we got back to the room it was empty so we changed and I jumped into bed and started to read but kind of fell asleep. Katie was in the shower but when she got back and started to fall asleep one of our new roommates came into the room and started watching TV on her computer and kept laughing this horrible laugh. Then when we started to fall asleep another girl came in and the two were apparently friends so they kept talking in like Vietnamese until Katie finally said (in a VERY un-katieish tone) "Yea, when you re done making your bed can you turn the light out? Thanks." She was NOT having it. So when she finished making the bed lights went out and before I knew it my alarm was going off and we were on our way back to Sydney for Australia Day!
The three things that generally make a safe and enjoyable holiday are the following:
1. Choosing the right hostel
2. Figuring out where you are and where you re going so you don't get lost
3. Keeping all your belongings safe and intact
We failed on all accounts as per usual.
When we arrived, after a horribly irritating flight (I thought Katie was going to jump the guy next to her for invading her space and generally just being totally disgusting), we were dropped off at our hostel, the Central City Backpackers, which looks nice online... Its down an alley and is basically just molding over where it stands. Though it is also next to a Cathedral which is absolutely gorgeous. We dropped our stuff off in our room, which was up about 300 flights of stairs and around 600 corners (not exaggerating,) and decided to check out the city.
The idea was to start off at the harbour and go from there. As we were trying to get our bearings and find the water, Katie said we needed to go left because we were on Liverpool street. So, at the next opportunity we made a left down the Elizabeth St. Mall, it didn't look like we were going towards the water. Kaie said to me" I'm a city planner, Ive spent four years learning how to read a map. I got this!" She did not and we were indeed...going the wrong way. In her defence, we didn't live on Liverpool as she thought, but on Collins. An easy mistake :)
We walked around the harbour and down Salamanca place pretty much just seeing where everything is. We tried to find Battery Point which is an industrial area that has been converted into a bunch of pubs and homes and is suppose to be very nice, we never found it.
While we were walking down one of the main roads we were looking for somewhere to have a drink. Katie had picked a place called he Thirsty Camel but I had heard music so I said"No No dude, I have to find the music!" I start off at a mighty brisk pace and all of a sudden I realize that I need to be more aware of my surroundings. s I come to this realization, I hear Katie say "Um...Jac." before she can finish her thought I respond "Yea yea I found it too". The music was coming from the taxi cab right next to us. What an exhilarating night that would have been. Note to self- listen to Katie more often.
After walking around for a few hours we stopped at a pub called The Telegraph or Tele. When we walked in I went to the toilets and Katie went to the bar. As I came out I hear Katie asking the bartender what he thinks we should have...I walk over and she tells me that the bartender had told her that we couldn't have Long Islands because they were a "responsible" bar and only put a maximum of one and a half shots in their drinks. I thought about asking him where there was an irresponsible bar I could blow my money at but refrained.
We sat at the bar and some guy talked to Katie and we went and sat with him and his friends but they were nothing special so we went and sat outside and as we were on our way out (Mind you we were now drinking 151 and coke, we decided if a shot was the limit we were going to make the most of it. Mom, Henry and Debbie DON'T worry. This story ends up NOTHING like high school) I was stopped by this girl who told me it was her friends birthday and he needed a kiss. I acquiesced and gave him a smooch on he cheek. A few minutes later Katie and I were talking to him and his sister. As I was talking to him I asked what his name was,, he told me and I immediately looked a Katie and said "KATIE KATIE! Guess what his name is? It's one of your best friends...he s a guy and he used to live across the street" Her response "Dirk?" YES. It was hilarious because they were both shocked with knew anyone who went by Dirk. It was quite a laugh. The four of us then went in and took a shot. Katie and I stayed inside and danced and after awhile walked home. ON the way we were invited to a club by some dudes and as we refused they told us that it was no time for bed as it was only 10:00pm. This left us very confused the next day.
We were awoken against our will at 9:00am to the tolling of what sounded like 100 bells directly outside our window. They were incessant and had no rhythm. It was as if I had walked in there drunk from the night before and laid down a track of chopsticks and now that was being broadcast via bells from the cathedral all of Tasmania. SO painful. We were thus forced our of bed and went in search of a coffee shop.
We ended up at Gloria Jeans eating banana bread, a bagel and coffee. It was really nice and we just sat for awhile before we headed to the harbour to try and book a tour to Mt. Wellington. We got there and there was still room left so we booked a tour for 12:30. We assumed this was going to be a hike as it was two hours long so we went back to the hostel to change etc. We were wrong and I was car sick.
The tour consisted of a ride to the tip top of the mountain (which was VERY curvy and bumpy) when we got to the top we had 20 minutes to check it out. The views were amazing (and will be posted later). Basically indescribable, thus you can wait for photos :)
We got back to Hobart(the capital and where we were staying) and walked around some more. We went to Salamanca place which reminded us of Santana Row (for you Bay Area-ers?) and had lunch. Again I should have listened to Katie because the place we ate wasn't that good and she had noted to go somewhere else. Damnit. But we did discover a 24 hour bakery we wanted to check out later. We went back to the hostel and grabbed our books and looked for a coffee place to go read in. Apparently on Sunday's Hobart turns off at like 4. We could find nowhere to go and NO ONE on the streets so we ended up in a park reading. The problem was the weather in Tasmania is quite a bit cooler than Sydney ( we are ridiculously spoiled with weather. It was 104 when we left). We didn't last long before we tried to find a bottle shop which occurred about 2 hours later.
Back to the hostel we went to change and get ready. We drank most of the bottle and went out to find that, not surprisingly, everything was closed EXCEPT the 24 hour bakery! We went there..ate and went back to bed. However, none of this occurred until after I had dropped Katie's camera...the third camera we have gone though on this trip. The lens would open for NO ONE. How my heart ached....
The next morning we were up early again because we had booked a day tour. I went and got a disposable camera and we were on our way. The first stop was the Cadbury Factory. Katie's downfall. I wont even tell you how much she can eat in a day but it is a SOUND number. We got there and were a bit disappointed. We though we were actually going to see the machines that make it but we just watched a video and went to the visitor center...the free samples were gone before the day ended. We each got a box.
Next we were dropped off for a harbour cruise and the weather was perfect. We had a sandwich on the boat and then got a coffee (or cookie) and Katie and I actually fell asleep for the second half of the ride. Its rough trying to get sleep when you have a cathedral in your sheets with you. Anyway, when we got back to the harbour the bus was waiting to whisk us away again.
Bongorong Wildlife Park! We went in and were introduced to Hubert the baby Wombat who I LOVE. Officially the coolest animal ever. Apparently they are more aggressive than Tasmania Devils and aren't not to be messed around with. They have cartilage over there rear end so when they are being chased(they can run 40km per hour) they go into their little holes and put their butt up so the predator cant get in. If the predator tries to go over him he lifts his butt up repeatedly and smashes his predators head into the roof of his den over and over again.
Next we saw Tasmanian Devils which really are kind of pathetic. They look so sweet and innocent and sound scary as Hell but they are actually just scavengers who fake everyone out. They can only see one foot in front of them, and are slow as a chicken. Hence why they cant hunt anything and have to eat what they find. They are called Devils because when the convicts were camped in the woods they would hear this horrifying sounds but would never be able to find the creature that made them so they assumed it was the devil. After we saw a Koala named Banjo and got to feed the Kangaroos which are actually scary up close...the big ones anyway. They have this toe like a raptor and vacant creepy eyes.
Soon we were back on the bus and off to Richmond. A historic city which hast grown since 1870. It was SO cool. We walked over the oldest functioning bridge in Australia and went into the oldest Roman Catholic Church in Australia as well. St. Johns. As a non-practicing Catholic, it was one of the most awesome places I've ever been in. If you're interested email me, if not ill move on :)
We drove back to the city and went and ate at this fish and chips place that was actually on the water in a little boat thing that floated right near the wharf that you walked along. Katie got prawns and chips, I got fish, chips and attacked by seagulls. By this time we were just wicked tired and wanted to hang out in the room at our hostel and read/write in our journals/ nap. Did this happen? Noooooo
When we got back to the room it was empty so we changed and I jumped into bed and started to read but kind of fell asleep. Katie was in the shower but when she got back and started to fall asleep one of our new roommates came into the room and started watching TV on her computer and kept laughing this horrible laugh. Then when we started to fall asleep another girl came in and the two were apparently friends so they kept talking in like Vietnamese until Katie finally said (in a VERY un-katieish tone) "Yea, when you re done making your bed can you turn the light out? Thanks." She was NOT having it. So when she finished making the bed lights went out and before I knew it my alarm was going off and we were on our way back to Sydney for Australia Day!
Friday, January 15, 2010
For Love of the Irish: A Slamdown
Things we're not into:
-THAT JEN AND STEVE ARE LEAVING! Nooooooooo!!!
-That I wont be around for the MLK party in AA. Dang it!
-Having the little room in the apartment
-Being so sore you cant walk
-That the Cock N Bull closes at midnight, you stupid Irish pub!
-When you talk to someone who is mad Irish you cant understand them, especially since they are drunk all the time that doesn't help. (A generalization, that applies to all of them)
-Spilling coffee beans ALL over the floor at work, then having to pick each one up because the vacuum is broken (or lost, or I may have just been punished for being a fool and the vacuum was "broken")
-2 hours later spilling espresso all over the floor because my boss thoroughly stresses me out
-WHERE ARE ALL THE TACOS?! All we want is Taco Bell... I was talking to a guy at work about it and he looked a me all confused and said "What are you talking about? We have a Taco Bell on George st" (around the corner from work). My heart instantaneously inflated with joy, my palms got sweaty, I imagined the joy and happiness I would see on Katie's face when I told her of my victory. Only to hear two seconds later, "Oh wait, they got rid of it". JERK! Matt and my relationship has not been the same since. Apparently there used to be TB's around here but they just couldn't think outside the bun....
Things we are into:
-That apparently the owner of Capital Grill has taken a liking to me so I wont get fired for spilling coffee beans and espresso
-The Cock'N Bull, live bands so awesome, I love the Irish!
-That there aren't pennies. Prices are always rounded to the nearest 5 cents
-Texts from Knute,
ME: "KNUTE! I wish you were here! I need more jigging lessons"
Knute: "This may be tricky over text, but here goes...Keep your arms locked
at your sides, your back straight, and flail your legs like your kicking
midgets"
Me: "Of course, Ill keep my arms at my sides. Im no Protestant!"
Knute(Who is from Belfast): "Blind prejudice, im so proud!
----No midgets or Protestants were harmed that evening
-Supre, a store Katie found with really cute stuff that's cheap (shocking, I know)
-That were having a party tonight that will most likely have the police called (again). The cops will come to ours and ask us to keep it down, chat for a bit, smile, and leave. Not to be seen the rest of the night.
-Pie Face. I still cant get over it.
-The Shadow of the Sun. Good book.
-Boat parties. Unfortunately, Russell wasn't able to make it, but we went out on this OLD school boat that looked like a pirate ship and just road around the Sydney Harbour for awhile.
-Articles like this that your friends, who im assuming are trying to get you to come home, send... http://www.cracked.com/funny-163-australia/ a quote from the article "You just walked into Mother Nature's Thunderdome, friend. And in this analogy, you're not Max; you're the dead retard."
-That my mom has facebook and her information is HILARIOUS
-Julie Hyrne
-Did I mention pies?
- Fancying and being Keane on doing things, going to yours as opposed to your house or coming to ours, instead of our house. The phrased "I just cant be asked" Instead of "I don't feel like it".
-Meeting and befriending authors at your gym. Katie met a women who authored "Sexpectations" and is in the process of writing another book and she would like Katie to write down her encounter with Sam and Russell to potentially add to the book. Savaggeeeeee!
-Meeting your personal trainer who has been told that you want him to make you cry, seeing him, then realizing he could FOR SURE bring tears to your eyes.
- Alll for noooowwwww
xoxo
-THAT JEN AND STEVE ARE LEAVING! Nooooooooo!!!
-That I wont be around for the MLK party in AA. Dang it!
-Having the little room in the apartment
-Being so sore you cant walk
-That the Cock N Bull closes at midnight, you stupid Irish pub!
-When you talk to someone who is mad Irish you cant understand them, especially since they are drunk all the time that doesn't help. (A generalization, that applies to all of them)
-Spilling coffee beans ALL over the floor at work, then having to pick each one up because the vacuum is broken (or lost, or I may have just been punished for being a fool and the vacuum was "broken")
-2 hours later spilling espresso all over the floor because my boss thoroughly stresses me out
-WHERE ARE ALL THE TACOS?! All we want is Taco Bell... I was talking to a guy at work about it and he looked a me all confused and said "What are you talking about? We have a Taco Bell on George st" (around the corner from work). My heart instantaneously inflated with joy, my palms got sweaty, I imagined the joy and happiness I would see on Katie's face when I told her of my victory. Only to hear two seconds later, "Oh wait, they got rid of it". JERK! Matt and my relationship has not been the same since. Apparently there used to be TB's around here but they just couldn't think outside the bun....
Things we are into:
-That apparently the owner of Capital Grill has taken a liking to me so I wont get fired for spilling coffee beans and espresso
-The Cock'N Bull, live bands so awesome, I love the Irish!
-That there aren't pennies. Prices are always rounded to the nearest 5 cents
-Texts from Knute,
ME: "KNUTE! I wish you were here! I need more jigging lessons"
Knute: "This may be tricky over text, but here goes...Keep your arms locked
at your sides, your back straight, and flail your legs like your kicking
midgets"
Me: "Of course, Ill keep my arms at my sides. Im no Protestant!"
Knute(Who is from Belfast): "Blind prejudice, im so proud!
----No midgets or Protestants were harmed that evening
-Supre, a store Katie found with really cute stuff that's cheap (shocking, I know)
-That were having a party tonight that will most likely have the police called (again). The cops will come to ours and ask us to keep it down, chat for a bit, smile, and leave. Not to be seen the rest of the night.
-Pie Face. I still cant get over it.
-The Shadow of the Sun. Good book.
-Boat parties. Unfortunately, Russell wasn't able to make it, but we went out on this OLD school boat that looked like a pirate ship and just road around the Sydney Harbour for awhile.
-Articles like this that your friends, who im assuming are trying to get you to come home, send... http://www.cracked.com/funny-163-australia/ a quote from the article "You just walked into Mother Nature's Thunderdome, friend. And in this analogy, you're not Max; you're the dead retard."
-That my mom has facebook and her information is HILARIOUS
-Julie Hyrne
-Did I mention pies?
- Fancying and being Keane on doing things, going to yours as opposed to your house or coming to ours, instead of our house. The phrased "I just cant be asked" Instead of "I don't feel like it".
-Meeting and befriending authors at your gym. Katie met a women who authored "Sexpectations" and is in the process of writing another book and she would like Katie to write down her encounter with Sam and Russell to potentially add to the book. Savaggeeeeee!
-Meeting your personal trainer who has been told that you want him to make you cry, seeing him, then realizing he could FOR SURE bring tears to your eyes.
- Alll for noooowwwww
xoxo
Thursday, January 7, 2010
New Years Eve....
Started out pretty slow. Katie Ryan Dan and I had decided that we were going to go to Jen, Hannah and Chris's house in Pott's Point to watch the fireworks. Their house over looks the Sydney Harbour and the Bridge. There were two fireworks shows, one at 9:00 so families with kids could enjoy it and then another at midnight. It is suppose to be one of the best firework displays in the world...I would have to agree.
The four of us got to their apartment right as the first set of fireworks had started. We walked right to the edge of the lookout and had a pretty awesome view...through a metal fence. After the first round we went into the apartment. Hannah, Chris, Gary, Louisiana Katie, Steve, Jamie, Felix, Mira,Ric,Clement, Thomas Ali,Britt and Martin were all there already. We all basically sat around drinking and dancing until all of a sudden it was midnight (I dont even remember there being any excitement about the New Year, just the fireworks) and Katie and I ran out to the point to get a good spot. We found Ali, Britt and Martin standing on this pillar thingy and watched with them. We have about 15 pictures of all of us...looking REAL good. Of course you cant see them because Katie got a new camera but her computer wont upload the software because there is no disk drive and my computer, well, you all know about that.
I walked back toward the apartment to find half of my friends on the roof of someones garage and Jamie standing on a trash can trying to get up onto the roof. Lets just say the next day he had bruises EVERYWHERE. All of a sudden everyone who had managed the ascent to the rooftop came running and jumping off, apparently the owners had been yelling at them to get down for awhile but the kicker was "Get off my GODDAMN ROOF or my wife is going to spray you with that hose!" Wife from out front '- "YEA!". They got down quite quickly.
We went back downstairs and into the apartment for the dance party....
And a photo shoot...
Jamie and Steve...
Britt and Steve...
AND THE ENGAGED COUPLE JEN AND SAAAMMMMMMM
Sam had proposed to Jen at midnight on the cruise they were on in Sydney Harbour as the fireworks were going off. She had no idea it was coming...Kodak couldnt ask for anything more picture perfect.
Later, I took it as my personal mission to stop all of my friends from smoking. Here is one attempt.
After stomping out Steve's cigarette...
I grabbed his face and said, "I gave you my heart. DONT DIE". He then lit up another and apparently I wouldnt stop the campaign. Here are the facebook comments that are below this photo...
This is the caption Katie put beneath it, "i gave you my heart. give me your ear."
-Jacqueline Gowin-No no no. "I gave you my heart. DONT DIE"
-Katherine Guilbeau -you were asking for compensation at one point. it went from "give up cigs" to "well give me your ear then"
-Steve Greig Could you be......the most beautiful girl in the world!! x
...this is my contribution to the world. Stop smoking or give me a body part. Nice.
Moving on, a short while later Katie and Ryan decided to leave. I had gotten a call from Jenah, who had just finished work and was heading over, so I decided to stay. Jenah and I were there until 6:00am. The only ones there at that point were me, Katie, Jenah, Chris, Clement, and Ric. I went to the bathroom to come back and find that the others were having a slap fight...time to go.
Jenah and I then were in search of food...we found a sandwich place and went there. As we walked back we went passed all these bars that were still PACKED. We contemplated going in but Jenah had to work that night and also walk some dogs. We hopped on the train and when we got back to Bondi Junction, we were basically ridiculous. All I wanted was a coffee...NOTHING was open...surprised? At the time I was. Instead I filled the void with a bag of chips, a candy bar, chocolate milk (which im SURE came from Heaven) and peach tea. Jenah got an ice cream bar. As we walked home we stopped at a light and the guys next to us looked at Jenah's ice cream and said "little early for ice cream isnt it?" She looked up at them, and said "Im on Holiday, Ill do as I damn well please!". The guys looked back and her and said, "You're right". Duh she's right. When is ice cream EVER a bad idea?
We got home and passed out. I got a call from work at 11:30, missed it and was SURE I was going to be fired for reading the schedule wrong or something. When I called back they were just asking if I could possibly come in at 1:00. I informed them I had gone to bed at 9:00 but would be more than happy to come if they needed me. They didnt call back.
Hope everyone had a safe and happy New Year!!
xoxo
The four of us got to their apartment right as the first set of fireworks had started. We walked right to the edge of the lookout and had a pretty awesome view...through a metal fence. After the first round we went into the apartment. Hannah, Chris, Gary, Louisiana Katie, Steve, Jamie, Felix, Mira,Ric,Clement, Thomas Ali,Britt and Martin were all there already. We all basically sat around drinking and dancing until all of a sudden it was midnight (I dont even remember there being any excitement about the New Year, just the fireworks) and Katie and I ran out to the point to get a good spot. We found Ali, Britt and Martin standing on this pillar thingy and watched with them. We have about 15 pictures of all of us...looking REAL good. Of course you cant see them because Katie got a new camera but her computer wont upload the software because there is no disk drive and my computer, well, you all know about that.
I walked back toward the apartment to find half of my friends on the roof of someones garage and Jamie standing on a trash can trying to get up onto the roof. Lets just say the next day he had bruises EVERYWHERE. All of a sudden everyone who had managed the ascent to the rooftop came running and jumping off, apparently the owners had been yelling at them to get down for awhile but the kicker was "Get off my GODDAMN ROOF or my wife is going to spray you with that hose!" Wife from out front '- "YEA!". They got down quite quickly.
We went back downstairs and into the apartment for the dance party....
And a photo shoot...
Jamie and Steve...
Britt and Steve...
AND THE ENGAGED COUPLE JEN AND SAAAMMMMMMM
Sam had proposed to Jen at midnight on the cruise they were on in Sydney Harbour as the fireworks were going off. She had no idea it was coming...Kodak couldnt ask for anything more picture perfect.
Later, I took it as my personal mission to stop all of my friends from smoking. Here is one attempt.
After stomping out Steve's cigarette...
I grabbed his face and said, "I gave you my heart. DONT DIE". He then lit up another and apparently I wouldnt stop the campaign. Here are the facebook comments that are below this photo...
This is the caption Katie put beneath it, "i gave you my heart. give me your ear."
-Jacqueline Gowin-No no no. "I gave you my heart. DONT DIE"
-Katherine Guilbeau -you were asking for compensation at one point. it went from "give up cigs" to "well give me your ear then"
-Steve Greig Could you be......the most beautiful girl in the world!! x
...this is my contribution to the world. Stop smoking or give me a body part. Nice.
Moving on, a short while later Katie and Ryan decided to leave. I had gotten a call from Jenah, who had just finished work and was heading over, so I decided to stay. Jenah and I were there until 6:00am. The only ones there at that point were me, Katie, Jenah, Chris, Clement, and Ric. I went to the bathroom to come back and find that the others were having a slap fight...time to go.
Jenah and I then were in search of food...we found a sandwich place and went there. As we walked back we went passed all these bars that were still PACKED. We contemplated going in but Jenah had to work that night and also walk some dogs. We hopped on the train and when we got back to Bondi Junction, we were basically ridiculous. All I wanted was a coffee...NOTHING was open...surprised? At the time I was. Instead I filled the void with a bag of chips, a candy bar, chocolate milk (which im SURE came from Heaven) and peach tea. Jenah got an ice cream bar. As we walked home we stopped at a light and the guys next to us looked at Jenah's ice cream and said "little early for ice cream isnt it?" She looked up at them, and said "Im on Holiday, Ill do as I damn well please!". The guys looked back and her and said, "You're right". Duh she's right. When is ice cream EVER a bad idea?
We got home and passed out. I got a call from work at 11:30, missed it and was SURE I was going to be fired for reading the schedule wrong or something. When I called back they were just asking if I could possibly come in at 1:00. I informed them I had gone to bed at 9:00 but would be more than happy to come if they needed me. They didnt call back.
Hope everyone had a safe and happy New Year!!
xoxo
Monday, January 4, 2010
Sydney Opera House
Debbie and Henry (being the amazing people that they are) took Katie, Ryan and I to the Sydney Opera House to see a comedy show called "2009: That Was The Year That Was". We had a drink at the bar inside and then went outside and took some pictures. The show was about to start so we walked to our seats which were about 30 rows up, dead center. At first a band came out and planned a small opening song for the MC and during that short time I could tell that the acoustics in that place far exceeded the expectations that I had. It was amazing.
The first few comedians that came out were mediocre, followed by two pretty funny ladies whose names are, at the moment, eluding me and then there were these two guys that redid songs and played them with their guitars and basically just made them hilarious, they were really good. The show kept getting broken up by a guy who would talk about the top four things that happened in 2009. One section was like athletic scandals one of them was about the women who destroyed her competition in the 100m dash or something like that, but it actually turned out "she" was a he. Followed by some Michael Phelps and the weed incident, Serena Williams and her blowout with the ref and then of course....as was the theme of the night it seemed, Tiger Woods. If I hear one more Tiger Woods joke...I have no idea what I will do, but, I can assure you, it will be less than pleasant.
The last guy seemed like he was going to be hysterical, he was clearly drunk and had created a "poem" of everyting that had happened in 2009. It literally lasted 10 minutes and by the end we were all wishing it wold just be over. He did have this one joke at the start that was kind of cute in a really sad way, "I had this girlfriend once who knew I really liked Dr. Seuss, she broke up with me by leaving a note that read 'I really like green eggs and ham, but not you". Or something to that effect. I guess that's not really cute at all, at the time I thought it was hysterical.
After the show ended we started walking back to Circular Quay to catch a train when we heard what sounded like karaoke. We looked below us to find a bar, the Opera Bar, to be exact. It was rad. Right on the Sydney Harbour with a live band. Pretty expensive bu the atmosphere was delightful. We had a drink there then jumped on the train. I was STARVING so Katie and I got off at Kings Cross to go to Pie Face, im telling you im going to steal a whole Pie Face store and bring it back to the US. Katie and I LOVE pie...im drooling at the moment.
We then jumped back on the train and headed home. All in all it was a really good night! Thank you Groth family :)!!!
The first few comedians that came out were mediocre, followed by two pretty funny ladies whose names are, at the moment, eluding me and then there were these two guys that redid songs and played them with their guitars and basically just made them hilarious, they were really good. The show kept getting broken up by a guy who would talk about the top four things that happened in 2009. One section was like athletic scandals one of them was about the women who destroyed her competition in the 100m dash or something like that, but it actually turned out "she" was a he. Followed by some Michael Phelps and the weed incident, Serena Williams and her blowout with the ref and then of course....as was the theme of the night it seemed, Tiger Woods. If I hear one more Tiger Woods joke...I have no idea what I will do, but, I can assure you, it will be less than pleasant.
The last guy seemed like he was going to be hysterical, he was clearly drunk and had created a "poem" of everyting that had happened in 2009. It literally lasted 10 minutes and by the end we were all wishing it wold just be over. He did have this one joke at the start that was kind of cute in a really sad way, "I had this girlfriend once who knew I really liked Dr. Seuss, she broke up with me by leaving a note that read 'I really like green eggs and ham, but not you". Or something to that effect. I guess that's not really cute at all, at the time I thought it was hysterical.
After the show ended we started walking back to Circular Quay to catch a train when we heard what sounded like karaoke. We looked below us to find a bar, the Opera Bar, to be exact. It was rad. Right on the Sydney Harbour with a live band. Pretty expensive bu the atmosphere was delightful. We had a drink there then jumped on the train. I was STARVING so Katie and I got off at Kings Cross to go to Pie Face, im telling you im going to steal a whole Pie Face store and bring it back to the US. Katie and I LOVE pie...im drooling at the moment.
We then jumped back on the train and headed home. All in all it was a really good night! Thank you Groth family :)!!!
Christmas!
Having my first Christmas EVER away from my family was NOT something I was looking forward to at all. THe past 22 years of my life I had gone to my grandparents house in Santa Clara where my whole family would congregate, eat FAR too much, be hasseled by whoever was the youngest at the time to open presents, then sit around for hours while the smallest(which, ironically, up until about 5 years ago was my cousin Amanda and I)kids passed out the presents and then we would eat dessert and talk for ages.
This year was a little different. I woke up on a couch, something not totally out of the ordinary but at the time I could not recall where I was. Mostly because the apartment was immacculate, it didnt smell like a college dorm room, and there was the sweetest face in the world waking me up. Katie's mom! Then it hit me that I had fallen asleep on Henry, Debbie and Ryan Groth's couch on Christmas Eve. Katie's mom and brother came a few days before and Henry had just recently arrived.
That morning we lounged around and watched a movie opened a few cards and basically enjoyed each others company. It was SO nice to have the Groth's there since they are basically my pseudo family...whether they like it or not:)
A few hours later I jumped on a bus to go home. I had gotten a text from our friend Hannah who told me they were having people over for dinner. My new roommate Dan and I went over there at about 3 and hung out with Hannah, Jen(Who was cooking), Steve, Chris, Rick, Jamie and . I went into the kitchen to help (aka watch) Jen cook. She was making mini hamburgers, salad, sausage, coleslaw, potatoes, mini kababs, and some other things im sure im forgetting. Delicious.
After we ate a few people started getting cranky because NONE of us had realized that basically nowhere in Sydney can you buy alcohol on Christmas Day (or Good Friday apparently). The previous day I had been wondering why people were getting SO much alcohol at the stores. Literally people were pushing out 20 cases of 40beers per case. The reason was because they are all smarter than us. After that we hung out for awhile and I stole a few books from their apartment. Im currenty reading Lolita and as Henry pointed out, probably should have gotten the annotated version. Ill need to get a full analysis of the book when im finished:)
Anyway, after that I was so full I basically went home and passed out. Overall it was a really good day despite the fact that I was missing that family of mine:(
This year was a little different. I woke up on a couch, something not totally out of the ordinary but at the time I could not recall where I was. Mostly because the apartment was immacculate, it didnt smell like a college dorm room, and there was the sweetest face in the world waking me up. Katie's mom! Then it hit me that I had fallen asleep on Henry, Debbie and Ryan Groth's couch on Christmas Eve. Katie's mom and brother came a few days before and Henry had just recently arrived.
That morning we lounged around and watched a movie opened a few cards and basically enjoyed each others company. It was SO nice to have the Groth's there since they are basically my pseudo family...whether they like it or not:)
A few hours later I jumped on a bus to go home. I had gotten a text from our friend Hannah who told me they were having people over for dinner. My new roommate Dan and I went over there at about 3 and hung out with Hannah, Jen(Who was cooking), Steve, Chris, Rick, Jamie and . I went into the kitchen to help (aka watch) Jen cook. She was making mini hamburgers, salad, sausage, coleslaw, potatoes, mini kababs, and some other things im sure im forgetting. Delicious.
After we ate a few people started getting cranky because NONE of us had realized that basically nowhere in Sydney can you buy alcohol on Christmas Day (or Good Friday apparently). The previous day I had been wondering why people were getting SO much alcohol at the stores. Literally people were pushing out 20 cases of 40beers per case. The reason was because they are all smarter than us. After that we hung out for awhile and I stole a few books from their apartment. Im currenty reading Lolita and as Henry pointed out, probably should have gotten the annotated version. Ill need to get a full analysis of the book when im finished:)
Anyway, after that I was so full I basically went home and passed out. Overall it was a really good day despite the fact that I was missing that family of mine:(
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