I must say that we had a marvelous weekend. I was up at 6:30 on Friday to finish off my REM paper, but then had the rest of the day off to hang out with the girls and to help Jeremy set up for the party at his place to celebrate his parents' departure to Europe for three months. That night we had a lot of fun doing a sausage sizzle on their rooftop garden and hanging out with all of his friends. Sarah, Ola, Tsehaye, and Ryan were all there as well--and together, we've come to the decision that we need to spend more time with Australians in Australia. (I know, novel concept, eh?) Being exchange students, we tend to stick with exchange students... which needs to change. Now just to contrive how! Anyway, on Saturday we meandered around Darling Harbour a little bit, did a bit of tourist shopping, and admired the two metre-high fences that are being put up around the conference centre for APEC. Ola and I are actually going to head down there on Friday to see what we can see; well, to be specific we're going down on Thursday and enjoying an evening in the city without having to transit home (Jeremy's apartment is just too convenient!). Hopefully we won't get caught in the wrong place at the wrong time... like in a protest or something. Oy vey.
I'm getting sidetracked. On Sunday Ola and I went over to Manly Beach for the afternoon, to soak up some rays and splash in the surf. The day wasn't anywhere as warm as it should have been (considering Thursday and Friday of last week were 27-28 C), but we still managed to lie out in our bathing suits and coax ourselves into the water. Being Canadian, however, we were able to handle the cold water quite well... and I think it was my first time swimming in the ocean that I can remember. (Hawaii and Florida when I was 3 and 5 respectively don't count.) Pictures!
Ola on the bus first thing in the morning
there was an hour and a half of bus to fill up...
random Sydney view
my expression for most of the ride... just imagine me chanting, "beach beach beach BEACH BEACH beach beach beach beach beach beach BEACH!!" to go along with the grin... Ola hated it at first and then she got into it. mwahaha.
arriving at Manly
we contrived to have one of the most delicious and satisfying lunches ever. crackers, yummy yummy olives, and a half-round of creamy brie cheese. it fulfilled cravings we didn't even know we had!
mmm....
in the water!
it's the Pacific!
this was before we got owned by the waves...
looking north from Manly
looking south
Ola, post-waves
also post-waves
a nice guy took a picture for us :)
(requisite foot photo)
to finish off our delicious lunch we had Tim-Tam Balls. seriously, how does it get any better than this? even if they did melt and get sand in the gooey chocolate... but then, what didn't get sand in it...
looking south at around 4 pm
north!
back in Manly
bracelet love!
we went on an adventure to find tea (Ola had no voice by this point, weirdly similar to how I sounded a few weeks ago)... and discovered that Australians don't know how to make London Fogs... woe!
our $2 dinner which we almost missed the bus for... heh.
and last but not least, I'd like to share a picture of the newest member of our household! his name is Ernie, and of course we're not supposed to have him, but Mat's breaking the rules anyway. yes, his feathers are a little mangled at the moment--the bird he was sharing his cage with previously plucked out his tail feathers, and his wings are clipped. but in a few months he'll be beautiful again. Ernie is probably around 6 months old, and is still a bit shy and moody around us--but he's bonding with Mat and will with me, too. lorikeets are wild here, and there are plenty around the Village, so we've been able to see what the wild ones eat and have been bringing him flowers daily. we <3 Ernie! (and how cool is it that my dream of having a parrot has finally been realized? it's only been--what--a decade? hah!)
and last but not least, I'd like to share a picture of the newest member of our household! his name is Ernie, and of course we're not supposed to have him, but Mat's breaking the rules anyway. yes, his feathers are a little mangled at the moment--the bird he was sharing his cage with previously plucked out his tail feathers, and his wings are clipped. but in a few months he'll be beautiful again. Ernie is probably around 6 months old, and is still a bit shy and moody around us--but he's bonding with Mat and will with me, too. lorikeets are wild here, and there are plenty around the Village, so we've been able to see what the wild ones eat and have been bringing him flowers daily. we <3 Ernie! (and how cool is it that my dream of having a parrot has finally been realized? it's only been--what--a decade? hah!)
0 comments:
Post a Comment