Saturday, June 13, 2009
Sydney
I am leaving Melbourne today and catching a Greyhound to Sydney. It is a 12 hour bus ride (oh boy) but I am leaving at 8pm and plan on sleeping most of the way. I hopefully will have access to internet when I get there but don't know yet. See you all in Sydney!
Footy
Footy=Australian Rules Football
I was introduced to footy when me and Julianne went to play with a couple guys from her dorm. Turns out the guys were actually having a practice to be a team so Julianne and I stole a ball and tried to learn how to play. Let's just say we weren't going to make it on a team anytime soon. There really is no way to describe this game. It is a combination of soccer, football, volleyball, rugby and just utter chaos. After trying to learn how to kick the footy ball correctly and pass it correctly Julianne and I were exhausted from chasing the ball down. We got pretty good at the end but only if we were a couple feet apart.
On Saturday Julianne took me to a real footy match to show me what it was actually supposed to look like. Um yeah this sport is crazy. It goes non-stop in a huge field. During the game people run onto the field to give players water and such. The field is way bigger than a football field and it is an oval. The fans are just as crazy and yell things like "you bloody Muppet" and wave flags and have giant pom-poms.
They enter the field at the beginning of the game and run through banners while their team's theme song is playing. Yes they have their own theme songs.
I took videos because you can't really understand it until you see it played.
This is how they start the game. The Refs are in red and they bounce a ball in the center then everyone runs in and tries to get it. Which ever team gets the ball starts with the ball.
They can kick or pass the ball to eachother. If they kick it and their teammate catches it they are allowed to mark it. You will see that in this video (he gets the ball and then everything stops and he is allowed to back up to try and make a goal.) You will see 4 posts at each end of the field. If they kick it through the center two it is 6 points, the side two are 1 point each and if you pass it through any of them they are 1 point. This guys scores 6points.
This is how the refs throw the ball back in if it goes out of bounds. They face away and just toss it in the air then the teams push and shove and try to get the ball.
This guy marked the ball inside the line so he was lining up to kick for a point. Look for random people with white shirts on. Those are the people who run into the field while the game is playing to give people water. The coaches can also run onto the field and tell players what to do. There are basically just a ton of people on the field at all times. Oh and not to mention the seagulls that were in the stadium landing on the field randomly.
I was introduced to footy when me and Julianne went to play with a couple guys from her dorm. Turns out the guys were actually having a practice to be a team so Julianne and I stole a ball and tried to learn how to play. Let's just say we weren't going to make it on a team anytime soon. There really is no way to describe this game. It is a combination of soccer, football, volleyball, rugby and just utter chaos. After trying to learn how to kick the footy ball correctly and pass it correctly Julianne and I were exhausted from chasing the ball down. We got pretty good at the end but only if we were a couple feet apart.
On Saturday Julianne took me to a real footy match to show me what it was actually supposed to look like. Um yeah this sport is crazy. It goes non-stop in a huge field. During the game people run onto the field to give players water and such. The field is way bigger than a football field and it is an oval. The fans are just as crazy and yell things like "you bloody Muppet" and wave flags and have giant pom-poms.
They enter the field at the beginning of the game and run through banners while their team's theme song is playing. Yes they have their own theme songs.
I took videos because you can't really understand it until you see it played.
This is how they start the game. The Refs are in red and they bounce a ball in the center then everyone runs in and tries to get it. Which ever team gets the ball starts with the ball.
They can kick or pass the ball to eachother. If they kick it and their teammate catches it they are allowed to mark it. You will see that in this video (he gets the ball and then everything stops and he is allowed to back up to try and make a goal.) You will see 4 posts at each end of the field. If they kick it through the center two it is 6 points, the side two are 1 point each and if you pass it through any of them they are 1 point. This guys scores 6points.
This is how the refs throw the ball back in if it goes out of bounds. They face away and just toss it in the air then the teams push and shove and try to get the ball.
This guy marked the ball inside the line so he was lining up to kick for a point. Look for random people with white shirts on. Those are the people who run into the field while the game is playing to give people water. The coaches can also run onto the field and tell players what to do. There are basically just a ton of people on the field at all times. Oh and not to mention the seagulls that were in the stadium landing on the field randomly.
A day at the museum
On Friday Julianne and I traveled to the other side of Melbourne city and went to the Melbourne Museum. They had a lot of cool exhibits there and the layout of the museum was pretty cool.
These were giant stuffed boas. They were huge!!! They used to be part of a circus or something then when they died they donated them to the museum and they were stuffed and put on display.
They had a dinosaur display. This guy had huge teeth
Rocks, rocks and more rocks. They were really pretty.
In the center of the museum they had a living forest with plants that were native to Australia. You got to walk under the river and see how things moved and how nature was connected and stuff. This was a waterfall.
Okay this made my day. This is Phar Lap. Australia's equivalent of Seabiscuit. His trainer bought him without seeing him because he had excellent bloodlines. The colt turned out to be ugly and awkward when shipped over from New Zealand. They trained him and in his racing career he had 37 wins out of 51 starts. After winning the Aqua Caliente Cup in North America he died from a mysterious illness. They suspect he was poisoned by gangsters as they found traces of arsenic when doing the autopsy. He preserved and stuffed and given the Melbourne Museum where he has his own section. I was in heaven looking at all this. He still has a body clip and was HUGE (17.1 hands). Cool freaking exhibit.
They also had a history of Melbourne exhibit, an Aborigine exhibit, and a human mind and body exhibit. It was a couple hours well spent!
These were giant stuffed boas. They were huge!!! They used to be part of a circus or something then when they died they donated them to the museum and they were stuffed and put on display.
They had a dinosaur display. This guy had huge teeth
Rocks, rocks and more rocks. They were really pretty.
In the center of the museum they had a living forest with plants that were native to Australia. You got to walk under the river and see how things moved and how nature was connected and stuff. This was a waterfall.
Okay this made my day. This is Phar Lap. Australia's equivalent of Seabiscuit. His trainer bought him without seeing him because he had excellent bloodlines. The colt turned out to be ugly and awkward when shipped over from New Zealand. They trained him and in his racing career he had 37 wins out of 51 starts. After winning the Aqua Caliente Cup in North America he died from a mysterious illness. They suspect he was poisoned by gangsters as they found traces of arsenic when doing the autopsy. He preserved and stuffed and given the Melbourne Museum where he has his own section. I was in heaven looking at all this. He still has a body clip and was HUGE (17.1 hands). Cool freaking exhibit.
They also had a history of Melbourne exhibit, an Aborigine exhibit, and a human mind and body exhibit. It was a couple hours well spent!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
We're going to the zoo zoo zoo
11am, the sun is shinning (I wish). Me, Julianne, and Nils tromp through some muddy park searching for the Melbourne Zoo. Somehow we did not get lost and found it in record time (even though it is only 400meters from Julianne's dorm). We spent over 3 hours at the zoo looking at their super cool animals. Here are a few of my favorite photos from the day (you will see more when I get home i.e. hundred more).
This little guy was just hanging in front of the glass.
"Hey baby! Can I get your number?" Yeah we were allowed to walk around in their enclosure, there was no fence between us... jealous?
I crawled through the kid's cave and found a wombat.
Woo hoo I am an honorary member of the gorilla family!
Apparently I like gorillas...
We lucked out and saw a koala moving. This is impressive because they usually sleep 20hours and are active at night.
Hmmmm yeah my face says it all. My new best friend, Mr. Emu
The orangutans (or orang-utans as the Australians spell it) were so much fun to watch. They played and ate and played and then cleaned up their enclosure.
The entrance of the zoo.
Sarah this is for you. I had to run from one end of the enclosure to the other just to get this picture. Totally worth it.
This little guy was just hanging in front of the glass.
"Hey baby! Can I get your number?" Yeah we were allowed to walk around in their enclosure, there was no fence between us... jealous?
I crawled through the kid's cave and found a wombat.
Woo hoo I am an honorary member of the gorilla family!
Apparently I like gorillas...
We lucked out and saw a koala moving. This is impressive because they usually sleep 20hours and are active at night.
Hmmmm yeah my face says it all. My new best friend, Mr. Emu
The orangutans (or orang-utans as the Australians spell it) were so much fun to watch. They played and ate and played and then cleaned up their enclosure. 
The entrance of the zoo.
Sarah this is for you. I had to run from one end of the enclosure to the other just to get this picture. Totally worth it.
A Night in the Alley by Sarah and Julianne.
It was a dark stormy night. Julianne was looking for an adventure. She dragged three of her unsuspecting friends through China town promising them a good time. Little did they know that she would lead them to a dodgy alleyway lined with graffiti and dumpsters. Could there really be a bar down here?
Julianne happily skipped down the creepy alley while her three friends lagged behind hoping not to get mugged. Then in distance a glistening ray of light gave her friends hope that she wasn't crazy. As they got closer to the light they realized that it wasn't heaven but it was close; a bar.
This wasn't just any bar, it was THE Science Bar. Would they make it out alive?
Don't worry that was just the department of hygiene aka the women's bathroom. It has a cozy feel. Homey some would say.
Do you think they preform experiments here?
After receiving their drinks the friends soon found out that THE Science Bar wasn't a place to be afraid of; it was a place of love and friendship, except for the creepy bartender but I guess he fit the decoration. It was a good time to be had by all.
The End.
Julianne happily skipped down the creepy alley while her three friends lagged behind hoping not to get mugged. Then in distance a glistening ray of light gave her friends hope that she wasn't crazy. As they got closer to the light they realized that it wasn't heaven but it was close; a bar.
This wasn't just any bar, it was THE Science Bar. Would they make it out alive?
Don't worry that was just the department of hygiene aka the women's bathroom. It has a cozy feel. Homey some would say.
Do you think they preform experiments here?
After receiving their drinks the friends soon found out that THE Science Bar wasn't a place to be afraid of; it was a place of love and friendship, except for the creepy bartender but I guess he fit the decoration. It was a good time to be had by all.
The End.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Ice Ice Baby
doo doo doo doo doo doo... alright stop collaborate and listen.
Vanilla Ice can stop now. But ICE BAR. OMG. So yeah it was freezing cold yesterday outside so we decided to warm by going to a bar entirely made of ice. We had to wear snow gloves and winter jackets. They said it was negative 10 in the bar which we were like wow that is crazy. Then while in the bar we realized they meant negative 10 degrees in Celcius. We converted it and found that it was only 14 degrees F which for us Chicagoans was like um yeah okay but still the bar was made of ice! The drinks were served in cups made of ice, we sat on chairs made of ice and were surrounded by sculptures made of ice. Ice ice baby.
In the room before going into the bar.
Me and the snow man monster thing.
Our bartender pouring our fantastic fruity yummy drinks into ice cups
Cheers!!
The bar
Vanilla Ice can stop now. But ICE BAR. OMG. So yeah it was freezing cold yesterday outside so we decided to warm by going to a bar entirely made of ice. We had to wear snow gloves and winter jackets. They said it was negative 10 in the bar which we were like wow that is crazy. Then while in the bar we realized they meant negative 10 degrees in Celcius. We converted it and found that it was only 14 degrees F which for us Chicagoans was like um yeah okay but still the bar was made of ice! The drinks were served in cups made of ice, we sat on chairs made of ice and were surrounded by sculptures made of ice. Ice ice baby.
In the room before going into the bar.
Me and the snow man monster thing.
Our bartender pouring our fantastic fruity yummy drinks into ice cups
Cheers!!
The bar
Monday, June 8, 2009
Pictures... finally!
Skeleton of some famous race horse in Australia... he won a bunch of races even with a bad hoof.
Me and the live band
The little drink that made me jump around for hours
Nandos logo... such good food!
Our first drinks in Australia:
Me and the live band
The little drink that made me jump around for hours
Nandos logo... such good food!
Our first drinks in Australia:
It needs to stop raining
Yesterday I slept in a little bit then jumped on a tram to the other end of the city to go see the Good Food Show. Basically this show was a giant room with free samples of food everywhere. They even had free alchol samples. So I made my way through the show eating and looking at cooking demonstrations. Then went and saw a free cooking demonstration by a chef named Tobie (I can't remember his last name right now). He is famous in Australia and owns a resturant with Jamie Oliver. He cooked some really good looking Italian food and was pretty entertaining. In the middle of the show Gordan Ramsey came out and took some of this guys food. Gordan Ramsey is the guy from Hell's Kitchen. He was putting on demonstrations at the show too but you had to pay to see his show so I didn't do it but I ended up seeing him for free. haha.
I then took a tram back to Federation Square and got a lovely panini (chicken, avocado, sun dried tomatos and cheese yum!). I sat in Federation Square and ate my sandwich (yes I was still hungry after all those samples, apparently tastes of honey, chocolate squares and mini slices of pizza don't fill me up). It was getting cold so I went to Starbucks and curled up in a chair and read my book. Then it started to rain so I decided to go back to the hostel. I ended up watching a movie with some girls at the hostel since it was raining like mad. Then after the movie the rain stopped and I walked to grocery store to get dinner. I made a fantastic lamb pita thing. Don't know how I pulled that one off but damn it was good. I talked to a few more people around the hostel and then decided to call it an early night since there was nothing to do in the bad weather.
Today I woke up early and am now drinking tea and updating on the hostel computer. I think I am going to do some laundry today since it is still raining. Tonight, Julianne and I are going to a bar entirely made out of ice!!! Woo hoo!!
I then took a tram back to Federation Square and got a lovely panini (chicken, avocado, sun dried tomatos and cheese yum!). I sat in Federation Square and ate my sandwich (yes I was still hungry after all those samples, apparently tastes of honey, chocolate squares and mini slices of pizza don't fill me up). It was getting cold so I went to Starbucks and curled up in a chair and read my book. Then it started to rain so I decided to go back to the hostel. I ended up watching a movie with some girls at the hostel since it was raining like mad. Then after the movie the rain stopped and I walked to grocery store to get dinner. I made a fantastic lamb pita thing. Don't know how I pulled that one off but damn it was good. I talked to a few more people around the hostel and then decided to call it an early night since there was nothing to do in the bad weather.
Today I woke up early and am now drinking tea and updating on the hostel computer. I think I am going to do some laundry today since it is still raining. Tonight, Julianne and I are going to a bar entirely made out of ice!!! Woo hoo!!
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Boring day turned oh so interesting
After updating here yesterday I walked to the Australian Horse Racing Museum. It wasn't all that big but they had some cool exhibits and it was fun to read about their racehorses. I was a big nerd and sat down in the middle of the floor to watch an video of a life size animated horse. I was in awe. hahaha. After thoroughly enjoying myself even if there wasn't a real horse I met my friend Rosie at a cafe with live music. The people playing were really good so we watched for awhile and ordered something to drink. I decided I needed coffee since I was feeling very sleepy and it was only 4:30 so I ordered a long macciato. Hmmm yeah I thought it would be a coffee drink like Starbucks or something but alas no it was two shots of espresso with some frothy stuff on top. I said oh well and proceeded to drink the whole thing (mind you with little sips because it was freakishly strong). Lets just say that I wasn't tired anymore.
After coffee Rosie and I met up with Julianne at a Portuguese restaurant called Nanos where they serve chicken. I got a chicken pita. It was so yummy. Like I want to go back and eat more yummy. After that Julianne had to go study but Rosie and I wanted to go see if we could find another live band and maybe have a drink or two. We didn't find a live band but this is where the craziness of the night ensues.
We went into a bar that looked decent, they didn't even bother carding us. It was so weird not to stand in line and not get a wrist band. We ordered our drinks and found a seat outside by some heaters. Their rum and cokes here are so not like our rum and cokes at home. It was good but Captain Morgan is way better. Anyway we sat there talking and finished our drinks and decided we were having a good time so why not get another. I saved our seats while Rosie went inside to order drinks. While she was gone (mind you it was only like 5 min) this crazy lady sits down next to me and asks if I was okay and I was like um yes just waiting for a friend. Then she proceeds to call over a guy that she doesn't even know and tells him to sit with us. The whole time I am like "gah Rosie come back" but I introduced myself and figured why the hell not. I started talking to James (the guy) and the crazy lady. It was kind of funny. Then the crazy lady calls some other guy over, says he has nice teeth and gets up and goes over and kisses him. By this time Rosie came back and we were talking to James and his friend Chris. They seemed nice enough and suggested we go to a pub. At first we were like um sorry no but after awhile it was like yeah okay why not. So we left with them, hailed a cab and drove to a pub that was closer to our hostel. During the car ride Rosie and I decided that Chris was nice but James was boarding drunk and wasn't all that cool so we took one look at each other when we got out of the cab and I said "ummm I have to go to the bathroom" (Which actually was true but also was a good excuse). While waiting in line for the bathroom Rosie and I decided that we should just ditch them. It also helped that the place we were at was like 3 bars connected to each other and was crazy crowed so "ooops we just lost them". We ordered one more drink, hung out and talked to a few more people. Then decided to leave before the bar closed and mass chaos of everyone leaving ensued (they close bars here around 11pm). We walked to a store, bought some chips and dip and then hailed a cab back to our hostel. It was an interesting but good night! I have pictures but can't load them until later :-)
After coffee Rosie and I met up with Julianne at a Portuguese restaurant called Nanos where they serve chicken. I got a chicken pita. It was so yummy. Like I want to go back and eat more yummy. After that Julianne had to go study but Rosie and I wanted to go see if we could find another live band and maybe have a drink or two. We didn't find a live band but this is where the craziness of the night ensues.
We went into a bar that looked decent, they didn't even bother carding us. It was so weird not to stand in line and not get a wrist band. We ordered our drinks and found a seat outside by some heaters. Their rum and cokes here are so not like our rum and cokes at home. It was good but Captain Morgan is way better. Anyway we sat there talking and finished our drinks and decided we were having a good time so why not get another. I saved our seats while Rosie went inside to order drinks. While she was gone (mind you it was only like 5 min) this crazy lady sits down next to me and asks if I was okay and I was like um yes just waiting for a friend. Then she proceeds to call over a guy that she doesn't even know and tells him to sit with us. The whole time I am like "gah Rosie come back" but I introduced myself and figured why the hell not. I started talking to James (the guy) and the crazy lady. It was kind of funny. Then the crazy lady calls some other guy over, says he has nice teeth and gets up and goes over and kisses him. By this time Rosie came back and we were talking to James and his friend Chris. They seemed nice enough and suggested we go to a pub. At first we were like um sorry no but after awhile it was like yeah okay why not. So we left with them, hailed a cab and drove to a pub that was closer to our hostel. During the car ride Rosie and I decided that Chris was nice but James was boarding drunk and wasn't all that cool so we took one look at each other when we got out of the cab and I said "ummm I have to go to the bathroom" (Which actually was true but also was a good excuse). While waiting in line for the bathroom Rosie and I decided that we should just ditch them. It also helped that the place we were at was like 3 bars connected to each other and was crazy crowed so "ooops we just lost them". We ordered one more drink, hung out and talked to a few more people. Then decided to leave before the bar closed and mass chaos of everyone leaving ensued (they close bars here around 11pm). We walked to a store, bought some chips and dip and then hailed a cab back to our hostel. It was an interesting but good night! I have pictures but can't load them until later :-)
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