Lyn had class in the morning, so she let me sleep in. YAY=) i planned to wake up early and have breakfast before she got back, but i was a sloth and was too comfy in her cosy bed to get out of it. So i think i only got up right before she came back, changed and washed up, and decided to try this cool little thing that we found at safeway the day before. I first heard of it from Inna when she was doing her marketing project last year, and it sounded to cool to be true, so when i saw it at safeway i knew i had to try it.

So, we packed up the last bits of stuff.. going there with a half empty bag and leaving with one that was stuffed.. Trained for the last time from Milson's Point to Wynyard then changed to the airport line. We were so sleepy that we fell asleep on the train. The domestic airport was small but efficient. Because we took virgin airlines, there were portals for quick check ins: just type in the details and out comes the ticket! No need for long queues. And the terminal had a large area with shops and food stalls, but we were too busy with out Macdonald's breakfast to have time to walk around the shops. The plane ride was about an hour long, quite turbulent. And for the swaku me, we didn't need to check passports or customs to get out of the domestic terminal. How cool!

Back in Melbourne
We took a cab home, unpacked, did laundry (so fun! i'm how domestic), slacked around. Had a chicken panini sandwich from the animal Orchestra with a pesto and mayo dressing. Yummy, because we were hungry and waiting along the pavement in the cold. And i went to the Melbourne Uni with lyn to attend some classes for fun! A derivatives tutorial and international finance lecture. Well, lessons are lessons, and lessons make me fall asleep! But the best part was walking around the uni and taking in the quaintness of it all.

Back home in Singapore, you really don't get the same feeling of old, historic buildings, large sprawling spaces, students lying on the green, superduper green grass, stuff like that. Everything's just so pretty! And if the weather was better, the pictures would have turned out even better because there would have been so much sunlight. And being such a big uni, they have so many eating outlets and cafes to choose from, unlike poor me. First time exploring a campus like this, and they have a huge library too! I guess the only downside is that the facilities are older.

So i guess it's quite obvious what they're making now, but we were so fascinated during the whole process that we took many pictures of the guys in the act. And who would think that huge chunks of different coloured malleable sugar pieces that became a giant sausage would end up in tiny cylindrical strips? And at the end, i think they chopped it into thousands of little pieces once it hardened slightly. But the most amazing thing was what it looked like close up..

We wrapped ourselves in our warm things, then walked a few minutes to this stretch of shops that Richard took us to. Quite a few restaurants around there! Another reason why his place is so lovely.. it's so convenient! We decided to order take-out pizza, and since there was a deli nearby, we went in and came out with loads of snacks! We wanted to surprise Richard with a cake, but he didn't really eat cake, so while i went to the alcohol shop with him a few doors down to get him booze (typical teenage boys.. he was so sad that i didn't get him anything from DFS at the airport) as a birthday present and also because he was underaged, the girls secretly bought ice cream and a candle that would play the birthday song when lit.

The birthday candle very enthusiastically played out the birthday song, even after the flame had been extinguished. We were trying to figure out how to make the sound go away, but twisting the base round and round didn't help. In the end.. i ripped the candle from the base. But i thought these candid shots were pretty funny.

The Sydney Fish Market wasn't listed on any of the tourist guides.. you know, like those 'Top places to eat or see on your holiday' kinda thing, cos we couldn't find any directions to get there, but it was really crowded anyway! So we had the Fisherman's Basket - morsels of battered fish, calamari rings and chips, fresh FRESH salmon and tuna sashimi (first time i tried tuna, and with wasabi no less!), huge bright orange prawns and oysters. Sitting outdoors under the sun with the cool wind, sipping white wine out of little plastic wine cups.. perfect!

The only not-so-nice things were the seagulls. They kept swooping around, thankfully not stealing any of our food. But horror of horrors, one of them SHAT ON MY BAG! arg.. and i only realised it a few minutes later in the toilet. I was lucky i didn't unknowingly smear it on my clothes or something. ewwwww.

So after our very filling seafood lunch, we walked past Darling Harbour again, where there was a really funny busker who talked ALOT and took too long to get onto his unicycle, then to Chinatown/Paddy's Market, and the shopping centre above it. I managed to score Sass and Bide Jeans for A$129, which i think is a steal! And also made my first of many visits to Supre. haha. We had time before we had to pick ann up from Central Station where she was coming down from Canberra to meet us, so we walked (again) to Anthony's apartment to check it out and have a rest. It gets very chilly at night when the winds blow!

Day 1 - Touchdown in Melbourne

It was my first time ever travelling alone, and also my first time going to Australia. Pretty amazing, considering that i have cousins living in Sydney but never been there in the past 20 years. It was fun though, feeling very independent browsing in the airport shops after entering, and then walking to the gate to board the plane. Thankfully i wasn't scared or anything. Happened to sit next to this cute old aussie couple and the lady was really friendly, asking me where i was going, what i was going to do and telling me a bit about her own travels and how she thought Singapore Airlines was really good. And i watched Just follow Law on the plane! So glad i didn't spend money to buy the dvd.

Touched down slightly early, got through customs with no problem, and had to wait a bit for lyn and jason to come pick me up. It was colder than i expected, especially with the wind, so lucky lyn brought me a thicker jacket! We went for breakfast at a little cafe along Brunswick, then to lyn's apartment to rest and pack for sydney (our 12 hour bus journey!). I really love her apartment cos it's so spacious, and the big windows let in lots of sunlight! In the day time, she opens the windows partially to let in the cold air, so it's natural air-conditioning, free!

Our packing was quite an adventure. We didn't want to bring too much, so we decided on two jackets, black and brown, that we would interchange. Then, we picked out 3 outfits each, one for each day, that would match the jackets, and then a brown and a black bag to go. SO vain!

In the afternoon, we went to Bridge road to shop. Look at the alpaca! There were 3 of them in the store window, and the shop was selling shawls and stuff made from their wool. They were cute, in a weird way.. We only managed to cover half of it because we had to go for an early dinner before catching our bus at 8pm. One thing great about Lynette's place is that it's a one minute walk to Lygon St, where there are many restaurants - italian, greek, thai, asian etc, cafes, and shops along it. So we walked to Mercadante for Italian. Salmon and mushroom pasta, and for dessert we shared their special nutella pizza, pizza crust oozing with nutella, and drizzled with more nutella on top! Did you know that nutella comes from Italy?

The Bus Ride
A 12-hour bus ride is no joke. This is not grassland express with comfy reclinable armchairs and your personal tv screen, but those normal primary school excursion buses. I was armed with a woolly scarf and a shawl, which came in handy as a blanket. It was ab 8 hour ride to Canberra, then 3 hours on to Sydney. After around 4 hours on the road, the driver stopped at a rest stop, leaving the bus door open for people to get in and out. At 12 am! And we decided to stay on the bus, which got increasingly colder and colder. After that, i was so uncomfortable cos my toes were frozen and it took really long for me to fall asleep. But in the morning, i watched a really beautiful sunrise through bleary half-open eyes. It  felt so good to finally get off the bus after Sydney, and it was warmer too, but i really felt like i had half  forgotten how to walk from sitting so long.

It's quite nice, isn't it? And it was a hot sunny day, so the evening sky was beautifully clear.

I just felt so happy and free walking in, because the layout, decor, and spread of cakes, pastries, bread, pasta sauces and all were just so inviting. Had a hard time deciding what to order because everything looked so good! And because it was a nice morning, we decided to sit outdoors and just enjoy having the time. It's such an expat place though, i think we were the only asians there at the time.. but i really would want to stock my home with all the tantalising stuff on display =)

It was really funny though, cos after i got my hair washed, they started putting it up in these giant rollers.. and i was thinking omy what are they going to do to my hair.. but thankfully it was only to smoothen it or something.. By the time our hair was done it was quite late, so we had to rush back to my place, get our stuff, then to hilda's to get ready, and then call a cab to get to the hotel on time. wooo.. spent alot on cab fares that night!

Anyway, pictures..

After a really hectic term that passed by really quickly, i'm so glad that the summer holidays are finally here. Although i don't have much of a holiday, cos i start internship next week. =S Anyway, because chris starts her third year of medicine the same time i start my internship, this holiday is also for us to spend more time together before we can only see each other on.. weekends. and maybe nights. So, we went for a nice late breakfast at Corduroy and Finch this morning. Poached eggs benedict with honey baked ham, Scrambled eggs with smoked salmon. Yummy! Look at the bread and butter. The butter was soft and had the consistency of stiff whipped cream, piped into the tiny ramekin. Very very filling but satisfying.

Kelvin organised a surprise party for hilda at the old costa sands chalet at East Coast. Well, it was a surprise until we realised Hilda was in the emailing invite list and she replied to let us know. Another surprise that didn't manage to happen! But all in all, i think hilda did have fun. The frisbee people bought her a birthday paddle, and all her friends had to smack her then sign on it as a sign of friendship. She was really reluctant to get whacked, but in the end, everyone had a go. I missed most of it, but when i got back i witnessed some really HARD smacks! pooor girl, she said her butt was all red after that. Anyway, i'm pleased that i managed to get her at least one thing that she liked and was actually thinking of getting!

Happy birthday dear, and thanks for being such a great friend!