A Day at the Races
Sorry it has been so long since my last update. I was been busy savouring my last days in Melbourne, and never made it to an internet cafe long enough to post. I'm in Hobart, Tasmania now and catching a bus to Strahan (pronounced Strawn, I realized after trying to sound it out very embarassingly), the town bordering Tasmania's World Heritage area. So before that adventure begins, here are the past few days.
Thursday:
Was a bit of a waste. Andrew and Norva were going to be out all day and night- they're working on a research proposal that was due Friday and ended up staying at work from 11am to 6am the next day (they also wanted me to write about how hard they were working because they thought my blog made it sound like they just hung out and had fun all day!). So, I got up to go to Queen Victoria Markets and was thinking about going to another movie in the afternoon. But I was in a weirdly depressed mood, probably because of my approaching departure from Melbourne. So I didn't enjoy the markets much, although I did buy a lot of good fruit, including "rock melon" otherwise known as cantalope. Then I decided that it was time to bake the Thank-You Challah that I had been planning for A&N. That took most of the afternoon, and it was going great until I took it out of the oven and discovered that it was badly burnt. Damn! I thought I had done the temperature conversion wrong (not something you usually have to worry about when baking!), but then I figured their oven must just be unusually hot. In any case, we ate most of it by the time I left, so it wasn't that bad.
Friday:
Felt a lot better. Mailed a bunch of stuff home, which made my backpack ridiculously light. I also met A&N's friend Philipa. She is a philosopher and a dancer- and is also Jewish and has agreed to host me for Passover. She was very nice and excited about my theater ambitions. She also has a large extended Jewish family in the area, so I think having Passover with them will be okay. We went to see a special exhibit at NGV Australia on Howard Arkley, an Australian artists who is famous for painting brightly colored suburban homes. It was really good, and nice to have company also. A&N came back in time for dinner in the evening, and we had raw oysters with dill (Andrew claimed that Norva once at something like 60 oysters in one sitting) and also guacamole, which they had never seen prepared before and were very impressed by. We played Sequence (the card/board game) and I even won a round.
Saturday:
I had been looking forward to going to an Australian race track since I discovered the racing schedule earlier in the week. It did not disappoint! We didn't rush to the track, but we made it there around the 4th race, in time for Norva to enter the fashion contest that was being held. It seems that in Australia, everyone wears hats to the track- well, not everyone, and not everyday, but they did yesterday. Norva hadn't gone all out, so she didn't win the contest, but it was fun to watch the other contestants too. They were really decked out- I'll have to post pictures next time I'm on. As for the betting, it went really well. I ended up winning $42 (bet two races and won two races!). I even suggested the horses that Andrew should bet, and he put a bet down for Norva, who ended up winning $80! He also bought a bottle of champagne which we sat around drinking while we watched the fashions and the races. It was a very good day! Afterwards we went out to Fitzroy for a late lunch/early dinner, and got ice cream from one of the well known ice cream places in Melbourne. Then we went home and watched a Stephen Fry comedy show called "Absolute Power" which was fantastic! I hope they sell it for US dvd players, because I really need to watch the entire series.
Anyway, those were my last days in Melbourne. I was very sad to leave- and almost got very upset because my flight was messed up when I got to the airport this morning (I just barely got on and I have to call them later to get them to refund me some money). But I did make the flight and I slept for the hour of flying, and arrived in an airport about the size of Macarthur in Islip. Tasmania looks really nice so far. Low green mountains, cute "city", and a good temperature. I think this will be a good week, even if it is lonelier than the past week. I may not have internet while I'm out in the wilderness, so expect to hear from me again in a couple days (I'm back in Hobart on Friday).
Keep commenting!
Love,
Emma
Thursday:
Was a bit of a waste. Andrew and Norva were going to be out all day and night- they're working on a research proposal that was due Friday and ended up staying at work from 11am to 6am the next day (they also wanted me to write about how hard they were working because they thought my blog made it sound like they just hung out and had fun all day!). So, I got up to go to Queen Victoria Markets and was thinking about going to another movie in the afternoon. But I was in a weirdly depressed mood, probably because of my approaching departure from Melbourne. So I didn't enjoy the markets much, although I did buy a lot of good fruit, including "rock melon" otherwise known as cantalope. Then I decided that it was time to bake the Thank-You Challah that I had been planning for A&N. That took most of the afternoon, and it was going great until I took it out of the oven and discovered that it was badly burnt. Damn! I thought I had done the temperature conversion wrong (not something you usually have to worry about when baking!), but then I figured their oven must just be unusually hot. In any case, we ate most of it by the time I left, so it wasn't that bad.
Friday:
Felt a lot better. Mailed a bunch of stuff home, which made my backpack ridiculously light. I also met A&N's friend Philipa. She is a philosopher and a dancer- and is also Jewish and has agreed to host me for Passover. She was very nice and excited about my theater ambitions. She also has a large extended Jewish family in the area, so I think having Passover with them will be okay. We went to see a special exhibit at NGV Australia on Howard Arkley, an Australian artists who is famous for painting brightly colored suburban homes. It was really good, and nice to have company also. A&N came back in time for dinner in the evening, and we had raw oysters with dill (Andrew claimed that Norva once at something like 60 oysters in one sitting) and also guacamole, which they had never seen prepared before and were very impressed by. We played Sequence (the card/board game) and I even won a round.
Saturday:
I had been looking forward to going to an Australian race track since I discovered the racing schedule earlier in the week. It did not disappoint! We didn't rush to the track, but we made it there around the 4th race, in time for Norva to enter the fashion contest that was being held. It seems that in Australia, everyone wears hats to the track- well, not everyone, and not everyday, but they did yesterday. Norva hadn't gone all out, so she didn't win the contest, but it was fun to watch the other contestants too. They were really decked out- I'll have to post pictures next time I'm on. As for the betting, it went really well. I ended up winning $42 (bet two races and won two races!). I even suggested the horses that Andrew should bet, and he put a bet down for Norva, who ended up winning $80! He also bought a bottle of champagne which we sat around drinking while we watched the fashions and the races. It was a very good day! Afterwards we went out to Fitzroy for a late lunch/early dinner, and got ice cream from one of the well known ice cream places in Melbourne. Then we went home and watched a Stephen Fry comedy show called "Absolute Power" which was fantastic! I hope they sell it for US dvd players, because I really need to watch the entire series.
Anyway, those were my last days in Melbourne. I was very sad to leave- and almost got very upset because my flight was messed up when I got to the airport this morning (I just barely got on and I have to call them later to get them to refund me some money). But I did make the flight and I slept for the hour of flying, and arrived in an airport about the size of Macarthur in Islip. Tasmania looks really nice so far. Low green mountains, cute "city", and a good temperature. I think this will be a good week, even if it is lonelier than the past week. I may not have internet while I'm out in the wilderness, so expect to hear from me again in a couple days (I'm back in Hobart on Friday).
Keep commenting!
Love,
Emma
1 Comments:
Hey, I liked the day at the races too! First time at a real horsey race, first time betting with a real bookie (not just at a betting shop). Then delicious pancakes and wicked ice cream (for last I blame Emma). Hope Tassie has good weather - and glad you enjoyed the great Gordon River trip! Andrew
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