Never Grow Up

I had a really great Sunday last weekend. It was like the carefree summer from when you were twelve, plus the independence and self-sufficiency of being twenty. The best of both worlds? I think so.

D and I started with a classy visit to the International Jazz Fest that had been going on all week. We went to a (free) performance at Federation Square, which was mellow and had a great atmosphere. It was a great day, and heaps of people were just hanging out, enjoying the weather and music.

The band was named Kid Life Crisis. I want to be the bassist.

Then we made it down the street to the Arts Centre Street Fair, where we proceeded to buy a few souvs and some deliciously adorable cupcakes. Each cupcake flavor had a short personality description, sort of like a horoscope. My Peppermint Twist cupcake said I was stubborn. Fair enough.

My Lemon Squeeze cupcake was heavenly, but not quite as delicious as my Peppermint Twist one.

The cupcakes reminded us that we were famished. There was construction going on the tram tracks, which was a huge blessing in disguise. We were forced to get off the tram before we were even halfway to our destination and switch to a bus, but we decided to grab a bite to eat first. We found the best, hole-in-the-wall, everyone-dreams-about-it-because-they-see-stuff-like-it-in-the-movies-and-wish-it-was-there-hangout-spot cafe, called Monkey. Can you guess why?

How many monkeys can you spot in this picture?

We sat in this hidden patio in the back, with about 300 different monkey-related decorations and a group of regulars (so jealous). We played a never-ending game of checkers while we ate our mmm-that-hit-the-spot sandwiches.

Are there even real monkeys in Australia?

With full bellies, we headed to our main attraction for the day - Luna Park, an amusement park in St. Kilda. We got unlimited passes and boy, did we make the most of those. With only two hours left until closing, we rode at least twelve of the fifteen or so rides in the entire park.

 

Bumper cars were hilarious. The ride guide actually had to give us directions over the loudspeaker because we were struggling so hard.

I had forgotten how fun theme parks are! We screamed louder than all the kids in the park combined, and I'm pretty sure I haven't laughed that hard since middle school. My abs were sore.

 

In the cage before one of the crazy upside-downers! They're surprisingly not huge on the security thing, we felt like we were falling out our seats the whole time!

Our stomachs were a little queasy after this one, but it was so worth it.

6 o'clock rolled around, and we were forced to leave after squeezing in a private ride on the flying Dumbo elephants. But what night is complete without some more sweets?

Overwhelming, right? Don't even get me started.

We compared at least five different bakeries on the Esplanade, and finally settled on one that had a dark chocolate slice for me and a pavlova for D. The perfect ending to a perfect day.

Adventures of Linus, Belle, and Velma in Perth

Our quick weekend trip to Perth was fun-filled and relaxing. Perth is the home of the most beautiful beaches in Australia, and we definitely took full advantage.

A peaceful round of yoga before we were chased off the grass by cardio boxers.

We took a ferry to the very remote Rottnest Island. It was the epitome of Australia - gorgeous and fun all around the coast with an almost completely empty centre. There were almost no roads and maybe three cars on the whole island. Biking was the most efficient form of travel.

Our bikes had affectionate names - Linus, Belle, and Velma.

Rottnest Island was also home to the adorable Quokka.

Known by some (me) as a Wallarat: wallaby + rat.

Public transportation was comme çi, comme ça. Let's just say we did quite a bit of walking. I'm still not sure if he was joking, but one Australian told us to visit King's Park, "It's huge, way bigger than Central Park." Okay sure, bigger than CP, but size isn't everything. King's Park was a giant untamed bushland. I thought I was in the savannahs of Lion King. Rafiki, is that you?

We trekked through King's Park to the Botanic Gardens to see this view of the Perth Central Business District just after sunset. And then we walked into the Perth CBD.

And then we walked to the airport with all our 15 kg of luggage.

And then we walked to the airport. Note we were carrying our luggage throughout this odyssey.

For the grand finale - no trip with me is complete without loads of food, especially after all that walking. Exhibit A: The Family Size "The Works" pizza:

..with extra pineapple.

Breadtop

I can't justify buying more clothes, but food is a necessity. Recently, "shopping" has come to mean scanning the streets for the next café, restaurant, or, my personal favorite, the bakery.

Everytime I see the glowing yellow lights of a Breadtop Bakery, I'm drawn in like a fly to the zapper.

Of all the bakeries in Melbourne, Breadtop takes the cake (haha I so funny). Every puffy bread with a delicious filling that I've tried has been heavenly, there's heaps of variety (from twin sausage rolls to pineapple coconut buns to chocolate mocca gateaux), and it's the cheap.

And this is only one half of one wall of one Breadtop!

Yesterday, I semi-unintentionally went on a self-guided tour of Breadtops in Melbourne. I literally walked into six different Breadtops in two hours. A few more weeks of this, and you're going to be calling me Muffintop. But hey, look at the bright side, maybe then I will need to buy some new clothes..

A New Coffee Convert

I ordered my first cappuccino this weekend, and it came with COCOA POWDER on top.

Almost too beautiful to drink.

The next day, I got an iced coffee, and it came with ICE CREAM. (I have yet to try an iced chocolate, but I'm pretty confident it's going to be heaven in my mouth.)

Sorry Dunkin Donuts, it's not you, it's me. I like ice cream.

RIP - Notes from my deathbed

All this traveling and general enjoying of life has finally caught up to me. I had big plans for my second weekend in Melbourne (the only other time I spent the weekend in the city was over a month ago): I wanted to visit a tiny spa town called Daylesford, climb Mount Macedon, hike in the Grampians, and just show my parents around Melbourne.

Zero of that happened (unless you count my delusional dream-state). I’ve been in bed for almost 72 hours straight. In addition to sleeping for probably 70 of those hours, the most I’ve eaten in the past three days is probably a generous piece of bread. But I’ll spare you all the gory details and get to my point.

While at my parents’ hotel, I caught up on some American television. No, not The Office, Modern Family, or How I Met Your Mother. Instead, I watched heaps of shows on the Discovery Channel, with special emphasis on all the delicious (and not so delicious) food that I couldn’t eat.

I watched everything from Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations to Andrew Zimmern’s Bizarre Foods, but I was most captivated by America’s pigout competitions. [Discovery Channel - shame on you for airing these shows internationally, no wonder everyone thinks Americans are all fat and zero brain. Who else would willingly attempt to swallow an entire 5-pound Philly cheesesteak in under an hour? That would be Adam Richman, host of Man v. Food, and the worst part? He was successful.. in a mere 28 minutes. It was pretty disgusting, but so enchanting.]

So, America is super-sized, but these make McDonald's look like that vegan and organic market down the street that's too hippie to have a name. A few impressive “Made in America” creations really stuck with me:

1. The 7-pound breakfast burrito – what better way to start off your day than by eating a burrito the size of a newborn baby?

If a woman finishes this feast, she eats at the restaurant for free for the rest of her life.

2. The 50-pound burger - enough to feed all the starving children of the world, or one high school boys’ basketball team.

[Apologies for the lack of images, but seeing another abnormally large piece of greasy/fried anything will surely make me spew.]

3. A pizza so big that it is delivered in a custom-made wooden box, loaded in the back of a pick-up truck, and will not fit through your two front doors.

4. A restaurant (opened by a former nutritionist, WOW) called the Heart Attack Grill. Their most intense burger is aptly named the Quadruple Bypass. If you can finish it, “nurse”-waitresses will escort you to your car in a wheelchair. Also, if you weigh more than 350 pounds, you eat free.

Oh America, how I miss you.

Sydney: the Sequel

With a limited number of weekends left, I didn't want to double dip, but I agreed to return to Sydney last weekend to meet up with my folks. Luckily for me, it was a completely different experience.

Here's the cast:

Me: Resident expert on all things Australian.

Dad: First move upon arrival in Australia? Trying to get into the taxi driver’s seat. The driver sits on the RIGHT side of the car, as if our accents and general cluelessness didn’t give away our foreignness already.

Mom: Not significantly impressed by the Sydney Opera House. Reluctant to walk the 100 extra metres to the front of the building, she stated, “So? It looks like all the postcards.”

Don't worry, we did eventually convince her to make the trek to the Opera House steps.

And a few teasers:

• We climbed to the top of the 134 metre high Harbour Bridge. [Cameras weren’t allowed on our climb, so the climb leader took a few pictures for us. I had a sick shot of me jumping off the side of the bridge, only to find out later that it was an “illegal shot” that I couldn't keep. Come on, Australia, I thought you were laid back.]

My super sexy climbing onesie. Look for it in next month's J. Crew magazine.

• We went to the Blue Mountains, and descended the Giant Stairway (1000 steep steps to the bottom), saw the Three Sisters (another stack of pretty Australian rocks), and admired numerous more waterfalls. There was a train that could take you back up to the start of the hike, but I don't roll with cheaters. We climbed up the Furber Steps instead, a slightly easier route than the Giant Stairway.

All smiles on the way down.

• We ate dinner at an excellent Korean restaurant, tucked away in a back alley, and recommended by the man working in the Korean convenience store. Always trust the Asian man behind the counter.

East Side! (Gold Coast)

[The Gold Coast is on the eastern side of Australia, just south of Brisbane, between Sydney and Cairns.]

The 2K open water swim was definitely a highlight of my Gold Coast trip last weekend, but that wasn’t all I did.

Sitting on the border between New South Wales and Queensland, the town of Coolangatta, where our hostel was located, didn’t have a whole lot. Its “mall” was composed of two supermarkets and a PayLess Shoestore.

Nearby Surfers Paradise, however, had much more to offer young and spontaneous girls like us. We spent most of our weekend there. Streets were filled with cafes, restaurants, bars, and clubs. There was plenty of shopping and the beach was just across the street. My only complaint was that the name of the town was so misleading – there is no surfing in Surfers Paradise.

Club #4 of the 5-stop club crawl we attended Friday and Saturday nights

Not to worry though, because we made the wise decision to attempt surfing in Coolangatta on Sunday afternoon. In addition to having two never-touched-a-surf-board-before newbies on our team, the current was strong, the waves were big, and our arms were tired from the swim race that we completed a mere 3 hours prior. As expected, success was minimal. But don’t get me wrong – lying on a surfboard and drifting towards Fiji was still quite fun.

The best ride I had all weekend :)

We also spent a day touring the inlands of Springbrook, complete with a fruit-tasting at Fruit World (my personal paradise) and a viewing of several more waterfalls I can’t remember the name of.

I ate heaps of dragonfruit, jackfruit, all sorts of papaya, starfruit, and custard apple!

Unfortunately, we did not make it to Byron Bay. Known for its beautiful beaches, snorkeling, and surfing, that is one beach town that will have to wait for next time.

Picture of the Day: Never Have I Ever..

..eaten an avocado this delicious.

Courtesy Stall 43, Queen Vic Market

Queen Victoria Market

A fresh produce/fish market/raw meat/cooked meat delicatessen/bakery/international food stand/cocktail bar/smoothie shop/clothing and artisan dealer under one giant awning, conveniently located less than a 10 minute stroll from my front door. Incredibly fresh, relatively cheap, and stocked with the friendliest farmers (and their sons).

Fresh produce by day...

Including vegetables, fruit, meat, fish...

And all sorts of international material goodies...

Followed by an international food fest at night...

Where I tried my first emu burger.

Out of the 6 days I've been in Melbourne, and I've visited Queen Vic 4 times. It can definitely get overwhelming when there are over forty different stands from which I need to pick three tomatoes and a few peaches, and I always end up buying more than I set out for, but Queen Vic is definitely hitting high on my "favorite things in Melbourne" list.

I Like to Eat

Meat: Usually barbequed and often found in sausage form.

An Aussie Sausage Sizzle during our first night in Cairns

We ate at a restaurant called the Cock n’ Bull.

One of my favorites so far has been the traditional Australian Outback Barbeque, not to be confused with Outback Steakhouse, which shouldn't even dream of competing with the real stuff. My plate was a heaping mess.

Move in with me, please!

You probably know I hate when things that don’t belong together mix, so allowing my steak to touch my potatoes took some getting used to.

International food: An infinite number of Chinese / Japanese / Indian / Malaysian / Thai / Vietnamese / Italian restaurants line the streets.

The biggest sushi rolls I've ever seen

Australian food: There's so many foods from different cultures that I’m still not exactly sure what Australian food is. All I know so far is Vegemite, emu, kangaroo, and crocodile. (I've tried the first two.)

I ate Vegemite on toast at my first breakfast. I don't hate it, but it definitely doesn't taste like Nutella.

Queen Victoria Market: My favorite place in the world deserves its own post. You won't be disappointed.