Petting Kangaroos

This past week was filled with a bunch of activities. Since Saleh had not experienced the wonder of baking a cake in the microwave, we made sure that happened. He got to mix it up and nuke it for 5 minutes. Since the middle didn’t cook again, we are thinking on putting a cup in the middle.. Who knows? Liz’s birthday is coming up in a week so we have to make sure that we have it perfected by then.


Then on Thursday we went into the city after work to check out the Pixar Exhibit at Federation Square. They didn’t allow pictures, but I was so tempted to sneak pictures of all the sketches of Nemo, Sully and Dori. They even showed things from the short films like “Geri’s Game” and “For the Birds” which I love. I totally thought of my sister because we constantly quote lines from Disney movies; especially “Finding Nemo”. But we got to take pictures with Mike and Sully from Monster’s Inc after and then we treated ourselves to gelato after. We all tried each others and ate it out in the rain because Saleh insisted it is something you have to do before we die. Then before going back home we stopped by Hungry Jack’s which is like Burger King in the US. Although I did not indulge in the fast food goodness, I could tell is was the same as the fast food in the states, just with a cooler name.

On Friday we had a little office party which was great because we got to mingle with everyone we have seen in the halls, but never really knew. Then towards the end Wojtek and Slavisa invited us to play some table tennis. I had no idea what I was getting myself into! I thought it was going to be a friendly game, but when they walked in with their own paddles in a case, I was a little intimidated. We still had fun and it was neat to watch the two of them play because they rallied really fast! The rest of us played doubles and tried to rally more than two times. Maybe we will have to work on it for next time!

Saturday was our big day. We booked a trip to Phillip Island which included a full day of wine tasting, a wild animal park, a great view of the ocean, and watching a colony of penguins waddle up from the shore to their nests. Our tour guide, Peter, talked about his adventures and since he was born and raised in Melbourne, he knew much of the history. Starting off the trip we stopped at Gurdies Winery and it was great to see some of the country. Being stuck in the city since we arrived, it was our first chance to breathe fresh air and see green hills. Luckily there was no rain, and the big clouds made the blue sky even more beautiful.

We then left for the wild animal park. It had a ton of animals and we got to see them up close. There were crocodiles, Tasmanian devils, koalas, wallabies, wombats, sheep, dingoes, and most importantly kangaroos. They were the best part and not to mention SO cute! I really wanted to take a Joey home with me! Too bad they are too big to put in your suit case. But we would feed them and they would stand up and grab your had with a death grip until they were finished eating. They were friendly and even the mama kangaroos with the Joey in their pouch came up to us for a bite to eat. I could have stayed there for an hour longer, but it was time to hit the road and check out Phillip Island.

Our tour guide drove across the island to the Nobbies, which have a bunch of seals in the summer. At this time of the year the rocks were bare, but the view was breathtaking. The sun was setting as we walked along the cliffs and searched for little penguins in their nests under the boardwalk. It reminded me a lot of Monterey but the penguins were addition. Then we drove straight over to the penguin walk. At night they come up from the ocean to their nests. It is a huge tourist attraction and bus loads of people freeze their butts off to watch the little critters waddle their way up. The big bully seagulls made their journey difficult. Since they know each night they come out of the water they pretend to dive bomb them and scare them back in the water. Stupid birds! But on our way up from the beach we got pretty close to them and we could hear their unique sound. Before driving home, we stopped for pizza and we got to mingle with people from all around the globe. People from Spain, Korea, and Taiwan shared stories and since our tour guide had been to most of these places he had a lot to add.


On Sunday, we all went to church on Collins street and walked up to the Victoria Market. All the girls bought the funny looking beanies so we can wear them next week on the Great Ocean Road tour. I explored more of the produce part of the market and found a great place to buy fruits and veggies along with a part that had a bunch of yummy deli items. Then we each tried a jelly dough nut because there was a line a mile long for them and they seemed pretty popular. They tasted like regular dough nuts to me!

Then around 7:00 we ventured over to David’s house for a nice home cooked meal, and it was delicious! He made the whole meal and since he is a vegetarian, it was filled with fresh veggies. He made potato soup, a huge Greek salad, lasagna, gnocchi, and curry lentils with rice. Dessert was fresh fruit with vanilla ice cream. We all ate too much! His wife and daughters were very nice and welcoming. It was nice to spend a night at home.
Now that we have a routine, the weeks are going by fast. Monday through Friday fly by just like the school year does. Hopefully we get to fit in all that we have planned. My mom and sister are coming in a few weeks and I am so excited to show them around. I feel like I know the city and train system by heart, so they will have their own personal tour guide.