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| Melbourne along the Yarra River at night. |
Friday, April 13, 2012
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Footy Game!!!!
Australian football is much easier to understand than American football. I've been watching American football for years and I still don't understand most of the rules. One footy game and I was hooked and able to follow the action. My friend Geoff was kind enough to show Marie and I to an amazing game between two rival teams from the city. It's the first time I've been to a game where half the stadium is for one team and the other half for the other. Very exciting and fun to watch. Geoff is part of the members club at the stadium so we were treated to a delicious meal ( both Marie and I agreed the steak was superb and we could have eaten another one each) and the drinks flowed constantly.
AFL players, contrary to NFL players, aren't allowed to drink during the football season and also have curfews. They also don't use padding but are only allowed to tackle between the hips and the neck. I also have a new crush, in my opinion he's the best on the Hawks team, and number 23 and I will be married in approximately two years. I am a new fan though and expect to see more games in the future.
Today I checked out the St. Kilda area beach and the Docklands. It's been pretty cold and windy here and there was a storm rolling in, so no swimming right now, but I love the smell of the ocean and being by the water. First time seeing the Indian Ocean as well.
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| Melbourne Cricket Ground |
Today I checked out the St. Kilda area beach and the Docklands. It's been pretty cold and windy here and there was a storm rolling in, so no swimming right now, but I love the smell of the ocean and being by the water. First time seeing the Indian Ocean as well.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Out and About
Today we walked through the Southern Cross Station, which is the newest train station in Melbourne and is also one of the top ten recognized stations in the world for its architecture. The building is massive with a very unique ceiling similar to an upside down skateboarding park.
We did some shopping for an outfit for later that night. Malls are very similar here but the quality of clothing appears to be much lower and any sense of style from the common Australian is severely lacking. Marie said it's very relaxed and anything goes. Personally, I like to look a little put together before appearing in public in what looks like half pajamas and half workout clothes. The term for it out here is "bogan" meaning trashy. It just looks like a lot of homeless walking around.
Australians know nothing about what Mexican food should taste like or how to make a margarita. Last night we went out for Marie's flatmate's birthday to Mexicali Rose, a wanna be mexican restaurant. I wasn't impressed. The nachos had a horribly small amount of cheese, and the quesadilla wasn't good either. All the cheese and chicken was in the middle of the quesadilla and spilling out the top and the rest of the quesadilla was empty. I asked for a margarita with salt and I got a tequila martini that was amazingly sour and strong. We ended up dumping it into the frozen margaritas. After the restaurant we headed to The Richmond Club which has three levels. A footy game (Australian football which is a cross between rugby and American football, not soccer, to be honest I haven't figured it out quite yet) was on so there were lots of guys there but they paid no attention to our wolfpack of about ten girls. Marie and I had guys come up and talk to us, including one very drunk Frenchie who knew all the words to De La Soul's Ring Ring Ring and sang it to Marie from the across the bar. We hung out there most of the night and at about 1 am were headed to another bar but couldnät get in, so we got some kebabs of lamb and chicken from a small diner. The kebabs here are basically what a gyo is in the states. The Greek/Lebanese/Isreali food here is pretty darn good and much more satisfying than the sad attempt at Mexican from earlier.
Today we are having a movie marathon here at Marie's flat, since a movie here costs $18. We opted for the cheap lazy route today and it's kinda nice to just sit around and do nothing for once.
We did some shopping for an outfit for later that night. Malls are very similar here but the quality of clothing appears to be much lower and any sense of style from the common Australian is severely lacking. Marie said it's very relaxed and anything goes. Personally, I like to look a little put together before appearing in public in what looks like half pajamas and half workout clothes. The term for it out here is "bogan" meaning trashy. It just looks like a lot of homeless walking around.
Australians know nothing about what Mexican food should taste like or how to make a margarita. Last night we went out for Marie's flatmate's birthday to Mexicali Rose, a wanna be mexican restaurant. I wasn't impressed. The nachos had a horribly small amount of cheese, and the quesadilla wasn't good either. All the cheese and chicken was in the middle of the quesadilla and spilling out the top and the rest of the quesadilla was empty. I asked for a margarita with salt and I got a tequila martini that was amazingly sour and strong. We ended up dumping it into the frozen margaritas. After the restaurant we headed to The Richmond Club which has three levels. A footy game (Australian football which is a cross between rugby and American football, not soccer, to be honest I haven't figured it out quite yet) was on so there were lots of guys there but they paid no attention to our wolfpack of about ten girls. Marie and I had guys come up and talk to us, including one very drunk Frenchie who knew all the words to De La Soul's Ring Ring Ring and sang it to Marie from the across the bar. We hung out there most of the night and at about 1 am were headed to another bar but couldnät get in, so we got some kebabs of lamb and chicken from a small diner. The kebabs here are basically what a gyo is in the states. The Greek/Lebanese/Isreali food here is pretty darn good and much more satisfying than the sad attempt at Mexican from earlier.
Today we are having a movie marathon here at Marie's flat, since a movie here costs $18. We opted for the cheap lazy route today and it's kinda nice to just sit around and do nothing for once.
Friday, April 6, 2012
First Day In The Land Of OZ
After the longest flight of my life on I think the largest plane I have ever been on, (747) I have finally reached Melbourne. Marie picked me up at the airport and we took the tram to her house. Not only does the toilet water not flow in the opposite direction, but the toilet is also in a seperate room from the shower. She also has possums living on her porch. It is hot as balls here today as well. We decided to hit the city as soon as I was unpacked to get some sights in.
First up was lunch and we ate at a quaint greek bistro on packed back ally next to various other tiny cafes and bistros. The food was pretty good but a little dry. (Interesting tidbit, Burger King is called Hungry Jacks here because some other franchise here had already licensed the name Burger King).
Marie showed me some of the more popular sights in downtown Melbourne, such as Federation Square which holds what is considered the ugliest building in the city, Flinders Street Station, the Yarra River, and her hotel, Intercontinental Melbourne: The Rialto. Flinders Street Station is the old train station in the city which was basically deserted when Southern Cross Station was built. The building itself was supposedly meant to have been built in Panama, but somehow the blueprints were switched around and the building was constructed here.
The Yarra River flows throughout most of Victoria and takes up a prominent path through the city with various pubs, bars, and elegant restaurants along its banks.
The Rialto where Marie works is one of the oldest building in the city and survived several
renovations. The building has been around since the early days of the Australian Gold Rush and used to be an important distribution center for goods such as wheat, wool, etc. Now it's a very posh hotel with much of the original brick work still in place. The photo below is of the Bluestone Bar inside the hotel which used to be open to the outside. This is where the horses and wagons would line up to be loaded up with products.
We wandered around a bit more and are now camped out in her living room watching Australian sports. Which I don't understand, but the guys are hot, so I'm okay with watching. Also Australian money looks like Monopoly money, so I'm headed out to buy Park Place.
First up was lunch and we ate at a quaint greek bistro on packed back ally next to various other tiny cafes and bistros. The food was pretty good but a little dry. (Interesting tidbit, Burger King is called Hungry Jacks here because some other franchise here had already licensed the name Burger King).
Marie showed me some of the more popular sights in downtown Melbourne, such as Federation Square which holds what is considered the ugliest building in the city, Flinders Street Station, the Yarra River, and her hotel, Intercontinental Melbourne: The Rialto. Flinders Street Station is the old train station in the city which was basically deserted when Southern Cross Station was built. The building itself was supposedly meant to have been built in Panama, but somehow the blueprints were switched around and the building was constructed here.
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| Flinders Street Station |
The Yarra River flows throughout most of Victoria and takes up a prominent path through the city with various pubs, bars, and elegant restaurants along its banks.
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| The Yarra River with the Eureka Skydeck towering to the left. |
The Rialto where Marie works is one of the oldest building in the city and survived several
We wandered around a bit more and are now camped out in her living room watching Australian sports. Which I don't understand, but the guys are hot, so I'm okay with watching. Also Australian money looks like Monopoly money, so I'm headed out to buy Park Place.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Falling Behind
My sister informed me I need to update on here and she is correct. i realized I have barely posted anything this year. It's been a super busy winter in Snowmass. I have been working 7 days a week and if I'm not working I'm sleeping. Or trying to.
Cool things I have done this season. Made it to 50 days of riding. Which is the most I have ever gotten in any year of snowboarding. I also went riding off the groomed trails into out of bounds territory which was so much fun, but also hard work. I did a moonlight hike up Buttermilk and hung out with a bunch of co-workers til 3 in the morning and then snowboarded down in the moonlight. That was pretty amazing. I took some pictures but they didn't turn out too well since the digital camera wouldn't let me adjust how long the shutter stayed open. I need an even better camera now I think.
I went to a Nuggets game and sadly watched the Pistons lose by one point. While this is not epic, I do love my sports games and to me, going to any game, is pretty exciting.
I can't think of too much else I have done. I did check out two other new resorts in CO that I have never been too. Winter Park and Loveland. I have to say, Loveland has the greatest amount of gapers and beginners I have ever seen in my life.
I have been using a new app this season called Alpine Replay. It allows you to track the runs you make while also recording the amount of vertical you drop, how long you're on the slopes, how many miles you did that day, etc. I have become quite addicted to it and got my friend to also start using it.
In one week I will be in the land down under and plan to have lots of things to blog about then. After that, I'm headed back to Hawaii for a visit. I have lots of plans for the summer as well, so hopefully I will have more to write about. I don't really have any photos relevant to this post, but here is a recent one from a days on the slopes.
Cool things I have done this season. Made it to 50 days of riding. Which is the most I have ever gotten in any year of snowboarding. I also went riding off the groomed trails into out of bounds territory which was so much fun, but also hard work. I did a moonlight hike up Buttermilk and hung out with a bunch of co-workers til 3 in the morning and then snowboarded down in the moonlight. That was pretty amazing. I took some pictures but they didn't turn out too well since the digital camera wouldn't let me adjust how long the shutter stayed open. I need an even better camera now I think.
I went to a Nuggets game and sadly watched the Pistons lose by one point. While this is not epic, I do love my sports games and to me, going to any game, is pretty exciting.
I can't think of too much else I have done. I did check out two other new resorts in CO that I have never been too. Winter Park and Loveland. I have to say, Loveland has the greatest amount of gapers and beginners I have ever seen in my life.
I have been using a new app this season called Alpine Replay. It allows you to track the runs you make while also recording the amount of vertical you drop, how long you're on the slopes, how many miles you did that day, etc. I have become quite addicted to it and got my friend to also start using it.
In one week I will be in the land down under and plan to have lots of things to blog about then. After that, I'm headed back to Hawaii for a visit. I have lots of plans for the summer as well, so hopefully I will have more to write about. I don't really have any photos relevant to this post, but here is a recent one from a days on the slopes.
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| Hot air balloon taking off in the early morning. |
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Bragging
I'm posting these photos from the fall trip to Aspen, mainly just cause I like them and think they are shareable. I forgot to post them before.
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| Maroon Bells |
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| Fall colors outside of Ashcroft |
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| Outdoor patio at the Jerome |
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| Yellow aspens on Cooper Street |
Chicka, Chicka, Yea-ah!!
11 days into my 100 days of riding this season. I have to be honest though, the conditions on the mountain are making it hard for me to force myself to get even just one run in. Since we have had no snow and there appears to be none in sight, I don't see it improving either. There are still some amazing views though.
I am trying my best to get some more photos as well, and hopefully this coming week with the full moon I'm going to shoot some night photos. Gotta find a partner to keep me company. Here are some more recent shots.
This first one is of the sunrise in Snowmass Village and the second is from the top of Elk Camp looking out toward Maroon Bells. The photo below is taken from the middle of Bull Run looking down on the village.
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| Top of Elk Camp just after noon. |
This first one is of the sunrise in Snowmass Village and the second is from the top of Elk Camp looking out toward Maroon Bells. The photo below is taken from the middle of Bull Run looking down on the village.
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