Well, the morning of the race, before we left, I had to decide how to adorn my head! The night before, Pippi and I had gone to Myers to check out head pieces. The head piece is a very important part of the whole outfit, you know. There were three I was looking at, but Pippi was like, "We'll just buy them all so you can try them on with your dress, and I'll return the other two later." So that is what I did.

Option 1: A head band with a small flower. Minimal flair.

Option 2: A headband with a poofy feather thing. Medium flair.

Option 3: A headband with lots of feathery things. More flair. So this is the one I went for.

So, Pippi and I got in the car and went to the races. You know, I don't really remember that many details, as this was four months ago. It's a good thing I have the pictures. Outside the front were some weird guys on stilts. I'd actually seem them in the Melbourne Cup Parade, which I had gone to see in the city earlier that week.

The stilt guys...I don't really remember, basically they thought a pretty girl like me needed some accompaniment (is that the right word? No?) for the day and they wanted to go in with me. It was weird.

But then I found Phar Lap, and he was cool! Here we are together:

So then Pippi and I went up to the Members Section. I wasn't a Member, but Pippi was able to secure a seat for me in the section anyway, though I had to sit at a table with strangers. But they were very nice strangers. They served us fancy food and white wine, which was gross, but I drank it anyway.

I bet on the first few races. If I liked the horse's name, or if the odds were really low that they'd win. Like 20 to 1 odds. I'd only ever bet fifty cents, a dollar, but I figured that if they did win, I would get a lot of money! But these horses kept losing. I guess that should not have surprised me. So I stopped betting. And then the very next race, you know who won? A horse with 100 to 1 odds. Yeah. I was mad. I guess that's what you get when you gamble.

Well, here are some pictures of races in action!

Well, first, here's the racetrack, or part of it.

A pretty sign.

More of an overview of the track and the city in the background.

Here's a horse I bet on. They prance around in a circle before they race, which is what they're doing here. #9 in the centre. I think his name was Dance Dance Dance or something like that. He lost.

Here am I. Waiting for the race to start.

Here's my horse losing. Or, rather, another horse winning.

Then Pippi and I went to visit Kevin. He was working, collecting bets and stuff. Here we are!

Then it was time for the main race of the day! The Stakes Race! I think. Yeah! Here is the back of some girls heads.

The race in progress.

Then, I decided to leave Pippi and the Members section behind for a second, and journey down to the ground to mingle amongst the riffraff. Here they are.

The riffraff were actually really cool, because they had their own singing and dancing penguin!

Finally it was time for the last race of the day. I decided I would give the betting thing one last shot. I decided to bet on Jukebox Johnny, because that was a good name! So I put some money on number 10. But when I got back to my table I realised Jukebox Johnny was #9, and I'd actually bet on some random horse. But I was like, "Whatever, they're all going to lose anyway." So I didn't care. But then, the horse I'd accidentally bet on won!! And I won $17! It was so exciting!!! I made back all the money I'd bet, plus $7 more. So, I decided gambling was fun after all.

After I went to collect my money, I ran into more creepy guys. They'd been drinking, I think. They said, "Hey, can we have our picture taken with you?" And I was like, "Um..." And Pippi was like, "Yeah! It'll make their day! Come on Kate, I'll take the picture!" So Pippi took their cell phone and they stood on either side of me and we had our picture taken. It was really strange.

But, on the plus side, they then took Pippi and I's photo. So here we are. I am clutching my winnings in my hand! Because I was very excited about it still.

And...that was the races. In as much detail as I remember, four months on. The end!

Spring Racing Carnival remains copyright of the author KateRarick, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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First, the hoola-hooping woman. She stood at the corner of Bourke and Swanston doing this all day, every day, for about a week or two. It was strange.

Also at that corner are three dashing businessmen. I'd been wanting to introduce myself all year long. In November, I finally worked up the courage to say hello.

Then, 6 November, Melbourne Cup Day, was also Zombie Day. When all the zombies meet in Carlton Gardens at high noon. Since I wasn't going to Melbourne Cup Day, I decided to check them out, though I stayed at a safe distance.

Later on, I was riding the tram home, looking out the window. Suddenly, out of nowhere, zombies were running at us, banging on the windows and saying something about brains. It was entertaining. So much so, that I got a t-shirt.

Photo credit for that last one goes to Chad. He's four.

Some Random Stuff remains copyright of the author KateRarick, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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First I visited some koalas.

Then some cool bird that likes to stand on one foot.

Next, I made friends with the local statues.

Then I went to play with kangaroos, wallabies, and emus.

I can't really tell the difference between smaller/baby kangaroos and wallabies. But maybe this is a wallaby, only because it's pregnant! Look at the pouch! It's harder to tell in this pic, but there were babies squirming in there. It was too cool.

I think a wallaby, looking up to say hello

Petting a wallaby

Hanging with the emus

They better be careful that kangaroo doesn't steal their baby

Next we went to visit the crocs. Here are some freshwater ones hiding beneath the muddy waters.

Then we went to visit the salt water ones - the really scary one. I was making friends with a salt water croc up above, by the way. But yeah. I don't think this picture does him justice. He was HUGE.

Here's a cute lizard or reptile of some sort who was scurrying around.

Next I found even more koalas! Here's one sleeping in a tree....with a baby!!

And here's another one, who woke up just for me. He was the only one.

Then I had a bit of a run in with an Aussie python, but don't worry, I was okay.

Last were the dingoes...but they were hiding and I couldn't get a very good picture. So I also took a picture of a nearby sign, because I found it quite interesting.

Finally, we shall end Queensland with a picture of a jacaranda tree. They were all over Queensland and I loved there. They dropped a carpet of purple petals everywhere. It was beautiful.

Queensland, Part 4: remains copyright of the author KateRarick, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Once up top I took a ton of pictures. The view was spectacular! Have a looksy for yourself.

Then there were a serious of spots that showed how many kms in that direction it was to various world locations:

Finally, there was a bug outside the window. I tried to make Bugzilla attack the city! It sort of worked.

Next we hit the main Surfer's Paradise Blvd. Here are some self-explanatory pictures.

After Surfer's, Pippi and I went shopping at Pacific Fair, which is one of her top favorite shopping centres. I thought the place we had lunch was cool, so pictures were taken. Plus, they had a really small merry-go-round.

And that was the end of that day! I hope you enjoyed that super long entry. Only one QLD entry remains! Stay tuned.

Queensland, Part 3: remains copyright of the author KateRarick, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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I played in the surf. Here are some pictures where you can see my head and, occasionally, even more:

When I got out to have a rest, I noticed the kids next to me where building sandcastles, so I decided to get in on the action.

Yes, I know, you're probably wondering what on earth that's supposed to be. Well, I'll have you know, it's a sand pyramid. With my initials. But seriously I don't know why I even tried. Look what the kids next to me had.


After that we left the beach and went to the supermarket. The date was...October 29th. I noticed their Halloween Pumpkin section and had to laugh (and photograph).

And that's all I have photos of from Saturday, so I'm going to end it here, even though it's a short entry. Sunday's entry should be long, so.

Queensland, Part 2: remains copyright of the author KateRarick, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Well, I went with my Aunt Pippi and we stayed with some friends of hers. On the way to their house from the airport, I took a picture of the car in front of ours, because I liked the plate:

That night...I think we had pizza or something. The next morning, we got up and drove an hour and a half south, back into NSW, to visit Byron Bay and the Easternmost point of Australia!

We first drove up to the Byron Bay Lighthouse. Here is it is:

Then I took some pictures of the Bay itself:

Next I began my trek to the Easternmost point. I ventured alone, as Pippi didn't fancy the walk. Here I am at the start.

Finally I reached it...so I thought...oh, but I was wrong. This was only a sign pointing out to where it was.

There was a still further trek to actually get there. It was actually all the way down there.

But still I ventured on. This really turned into quite the trek. I keep using the word trek. But it was, I think, about a 2.5km walk round trip. Up and down extremely steep stairs.

Along the way, I happened to notice a sign.

I was so excited, I hadn't realised that I was in what would be considered rainforest!!!!! So I immediately looked up and took a picture of the rainforest above me.

And then of the ocean through the rainforest.

Almost to the tip! But first, ooh, an inviting side path leading down to the beach. I had to check it out.

Here are some more pictures, including one with me, taken by a nice stranger.

Next I continued on towards the tip. Here it is, the picture taken from as close as you can get, without climbing over the fence.

It was really rocky and wavy down there. Not the guy fishing in the second picture. I've no idea how he got down there, but he was cool.

Next I walked back up all the stairs and almost died, but luckily didn't. Then Pippi and I got fish and chips and ate it on the beach. Finally, I went for a lovely swim in the bay and enjoying playing in the surf. Jumping over the waves - or under them if they were too big for me. Pippi took lots of pictures of this, I think, but I don't have any of them, so you can't see them.

Later that night, we went to the Australian Outback Spectacular, which is sort of like...dinner, plus rodeo, plus musical? It's basically a show in an arena, with lots of cool outbacky things, and you eat dinner while you watch. Well, here's a picture of people milling around before it started.

Before it started, I went to the bathroom, and I must say, I loved their toilets. I took a picture, because it was the best example I'd ever seen of this cool little feature which American toilets sorely lack.

They didn't let you take pictures during the show unfortunately. But, here is a picture of me afterwards. Yes, I know, what an awesome hat. We all got one. Good times.

And...thus shall end part 1.

Queensland, Part 1: remains copyright of the author KateRarick, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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I like signs like this.

A lovely piece of art. With me underneath it.

Next I went to the MCG. I don't have a picture of it because I was too close to get much of it in my camera. It's too big. So here's someone else's picture of it. It's a lot better than mine would have been.

While there, I made friends with some former footy stars.

Next to the MCG is a bridge. Here I am on it.

Under the bridge go lots and lots and lots of trains. Here is one.

A bit outside the stadium, I ran into some blokes playing footy. They invited me to join their game. I said, "Sure!" I tried to tackle them, but they were a bit too tall.

Next I went to one of the stadiums where they trained for the Olympics when they were here in 1956. They actually held them across the road at the MCG.

Poor bus stop sign.

Next we came to Batman Ave, which I think has a cool name. I wanted a picture with the street sign, but I couldn't find one. This is the best I could do.

Finally, the Yarra River. Including cool boat people.

My final comment is that I have such long hair in all of these photos. For those not in the know, my hair now looks like this:

Hope you enjoyed. Shall be back with QLD entires (also featuring my former hair) sometime soonish! Unless I decide to study for my Health and PE exam.

Kate Visits Melbourne Landmarks of Varying Degrees of Fame remains copyright of the author KateRarick, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Well, when I got there, I sat at our table next to my Aunt Susan. Here we are.

I was also sitting next to James.

Also at our table were Stacey, James' friend Orson, and Mark and Nicki, though they were running late and had not yet arrived.

Stacey, as it turns out, had organised the event, so they gave her lots of flowers.

James hosted the night. Here he is, hosting.

When I got there, I found out that they were having a raffle! Raffles are fun. Tickets were 3 for a dollar, but as I had only a 20 and didn't really want to buy 60 tickets, I went to the bar to break it. I returned with a raspberry vodka and 3 fives. I bought 15 tickets and sat down with my drink. And just in time! Because then we all stood up and toasted the Queen, which I thought was pretty fun. Here she is.

I didn't win any prizes after the first round of raffle giveaways, so I bought 15 more tickets. Then we had dinner. I had lamb. It was good. And then they called out more raffle winners and...Kate won! Woo-hoo! Here is my new plant and candle set.

Then James got up to resume hosting duties. He announced that his cousin had come all the way from America to the banquet and that I had made a special request. Apparently, I wanted more than anything to have my picture taken with a bunch of men in uniform. This was, of course, a fabrication on James' part, but the men in their fire uniforms all stood up and we were photographed. We're facing the official photographer, so this picture is just from the side, but hopefully I'll get a copy of the other photo sometime.

After we sat down, some guy wanted to talk to me because I was American. He was kinda annoying, so hopefully he won't read this. But he kept mocking my accent, and not in a good-natured way either. Not really the way to endear a girl. But luckily he went away after a while and I resumed my meal.

Then it was dancing time. I was enjoying talking to Mark and Sue, but then annoying guy came and yanked me out of my chair and said I had to dance with him. I didn't particularly want to dance with him, so I stood next to him while he did some weird air guitar thing. And then he went away. So that was good. But then I decided that as I was up and on the dance floor, I would dance anyway. Various people hijacked my camera and photographed this. So here I am.

The Macarena

I think the next two are from the Nutbush. I don't look like I'm having much fun in the second (though I was), but James more than makes up for this with his enthusiasm.

Myself, Mark, and James on a dance break.

At some point during the night, Mark, Stacey, and Nicki photographed themselves with my camera. Here they are.

Finally, it was time to go home. Mark and Nicki didn't want (or weren't able) to drive, so they came in our car. Except they didn't fit, so we broke the law.

But after we dropped off my Aunt Susan, we all fit. So here are myself, Mark, and Stacey in the back.

Then we went back to James and Stacey's. At about 2am our time, Mark and James decided they had to know, right then, what baseball team my dad went for. And they wouldn't believe me when I said that he really didn't follow the sport. So they decided to call my family. So that was interesting. So, family, I hope this puts that interesting call into the context of the rest of our night.

After that, I went to bed. And that was the night.

CFA Banquet remains copyright of the author KateRarick, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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So, the family got in the car and drove about an hour and a half to Rochwood Winery, where much fun was had.

There was food, games for kids, and, strangely enough, lots and lots of country music. Even a performer from Nashville!

When we got there, the security people took our umbrellas, saying they were not allowed. Apparently umbrellas are a danger at large gatherings? But they later gave them back, deciding it'd be safe after all.

This was a good thing, since it rained!

But then it stopped. Hooray!

Here is a picture of Myles chilling out on my lap.

At some point in the day, I noticed that there was a giant kangaroo and giant koala wandering around. I later learnt that they were Ranger Roo and Captain Koala. I was so excited!! I wanted to have my picture taken with them. But I couldn't get close enough to them. Too many kids!

So I convinced Amity that it was actually her who really wanted her picture with the giant animals. She asked if I would please take her to be photographed with Ranger Roo and Captain Koala, and I kindly obliged.

Off we went!

Ranger Roo!!

Captain Koala!!!

Also, at some point during the day, Amity had her first try at drinking out of a big girl cup (as opposed to bottle). But she couldn't get it to work and was sad. I think she can do it now though But anyway, I thought I ought to capture the occasion, so here it is!

And that was the family fun day! Yay!

CFA Family Fun Day remains copyright of the author KateRarick, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Anyway, on the Saturday, we picked up some Fish and Chips and had a picnic by the beach. A famous beach, or one my mom likes a lot. Mother's Beach or something like that. Here are a few pictures.

Very pretty. Then on Sunday, we went to have lunch at the Royal Hotel. I couldn't get anymore of it in the picture because if I'd stepped back any further I would have fallen off a cliff. But it was very pretty, so here it is:

We did other things that weekend, including going out to dinner and seeing Chuck and Larry, and visiting Mark's grandmother, and watching Nicki's brother play footy, and going to a pub, and then to a nightclub, which I didn't really enjoy all too much. The latter, I mean. But the rest was awesome fun, I just have no photos.

Another time, the Friday before the Grand Final, I went to see the AFL parade. The AFL being the Australian Football League, being the most popular sport in Victoria. It's different both from soccer and American football, and is around here known mainly as footy. The Grand Final is the championship game and the Friday before they have a massive parade downtown. Here are a bunch of people at the parade who should probably be at work.

I also captured some videos of the parade, mainly to get the team songs, because they were fun! I know videos never seem to work when I embed them, but I think these videos will work. I've figured out that the reason videos weren't working before was because I had set them to private. That would explain why I could see them but no one else could. Very smart of me. Anyway, I've gone back and fixed the old videos I posted. For your viewing convenience, they are located in entries: here, here, and here. Enjoy.

Port Adelaide Power's Team Song

Geelong Cat's Team Song

A Random Snippet of Speech

The Lord Mayor of Melbourne. I like the way he claps.

Finally, another time, a few weeks ago, over spring break, I went to see Phantom of the Opera with Emily at the Princess Theatre. As I was a loser, I totally forgot my camera, so I don't have any pictures actually from the day. But I went back later to take pictures. In 20 years, I probably won't remember they were taken a week later, so we can pretend.

The end! For now.

More Various Stuff remains copyright of the author KateRarick, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Here is me burping Amity.

Here is Myles smiling and being cute.

Phillip holding Amity.

But then she got sad, so he gave her back.

On another occasion, the twins came to visit Pippi's house! Here they are asleep on her bed.

Then Myles woke up, so we had a bit of a photo shoot. First, I held him up next to Flopsy bunny, to show how they're about the same size.

Then we did the myspace picture.

And the emospace (thanks again, Jonathan, for teaching me these terms). Myles was really cooperative and knew just where to look.

Here are the babies playing together! Note how they can hold up their heads and everything. They'll be walking in no time.

Here's Myles playing with one of the giraffes that Pippi and I gave him and his sister before they were even born!

Finally, we'll end with an Amity photo-spam. This occurred when I was trying to get a picture of her smiling, but I kept just missing it. I finally got her smiling, but with my finger in her mouth, because she wanted something to suck on.

Various Pictures Involving My First Cousins Once Removed remains copyright of the author KateRarick, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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I'd just gotten out of school for the day and had taken the 112 tram to Fitzroy Street, where I was waiting to catch the 96 tram to go home.

Here I am!

At the corner of Park and Fitzroy. Waiting for the 96 to St Kilda Beach. Stop number 134. Very nice sign.

There's my tram! Ooh, it's one of the really new, super fancy ones. Get excited!

Here's the inside of my tram. It's pretty empty.

So I began the second leg of my trip home. But when I got off the tram, I thought to myself, "Today is a beautiful day! It really feels like spring! Let's go to the beach and build a sandcastle!"

So off I went.

But it wasn't really THAT warm, so I didn't want to get actually wet or anything, so I didn't go that close to the water. The result was that I was working with only somewhat moist sand. But I think I still built a pretty nifty hill/castle.

Then I thought that I really ought to get a picture of the builder with her wonderful creation. But as there was no one else around, I was forced to try a self-photo. I'm really bad at those. Here are just a few of my attempts.

And that was my sandcastle. Ta-da!

Kate Goes to the Beach and Builds a Sandcastle remains copyright of the author KateRarick, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Well, first semester I feel like I went on many adventures, and hence had entries like, "Kate goes to the Park/the Beach/Uni/Makes Friends", but this semester I've done less of that. Though some, certainly. But overall, I've found myself more caught up in the day-to-day ness of life. So this entry is going to be more about day-to-day stuff that I've been doing this semester, along with whatever random photos I can find. Ones that are worth posting, but not worth their own post.

Well, for starters, I live somewhere else now! Due to various family drama that I shan't go into here, it was decided that I should relocate, so I've been living with my aunt Pippi in Elwood, which neighbours St. Kilda (where I lived last semester). It's pretty much the same distance from uni, so it's not a big deal in that regard. Though I now take a new tram. The 96! So that's exciting.

Let's see.

Well, lately, I've had a bit of contact lens drama. I threw out my old contacts one night and went to put in new ones the next morning, only to find that my lenses had completely disappeared. As this disappearnce co-incided with Pippi re-organising the bathroom, I assumed she had just put them somewhere else. But she'd gone to Hawaii, so I couldn't exactly ask her. I searched the house, but could find them nowhere. So I've been wearing my glasses for the last week and a half.

So, just a few minutes ago, I was putting away some underwear, in my underwear drawer. And I realised that my bathers weren't there, though I keep them in that drawer too. And I was thinking, oh, I better look for those, I'll need them in Queensland next week. So I was trying to think where they might be, and then I remembered that I hadn't completely unpacked one of my suitcases, I'd left some summer stuff in there. So I dragged that out, opened it up, and sure enough, there were my bathers, a few pairs of sandals, and...my contact lenses!!!

I'm so completely baffled. I haven't opened that suitcase since I got here. Why on earth would Pippi have put them in there? But how else could they have gotten there?!?!!?

Well, at least they are found. But I'm so confused....

In other news, I need new shoes.

I have one pair that I probably wear the most, because they're black flats and go with everything. But this is what they look like these days.

They've actually been like that for about a month and a half. But you really can't tell when you walk. I mean, you can a little, but it's not uncomfortable unless you're walking on rocks or sticks or something.

Well, let's have some more pictures.

Where I live in Elwood is much much closer to the beach. Just 2 blocks away. I also live next to The Canal, which goes right to the ocean.

One day, I was waiting to catch a tram, and I saw this poor puppy, so I took his picture.

Another time a few months ago, my cousin Phillip took me out to have dinner at Taco Bill's. It was my first time having Mexican in Australia. It was very very funny. And not particularly Mexican.

Here is the chip bowl they give you at the beginning. Yes, that's really all they give you. I took the picture before we'd eaten any of them. Tiny! Wrong kind of chips. And no refills.

I ordered an enchilada. It came with a Mexican flag. I laughed a lot.

This is a cafe on campus. I like the sign.

Here's a cool piece of chalk-work that used to be on the ground outside the ERC (the Education faculty's library.)

When I was on placement at school, we brought in a cake on our last day to say thank you. It was really really really good. I took a picture.

One day, while walking home, I saw a big gold man blowing up balloons outside Luna Park. So I took his picture.

Another day, while on the tram in the same vicinity, we passed a man walking his llama down the street. I've since seen the llama twice. But, unfortunately, I've never been quick enough with my camera, so no picture.

At uni, they have a bunch of baby palm trees. Child and teenage palms, perhaps. I thought it was neat how they were little. Maybe it's not neat if you're from somewhere with lots of palms, but being from Tennessee, I thought they were nifty.

The Mexican food at the grocery store. Note what section of the store it's kept it.

Me being cool at the Astor Theatre. Too bad the quality's yuck so you can't really make out my coolness.

This is the largest size drink and fries you can get in Australia. I'd call that a medium, by American standards, do you agree?

The city at night...again bad quality...I was having trouble with my camera for a while.

Some cool people, as seen from my tram. I liked the mohawks, though I didn't get a really good picture of them. But you can see them in the background.

The end for now. More tomorrow!

Second Semester Begins remains copyright of the author KateRarick, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Another day, sometime in June, I don't really know when, I went to my local beach because it's pretty.

There are walking paths along the beach with pictures of people walking, so that you know to walk there (as opposed to bike or roller blade or whatever). But someone made one of them a bit cooler.

And a view of the city from a hill next to the ocean.

The weekend before I left, I attended one of my cousin Nick's footy games. He's number 30. His team just won the Grand Final of his league last week! But here they were back in June.

Finally, in the last week before I came home, I had exams! This is a picture I took when I turned up to my very first one, illustrating the hundreds of people milling around! I took my exams in a room with 2000+ other people. Bit strange, but it worked.

After that, I came home for my winter break! Yay, END OF SEMESTER ONE!

Various June Adventures remains copyright of the author KateRarick, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Well, the last weekend in May, André's mother and nan were in town. André has a great love of trains, so he decided to take them to see Puffing Billy, something which I vaguely remember doing when I was little. I went with them, and much fun was had all around.

Puffing Billy leaves from Belgrave, which is about an hour's drive away. So the four of us drove there.

When we got there, before boarding the train, I decided I ought to use the loo, so I went. This is of note only because of what I found inside my toilet stall.

Very lovely illustrations of how to use the toilet. Just in case I'd forgotten how. I hadn't, but they were much appreciated nevertheless.

Here's a picture of me on the platform right before boarding.

Then we were shown to our tables inside the train car. Here we are inside, along with pictures of our pretty table and other people in the car.

Along the way, there were lots of nice views.

And they served us lots of really yummy food!

After an hour or so, we reached our destination: Lakeside Station. It was very pretty. Here are some pictures!

Our train engine.

Me in front of our carriage.

A train coming the other way.

The Lake.

Showing my rebellious side.

Kookaburra sits in an old gum tree...well, in some sort of tree.

Then we headed back. The train ride home back to Belgrave was fairly uneventful, and there are no pictures.

Before heading back into town, we went to check out the William Ricketts Sanctuary. It is a park located near the top of Mt. Dandenong. It's filled with Rickett's Aboriginal sculptures that "are an expression of Rickett's philosophy - that all people need to act as custodians of the natural environment in the same way as Aborigines, the inspiration for much of his work." Here are pictures of just a few of the 92 sculptures in the park - the detail is really incredible!

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Anyway, this entry is certain to be the cutest of them all, as it features my new baby-twin-first-cousins-once-removed!

Amity and Myles were born May 8th. Here are some pictures from their birthday:

I went to go meet them the next day, so here are some pictures from then! I am holding Amity, obviously, as she is pink.

Here is my cousin Phillip (their uncle) and his girlfriend with Myles.

But then Amity started crying, so I gave her back. More cuteness ensued.

And that is all the pictures I have of that. This was a really short entry! Oh well. I should probably be going to bed since I need to wake up and catch a plane! So I will do that! Talk to you all when I'm back in America!

Babies!! remains copyright of the author KateRarick, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Also, here is a cute picture of Pigeon. He's my favorite cat in the Southern Hemisphere.

Roz's Birthday remains copyright of the author KateRarick, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Come on in!

Here is the front room, when entering by the main door.

The computer room is next door. And there's my uncle! Hello, David!

We don't usually enter by the main door though. We usually enter from a sidish door, so here is the room you see when you go in from there. It's the main living room, with the TV and such.

Next is the kitchen!

Now we'll just walk down an adjourning hallway.

This is sort of Michael's room. But there's so much stuff in there that there's no actual room for a bed, so he now sleeps upstairs in my former study.

I've never opened this door, so I have no idea what's here.

Now we'll just turn down another hallway off to the side. Here we can go left or right. What will we choose?

Left! Here is a room of Roz's.

Right! Here is a somewhat under construction bathroom.

The toliet is in its own adjourning room, and you know what is special about Australian toliets?

The way you flush! You just push a button. One button for half flush, one button for full, depending on what is required. Quite a smart idea, really.

Now let's go upstairs! Here is a cupboard under the stairs.

Here is the entrance to the stairs. Or if you go straight, there's another room, I think where David stores some paintings and art supplies.

Up we go!

Here are are! Upstairs! To our left is Jordan's and Nick's rooms, along with my former study/Michael's bedroom.

To our right is Eloise's and my rooms, as well as the toliet and shower.

And here we are at my room! YAY!!

This concludes our tour.

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Here is the Shrine.

Flowers and notes from ANZAC day, earlier that week.

A monument.

The eternal flame and I. It's been burning ever since the Queen herself lit it in 1954.

Once inside the Shrine Welcome Center, we immediately saw David's display. I don't think you were supposed to take pictures, but I did anyway. But I took quick and not particularly good ones. Still, it gives you an idea.

We then walked through the Shrine, where, again, I don't think you were supposed to take pictures. This time I was good and did not. But I did take pictures when we got outside to the very top. The view was spectacular. I took many pictures, none of which do it justice. You can see all the way out to the ocean in the first one. Just lovely.

And so was the Shrine.

Since this entry was less picture-heavy than my last, here is a random picture that doesn't fit anywhere else. Sometime during the following week, while at uni, I passed the juggling club. They were cool, so I took a picture.

The Gardens and Shrine of Remembrance: Part II remains copyright of the author KateRarick, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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So, let's see. We are up to...the gardens and the Shrine of Remembrance. Ah, yes. Well, this post will probably make me seem incredibly egocentrical, as there are just so many pictures of me! Well, I justify it by saying that everything photographed was worth a photo, but it could get boring to just see picture after picture of statute/tree/pond etc. So, I'm just in the pictures as a bonus to hopefully make them more interesting. But there are definitely quite a few photographs. I think I may have to split this into two posts. Let's call this: Part I.

For starters, here is André and I on the tram, making our way to the gardens.

When we got there, we visited Edward VIII. He's off in the distance on the horse.

Then I made a video of this neato clock thing. But we didn't really pick a good time to go, as they were replanting it. Usually it's pretty and flowerful, but here it's just dirt. Oh well.

Then I tried to take a picture of a cool bird, but it didn't work.

But then I got it to work.

Here's me with some gardens.

Me with some statues. I'm standing in what's supposed to be a pond, but it's not, because of the drought.

Look, it's my photographer!

He's supposed to be surrounded by water too. But, due to drought, he is not.

I went to keep him company.

Small Kate!

Statues.

Ah. Well, that makes sense. No ponds.

Kate in a tree!

André makes an appearance.

More.

This was probably the best statue of all. His name is Genie.

Queen Victoria and I.

Looking towards the city.

A pond!

Quite autumny!

A new pet?

We have a lot of Greek immigrants here.

Finally, a pretty overhanging thing.

And that was just the highlights! But I think that will do. Now I shall go grab some dinner, but when I return, we shall visit the Shrine of Remembrance. Stay tuned.

The Gardens and Shrine of Remembrance: Part I remains copyright of the author KateRarick, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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After that I wandered over to the park nearby and made some friends!

The end!

Kate Makes Some Friends remains copyright of the author KateRarick, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Here I am at the entrance sign:

Here I am with a really weird thing. I'm still not sure what it was.

Here's my hand with a leaf that I thought was cool at the time, because I photographed it, but looking back at the photo now, it really wasn't all that interesting. Oh well.

I guess this isn't a good place to be at night.

The City Circle Tram. One of my favorites.

The gardens and I:

Me showing off how cool I am because my socks match my shirt really well.

A monument thing.

The Flagstaff, for which the gardens are (presumably) named.

Finally, a statue, just for good measure.

And that was the Flagstaff Gardens!

Flagstaff Gardens remains copyright of the author KateRarick, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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