Australia

Only a week left before I go home! And it's strange, I really can't shake the feeling that I'm going come for Christmas. I mean, I know that Christmas isn't for a good while yet, but it is winter here (even if it's extremely mild compared to a Tennessee winter), and I'm halfway through a school year, so..it seems like it should be time for Christmas. I've been wearing my Christmas socks. Some of them are quite seasonably appropriate! Like my ones with the snowmen that say "Let it snow!" And it has been snowing here, up in the mountains. So, really, it's all very confusing. But anyway, seeing as a week from now I will be on a plane somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, I really ought to get on with updating! Getting up to date with this blog is definitely on my to do list for the next week. Along with preparing for and taking two exams and finishing a paper and packing and shopping and such.

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.

So, it just so happens that the only Grand Union in the Southern Hemisphere is a mere ten minute tram ride up the road from where I live. I know, you're probably thinking "Grand what?" It's a tram thing. I think it basically means that the tracks go in all four directions at this intersection. Well, André had to see it, of course, so off we went. I took a picture. Awful lot of wires overhead!!

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

The end!

On ANZAC Day, André and I decided to visit the Flagstaff Gardens. I don't really remember why. Oh wait, yes I do. It had to do with something the trams were doing differently because it was a holiday and André wanted to check it out. Anyway, we went and I photographed and was photographed.

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!

I have an essay due tomorrow, but I am taking a break and making a short little entry with a few random photos!

Here is something I took in the CBD. It was on the ground. I wondered what it meant. So I looked it up.

On Saturday the 21st, a girl who used to live here in the Porter house on exchange was down from Japan with her mother, so we all had lunch together. It was quite good. Roz made this cake that she was really proud of, and she wanted me to take a picture and show my mom. So, here it is:

Then Nick was totally amazed because we have the same digital camera. So he took a picture of my camera while simultaneously using my camera to take a picture of himself photographing the camera. So here is the result from my end:

Here we all are having lunch. Well, not Nick, because he's taking the picture. Ignore certain people's strange facial expressions. Clockwise from myself, it's me, Eloise, Roz, Jordan, David, Michael, and...well, I don't remember their names. Hopefully they'll never read this.

Finally, when I woke up that Sunday morning, it was dark and rainy, and I was amazed, because it never rains here. So I took a picture.

The end for now!

I shall now make a small post all about trams.

One day a few weeks ago, I was riding in a tram. I was happily sitting, reading one of my books for uni, when I was startled by the driver rapidly and loudly ringing his bell. A few seconds later, we crashed into a taxi. The taxi was on a road that crossed the tram tracks and he had stopped a little bit too far forward. He didn't back up and we didn't stop, so we crashed. I took some pictures.

Here's a video of me being silly while trying to photograph trams.

Here is a picture of my current favorite tram. It's advertising Emirate Airlines, and it's all cool and mappy. This picture was taken from the second level of Hungry Jacks.

Which brings me to my next picture, which has nothing to do with trams, but I'll throw it in. It's a picture of the banner advertising the much loved Summer Stunner Deal. Last Friday, over two months into autumn, they finally figured out that it's not summer anymore, and it has now been renamed the Whopper Stunner Deal. Pretty much the same meal though.

Finally, here is a little video made one night on the tram.

The end.