Mum and Dad's Week In Melbourne - Saturday 18th January 2014

I can't believe a week has gone by already since mum and dad arrived but we have been out and about lots and I've been keeping them busy!

On Monday we went to the Australian Open for a day of tennis and we even got to support and cheer on our own Brits Laura Robson and Heather Watson. It was a very warm day and even when we got there at 10 am we could already feel the effects of the heat and were already sweating. First we went to watch Laura Robson take on the 18th seed but she didn't perform as well as we'd hoped and she lost in 3 straight sets; it was still good to watch her though. We then were able to jump to across to one of the other courts to watch our other Brit Heather Watson, who was 1 set down, take on the 33rd seed. It was a great game to watch and she looked very promising winning the second set and taking it to a third set thriller of which she ended up loosing. Not only did we have great tennis in this match but also good crowd entertainment from the Aussie fans who started a Mexican wave, controlling the speed of the wave and getting a super slow mo one going, which everyone found highly entertaining. In the afternoon we watched some men's tennis which was great to see, before the heat finally hit us and become too much and it was time to head home.

For pictures from the Australian Open Click Here - Australian Open

On Tuesday the weather was even hotter hitting above 40 and I don't think mum and dad were quite ready for what hit them. Because it was so hot we decided to head down to St Kilda to the beach for a bit and we were all very much looking forward to a refreshing dip in the sea, which was as expected - heavenly!!! After an hour or so we went for a little stroll in St Kilda (just down the main street - it's too hot to walk too far) and had a drink and ice cream to guess what ... cool down! In the evening Darc came over and we went out for dinner at our fav place - Chin Chin's (I had promised mum and dad we would go because it was so good last time). As expected we had an hour wait again, so we went to fed square where we had a drink in Transport bar before having another delicious dinner (courtesy of Darcy) which was enjoyed by all! After dinner I took mum and dad for their first trip down Southbank on our way to Crown Casino. They couldn't believe the size of the Casino and mum had great fun on the slot machines winning 20 bucks while I once again had another huge cocktail and this time lost money on blackjack (it was obviously beginners and birthday luck on my 21st), with Darc doubling his money! It was a really lovely evening and was nice for mum and dad to properly meet Darc!

For pictures of our day and evening Click Here - St Kilda Beach and Evening in the City

On Wednesday it was another 40+ day and me and mum had a fairly relaxing morning just chilling out in the apartment whilst dad went to play a game of golf at Albert Park, which we could see him on the 18th hole from my apartment. In the afternoon we headed into the city to Bourke street where we went in a few shops and I took them into the big department stores of Myer and David Jones before heading up to Queen Victoria Night Market. Dad loved the night market because it was full of loads of little traditional market stalls and then loads of different foods stalls which had different foods from all over the world. We had a couple of different dishes between us to try which were all good, but safe to say I will be going back to try some of the other food!

For pictures of the night market Click Here - Queen Vic Night Market

On Thursday it was our third consecutive day of over 40 degrees and it was a clear day which made it a great day for going up the Eureka Skydeck. We had amazing views up there and could see out across Victoria and it was impressive to go up and see Melbourne during the day (I had already done the Eureka of an evening). After this we went to meet Sue for a drink before we went to DFO on Southwarf (outlet shopping centre) to spend some money. After we dragged dad around and he had had enough and was bored, we headed to Southbank and sat outside with a jug of pimms, watching the tennis - I think it's compulsory in 40 degree heat! The pimms went down a treat and not surprisingly, me and mum demolished the jug in no time!!!

For pictures from the Eureka Skydeck Click Here - Eureka Skydeck

In the morning yesterday we went for a walk in another day of 40+ heat to the Shrine of Remembrance which is a memorial site for those that died in World War 1. While we were in there we saw a replica of the light display which occurs on remembrance day, where the sun ray moves across the memorial plaque and then we went up to the viewing balcony where we got a great view of the city (although it was a little hazy). We then headed into the Botanical Gardens to sit in the tea rooms by the lake to enjoy a nice cold milkshake before we shot home to grab our stuff to head to Sue's for the evening where we had a lovely evening catching up over a takeaway and wine.

For pictures from the Shrine of Remembrance Click Here - Shrine Of Remembrance

Today the cool change we were told to expect came, meaning the temperature dropped to 23 degrees, which was a bit of a relief. We have had a very lazy day at Sues watching some of the tennis and soon we will be heading back to the city for a lazy evening and to pack and prepare for the next week when we are heading to Phillip Island and Great Ocean Road.

So until then my friends, 

xoxo

Last Week At Work - Thursday 3rd October 2013

So tonight I am off on my trip up to Cairns and busing down to Byron Bay! I am a little bit excited, I'm not gunna lie and very much looking forward to seeing some sun and hot weather, especially as the last week here in Melbourne has been pretty wet and very windy; I even woke up a few mornings to the apartment shaking!!! I am not packed yet - typical, but only got a few things to do when I get home and I'm not flying until 10 tonight so have plenty of time!!!

At work we've had a fair bit of training over the last week and a half. 5 guys are in the middle of their training and training 3 times a week keeps me busy and in the lab a fair bit! I also went into the biochemistry lab last Friday with Cian to see how the gels were made for Western Blots, which allows the identification of proteins in the muscle.

My social life has been a bit busier over the last week too! Last Wednesday evening (25th Sept), I went out for dinner with Darcy and then went up the Eureka Tower. The Eureka Skydeck is 88 floors up and is the tallest building in Melbourne and the highest viewing platform in the Southern Hemisphere! The view of the city and Melbourne was amazing!!! Most of it you viewed behind glass but there was a bit where you could go out onto a Terrace (an air lock up) and get an even better view without the reflection! We also did something called the Edge experience (only observation deck in the world where you can do this), where a glass cube is projected 3 meters out from the side of the building so you are suspended about 300 meters in the air! It was pretty cool and was a strange feeling just standing on glass that was essentially hanging off the side of a building! The night was pretty clear with fairly good weather which was an added bonus.

Fed Square Through Binoculars

Sports Arenas

Looking Down In The Edge Experience

I also ended up having a busy weekend. Saturday (28th Sept) was Grand Final Day for footie, which if you don't know is the highlight of the Australian sporting calender. Hawthorn were playing Fremantle Dockers at the MCG in Melbourne which meant people from all over headed to Melbourne for the big game, making a rammed city which had a buzz about it! I watched the game at Matt and Lauren's with people from work which was fun and meant I got into the game more! We had a bit of a drinking game going at the same time which also made it more fun! So we randomly picked a player from each team and everytime they got a touch we drank, if they kicked a goal we saw off our drink and if they hit the post or scored 1 point we had to finish half our drink! I ended up drawing 2 big players (Sewell for Hawks and Ballantyne for Freo) who could've had me drinking a lot more than I did but luckily they weren't on their top kicking form!!! We stayed for a bit after the game before me, Ramon and Cian headed to Brunswick to meet Mel and some of the others at a bar to continue the night. The bar was playing really good music and I stayed for a couple of hours before calling it a night just after 12 and having been drinking since 2 that afternoon!

On Sunday morning (29th Sept) I took my bike for a spin to try and figure out the route to work. It was a lovely sunny morning so it was a really nice cycle and it actually turned out that it is just as quick to cycle to work than what it is to get public transport there! In the afternoon, after the blow of paying off the rest of my trip, I headed out to my supervisors place in Williamstown. He was hosting a bbq for our research group as a thanks for helping out in the altitude hotel study and for everyone to take their mind off work as the phd students have it pretty full on. It was a good afternoon with good food and a nice way to finish the week off!

Anyway I best be going, I have a couple of hours left at work before heading home to do my last minute packing. Sue and Hannah are going to take me to the airport tonight and I'm going to have dinner with them before which will be nice as I haven't seen them much the last couple of weeks.

I'm not sure how much I will be blogging over the next 3 weeks/they'll be pretty basic blogs without pictures (I'll do my best), but I will catch up when I am back to let you know what I've been up to, all the fun I've been having and that I survived my adrenaline junkie activities!!!

Catch you soon!!!

xxxxx