Let me put in a warning right here at the beginning. We've had a wonderful weekend but there was an awful lot of eating out and drinking! If you read the Restaurant Reviews you'll realise that this weekend we ate out FOUR times. Have to blame ourselves and our laziness for this and the fact that food is good in Melbourne and it's so easy just to go out and eat quickly and relatively cheaply.
Anyway back to the weekend. We've had lots of sunshine which certainly helps lift the mood. Friday night was spent at the Immigration Museum as PwC were putting on a social event there; Jazz at the Museum. Well it was certainly at the museum and I think I heard a bit of jazz when we first got there but really it was an excuse for an open bar and some canapés!
Canapés consisted of mini burgers, sausage sandwicheds and cartons of Caesar salad. You can see one of Steve's colleagues, Catherine masterfully balancing her salad box and glass of wine! Desserts were mini ice cream cones which were lots of fun and I think Steve ate about 3 plus the cones I gave him as I just wanted the ice cream!
The funny thing was on the Thursday night, we'd had the discussion that it was the first work social so even if it was open bar we shouldn't get too carried away. Well that pretty much went out the window as Steve enjoyed many a can of beer and I drank a lot of sparkling stuff. But rest assured and you'll be pleased to know that we didn't embarrass ourselves and we excused ourselves at the respectable time of 11:15pm to head home. It was a fun night and it was good to meet some of Steve's colleagues. He's working with people from all over the World; Malaysia, Singapore, Spain, Italy, America, our fellow Brits and the odd Australian thrown into the mix.
Anyway back to the weekend. We've had lots of sunshine which certainly helps lift the mood. Friday night was spent at the Immigration Museum as PwC were putting on a social event there; Jazz at the Museum. Well it was certainly at the museum and I think I heard a bit of jazz when we first got there but really it was an excuse for an open bar and some canapés!
Canapés consisted of mini burgers, sausage sandwicheds and cartons of Caesar salad. You can see one of Steve's colleagues, Catherine masterfully balancing her salad box and glass of wine! Desserts were mini ice cream cones which were lots of fun and I think Steve ate about 3 plus the cones I gave him as I just wanted the ice cream!
The funny thing was on the Thursday night, we'd had the discussion that it was the first work social so even if it was open bar we shouldn't get too carried away. Well that pretty much went out the window as Steve enjoyed many a can of beer and I drank a lot of sparkling stuff. But rest assured and you'll be pleased to know that we didn't embarrass ourselves and we excused ourselves at the respectable time of 11:15pm to head home. It was a fun night and it was good to meet some of Steve's colleagues. He's working with people from all over the World; Malaysia, Singapore, Spain, Italy, America, our fellow Brits and the odd Australian thrown into the mix.
Saturday sunshine roused us out of the airbed and it was time to take advantage and head to the beach. If you remember, we did go to St. Kilda one Friday evening with Steve's colleague, Matt but we didn't see that much of it. This time we took our time and had a good walk around the area. We found the pier and walked to the end and had brunch. There is a colony of little penguins in the area but they usually only appear at dusk. Apparently they used to be called fairy penguins but have since been renamed little blue penguins to be politically correct as you can't call things fairies any more! We followed that up with a walk along the beach where we could see the Eureka Tower from the other side and also popped into Luna Park (fairground place) for a little peek; it was full of kids so we left quickly.
We returned home, slept off brunch and had some lazy time before heading back out for a quick dinner. The Southbank area gets pretty busy on an evening and on a Saturday night many of the ladies don frocks and heels. It's always nice to walk past the posh restaurants with their open terraces and when my frocks arrive, there will be time for fine dining! At the moment it's all about casual and quick. I think every time we walk along the banks of the river and walk past the restaurants and the bars, we know we've picked the right area to live. We've wanted to be in the thick of the things for this adventure and living where we are now, we're certainly there.
Today ie Sunday was Ikea day! I've been after a hall table for a while and found something suitable online in Ikea. I had originally intended on going myself with the trolley and coming back with it but Steve very kindly offered to go this weekend. I was shocked given he hates Ikea and he hates it even more on a weekend! But I was not going to turn away such an offer. And we'd decided this would be our last furniture shop as we're pretty much done now bar the stuff that is coming in the container. I am glad this is the last time we'll see Ikea in a long time. I am glad Steve came with me as the piece I wanted came in two boxes and only one would fit into the trolley. It would have been fun and games had it just been me!
We also did a supermarket shop today. We do our grocery shopping at Woolworths (not the same Woolworths that was in UK but their Big W bit (non grocery stuff) is very much like Woolworths used to be). We also try to get most meat and veg at the markets; there are two within reasonable distance for us and they're fun and cheaper to do the weekly shop. We didn't have time this weekend to get to the markets so a quick trip to Woolworths was the next best thing. I miss UK supermarkets. They are just far superior in terms of choice. Perhaps we're spoiled in UK with too much choice. Let me give you an example:
Here laundry powder is laundry powder. There are different types for front loaders and top loaders but that's it. No liquids, gels, tablets or capsules. I guess we don't need all those different formulations but I like it. Here it's just powder. I admit I never bought scented ironing water and all the other stuff that you can get but now that I can't see it on the shelves, I want it! Isn't that just typical of me? I never used to want it but now I do because I can't have it! Oh and no tumble dryer sheets. Apparently they cause tumble dryers to break down and put them at greater risk of blowing up and catching fire. So why have them in UK? Did you know you tumble dryer sheet users that you're ruining your machine and putting your home at risk of fire?
Anyway the smaller supermarket size and fewer items mean a quicker shop so I guess that's a good thing. The journey back at 8:15pm through the City was strange as it was still busy. It's been a long time since I've been in a city that still has life on a Sunday evening. I enjoyed experiencing that. The busker and the street entertainer were both still out as we crossed the river and returned to Southbank. Things like that make me feel excited to be here as it's so different to life in Hull. It's refreshing to have this change.
Word of the Day: fairy floss is candy floss. Although if the fairy penguins had to be renamed surely this does to? I'll let you
We returned home, slept off brunch and had some lazy time before heading back out for a quick dinner. The Southbank area gets pretty busy on an evening and on a Saturday night many of the ladies don frocks and heels. It's always nice to walk past the posh restaurants with their open terraces and when my frocks arrive, there will be time for fine dining! At the moment it's all about casual and quick. I think every time we walk along the banks of the river and walk past the restaurants and the bars, we know we've picked the right area to live. We've wanted to be in the thick of the things for this adventure and living where we are now, we're certainly there.
Today ie Sunday was Ikea day! I've been after a hall table for a while and found something suitable online in Ikea. I had originally intended on going myself with the trolley and coming back with it but Steve very kindly offered to go this weekend. I was shocked given he hates Ikea and he hates it even more on a weekend! But I was not going to turn away such an offer. And we'd decided this would be our last furniture shop as we're pretty much done now bar the stuff that is coming in the container. I am glad this is the last time we'll see Ikea in a long time. I am glad Steve came with me as the piece I wanted came in two boxes and only one would fit into the trolley. It would have been fun and games had it just been me!
We also did a supermarket shop today. We do our grocery shopping at Woolworths (not the same Woolworths that was in UK but their Big W bit (non grocery stuff) is very much like Woolworths used to be). We also try to get most meat and veg at the markets; there are two within reasonable distance for us and they're fun and cheaper to do the weekly shop. We didn't have time this weekend to get to the markets so a quick trip to Woolworths was the next best thing. I miss UK supermarkets. They are just far superior in terms of choice. Perhaps we're spoiled in UK with too much choice. Let me give you an example:
Here laundry powder is laundry powder. There are different types for front loaders and top loaders but that's it. No liquids, gels, tablets or capsules. I guess we don't need all those different formulations but I like it. Here it's just powder. I admit I never bought scented ironing water and all the other stuff that you can get but now that I can't see it on the shelves, I want it! Isn't that just typical of me? I never used to want it but now I do because I can't have it! Oh and no tumble dryer sheets. Apparently they cause tumble dryers to break down and put them at greater risk of blowing up and catching fire. So why have them in UK? Did you know you tumble dryer sheet users that you're ruining your machine and putting your home at risk of fire?
Anyway the smaller supermarket size and fewer items mean a quicker shop so I guess that's a good thing. The journey back at 8:15pm through the City was strange as it was still busy. It's been a long time since I've been in a city that still has life on a Sunday evening. I enjoyed experiencing that. The busker and the street entertainer were both still out as we crossed the river and returned to Southbank. Things like that make me feel excited to be here as it's so different to life in Hull. It's refreshing to have this change.
Word of the Day: fairy floss is candy floss. Although if the fairy penguins had to be renamed surely this does to? I'll let you
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