Queen Victoria Market. This was essentially a large farmer's market (made me miss the one at Phoenix Park!). They had everything from cheese to sausage to t-shirts to kangaroo leather hats to fruits and bread. My friend Allie and I spent over two hours walking up and down the rows of vendors.
Supreme Court Building. Allie and I wandered into the courthouse to have a look around and even sat in on a public hearing for a few short minutes. The judge of the hearing seemed quite upset with whatever the case was about.
Pop-Tarts for sale! We found this candy shop that had lots of candy from different countries. They even had my favorite....REESE'S (they don't sell those here). I refrained from buying them because it was almost 4 dollars for two peanut butter cups. The most hilarious thing was that they had an entire wall of Pop-Tarts with a sign saying "American Pop-Tarts! Only $9.99!" We were never aware that Pop-Tarts were in such high demand.
Footy game. Saturday afternoon we went to an Australian Football League (AFL) game. This is a sport that is unique to Australia. There are 4 posts on opposite sides of a circular field. The two center posts are taller than the outer two. The object of the game is to kick the ball through the two tall center posts for a goal, which is worth 6 points. If the ball goes between an inner/tall post and an outer/short post that's called a behind, which is worth 1 point. There are 18 players from each team on the field at a time, and to pass the ball to each other they can either punt it or punch it. If a player is getting tackled they have to pass the ball off to a teammate, otherwise it is a penalty. That's just a quick overview of how the game works. It was really fun to watch!
Maxi-half marathon. On Sunday nine of us woke up at 5:15 am (after getting to sleep at 1am because of some confusion with directions during our drive to our hostel which was 3 hours away from Melbourne) to go to the starting line for the Great Ocean Road 1/2 Marathon. The race began in Kennett River and finished in a town called Apollo Bay. During the 14.375 miles (which is more than an official half marathon, hence the "maxi-half") we had breathtaking views of the coastline and even saw a wild koala just chillin' up in a tree. I ran the entire time, which was my goal, and didn't have to be carried off in a stretcher like I was imagining!
Great Ocean Road. After the race we continued, sore legs and all, our Great Ocean Road adventure. This road is famous in Australia for its awesome views of the coast, and for a place called the 12 Apostles. The 12 Apostles are limestone rock formations that have eroded throughout time to form massive pillars. It was awe inspiring. During the drive we saw some wild kangaroos!!!
I don't remember the last time I've felt this tired! First we ran a 1/2 marathon on about 4 hours of sleep, and today I had to wake up at 4:15 to catch my 6:15 flight back to Sydney. Traveling is so exhausting! I wouldn't trade the memories and adventures I'm having for anything in the world though. I can't believe how quickly time is flying! I felt like I was just thinking how crazy it was that it was May 1st, and now it is almost June 1st! I only have 3 more weeks of class, then one week off, then my parents come for two weeks (!!!!!!), then I'll be back in the good ol' US of A. Until then, I'll be blowing kisses to all of you from across the ocean. :)
xoxoxoxoxoxo
Cheers!
Kelly
Aussie Lingo:
"full on"= intense. Example: "I'm taking 5 classes next semester. It will be pretty full on."
"cruisey"=easy. Example: "That test was cruisey."
"reckon"=think. Example: "I reckon that we just missed the last train out of Sydney."
"suss"=sketchy. Example: "That tuna casserole looks pretty suss. I'm not eating it."
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