Last post from Perth!

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Movies, Markets and a Wedding!

We have been in Perth for a week now and boy has it been hot! When you go outside it is like walking into an oven! One weird thing about Perth is tap water tastes really odd. Evidently it is the minerals in the water. Australia has ‘hard’ water while NZ has ‘soft’ water resulting in the difference in taste. One amazing thing about Perth is that the fruit is out of this world it is so delicious! We have been eating strawberries, mangos, peaches, oranges, and nectarines! My lovely Auntie Jackie keeps making everything with strawberries because she knows they’re my favourite! On Thursday night we went to an outdoor cinema, which is part of Perth’s film festival. The venue was beautiful and before hand we had a picnic on the grass. The movie we went to see was called ‘Le Harve’. It was a lovely heart-warming arty film about an African refugee boy who escapes and an old man who risks everything to smuggle him across to London. I gave it 5/5 stars on the voting sheet we handed in afterwards, but Shinji who is maybe a more reliable film critic gave it 3 stars.

Then on Friday we went to the Free-mantle markets. Free-mantle has always been one of my favourite suburbs in Perth right from when I was a little girl. I used to spend my pocket money in the markets on weird Australian ornaments such as a creature made from gum-nuts, only to have them confiscated at customs when I re-entered New Zealand. As a grown up the markets were still really cool.  I got strawberries dipped in chocolate on a stick, a bag on nectarines and 10 mini cup cakes, to share of course!

On Saturday was James and Amanda’s wedding. It was stunning. Amanda looked beautiful and her dress was amazing. The reception was at the old Swan brewery on Swan River. I think the photos do it more justice than describing it. It was a lovely evening.

Now we are on our way down South of Perth to Margaret River!!

Love Esmé

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Perth

We arrived in Perth late at night and got off the plane to be greeted by glorious heat and the lovely olds were there to pick us up.  We then drove to my Aunt and Uncle’s amazing house in Mount Claremont where we are staying until my cousin’s wedding. Their house is pretty awesome with two beautiful Labrador dogs Ash and Sammie and a swimming pool! On our first day we typically checked out the art gallery. Highlights for me were the Giorgio Morandi, Stanley Spencer’s ‘Christ in the wilderness’ and of course the Henry Moore sculpture they had!!! To finally see a Henry Moore sculpture in real life was pretty awesome! It was stunning.  We then went to Cottesloe beach and Shinji and I went swimming. Only after our swim did my Auntie tell us that a Great White, in the same area we were swimming, had eaten a man! He was only in knee depth water and people were further out in the water watching him be eaten. How would you feel being out in the water and the only way to get back to the beach was to pass a half eaten man and a blood frenzy shark????!

There are a lot of Italian immigrants in Perth resulting in amazing food. For dinner we had an alfresco barbeque and for dessert amazing Italian icecream coated in chocolate!! Then next day we went to the Perth zoo. We had a close encounter with a kangaroo, which Shinji loved, but my favourite animal was the baby orangutan. My god he was gorgeous. Perth is a great holiday destination with sun sand and surf you can’t go wrong.

Love Esmé

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Hot Choc Face

Last day in Melbourne. Look at this hot chocolate!! How cool is THAT!!!!!!!

Museums, Cafes and Penguins!

Dear friends,

Yesterday we caught a tram out to South Melbourne to see Hanae’s flat and her dance school. South Melbourne is beautiful and the houses are very distinctive and quite different from New Zealand. Many houses are old and seem to be brick with a little inside veranda area. The trams in Melbourne are very strange. There is a self-pay machine in the middle of the tram and therefore many people seem to be riding the trams for free. This to me seems odd that an affluent city like Melbourne would have such a poor system! I was told that usually 1 out of every 5 people on the tram actually pay! I agree that it seems strange to buy a ticket when there is nobody checking. Laura said that over the span of a year her ticket has been checked 3 times!!! My straight-laced nature wouldn’t allow me to risk not paying for a ticket, we tried it for one ride and I was freaking out the whole time! Shinji however believes the government should be paying for public transport anyway so didn’t have a problem haha. Then in the afternoon we caught up with Laura and made Japanese curry at her new flat.

Today we got out and about early and went to the museum. My favourite bit (as per usual) was the taxidermy animals. The display was amazing with touch screens that described the species and geographical location of each animal. Afterwards we went to Brunswick Street for a coffee. Many people had recommended that we should go see this street but being a Wellingtonian its charm may have fallen slightly flat as it was kind of like a bigger Cuba Street. Shinji who is a little weak hearted when it comes to shopping wrote it off as a haven for girls with nothing for boys. We then hopped on another tram and went and saw the second building of the art gallery. We watched an interesting documentary on a Japanese hermit couple. Unfortunately we couldn’t afford to see the Modernity in German Art Exhibition, which was disappointing as there seemed to be some Bauhaus pieces I would have loved to have seen.

Laura then picked us up from the backpackers and we took the tram out to St Kilder to see the penguins at dusk. Penguins are Shinji’s favourite animals but he has never seen them in their natural habitat before. When we arrived we got chips and a kebab and walked down the jetty to the rock penguin sanctuary. It wasn’t long till we saw the beautiful penguins. However this wasn’t the only critter we got to see. There was also WATER RATS or as a friendly Aussie block told us they are not actually rats but the cousins of kangaroos. With their white tails they were actually sort of cute!

Tomorrow we catch the plane to Perth and see Mum and Dad….exciting!

Lots of Love

Esmé

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Day Two

On our second day in Melbourne we decided to make it a cultural day. To begin with we had breakfast at the cutest little café EVER! I have fallen in love with this place! Croissant and hot chocolate for breaky! We then decided we would hunt out our good friend Laura down at the cute (sorry for the over usage of this word but no word describes how I feel about Melbourne better) bookshop she works at. Unfortunately she didn’t start work till 1 so we proceeded onto to the Victoria National Art Gallery!! Which blew MY mind!! We saw an exhibition on Contemporary Aboriginal Art of the Far Western Desert, which strangely really appealed to me. I think for three reasons, Aboriginal art uses narratives and tells stories, which as an aspiring illustrator resonates with me. Aboriginal art uses the most heart-stopping, eye-popping, mesmerising colours/raw pigments that blast out from the wall. Aboriginal artwork changes, it shows one image from far away but the closer you get the detail of the art and dot forms gives the image a totally different feel. The exhibition was called ‘Living Waters’ appropriate I thought, as the art works do feel alive as if they are changing all the time right before your eyes.

We then went to ACMI (the Australian Centre for the Moving Image). Now this place was what Shinji and I thought Te Papa aspired to be like but failed.  With interactive exhibitions covering sight, touch, voice and interaction it explored the history of film, gaming, time based media, digital motion media and arts. Right up Shinji’s alley! Highlights for me were the interactive screen you stood in front and your movements made images and sound (see photo) and a film that used robot mechanics to make the it look 3dimensional, it also had a steam punk aesthetic which is always AWESOME! (Random fact but did anyone know that Omaru is the steam punk capital of New Zealand??) To sum up this place in one word would be ‘inspiring’ and the exhibition layout was top notch!

We finally got to meet up with Laura at her bookshop! She suggested going to the night markets, something only a local would know about. Now this was the best suggestion EVER. With a mixture of live music, gypsy stalls, food stalls and an alcohol-drinking zone the market had a great vibe. We started off with sangria in the sun while we waited for Hanae! After this the four of us tried the weirdest Korean potato twist and delicious enchiladas. We sat on the concrete and watched an amazing Amy Winehouse look alike singer with her back up dancers while we ate. All the little kids were getting into the music but no one stole the show as much as this one wee boy who wiggled his bum and run around in circles. He was definitely the crowd pleaser. We were quite obsessed with this cute little boy and took numerous photos! We then went through the stalls trying on headbands and these weird Australian hats. I desperately wanted to get a henna tattoo up my arm but with a large price tag on the smallest design Shinji said he’d by a tube of henna and draw a tattoo for me instead! YUS! We ended the night in front of the main stage dancing go-go girl moves with the rest of the crowd. No better way to end a fantastic day!

Meeting up with Hanae and Laura again today, hopefully for dinner. yum!

Lots of love,

Esmé

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Here in Melbourne

G’day mates!

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Shinji and I were spoilt rotten with home made pizza when we stayed at Kate’s flat! There was also some competitive Xbox kinect time i.e. must see photo above; one could almost believe Shinji can dance! We then left Christchurch (bye New Zealand!!) at 6am, which meant getting up at 4am to make the international flight. Jetstar’s seat space is tiny and poor Shinji looked very comical as he only just fitted into his seat. That combined with a screaming child behind us made a sleepless plane fight. When we got to Melbourne we were both really tired but managed to work out a free bus ride to our back packers! After an afternoon nap we went in search for dinner and had a walk around Melbourne at night.

My first impression of Melbourne is there are some incredible old buildings and the city is picturesque. It has the big city feel like Auckland with the wide roads but also the quirkiness of Wellington with sweet little alleyways and street art. Shinji thinks Melbourne’s trams are ugly caught in the stage were its not quite retro enough and not quite modern enough to be cool. However I like the trams it is another old-fashioned feature that fits the city so well! There are also so many CUTE SHOPS!! Must resist, must resist I’m on a budget!!!

We found a dinky little restaurant in an ally way in China town. After dinner we went for a walk along the river and it seems at night is when all the talented buskers creep out! There was live music everywhere we went. Along the way we saw what we thought was an awesome art installation but actually turned out to be people sticking leaves onto a water fountain. I added the photo as I thought it was a really cool idea!

We went back to the backpackers, which is a very busy lively place. With free wi fi downstairs everybody is everywhere! There are also a lot of tanned tall girls wearing too much make up… oh dear I had to say it, probably jealousy… and different accents flying everywhere!!! Then we went to bed because I was tired and it was late. The end of day one in Melbourne.

Have you been to Melbourne? What do you think of the city and does anybody have any recommendations of ‘must see’ activities?

Love Esmé

The Final Countdown

Tomorrow Shinji and I will fly out of Dunedin and begin our OE! It is hard to believe the day has finally come! So a quick run down of the adventure ahead… We leave Dunedin and spend the night in Christchurch where we will stay with the lovely Kate and Aaron. Then we leave to Melbourne to see two beautiful people; Shinji’s sister Hanae and Laura Lennox. We will stay there for 4 days and then hop over to Perth for my cousin Jame’s Wedding. In Perth we will meet back up with my Mum and Dad. This is a sneaky holiday before Shinji and I take off to Singapore, Taipei and finally JAPAN!! Being a materialistic girl and hoarder of nicks and nacks my light packing has astonished everyone! Hopefully I won’t live to regret this! I’ve made this blog so I can keep track of our journey and share it with you all, so please also write back so we can hear what is happening in your life as well. So to all our lovely friends and family- keep in touch.

Love Esmé