Kangaroo Sightings in Melbourne

When you think of Australia, what instantly comes to mind are KANGAROOS!!  I couldn't wait to see one in the wild, although in the back of my mind I was remembering our trip to Sumatra to spot the elusive Orangutan in the wild---  an Orangutan was NEVER sighted despite spending the night in the rainforest!  But on our second day in Melbourne, we drove (on the other side of the road) to the Cardinia Reservoir state park to do some hiking.  On the way there we saw some signs warning drivers of Kangaroos crossing the road.  I became optimistically excited -- would we see roos in the wild??

 Then as we were hiking the trails of the park, chatting away, we heard a rustle in the grass and there was a kangaroo staring at us for disturbing his/her luncheon!

 
This kangaroo was about 20 feet away and a bit skittish of humans -- similar to deer behavior in the wild.  Now that we knew what to look for ---  look we did!  How many kangaroo do you spot?  It's a bit like Finding Waldo.

 Another excitement for me in Melbourne was visiting the Amitie quilt shop, owned by quilt designer Jen Kingwell. I have made her "My Small World" pattern and had another of her patterns on my Christmas wish list!

 Oh boy, isn't this quilt a beauty??  

It is called Queen's Cross and the pattern and template package went into my Christmas Stocking, thanks to my very generous son, along with a starter set of fabrics to make it, thanks to Santa!  YAY, can't wait to get started on this project!!


Ann's parents live in Melbourne, the capital of the Australian state of Victoria, and Ann went to college here, so we loved having such knowledgeable guides.  Melbourne is really a mix of old and new, with tightly clustered vintage homes with fine architectural details interspersed with modern apartment buildings.  We took the city circle Brown Trolley all around the downtown area to get our bearings.

Contemplating the artist's vision

Then, we visited the National Gallery of Victoria to view the exhibits, which included some Ming Dynasty pieces and famous paintings.
















We also spotted this mural downtown.

 How many different animals unique to Australia can you find?

For a city of its size, the second most populous in Australia, Melbourne has a lot of parks and green open spaces. 

One of the parks that we enjoyed the most was the Royal Botanic Gardens, located just a block away from where we were staying.

Visitors enjoying a carriage ride at the Royal Botanic Gardens

You see a wide variety of plants here. Many of them we recognized from our time living in Hawaii and California while others were totally new to us.

Charming little wedding chapel in the park

We also observed this colorful Rainbow Lorikeet in the Botanic Gardens.  Doesn't the color of it's beak match the red blossoms?  The Lorikeets were just as colorful on the hike that we took to the Werribee Gorge State Park -- the bird was just a bit further away from us.

This hike was fun because, for a section of it, you had to hold on to a cable drilled into the cliff as you made your way along a narrow ledge next to the river. 

 However, if you have pollen allergies--beware, the place was a'bloomin !!  And we were annoyed by swarms of flies buzzing all around. We had to keep our hoods up to keep them out of our ears and face, even though it was bright and warm that day.

Stay tuned as we HOP over to Sydney, next!!

Christmas Down Under

Do you see me there on Coogee beach in Sydney?  HA!  There was not a spare square of sand to set up a picnic!!    We were getting in our steps and just strolled on through this beach scene on Christmas Day!  It is summer in full swing down under on Christmas--Lots of Santa hats and sun burns☀







Oh,  here I am -- loving this crocheted tree wrap.  We spent the week leading up to Christmas in Melbourne and then Christmas week in Sydney.  Both cities were decorated to the max with beautiful Christmas decor.

We attended a Christmas concert in Como park in Melbourne that had the audience sitting on blankets on the grass waving tiny candles as they enjoyed the show.  

The rousing finale number was followed by a spectacular display of fireworks overhead.

Then, in Sydney, we saw some festive sights on Christmas eve. There was a group of roving Christmas carolers trying to harmonize with mixed success ( maybe due to having too much of that SPECIAL eggnog!).  We wished them a Merry Christmas.  

During a cruise around Sydney harbor, we spotted Santa in a small boat, his white beard blowing in the gusty breeze.  And that evening, there was a band of about 30 Santas roaring through the streets of Sydney on motorcycles, trying to spread Christmas cheer (we think!). 

We saw the facade of St. Mary's Cathedral transformed into a magical, 
wondrous canvas after dark when a light show was projected onto the building.

St. Mary's Cathedral during the day

St. Mary's Cathedral light show

St. Mary's Cathedral:  Mother & Child

The church also had a a life size Nativity display.

On Christmas Eve we had a lot of fun baking my Dad's oatmeal, chocolate chip cookies.   Of course we had even more fun eating them!  Don't worry, we did save some for Santa too!  We set out our stockings in hopes that Santa would fill them! 

Then on Christmas morning Ann played some wonderful Christmas carols on her piano before we checked to see what Santa had left in our  stockings.

Santa has gifted Tony and me a Stand Up Paddle board session.  Seems we will be hitting the water later this week!  

We hope that you also had an amazing holiday surrounded by family and friends.  Mele Kalikimaka from Down Under!

Getting Ready for Christmas

Decor hung over the street

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas🎅 here in Singapore. Soap sud snow⛄ is flying and tinsel is in abundance. Even though only 19% of Singaporeans practice Christianity, the Christmas Holiday is still a big commercial deal here.  Bustling shoppers throng (and I mean throng) the shops and malls looking for that perfect gift. The stores are all decorated with Christmas cheer and wherever you go you can hear the sounds of carols playing on public speakers--even out on the sidewalks!

There are bright, sparkling, twinkling lights everywhere.

A forest of twinkling lighted, star topped trees

Each large brightly decorated Christmas tree is trying to outshine the others in style and colors.

I know I can't take a ride in this sleigh just yet … gotta get my steps in first --you know!
Meanwhile the baby polar bear, who looks exhausted, is getting a much appreciated ride from a helpful reindeer.

Planting a big smooch on Rudolf's red nose.

Even the "super trees" at Gardens by the Bay are lit up festively!

Don't think that this would fit into my suitcase for the trip back to the U.S.

NOPE, no cake or pastry for me!!  Although I would like a refreshing ice kachang or chendal! (like a snow cone) because it is still HOT & HUMID here!

Wonderland

We are wishing you and yours a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!! from Singapore

A Walk through Little India

When in a foreign country, expats seem to congregate in certain areas and recreate a "bit of home". Folks of Indian ethnic descent make up about 9% of the population of Singapore and quite a few of them live in this lovely enclave of Singapore called "Little India". Here, there are many restaurants featuring HOT (SPICY) Indian food, little shops selling exotic spices, unusual vegetables, colorful Saris, and gorgeous, elaborate gold jewelry.
I was especially intrigued by the baskets of colorful blossoms that were being strung together into floral arrangements -- somewhat similar in style to the Hawaiian lei.  Imagine the smell of pikake & carnations!!  & the orchids were colorful and plentiful.

Raw materials for stringing together

Final product- ready to sell

The Hindi temple was in the center of Little India.  It had very elaborate decorations carved all over the outside of the building. After first taking off my shoes to respect traditional customs, I took a peek inside.  The inside was even more ornate with various, finely detailed gold statues of the various Hindi Gods and Goddesses.

 

An offering of bananas had been left at the alter.

This is how some of the floral arrangements that I had seen being made earlier were being used.

After leaving the temple I came upon this unusual sight on a nearby side street.  Doesn't this remind you of a Dr. Seuss story?  Colorful umbrellas were attached to artificial trees in a tiny park--- a work of conceptual art and much needed respite from the ever present bright sunshine. Why umbrellas? Maybe because it rains a lot here!  (But not today -- HOT & SUNNY in December)

Having a bit of a sit down rest under the umbrella tree's shade

Also in Little India is one of the biggest department stores in Singapore, Mustafas.  It is a combo of an electronics, grocery, jewelry, clothing, fabric, toy, ---well, you name it-- store.  We bought a marsala chicken spice packet to try at home and then headed out.  On the way to the metro station to catch a train home,  we saw a big group exercise session.  I was tempted to join in as the beat of the music was  lively and loud. However, the chicken marsala was not going to make itself, so we boarded the metro back to Troy's house.  He has PLENTY of exercises for me to do--HA!!  He is a good personal trainer -- my blood pressure is down, weight down, and I am having the best sabbatical ever!