What?

Suzie is taking Italian lessons, and tonight they’re having some sort of party at a pub downtown. Andrea was supposed to go with her but he double-booked his evening. And so I got sucked in to this. They omitted to tell me this you had to go masked.

Here is Suzie:

And this is me. Sometimes I astonish myself.

The pub was called Michelangelo Osteria, and as you can see it was pretty crowded.

The lady at the bar really seemed to want me to take her picture so I obliged.

Please take a moment to observe the girl on the left. She is ready to swallow a penguin.

There was a draw, and those girls were presenting.

I’m convinced this gentleman is leader of a cult of sorts. I would venture to say this is how he dresses every day.

Here he is knighting one of the winners.

After this we walked in the city on our way to the train station. We walked by Arcades. At first I was looking for a pac-man machine but then I was informed that is not what they mean by arcades.

Night life is pretty cool and animated in Melbourne.

A couple of notes on train traveling.

When you get to your stop, you have to open the door manually. They don’t open automatically like they do in Toronto. The first time, I stood there like an idiot with people waiting behind.

The gap between the train and the platform is surprisingly large. In some places even wider than this.

Tomorrow is exciting. We’re doing a road trip to the Great Ocean road.

Train on my way there.

After taking the bus, I have to take the Footscray train, and so I went by the market first to have a bite.

Once arrived at Brighton station, I walk by the water instead of the path that’s a little higher.

The following is for those who were troubled by the crooked horizon.

Hint of the huts.

A bird. Please forgive the technicalities.

A fisherman. Caught 19 fishes yesterday, nothing yet today. True story. Everyone’s nice here.

Here they are. The famous huts of Brighton beach.

Black swan.

More of the huts.

And more.

Facing them.

Couple chilling.

This is a close up of the above picture. I guess they knew..

Some of the interesting huts.

This paddling thing is getting more and more popular everywhere in the world.

The huts from the other side of the beach.

An old wise Chinese man.

Because all old Chinese men are wise.

View of the city from that standing point.

Then I noticed another old man going for a swim in the Ocean.

Close up.

To give you an idea how far he was, take a look at this. Quite impressive old chap!

Everybody takes a picture of those small houses. I thought it might be different to take a couple of shots from behind.

Since I’m behind the huts.

More.

Dude running on the beach. I’m guessing his name is Don, but just to be safe lets call him mate.

More of the huts. Heck that’s the reason I came here.

This is for those who say there’s never any picture of myself. Hi.

Sunset right before I left.

One of my favorites.

Time to go back now.

Inside trains.

And by the way, you have to swipe your card at the entrance to get in. Interesting system.

In the newspaper on the train, I make a troubling discovery about meat. Women can half the risk of depression by eating red meat!

Does it apply to men too? What of my new healthy diet. I am confused!

Speaking of depressing, check out the price of Coke in train stations. $3.60! $3.20 for a water bottle!

At least the refreshment stand looks pretty.

Back to the house, it’s barbecue night. Or as they say here, BARBIE. Suzie and Andrea cooked a wonderful meal. mmmm!

Another friend from high school Jessica, and her New Zealandish (is that a word?) bf.

Good times.

And finally there was some sort of a fight about a cake I can’t remember the name, but apparently New Zealand and Australia both invented it and both are better than the other. Kind of like poutine in Quebec.

and I already forgot which way I’m supposed to go! Bravo! I go left and walk a bit. I soon realize I took the wrong way. As I stood still on a street corner like an idiot, I stumble upon an older fellow who asks me if I was lost. I guess we could say that. We strike a conversation and he suggests that given the time (2pm) I should go to Highpoint shopping center instead of the city (they call downtown the city). I’m thinking why not. I need to go get a blackberry sim card and find a travel adapter for my laptop. Here’s a picture of the gentleman.

He suggests that I take the route by the river since it’s more scenic. It’s longer but he says I look fit enough for trip.. well, ok!

After walking for a good while I started wondering if I was ever going to see that river. Spending my first day wondering in a suburb would have been less than spectacular.

Finally, the river. I didn’t screw up. Nice little bridge there.

The Pipemakers park footbridge.

At the same time I’m discovering some of the Australian vegetation.

Not sure what those trees are called but they look pretty good.

A door on a building nearby (great background info I know).

Same bridge from the other way. Very nice sky. Looks like this is typical in Australia.

Artsy fartsy pic of the newly discovered tree and bridge.

Back on the street.. oh look they have 7/11 here too.

I might make it soon to the shopping center.

On my way I notice some interesting mail I thought slots:

Those newspaper wholes are everywhere.

Here I am at Highpoint.

tada…

So after going in I realized that the shopping center was, well, a shopping center…

They have the kernel here too. Only more expensive.

And a McDonalds. But here they call it Maccas, and apparently it’s a hip place for teens and pregnant women.

But with no history of bad habits in this country, I decided I should for healthy food choices. I stumbled upon this food place called Sumo Salad. www.sumosalad.com

My sister who loves healthy stuff, will be very proud. It was actually pretty good.

And this is Naz, my new Australian friend who works at an electronic store called JB Hi-Fi. I was looking for an travel adapter, but somehow in the process she ended up becoming a tour guide and wrote a mini guide of things to see in the city.

People here are awesome!

In the evening we decided to have some vietnamese food at Footscray.

And these are my host: Suzie and Andrea. Oh and look at the beer.. you can bring your own booze (beer included) in this restaurant. Nice.

Again, healthy stuff. Tofu and everything. Even the beer is low carb.

They haven’t heard of napkins here, but they like boxes of kleenexes.

After that, I was on a mission to go to the city by myself. This is the train station I’m starting from: Footscray.

I love the look of that station.

I’m supposed to get off at Flinders but I saw many people get off here and in a moment of panic, I got off there too. I took a picture and went back on the train. This was Southern Cross station.

This is Flinders station, probably the most central station in Melbourne.

Common place to meet.. under the clocks at Flinders.

Federation Square.

Federation Square-Red Centre sculpture

All within the same vicinity. This is the Yarra river.

Apparently this is normally lit, but it hasn’t for a few months.

I love night photography. This is from the Princess Bridge.

Arched bridge.

Princess Bridge.

See yesterday, or see you tomorrow! 

Notice how I spelled “day” D-A-Z? That’s because I’m using a Mac, and it’s a Mac with a QWERTZ keyboard layout -2 things I’m not accustomed to. On that layout they switch the “Y” with the “Z”, causing typos for us poor North Americans. It’s not a typical Australian keyboard, but since I can’t get my own laptop to work here, Suzie took pity on me and is nice enough to let me use hers.

*I just found out that the computer is from Switzerland. One mystery solved*

Suzie and her fiancé own a nice house in Maidstone, a suburb of Melbourne city. This is where I’ll be staying while in Melbourne. I am spoiled.

An interesting tidbit. When sending a letter here, you can put the suburb in the address and omit the city.

So my first day was somewhat uneventful. I was picked up from the airport, taken to the city for a quick tour by car, unpacked my stuff, caught up with my friend, and tried to stay awake as long as I possibly could. There is a 15 hour time difference between Melbourne and Toronto.

And yes, I probably brought too much photography equipment .

Some of the purchases of the day:

A Woolworth sim card powered by Optus. $30 for a pre-paid plan that includes 5gb of data and $250 to and network and $250 to any Optus network.. whatever that means, I know I can’t possibly get screwed as much as I do by Bell Canada.

I forgot to bring sandals. So I went into a shoe store (or I should say shop) and it took exactly 2 minutes to find and buy those for $30:

Last but not least, beer! Here a pack of 24 is called a slab. And best of all, you can get them in a drive through. Wow!

This pure blonde is low carb. I’m sure some people care.

And by the way, Australia is the center of the world I just found out.

See you tomorrow for the real first day…

Up next is the first official blog entry: my 30 day trip to Australia.

NOTE: prior blog entries are various wedding advices borrowed from Ed Morgan, the nice fellow who designed my new website. 

Here are some wonderful ideas for that perfect wedding venue.

Trust your intuition. When you arrive at a certain venue you will automatically have a certain reaction towards it. Trusting your instinct is important. If you have a good feeling about the venue then that’s a good start.You will know if a particular venue is right for you or not. You should not however leave out the logical choices in choosing a wedding venue. It will have to feel right because you and the man you love will exchange vows here.

Pace yourself. Don’t go rushing into choosing the perfect wedding venue. Having a wedding is one of the most important events in your life so you will want to make a wise decision. Try to start looking for a venue about a year before the wedding date if possible. You will then have enough time to make good decisions and alter the venue if something happens.

Think about the size.  The venue size is vitally important in your decision. Pick a venue that is too tiny and it will be awkward and annoying. The wedding will loose its intimacy if the venue is too large. The number of guests will dictate the the size. You will need a rough idea of how many guests you will plan on inviting before looking for your wedding venue. Try to be as accurate as possible. Don’t just say I want to invite from 200 to 500 guests. Such a large difference in the number of guest would affect venue size.Remember to leave enough space for the dance area. The more guests you have, the bigger space you need to designate for the dance area.

Review the parking area. Many people who have attended weddings complain of limited parking space. Make sure your choice of wedding venue has generous space for all of your guests. Parking may be a minor consideration but it could be the key between a satisfied guest and a frustrated one.

Find out if there are any restrictions for the venue. There might be some type of noise restriction which would hinder your decision to hire a band and have a loud sound system. There are time restrictions on some venues while others let you have a great time all night long. There are even some with restrictions on decorations.
Ascertain whether the venue would allow you to bring your own florist, caterer, decorator, etc because some might have specific professionals and contractors they would like you to use.

Create a diagram of your wedding. Have a setup on paper or your mind before choosing a wedding venue.  You have to know where each of the following will be located: reception area, dining area, and seating for guests, etc. Then review whether your venue fits the setup you have in mind.

Selecting a locale for your wedding is in all probability the most significant wedding planning choice you will have to make. After all, the locality of your wedding will control many features of your wedding, as well as the cost. For example, many people are now deciding on for a more tropical and out of the ordinary locality to get married, and if you feel like taking a trip to the opposite side of the globe to reach the wedding destination of your dreams, then it can be a lot pricey.

Destination weddings are for sure rising in status. Of course there still are many couples who follow the conventional route of a church wedding, with a reception held in a large banquet hall, destination weddings are undoubtedly an upcoming and new style with many couples wishing to tie the knot.

Why are destination weddings so in style?

Well, one good explanation is that they stand for a holiday for everyone caught up in the wedding and not just a honeymoon for the bride and groom. Some people like to keep it quiet and small and are content with just close friends and family, while there are other couples who prefer a large wedding party traveling along – it is all based on what you want. A destination wedding is also in style with people getting wedded for the second or even third time. They do not want all the bother and regulation of a conventional marriage, they simply want to ‘get away’ and get married.
Things to think about when planning a destination wedding:

• If wanting a tropical wedding, bear in mind that it will be very hot and humid and you and your partner could feel very distressing in your wedding attire

• Do you want only immediate family and friends to come with you, or a bigger wedding party?

• Can all of your guests manage to pay for the traveling costs?

• Can you manage to pay for all your guests who travel with you?

• Do you want to give a second reception back home for friends and family who could not travel with you?

• Is privacy essential to you? Your guests will enclose you for the whole period of your wedding and honeymoon.

Don’t forget that you would be inviting your guests to take the trip with you. However, it’s most probable that your guests will be paying their own way and are basically planning their complete holiday around your wedding. As a result, you will have to give substantial thinking in what both you and your guests want to do prior to and subsequent to the wedding.

To sum it up, destination weddings are getting to be very much in style and because of this there are many travel agents who now concentrate in these types of weddings. Make a choice on how big a traveling party you want and also if the guests can manage to pay for it. Be certain to make some arrangement with your guests if you want a few days of time and space to yourself and your spouse.