Tuesday, 21 April 2009

New traditions

As I've said a million times over, moving to Australia would mean heaps of firsts. Well, recently I've celebrated my first Easter here and it was such a great experience. I had a long weekend packed with different things to do. On Maundy Thursday I attended the celebration of the washing of the feet (as I am Catholic) and on Good Friday attended the Good Friday mass.

Easter Saturday (or Black Saturday) was more exciting. I spent it with friends wandering around the city, and I found out that there are actually shows and some sort of a circus set up at Darling Harbour. It was cool how there were acrobats and different sorts of performers all over the Harbour because it made the walk so much more interesting than normal. I've got one really bad photo but I'll put it up anyhow:


Darling Harbour on Easter Saturday

Later on that night, we went salsa dancing as you may have read from my previous blog. Sunday was more relaxed. I spent time with my family and had my friend Brenda over with us the whole day. We also attended mass and had a simple dinner that we all put together.


We had Chicken Schnitzel, Cabbage & Pine Nut Salad, Fish Fillets in Ginger Sauce, Eggplant Omelette, Pork Chops and Lentil Salad.

My Easter weekend didn't end there. The next day, my girlfriends and I decided to go and see the Sydney Royal Easter Show which showcases the different farm animals, produce, and festival shows, among other things in Australia.


It is one of those events you wouldn't want to miss if you're in Australia during the Easter. Here are some photos from the Easter Show:


There are different rides that you could get on, such as this ferris wheel.


If you're not into that, there are farm animal shows like the Pet A Pig one. Others include Sheep Shearing and Cow Milking.



If you happen to enjoy food like I do, Wooly's has an exhibit of different fruits & vegetables!

There's heaps more to do in the Easter Show, like the Woodchop and the Equestrianism contests. There is also a dog show where you can see different breeds of dogs - I really enjoyed this one so much that I wasn't even able to take pictures! Also a fashion show featuring alcapa fur runs there.

The Sydney Royal Easter Show runs for 2 weeks each year and it is best to go on weekdays, where the place isn't too packed. It is located at the Sydney Olympic Park, and it is easily accessible by train as there is a station that stops directly there. The best part is that the ticket to the show comes in a package with the train ticket. University students pay $25, school children pay around $21 (these are rounded figures) and adults pay $32. I reckon there are packages for families but you may as well check out the website. I'm sure the rates would be different next year, but at least you have an idea.

To be honest this is the first Easter where I had more fun than I could ever have imagined! :-) Not only did I had heaps of fun, but I also gained so much more, in terms of things to be thankful about in life. Excuse the cheese, but I' m already looking forward to next year :-)


PS!
I've got a new profile photo up - besos y abrazos para mi amiga Tippy! She's an amazing Brisbane-based graphic designer, and I'll post the link to her online folio as soon as it gets set up :-)

Sunday, 19 April 2009

Who knew

that I would find a love for salsa dancing and everything Latino here in Australia? Ever since I've started hanging out with my friends from Chile, I've been learning everything there is about South America. I've been learning Spanish on my own as well. It's quite interesting how closely it relates to Tagalog, which is the language of the Filipino people.

Anyway - back to salsa. The first time I went was when our friend from Greece dragged me and my Swiss and Chilean girlfriends to a place called Vivaz. At first I was being very resistant to it because I really had no idea how to salsa or anything. Of course, my friends finally got me to dance with them and by the end of the night I really couldn't wait to get back!

Two weeks later, we headed out to Vivaz yet again! I was really happy that we went there to dance the night away. Entry to Vivaz costs $15 but if you're there for dinner there's usually a buffet that costs $44 including the entry to dancing after. There are salsa classes which you can take for $10 for an hour I reckon.

It's pretty good in there, as there is a mix of a DJ spinning different latino tunes as well as a live band. The best thing about it is that it is located at the Rocks! The Rocks is such a wonderful place to take walks before and after good dancing and drinks. Obviously, I can't wait to go again next week :-) Anyway here are a few photos:


My friends Brenda & Erick dancing with the crowd

Hidden in this photo are my German & Swiss girlfriends dancing salsa like they're actually latino. See how much fun everyone's having? :-)



In other news, I realised that I haven't blogged in a month and I should probably should do some catching up with all the writing I've got to do with regards to my (mis)adventures here Down Under ;-)