My Massive Weekend

G'day to all my loyal readers. Apologies for being awol the past week or so. I've been very busy job hunting and trying to get "me head" around contracts. My how judges love to write in such a way that makes English sound like another language! To make up for my utterly lack-luster (ok "academically productive") weekend last week, this past weekend was filled with fun! First up was a reunion with a mate from Oakville, Missy, whom I know through a couple mutual friends and from taking her amazing fitness classes at Goodlife in Oakville. (Oh how I miss my spa-like women's gym in Oakville!!) She was in Sydney for the weekend and of course we just had to say hello!  We went to a German Pub in The Rocks (the oldest part of Sydney where many original, convict-built buildings are still in use) for a 'bier', followed by a stop at a gourmet chocolate shop where I treated myself to one luscious chocolate truffle.


Next we wandered down to the harbour to take in the magnificent Opera House and Harbour Bridge. (Did you know the Aussie government originally set up the Australian Lottery to raise funds to build the bridge?). It was great to see her but sad to say goodbye after such a quick visit. 

Next up was dinner with my new friend Jane. Jane was one of the first people I met in Sydney and we hit it off right away! She has amazing taste in art, decor and clothing (as evidenced here in these paintings and her clothes which I am wearing). Her jazz musician bf came over and we all sat down to a divine Thai curry Jane whipped up while I was playing dress-up in her closet. 

My new uni friends gathered at our mate Angus' new house in Paddington for his house warming party. The house is gorgeous. Think stone floors, high ceilings with ornate crown molding, arched doorways, beautiful furniture and artwork shipped over from Zimbabwe and even a famous guy next door! 

You never know what you're going to see when out and about in Sydney. Saturday was no exception as my route took me via Circular Quay where this contortionist was demonstrating how she could put her legs behind her head and rotate herself around in circles on a disk. I moved on just as she was about to squeeze herself into a small box atop a ladder. I'm a bit leery of stunt shows after watching the youtube video of the escape artist who almost drowned whilst performing a stunt at a basketball game half-time show. 

That night was my friend Bonnie's 21st birthday party. In Australia 21sts are a really big deal and people go all out for the celebration. We listened to speeches and watched a slide show while devouring the huge spread of lasagnas, schnitzel, garlic bread and brownies. Yum! There was music and dancing and even an impromptu sing-along! I loved the Polaroid camera. The images made me think of a classic 1970s scrapbook.

Finally my weekend ended with La Galette! A gathering of friends at my mate Christophe's flat to eat galette, which apparently is a french pastry dish. Hidden inside is a little token and whoever gets that in their slice is the "king" and gets to wear a crown. Not to be one to show up empty handed, I baked a lemon cake using my new-to-me silicon cake dish bought at a garage sale a while ago. Works really well!