Chiz and I were treated to an amazing dinner by my parents for our 2nd anniversary. We went to a restaurant called Scholars Wine Bar in North Melbourne. It is a beautiful little restaurant with an amazing ambiance and bar! I had a scrumptious Belvedere Martini and they created a virgin juice drink just for Chiz! The food was also quite delectable! We highly recommend checking out the restaurant if you are in North Melbourne! Check out the picts from our dinner:
We went to Manifest the 13th which is reported as the biggest Cosplay event in Victoria, Australia. There were many stalls selling Anime stuff and Cosplay costumes, some cartoonist who drew your portrait in Anime style, a seminar area, game area, movie theatre and even a maid café!
Things sold there were quite expensive! It seemed 4 or 5 times more expensive than those sold in Japan. Yet, we saw many people with big bags and a lot of stuff. Cospalyers tend to be of the younger generation, people in their teens and 20’s. When cosplayers reach their 30’s, they become photographers.
Since Manifest is an annual three-day event, most cosplayers save their money to buy stuff there, and take time to plan and make their costume. Of course, there are some Anime/cosplay shops in the city, but it is rare to have many selections and varieties all in one place. So, many Anime fan and cosplayers do shopping at Manifest.
Just in case you do not know about cosplay……
Cosplay is a word made up from “costume” and “play”. It started in the late 60’s in Japan but the idea of dressing up came from American Halloween Science Fiction festivals. Instead of dressing up in a scary costume, people decided to dress up as Anime characters. In the U.S., Comic-Con is popular and people dress up as American cartoon/film/tv game characters, such as Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, etc.
This past weekend Chiz and I met up with our friends, Josh and Valerie to do something we hadn’t done in a long-time – indoor rock climbing. There is a really nice place in the city where they let you climb all day – but we didn’t make it that long! While it might look easy – it’s not! You have to cling to the wall with just the tips of your fingers and toes, using muscles you didn’t even know existed! You also work in a team, belaying your partner, making sure they don’t fall! This is also just indoor climbing – we can’t even imagine how much more difficult it must be to really climb rocks! It was lots of fun though and a great way to get active! Hopefully we will go again soon!
Australians are really into their sports! Popular sports here include Aussie rules football, cricket, and rugby. While I have seen these sports played on TV, I have never been to a game. I also don’t understand the rules either! Since we are living down under, I have wanted to go and see at least one of these sports, and luckily my friend Richard was nice enough to take me to a rugby union game.
There are two different leagues of rugby in Australia, rugby league and rugby union. The rules vary slightly between the two, but don’t ask me what the difference is between them. Richard was nice enough to explain the rules of rugby union, his favorite sport. I think I have the basics, but it’s a bit confusing. Basically, you can’t throw the ball forward, you are allowed to kick it, and everyone ends up in big piles! It’s a tough sport and these guys are industrial-strength athletes! I can’t believe how much punishment they take and keep going back for more – all without protective equipment! The game we saw was the Melbourne Rebels vs. the Queensland Reds. Richard supported the Reds, since he is originally from Queensland, so we both rooted against the home crowd. It was lots of fun, and the Reds solidly defeated the Rebels 32-17.
Hopefully before Chiz and I leave Australia we might have the chance to see an Aussie rules game… I’m not sure I could sit through 5 days of a cricket match!
The Applebaums went from up over to down under! Chiz and I took them all around town to see all the sights and eat some amazing meals! We headed to Sydney where we saw the sights there and also visited the insides of many restaurants! It was really great to see them, and fun to spend time with them. We hope to see them again soon! Check out the picts:
New Zealand is not really known for its major city, Auckland, but rather known for it’s amazing nature. In order to experience all that this country had to offer, we decided to spend some time driving around in the countryside, and end our trip in Auckland.
On our first day, we rented a car at Auckland Airport and drove to Hahei. This is close to Hot Water Beach where we could dig out and make our own hot water pond to soak in. What an amazing experience! On the way to Hahei, we stopped at a cafe and had our first meal in NZ, which was ok… Jay’s banana pancake was great though. In Hahei, we stayed at Hahei B&B hosted by Mark. It was a beautiful B&B house with a nice swimming pool. After dropping off our baggage, we headed to a place called Cathedral Cove recommended by Mark. It is a really cool arch that was formed by nature over many many years…
On our second day, we drove to Hot Water Beach and rented a spade and looked for a good spot to dig. A lady suggested to us that we look for a place where we could see a bubble. When we got to the beach, we found a few spots where we felt heat underneath but it was not low tide yet. So, we waited for about 1 hour to find the best spot. And, yes – we did it. It was such a great experience. We spent the whole time in our pond we made until the ocean tide became high again. Then, we went to a cafe close to the beach and had nice nibbles. In the evening, we went to a winery and pizza place recommended by a person who owned a mobile cafe at Cathedral Cove. It was such a unique place where a guy owns and makes his own wines. The pizza was good too. We stayed until late, even after their closing time and hung out with some locals there.
On our third day, we drove to Raglan, which is located on the opposite side of the island. The Raglan beach was such a gorgeous beach with black sand. The water was so clear that we could see through everything. The sun was really strong though, so we could not stay out for long hours. In the evening, we had a nice Indian/Nepali restaurant and drove to Waitomo Caves.
On our fourth day, we did a bit of adventure! We joined the Black Labyrinth tour for three hours in a glowworm cave. It was also an interesting experience and quite surreal in the cave. Glowworms were very beautiful in the dark. They seemed like stars in the sky. Our guides were pretty great. They made our experience even better. After the adventure, we unfortunately had to say good bye to beautiful sceneries. We headed to the city, Auckland. Jay got us free nights at the Hilton! It was a nice stay and we enjoyed it tremendously. The city was not so big and we could walk around it within a day or two easily. It was very different from Melbourne, but both cities are quite relaxed and easy environments. We walked around the city in the night and had a nice meal at a South Korean restaurant where a Korean waitress recommended us to go to Christchurch, which is located on the South Island. If we come back to New Zealand, I think we will explore the southern Island!
On our fifth day, we went to the Auckland Museum and War Museum. It was a bit of a walk from the city because the museum was located in the middle of nowhere… But, it was a great museum. They display a lot of Maori cultural and other Polynesian information. Also, they have a nature museum and a specialised room for kids too. We also watched a Maori cultural performance. The Maori people showed us a bit of their culture. They sang songs, danced and showed us how they used to fight (Maori culture is pretty much a fight culture).
On our last day, we once again did an adventure, bungee jumping from the Auckland Harbour Bridge! It was a very scary experience but we all loved it!
It was a really great trip! As a matter of fact, our experience in the Hahei Bed and Breakfast made Chiz and I decide that we want to open our own B&B! Not now, but more like a retirement plan. Now all we need to do is find the right place to have one! I guess we have some more traveling to do… oh well!
Here are some picts from our trip – lots of them! Enjoy:
Also, here is a video I took from the Maori Experience from the Auckland Museum:
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For Chiz’ birthday we had a really fun day. Our friend Jay was in town and he joined us for High Tea at Hopetoun Tea Rooms. It was really great, but we had to book very far in advance since it is quite a popular spot. We also went to see a court case at the Victoria Supreme Court, which was a really interesting experience. Yes, they all wear wigs and speak with funny accents. We did a bit of shopping at an interesting second hand shop. We then finished the evening at one of our favorite Italian restaurants on Lygon street, Tiamo 1 & 2. It was such a special day but also a strange weather day. It was a bit chilly in the morning, but it turned out to be a nice hot afternoon. Then it turned into a stormy evening. It was indeed a birthday in Melbourne!
As I’ve wandered around Melbourne, I’ve taken some picts of various graffiti. There are some pretty cool pieces around the city:
Chiz and I headed to Chinatown to join the Chinese New Year celebrations. We were surprised that the event was so big! There were many different dragons dancing in the streets, lots of fireworks, and even stalls set up selling stuff! It was really fun, but also really hot!
Chiz and I were invited to an amazing international party to celebrate Australia Day. So what is Australia Day? Well, it commemorates the arrival of the first fleet from England in 1788. It is somewhat controversial in aboriginal communities, who have a different name for it: “invasion day.” To me it has some similarities to Thanksgiving in America. Also, like Thanksgiving, people come together to eat, drink, and hang out with family and friends.
Our friends Rob and Barb throw an international party to celebrate Australia Day. They have lots of friends in Australia who are from all over the world. They invite them to their house and everyone brings a different dish from their home country to share. This is the twelfth year the event has been going on, and we were excited to be a part of it!
Chiz wore a yukata (which looks like a kimono) and I wore a jimbei. We brought something from Japan (temari zushi) and something from America (brownies). We met some really amazing people and ate some really delicious food! I miss celebrating Thanksgiving since we are not living in America, so it was really nice to be a part of Australia Day.
Thanks so much for a great day Rob and Barb!
