places we’ve been

Australian Open

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chiz and i had the amazing opportunity to go to the australian open! i love watching tennis and neither of us had ever been to a live match before, so being in melbourne during the australian open offered us a great opportunity. we purchased ground passes, which allowed us to watch matches at almost any of the outdoor courts. we got there early and was able to watched a few really great matches. the caliber of talent is amazing! also, the courts were relatively small and intimate. it was a really amazing time and i hope we might have the opportunity to attend again next year! here are some picts from our day:

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Rainbows

Billy and Chiz 1 Comment

australia has beautiful skies. i often look up and see fluffy white clouds looking more like they are in a painting than above my head. there are also beautiful rainbows. i’ve never seen rainbows like the ones i’ve seen here. they look ripped from a children’s story book about leprechauns! they actually stretch across the whole sky and you can even make out all the different colors which make it up! often there are even two… below are some picts of some of these rainbows chiz and i have seen. the first picture is chiz’ amazing shot she took, which really captures an essence of melbourne. enjoy:

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Brisvegas Holiday

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chiz and i went to brisbane to celebrate christmas and new years with friends. kate & matt were nice enough to let us stay with them and treated us like family through the holidays. they really do the holidays up right with lots of good food and drinks! they even took us to see some of the amazing beaches around queensland! it was a really wonderful time!

growing up in nyc, i remember watching all the new years celebrations happening all over the world during the day leading up to the ball dropped in times square. it was strange to me ringing in the new year here, going to bed, only to wake up to it still not being new years in nyc due to the time difference… it was also a bit odd celebrating new years in such beautiful hot weather! i could get used to that!

here are some picts from our holiday:

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Birthday Tempura

Billy and Chiz 2 Comments

some people really love celebrating their birthday that they try make it last for a whole week… or even a month! i think that’s too much, but I can understand celebrating your birthday for 2 days…

i never really thought about it until i lived abroad, but your birthday actually takes 2 days to travel the whole globe. right now my birthday is ending here in melbourne, but it’s just beginning in america. it makes me realize that time is so arbitrary.

for my birthday, chiz and i went to a japanese tempura restaurant that was recommended by some of chiz’ coworkers. it wasn’t cheap, but it was quite authentic (we only spoke japanese) and it was also quite delicious! it was a really great way to celebrate my birthday!

check out the picts here:

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Mornington Peninsula

Billy and Chiz 3 Comments

This weekend, we drove to a place called Mornington Peninsula which is located about 62 km south from the city.  We planned this two-day trip quite a while ago so we were both excited!  There were more things which excited us:

1-  Nice Onsen bath and massage,
2-  Chiz driving a car for the first time in Oz,
3-  Cheese tasting

Although we were pretty excited about the trip, we somehow did not expect too much.  Yet, this trip surpassed our expectations! We totally enjoyed our time and whatever we did. The hotel was one of the best we’ve ever stayed at, with an amazing bath tub that is hard to find! Also, their restaurant was better than we could have imagined, where we ate kangaroo! After the trip, we felt that we learnt a bit more about Oz as well.  They drive quite fast!!!  This trip has already become one of our unforgettable trips!

Here are the picts – enjoy:

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Le Gateau Chocolate

Billy and Chiz 3 Comments

This past weekend, Chiz and I decided to treat ourselves to an event that was happening in Melbourne. The second annual Melbourne Caberet Festival was going on and we wanted to be part of it!

We decided to see an amazing performer named Le Gateau Chocolat. It’s hard to describe this diva… but I’m going to try. He is a hefty Nigerian man, who studied law in England and decided instead of practicing law, to dress in sparkly lycra suits and perform operatic and modern classics!  Sounds great, right… well he was! This was his Melbourne debut, but he was such a success I’m sure he will be back here again. If he comes to your city, I would highly recommend that you check out his show – it’s well worth it!

I have posted some picts from the evening below, as well as some clips of Le Gateau Chocolat’s performances during the night. He has an amazing voice and a really fun personality on stage! We had so much fun and the evening just flew by very quickly.

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Funny Australian Signs

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This will probably be my last blog post for a while. Starting on Monday I head back to the grind of university classes and too much work. I wanted to put up a fun little post before I stop though, and thought this collection of picts might be interesting.

In Japan, I found lots of funny signs written in English. That was expected though, since it’s not their language. I wasn’t expecting to find funny signs in Australia though, but yes… they are here too!

Below are some funny Australian signs that I found during our time here. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

 

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