The past few days

Here are some of the pictures promised last post. I'm not sure why but the uploader isn't recognizing any of the latest photos I've taken, so I had to copy them to my desktop before posting. Kind of a pain, hopefully it'll sort itself out!

My trusty steed, basket and everything! Simon laughed when he saw it because it was so predictably me. One speed cruiser. LOVE IT!

The grey one is Simon's. It's a pretty dope road bike with a few speeds. All in all we're both super happy with them.

Simon sitting down at the table for our first official cooked dinner in the place.

A close up of the dinner. Vegan and veggie friends, you'd be proud. It was a vegan meal, and quite possibly the first one I've ever cooked! It sorta happened by accident. It was coconut curry with tofu, chickpeas and beans, and a salad. Yummy.

So we woke up Friday morning and it was raining, which was sad. It seems like Canberra summer is a little *too* much like Vancouver summer! Simon had some errands to run and I finally gathered the courage to go for my first run of 2011. It was a slow going process but I got to explore a little more of the paths that run along the main road behind our place. I didn't go too far though because I started getting a little freaked out that the trail was moving away from the road and that I didn't have a phone or anything, nor did Simon know where I was. So I turned back and went the direction of civic (or town), which was helpful.

Rainy Friday photo from our apartment.

When I got back from my run I went into town to post something to mom, then Simon and I went into town. We got a toaster and Simon continued to look for a french press for coffee, but they're all really expensive or out of stock. We came back and hung out until 7pm when there was pizza in the common room of our building, so we went to check it out. We got there at 7:15 and there was barely any pizza left and the place was packed. I was a bit overwhelmed and hung out in a corner, whereas Simon went to meet some people. Eventually people came up to us which was nice, because I was feeling super intimidated. Everyone we met seemed really nice and helpful which was great. Most of the people we met were from Oz, though I think that will change for me when classes start. We got the scoop on some markets and places to go around town, though it does seem like ANU is the main place where stuff is going on. We came back and watched some TV before calling it a night.

Today has been eventful and exciting so far. We got up relatively early because last night's sleep was a terrible combo of people leaving intercoms on and birds squacking (sp?) outside our window in the early hours, so sleeping in didn't seem possible. Today is the main day that first years start moving in, so there's stuff going on in the main wing of our building. And contrary to what ANU would have us believe, our building is host to undergrads too, but I think they have to be in their 3rd or 4th year to be here. Those who moved from the main wing to Laurus did so mainly because apparently they were sick of eating cafeteria food, which I understand.

Anyway, we saw some of the same people again helping people into their dorms. Then we headed into town for breakfast, and to check out the multiculturalism fair going on. As far as I can tell the festival is a giant excuse to eat and drink. There seemed to be mainly food in each tent, some places had beer, and not much else! It's on until midnight tonight and there are some stages so I think we're going to head in again after this and see what else is going on.

From there we went to pick up a rental car as we're traveling to Culburra tomorrow for a few more days of rest and relaxation before classes start. Expect many more bird pictures to come soon! We came back to campus because let's face it driving on the other side of the road in a car that is backwards to the way I was taught was a little scary at first. But I got the hang of it pretty quickly (barring a few, 'wait, where do I go??'). This may sound crazy but I really think being left-handed is helping the situation.

Anyway, after coming back here for a bit we headed to Fishwyck (I think it's pronounced fishick) to try to find an op shop for some discount deals. Sadly it was already closed so we went to the Fishwyck fresh food market, which was definitely worth it!

A wide view of the market. It's in a U shape, with parking in the middle.

The market had a lot of fresh fruit and veggie places, there was a liquor store (or bottle shop as it's called here), a butcher or two, a few seafood places, an asian market, and dried fruit and nut store, and a few other things. We didn't get anything fresh as we're heading out for a few days, but we intend to go back there before we drop the car off on Thursday.

We got some fresh fruit for a snack, and Simon suggested getting a case of beer because bulk buying is the way to go, so we did that too. Then we went to the dried fruit and nut store and I went a little crazy, but only with non-perishable stuff that I'll use throughout the year like quinoa and dried lentils. Simon got some stuff too, it was a good store to buy bulk. Then we went into the asian market, where I found Tamarind powder which is necessary to make my current favourite salad, a Burmese tomato salad. I'm excited to try it out! I also got some dried seaweed which is also a favourite of mine right now. While we were in Hawaii in October, Mom and I found this great teriyaki flavoured seaweed, and I found the same stuff, which was exciting.

After we'd bought out the place, we headed back home. The way we came home at the end was the same way I had gone running yesterday, and there was a road that led up to the Black Mountain Tower, so we took a little detour. Sadly you had to pay $7.50 to go up the Tower, which neither of us felt like doing, and they had a total monopoly on viewpoints which was crazy annoying. Unless you go up the tower all you can see is trees. So on the way back down we stopped whenever there was a place to do so and I tried to get some shots, but they weren't great.

Simon beside our little zoomzoom car, a Hyundai Getz. It's zippy!

This kind of makes me afraid for what it does to everybody who visits!

One of the only shots I could get from the balcony area at the base of the Tower.

Looking up at the Tower from the base.

Looking at Parliament from about halfway down the 'mountain'.

Looking at the city center from the same location.

There's a botanical garden right next to the entrance to the Tower road, but we decided to leave that for another day. Now we're at home for a bit before heading back into town. The weather is still overcast and gross, which is disappointing. Hopefully it'll be nicer at the beach!