RosemaryLong.com

Lots of things have happened since Part 1 and would’ve been good for a constant Twitter feed (if I was more committed to it). But some items of note, not yet sorted into days include:

• Went to the Melbourne Aquarium. Freaking penguins in the first exhibit! Sharks, rays, lots of fun stuff. Have pics coming soon.
• Tom’s birthday. Saw a freaking platypus! Walked to Melbourne zoo, had samosa and fried rice for breakfast with coffee, saw as much wildlife begging for food near the eateries as behind bars. Saw wild parrots in the trees, beautiful!
• Tom’s birthday dinner at Nobu at Crown casino and entertainment complex. Delicious drinks, friendly bartender. First drink had ume shu and a rare spiny mountain peach as garnish. Second drink had an apple liqueur and cinnamon with lime. Dinner was amazing, don’t know if I can eat sushi anywhere else ever again. Okay, that’s a lie, I’ll continue to eat sushi but this place is definitely a favorite. Other highlights: jalapeno sauce on roasted cauliflower, flaky and melty cod, soft shell crab tempura rolls. Dessert: sampler platter including sake sorbet, green tea parfait type thing, Japanese doughnut, chocolate bento box with green tea ice cream.
• Day after Tom’s birthday, found out that Gordon Ramsay is in town and is going to eat at Nobu as well, to be joined by Robert DeNiro, part owner of the place.
• Went out for drinks with some ThoughtWorkers at Double Happiness. Liquid vice: “Great leap forward” – lychee vodka with ginger, lime and muddled mint leaves. Crazy and fun night.
• Hangover day. Slept in, so did Ash (even though it was Friday and he had to go to work). Tom and I had breakfast/lunch at Nando’s (there’s one in Calgary we haven’t been to before). Delicious. Took it easy that night, watched How I Met Your Mother and probably almost peed myself laughing.
• Saturday. Packed and the guys picked up the rental car for our trip to Great Ocean Road. Beautiful scenery, windy roads made me wish I had my motion sickness medication too. Saw two groups of wild kangaroo. Saw a flock of wild sulfur-crested cockatoos. Internet booking went wonky and got upgraded to an apartment. Had an amazing calamari meal at Room Six. Watched a game of footy. Kept waking up in the middle of the night because I was switching the heating pad from 0 to maxiumum when I thought I was just setting it to 1.
• Woke up before sunrise, went to see the Twelve Apostles. Beautiful sky, chilly air. Went to other places (pictures will better describe their beauty) then had a fantastic breakfast at Room Six. Started to rain, so headed back to Melbourne. Ordered pizza, my favorite was one with anchovies and olives. Salty deliciousness. Tried to make plans for the rest of the long weekend, finding that lots of places were close due to snow or wildfire earlier this year.
• Slept in, went to the mall. I ate a ton again, proclaiming my love for passionfruit yogurt and tiramisu and salad and coffee all while eating. Bought a couple of things, including burgundy hair extensions and some souveniers for my brothers. Went to the grocery store, where I found a custard apple. (When I was younger I planted some seeds for this plant, anticipating the creamy apple taste of the rainforest fruit. I killed the plants, and haven’t found a custard apple since.) Ash made lamb curry, super delicious. Also, I am beginning to run out of adjectives for food. Watched more How I Met Your Mother followed by Stardust.
• Returned the rental car, and had a double adventure looking for a gas station and having the GPS system take us to an adjacent town instead of back to the Budget car rental place. Starving. Went to Stalactites for greek food, again ate a ton. Pigged out on a lamb and chicken giro plate with fries and salad, for dessert had baklava with ice cream and some creme caramel. Went next door (oh yes) for more dessert. Sparrows snuck in and were eating off some of the plates. Went to the Metropolitan hotel for a drink (but wait, there’s more) and had a good ginger ale + vanilla vodka + lime drink. A new favorite. On the way walking home, saw a possum in the dark. It approached me, but Ash said it was looking for food. Tom snapped a few photos of it. Also saw a rat in the park, ew.