Lions and Tigers and Bears! Oh Taronga!

Hello my pretties,

I was relaxing *cough* napping *cough* in my room after a fabulous Christmas lunch, when suddenly my phone rang. It was my friend on the line. Turns out he had two free passes to Taronga Zoo on Boxing Day but he was going out of town. Would I be able to go instead? Now anyone who really knows me, also knows that the only way I like animals is well done with a side of fries. But hey, two free passes to one of the best zoos in the world. How could I pass it up?

So there I was on Boxing Day, fresh and awake at the unearthly hour of 9 AM (the horror! The sheer unbridled horror!). I met Ankita at Circular Quay and from there we caught the ferry. It was my first time on a ferry so I was understandably more excited than normal. Plus there was this view.

And this one.

I loved how the waves mimicked the rowdy clouds. You can't really tell that from this photograph, but trust me on this one. 

Our first stop was the Australian wild life section. I couldn't leave with seeing me some 'roos! So we did. Emus and Koalas too! I forget what the other animal was. A wombat? A wallaby? Something.

Next we walked up to the African wildlife section. They had fancier names, but I was too excited to take down notes. We saw the big cats. 

P.S. One of these is not like the others. Guess? Guess? Yes! The tapir! I was so excited. When I was younger, we had this book of animal stories. My mom would read these stories to Shivonne and I as part of our bedtime ritual. There was always a tapir in those stories. See mama? They're real. And they're massive.

I couldn't get over how majestic the lion was. He just sat in that ledge and looked down his nose at us. I almost curtsied. Fo shizzle my nizzle. 

Here's a close-up.

Daayymm.

Then there was this fellow following us all around the zoo.

And you think you've got swag.

There were these dinosaur figures sprinkled all across the zoo. There was even one that spat! I only got a couple of pics. I'm El Dorko.

We walked around the bird sanctuary. It was basically this enclosure with a path through it. The birds flew freely around our heads and sometimes crossed our paths. All was well and good when suddenly I saw this-

Scared the bejeezus out of me. It wasn't real, but still. Eegads.

We had a fabulous lunch of fish and chips at the Harbourview Cafe (Nom! Nom!) and continued on our adventure.

Of course we had to see the herbivores. "Let's go see the epelleephants!" I yelled. (No. That is not a typo. I'm a 5 year-old trapped in a grown woman's body. Hmph.)

This is clearly an elephant who's very fed up of life. (#face-palming elephant-style?)

This one stared right at me. Into the very depths of my black, meat-eating soul. Like it KNEW that I was already contemplating dinner.

Hmph. I still ate chicken that night. I refuse to be bullied into vegetarianism by a giraffe.

Moving on.

One of my favouritest parts was the Sea Life section. This was the entrance.

Suddenly, I did not feel guilty about having that giant muffin for breakfast. 

We went to the Seal show. This was their erm.. stage?

This was also the only picture I took. I was so thoroughly charmed by the seals that I forgot to take any pics. The cheeky devils. 

Oh! Oh! And check out these views!! 

                                      

Could it get any more spectacular?

Why, yes. Yes, it can!

Gawjuss, I say. Simply gawjuss.

Somewhere around the bird sanctuary area, we came across this structure. I think it's a bird house, but I cant't say for sure. It sure was pretty though.

It took us a full day to cover the entire zoo. I'm so glad we got there by 10 am because we just about managed to see everything by 5 PM. We took the ferry back and that was the end of our adventure at the zoo.

Current Food Obsession: The awesome samosas Ankita brought from home. Tiny triangles of curried potato, peas, and the tears of my enemies. I know they were from the frozen food section, but they tasted like heaven.

Current Music Obsession: The music from the trailer of the Great Gatsby. The movie's by Baz Luhrmann who also made one of my favourite movies of all time, Moulin Rouge. Gotta love the drama. I sure do. I can't wait for this one to come to a theatre near me.

In case you're interested, the three songs are:

• 'No Church in the Wild'- Kanye West and Jay Z 
• 'Bedroom Hymns'- Florence and the Machine
• 'Happy Together'- Filter

Who would ever think of combining Kanye West with Florence and the Machine and Filter? A musical magician, that's who. Genius!

Until next time, ciao y'all. 

Accidents, Serendipity, and Hyde Park

If my family were a boy band, my father would be the Quiet One, my mom would be the Bad-ass Rebel, my brother the Charming One, my sisters would be the Talent, and I'd be the One Who Falls A Lot. For real. I'm such a klutz that I'm injurious to YOUR health. I have at least one major fall every year and I've broken shoes, ruined clothes, sprained ankles, torn ligaments- and the latest in my erm... 'menagerie of mishaps'- a broken foot. I guess you can say that I'm a tad accident prone.

Luckily, not all accidents are unpleasant. In fact, some of my favourite spots in Sydney are the places I discovered by accident. Moving to a brand new city all by your lonesome can sometimes get overwhelming, and I've found that long, solitary walks really calm me down. And occasionally, I come across some really neat places.

One sunny afternoon, while I was galavanting around George Street, I found myself completely and hopelessly lost. Of course, I could have just looked up my location on Google Maps, but where's the fun in that? Anyway, so I found myself at a pretty interesting gate. It was open to the public and I walked in, armed with nothing except an epic playlist.

Turns out I was in Hyde Park.

I walked by a bunch of old people playing chess on this massive chessboard. They were really into it. Notice the two men on the right discussing the game. I thought they were adorable.

Suddenly. This.

This was so gorgeous, it literally took my breath away. I still don't know what that building was but wow. And best of all was this random guitarist on the side who was playing the most amazing arrangement of Hotel California. I continued walking and just went I thought things couldn't get any better, this appeared.

Holy cow. I half expected Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet to show up in a carriage. Although, to be honest, I'd be happy with just Darcy. Hee.

But wait, there's more!

I finally ended up at the ANZAC War Memorial. Very cool place, I say. It was built to honour the Australian Imperial Force of World War I. The fuzzy bits on the ceiling? Turns out those are golden stars. One for every soldier who was killed in the war (I think). It was such an awe inspiring building. It's too bad my photography skills are the pits.

Current Food Obsession: Orange and Poppy Seed muffins from 7-11. Carbohydrate heaven!

Current Music Obsession: Boat Behind by Kings Of Convenience. It's so mellow and chilled out.

Till next time. Ciao y'all.