Chocoholic

So - I finally made it to 'The Rocks' area of Sydney. It's the bit right underneath the harbour bridge (the bit of land that is - not the wet bit) and it's where the city Sydney was born all those years ago.

Anyhow - as well as providing really good views of both the harbour bridge and the opera house, The Rocks has a great market on the weekend and people were constantly amazed that I had been in Sydney 2 months and not made it down there yet. Well - I am a bit spoilt with Glebe Market next door, and I'd heard The Rocks market was more expensive.

But it wasn't the market that finally tempted me down there. When I woke up on Sunday morning I just followed my nose to the Aroma Festival - a celebration of coffee, chocolate, tea and spice. Now, as I don't drink tea or coffee I had to limit myself to chocolate and spices, but don't worry, I made up for it - starting with rocky road, followed by rich hot chocolate, then marshmallows dipped in a chocolate fountain, followed by chocolate coated strawberries and finishing with Italian gingerbread. Oh and I had some homemade pink lemonade to wash it all down.

I have said it before and I will say it again - it's a hard life living in Sydney.... (And people still ask me why I am not on my way back home yet!).

Despite the few spots of rain, it was a great morning and I can verify that drinking melted chocolate whilst sitting watching the ferries in the harbour in front of Sydney Opera House is worth getting out of bed on a Sunday morning for.

In more food-related news, we finally managed to get a table at the Lebanese restaurant across the road on Saturday night and the food was very, very tasty. The belly dancing was good fun too (says the voice of someone who was pulled up to dance). I don't think I have ever seen a Lebanese restaurant in the UK, but if you have one near you and haven't yet tried it, I can recommend you do - if the lamb-stuffed vine leaves and the homemade hummus is half as good as the stuff we had, you'll be onto a winner. Though I am guessing in the UK it would cost more than 21 quid for 2 people...

So - what have I been up to other than eating? Well - going to the gym to counteract the eating of course. And catching up with Susan, my rapidly-expanding pregnant friend from back home who is living in Sydney.

Oh yes - and I started my English grammar course on Saturday morning. Being one of the 'set their minds free' generation I was never taught grammar at school, which has always made it a bit difficult learning other languages. (If you don't know what a verb is in your own language what hope have you got?). So all is going well in the world of syntax and morphology.

Plus, I have my jewellery making course starting tonight, so guess what you're all getting for Christmas. (That's right - tea towels again).

So - as you can see - I am keeping busy. So busy in fact that I have only caught snatches of the news about the flooding in England (though I notice the amount of coverage increases the closer to London the water gets...). Hope you're all okay over there. I have a spare snorkel if anyone needs it.

Anyhow - a few birthdays to note:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY VAL - for the other day. Hope you had a good day. Sorry your card didn't get there in time.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CALLUM - for tomorrow. Hope you have fun at your party! Wow - you're a big boy now!