Day 9: A Girls Day

Today was relaxing, and full of all sorts of fun Australian experiences. I woke up kind of late...and I'll blame that on the fact that we'd been so busy all week, although it was mostly because I'm lazy. We bummed around for a few hours (well, I did. Sam was cleaning and ironing and such) and then we headed out to do some shopping and get Sam and the girls' hair cut.

We were very lucky in that we were able to spend the entire day with the lovely and beautiful Judith Smith :) Our first stop was at Studio 10 (I believe it was called). I all of the sudden forgot the name, but anyway, it was a cute little shop on one of the back roads of Sydney. The closest thing I could liken it to here is like a cross between Ross, Plato's Closet and the Gap. It had marked down clothes, but a lot of it was almost one of a kind and really trendy. It was also a lot easier to find things here than in Ross.

I happened upon this really cute leather jacket while we were in this store, and sat and debated over whether I really wanted to get it and add to the bulk of my suitcase to take home, but I had been looking for a leather jacket, and this one was only $30, so I broke down and bought it along with a pair of warm socks for Tanya's apartment. The lady read the total to me, and when she said "$18.50 please" I felt like that was a personal justification from the shopping gods that this leather jacket was meant for me.

We left Studio 10 and made our way to the nearest shopping center. Now a shopping center in Australia is something rather amazing. When it was first explained to me, I understood it to be rather like a mall. It is far more grandiose than a mere mall. First of all, I think the smallest one I ever entered had like four stories and that was because it was a really long building and had been built in the Victorian Era. The one we were at on this particular day, I believe, had 6 levels.

Essentially every store you could possibly imagine, or anything you may ever want can be found in one of this shopping centers, and I do mean anything. A person could go in there, get all of their grocery shopping done, get their hair and nails done, buy things to redecorate their home, finish their Christmas shopping, buy some candy, and send it all in a package at the post office on the next floor up. It was unbelievable.

Now my first thought was that this was the most ingenious thing ever to happen to shopping, but as the weeks went on, I realized that it can be a bit of a burden. I mean, sure, while you're in the shopping center it's great. Everything is close (aside from the fact that you may have to go up and down the escalators a billion times if you don't plan your trip out first), but my biggest complaint would be that if you just had to run to the store because you forgot milk, it would be a hassle to have to go to these shopping centers for it. You have to park in this HUGE "car park" and walk through the shopping center to get to the grocery store and carry said groceries all the way back to the car. Yes. I am a lazy American thank you very much, and that would drive me crazy. It's kinda nice to have Reams just down the street from my house with quick access to groceries.

ANYWAY...I'm sure none of you needed that description of Australian shopping, but you have it just the same. Judith and I had a lovely time just wandering the shops and getting drinks while Sam and the girls' finished their hair, and then we rushed home for dinner so Sam and Judith could make it to Hairspray on time. (Sam had received free tickets from a work mate). So Tanya and I watched the girls, and I am now realizing that this picture does not go with this day, because we actually painted nails on Tuesday (Day 7), not Thursday, but it still kinda applies since we were babysitting and bonding and such. We actually played Harry Potter Uno before the girls went to bed, and then Tanya and I watched part of My Best Friend's Wedding while we waited for Sam and Judith. Then I tried to make sure Tanya didn't fall asleep as we drove back to her place.

I had so much fun staying at Sam's house, and I hope she knows how grateful I am to all the work she put in to keeping me busy and entertained, and for keeping me VERY well fed :). It basically solidified the fact that I now have a second family in Australia. Great Week.