I had a great and relaxing weekend!!! I forced myself to only respond to work emails this weekend instead of actually doing work...and I'm glad I did because I feel so much better and less stressed (at least for now).
I didn't really have any plans going into the weekend...but I made some spontaneous plans with Jess and Kingsley and filled my weekend with some fun activities. I went to a dance class with Jess on Saturday for a couple of hours and then went to the botanical gardens with Kingsley in the afternoon. I went running around the gardens last weekend, but this was the first time actually visiting inside. It was so peaceful in some areas of the gardens...esp the areas where it felt like you were in a rainforest. I can totally see myself hanging out there...just laying on a blanket and enjoying the peacefulness while listening to the sounds of nature. Maybe I'll try to do that before I leave assuming the weather doesn't get too cold.
After the botanical gardens, Kingsley and I grabbed dinner and then went around looking for a video rental place. I needed something to watch since the TV shows here are terrible. I only have a few channels that aren't sports or news...and there's really nothing good on those few channels. The shows are so bad that I actually watched the Disney channel for awhile...how sad is that?!??!? Apparently, video rentals here aren't as readily available as the US...we had a hard time finding a place and when we finally found one, the selection wasn't the greatest. We ended up renting The Lovely Bones and came back to my place to watch it. I also rented two older movies (Keeping the Faith and Proof) to watch later in the week.
On Sunday, I went to the Camberwell Sunday Market. Not sure if you remember from one of my previous posts, but I went there for swing dancing one Sunday. This place is like a flea market...it's got some second-hand stuff, vintage items, and some new items as well. I got there around 10am and walked around for a bit on my own while I waited for Kingsley to join me at 11am. There seemed to be some good deals out there, but I didn't want to have to rummage through the piles of stuff...so I only got a few things that initially caught my eye. I was able to negotiate and bargain...so I'm pretty happy with the things I got. :) There were tons of people there...seems like the place to be on a Sunday morning!!
Kingsley and I grabbed lunch and walked around Camberwell Junction after the market closed. I was suppose to go rock climbing with Jess in the afternoon, but she called me and suggested we go to a Hot Springs place instead because the weather was so nice. So Kingsley and I had to go on a hunt for a swimming suit for me...first stop, Target - no swimsuits. Second stop...La Figure - YIKES...these swimsuits were like $150!!! Third Stop - Active Wear - These were still crazy expensive (some still over $100), but I managed to find some on clearance for $30. They weren't the greatest, but I wasn't going to pay over $100 for any swimsuit!!!
Jess picked me up from Camberwell and we drove an hour outside of Melbourne to Peninsula Hot Springs (in Mornington Peninsula). The hot springs were amazing!!! It was my first time bathing in a hot spring and it was so relaxing!! My back muscles felt so good after sitting the in the spring for awhile. We tried a few different areas and even went to one that was 40-42 degrees C (which I think is like 104 - 107 degrees F)....crazy HOT!!! I could only stay in it for a few minutes before I had to get out. We hung out at the springs for a couple of hours and then drove back to Melbourne. We were both starving, so we got some BBQ roast pork with LOTS of rice and came back to my place to eat and watch a movie (Keeping the Faith). I'm so glad Jess is a big rice eater like me...makes eating out so much easier and we both just PIGGED out! :) I ate so much that I was still full this morning when I woke up!!!
