Day 32/33: Royal Easter Show and Hospital
It’s Royal Easter Show day! This morning, Dee and I prepared to go to my first Easter Show in Sydney at Olympic Park. We had gotten our tickets (yay for concession prices!) the day before and I packed my bag with some necessities like sunscreen and deodorant. We went to Coles to buy snacks and then Subway to grab a sandwich for breakfast. Then we headed to the bus stop to take the bus to the show! Our tickets allow us to take the bus for “free” (nothing is ever free) straight to the entry.
Once we got there, we headed in to the show. It’s like a fair only bigger and more events. The Easter Show actually used to be about showcasing the animals, but today there are rides, show bags, and much more. We saw some cool little booths and then headed to the poultry area. Dee is in LOVE with chickens She absolutely loves them. Lucky for us, we made it in time for the Chock Washing. Basically they were demonstrating how the people wash their chickens for competitions. They used a toothbrush to clean the chicken’s (whose name is Cisco) butt. The host was quite racist and inappropriate at times. He kept making jokes about the Greek guy and French guy helping him. Was very awkward!
As we made our way to the flower and garden show, we watched an unicyclist from Minnesota perform some tricks. He made some hilarious jokes, but took forever to perform his show. There were lots of fire, swords, and a 12 feet unicycle. He was quite interesting to watch. Afterwards, we looked at the flower arrangements and winners. Lots of pretty flowers on display! Quite impressive.
Then we headed to the Woolworth’s Food Dome where there was an abundant of free tasting! There was wine, liqueur, curries, jerkies, and treats! We tried some cheeses and got some awesome lemoncello. We also got some hot cross buns and some yummy macadamia nuts.
After exploring the dome, we went to the area where there were axe competitions. They were basically chopping wood but it was quite fascinating. They had a sawing competition and chopping competitions (men and women) with competitors from the USA, Queensland, New Zealand, and different parts of Australia. It was quite sunny and cool too so sitting outside watching wasn’t bad at all! I wish I could upload some videos!
We headed to the showbags room after the axe competitions. Showbags are basically swag you buy. There are some great deals. We bought some many showbags (well I got 3). I got some teeth whitening show bags that came with an awesome denim weekend bag as well as a Tim Tam show bags. After we got out, I debated getting the tea set and once I finished my delicious lemonade (it’s very fresh and not very sweet), I decided I wanted one too! I now have a cute one-person teapot set for when I move!
Since we forgot our olive oil and balsamic, we headed back to the dome. Big mistake! We tried more liqueur and there was this lychee one that made me start regretting the lemoncello. It was sooooo good. Like delicious! Ugh! I couldn’t get over it. If I hadn’t reached my limit to bring back to the states, I would! We then stopped by the olive oil and balsamic place. Another hard decision! We decided on a 4 pack deal. We knew we wanted 2 garlic oils and the pomegranate balsamic. The tough choice was between the fig and guava. Dee and her friend liked the fig and thought nothing could beat it. They were wrong! The guava was really good! But I went with the fig because I could go with more food but mane that guava was unforgettable!
For the final event, we went to the Purina Dog Show. I was hoping to see and play with puppies but we got there too late and no more show :(. BUT! We did get to see some sleepy doggies and lots of chow chows. They were so adorable! There were suppose to be fireworks but we were exhausted and our arms were tired from carrying things so we went home instead. I totally forgot about the horse and rodeo show but oh well! After taking forever to get to our bus stop (such bad traffic), Aunt Hai picked us up because we would not be able to carry it all! We had dinner (even though we had originally wanted cheese and crackers lol) and then sorted our stuff.
As for my grandfather, my aunt said he didn’t say anything today, not even hi. He just ate and faced the corner. He’s doing some scans tomorrow so I think I’ll go see him. Now I’m just clearing clothes to do laundry tomorrow. I also have been in contact with a realtor to find an apartment so wish me luck! Well early morning tomorrow!
Bye y’all!
Busy morning on this new day…kinda! My cousin was home since he was sick but he drinks this weird protein egg shake. Pretty sure that’s not good for you! I’m trying to scare him to stop by saying he’ll get sick like me lol. Since it’s supposed to be sunny, I did some laundry (as well as Tone’s laundry smh). My uncle hai drove Dee and me to his work near the hospital. We had some coffee and breakfast then Dee and I headed to Cole’s while he went to work. He works in networking and is a computer engineer in Sydney. We got some Gatorade for electrolytes and biscuits for a midnight snack for my Aunt Sue.
We were there early but were able to get in before visiting hours. She did her physiotherapy without using her walking frame (yay!) and sat in a chair for a little bit. Then we showed her some pictures from yesterday’s Easter Show. Dee and Aunt Sue discussed Dee’s impending Japan trip. She wanted to take Dee out for a meal before her trip but then this accident happened. Then, Dee left for the city to get her visa while Aunt Sue went for an ultrasound. After what felt like forever, she was back. Apparently, one of the main arteries in her arm is blocked that’s why she feels numbness.
For lunch, they brought some roast pork and gravy, scalloped potatoes, minestrone soup, and fruits. I used my phone’s hotspot to use my laptop so that it’s easier to FaceTime the family in the States. My Aunt Sue loves my sister! I had about 2.15 GB left and just kept an eye out so it doesn’t drop too low. I just need to use it up in the next 9 days. They were able to have a good conversation before I had to cut it off nicely lol. Now I’m just hanging out and waiting for my Aunt Hai. She’s also in the same hospital but with my grandfather for his scans. Aunt Sue is dosing off and occasionally talking lol. That’s about it for now!
A continuation! The physio people came by again and this time she practiced with a cane. She did pretty well but got tired near the end, about 15 meters (I think?) further than this morning. We just talked about random things and the possibility of me getting transferred to the Sydney office in the future. She sounds excited! She also told me not to get marry too young lol and just explore a little. My aunt Hai came in around 3ish and talked. She was talking about how the nurse called her and told her that Aunt Sue might have to go to a rehab center instead of straight home. We’re pretty worried she may not be able to go to America in July for the wedding.
After chatting, Aunt Hai and I stopped by Macca’s (Dee won’t let me call it Mcdonalds..). We both didn’t have much to eat for lunch except for some coffee and biscuits on my side. The meal was pretty okay. Not very special. I also gave my cousin Lou my battery pack. Yesterday, his phone died and no one could contact him. I have extras so I gave him one of mine. It’s the better one out of the two but its okay. We then headed home to meet everyone for dinner. We went to the Manly Leagues club and got $10 AUD steaks. It was pretty yummy except a little bland.
Then we headed to Manly to walk around the beach. I remember walking here in 2010 after dinner sometimes. I even saw the playground that we used to hang out at. Lots of very familiar things. We walked for about 20 minutes or so and my Aunt Sue called to talk to Aunt Hai. The doctor took off the bandages and she may be able to come home next week! Yay!
I took a shower, folded laundry, and trying to figure out stuff. I have MOH stuff, I gotta call Apple about my phone charger, I have to finish planning my Europe trip and order my Eurorail and I’m trying to figure out food to make and what to do for my Uncle Sue’s birthday. Ah! Exhausted soooooo
bye yall!
