MissLeonie.com

Liam’s parents came up with the great idea of getting on the ferry from Ettalong Beach to Palm Beach today. This morning, the weather was bright, so there was nothing stopping us. Ettalong Beach is one of the beaches along Brisbane Water, an estuary of the Pacific Ocean. Crossing from Ettalong over to Palm Beach means you drive past what is called “The Entrance,” where the bay and the ocean join. The view is spectacular - as far as the eye can see, it’s waves, a few boats, but nothing else. The estuary itself is gorgeous too: the sandstone islands rising out of the ocean, the golden beaches, the fancy beach pads… It’s not a bad place to live. Palm Beach especially is quite a “rich” place: you’re unlikely to find a bargain house there. Half of them are right on the beach, others are more up the hill, with a fantastic view.

We had lunch at the classiest fish and chips shop I’ve ever seen. I’m not a seafood fan at all, but even I had to admit Liam’s honey king prawns were tasty. My pineapple fritter was unbelievable too: pineapple slices in beer batter, deep fried. What an invention.

On the way back, the sea was a tad choppy. Sitting on the ferry brought back memories of the horsey on the merry-go-round when I was four. Liam and I were on the top deck, so we got sprayed with sea-water. As a consequence, I now have beach hair, and I smell like the ocean: a nice souvenir! Unfortunately, that will disappear when I go for my shower, but they’ll never take the sand in my pockets and the shells in my bag!

My camera! It’s back! When I tried to take pictures of the fancy Starcity Hotel on my first day in Australia, it died before having taken a single picture. First I assumed my batteries had not survived the flight, and Liam went downstairs to the convenience store to get me new ones. This didn’t solve the problem. After fiddling around with it these past few weeks, I had to admit I had no idea what was bugging it. My parents, at home, couldn’t find my purchase receipt, so even though I’m well within the warranty, I wasn’t so sure how much that would help. The company have a Sydney branch, that wasn’t the problem, but the lack of proof of purchase could soon prove to be. Today however, I decided to stick my old bimageatteries in my battery charger and see if I could somehow revive them. I’d charged them right before leaving for Australia, but perhaps all the scanning and radiation had messed them up a little. After giving them a while to charge, I put them back in the camera and switched it on while crossing my fingers (not an easy task!). It’s working! Fantastic news.

That first day in Sydney, I made sure I’d be able to capture a few memories by buying a disposable camera. I’ve worn that one out by now, all I need to do is have the pictures developed. Knowing me, that might take a while, but I’m curious to see how they turned out. I just love being able to capture something beautiful I stumble across on an average day. And I can’t wait to attempt to show you how gorgeous the train trip to uni is, or how nicely the uni premises are arranged. I’m sure it’s partly because I’m new to this environment, but for some reason, Australia strikes me as the most beautiful place I have ever been to - and I’ve seen some places. Tuscany in Italy is the definition of picturesque, and Spain and France are contesting for the title. Even the Netherlands can look amazing on a sunny day - and on a freezing cold one, I love trying to somehow convey the chilliness. However, I can’t think of a place that matches Australia in sheer natural beauty, as well as the urban kind. You can tell this country hasn’t been overwhelmed by its citizens, but that the two have lived together quite happily for some time now. I think that’s hard to find in overcrowded and long-inhabited Europe.

To celebrate: the picture on the left was taken in the garden this afternoon. Beautiful flowers, and the macro focus worked out alright too. I’ve got a feeling you’ll be seeing more pictures in the near future.