in your eyes i see the eyes of somebody i knew before

Rottnest Island^

Sorry to all my blog followers, aka mom, that it has taken me so long to update my blog! So Monday we were off to Rotto Island, probably the best four days of the trip so far! It was so much fun. The first day Sasha and I caught the 10:30 ferry and everyone else was on the 2:30, so me and Sasha just tooled around the island and saw what the island had to offer*. The island is absolutely stunning. The water is the bluest I have ever seen water, and for the first time ever I actually wanted to swim in an ocean. It was a pretty warm day and I actually ended up tanning on the beach that was right near our cabin. We were about a two minute walk to this beach called Pinkys and every morning I went for a nice, cold, refreshing swim. There was a lighthouse at the beach so it was really easy to find where our cabin was because we would just look to the light house and start walking. In the first picture you can see it off in the distance, and that picture was taken from right off the ferry that we had to take to the Island.I stuck my feet into the Indian Ocean for the first time in my life! The water thankfully wasn't too cold, and the sand was so soft. After tanning I basically exfoliated my body and my skin was nice and silky smooth. There were six of us in a cabin, Sasha and myself and four of Sasha's friends. There was Charlotte, Nat, Will and Robbie. Apparently anyone who hung out with Sasha or me became Canadian because one night everyone kept asking Robbie questions about Vancouver (he's never been there) and another night Charlotte and Sasha became team Canada. You'd think that their accents would give it away that they weren't from Canada. But oh well! Everyday/night was basically the same thing. We would get up around ten and then me and Will would go for a swim, then we would hang around the cabin or walk around Rottnest, and then a couple people would take a nap, we'd make lunch and then around four we would start the party. It sounds repetitive but it was really fun. On the second night we had a camp fire and I got eaten alive by mosquito's. Australian mosquito's are ruthless and apparently love the Canadian blood because my legs are absolutely covered in bites! On the third day Will left early to go home so our cabin was uneven and I think there might have been a little too much estrogen for Robbie....Clockwise from left; Nat, Robbie, Sasha, Rachelle, Charlotte

We got home from Rotto on Thursday and were so beat that we just slept all afternoon and then that night we went to Toy Story 3. If you haven't seen it and you have seen one and two I highly suggest you go to it! I think me and Sasha were the only people in the entire theater crying. How could you not though! It's the final one and Andy goes to college!! The theaters in Australia are crazy.. The concession is all self serve and the girls who work there wear candy stripper dresses. Uh, can I work there!? I think we should have to wear candy stripper dresses in our theaters because that is just wicked. Friday we just sat around the house because we didn't get up early enough to do anything. I finally got to tan! I don't think it did anything though, but that's okay. That night we went to the casino in Perth and it started off pretty badly. Charlotte and I were loosing so we were going to take a break because there was a draw for 200, 000 dollars. After the draw we went back and played one more game and I ended up winning a hundred dollars! It was a great finish to the night! They have this awesome game that I am now in love with because I won a hundred dollars off it called Casino Wars. It's really simple, basically what happens is the dealer deals everyone one card face up, and then they deal themselves one card, and if your card is higher then the dealer, you win. But if your card is the same you go to war, but only if you bet on the tie space. And all war is is you match your bet and then the dealer deals three cards face down, one up to you one up to them, your car is higher, you win. Simple eh? And it's easy to read because there are only four decks in this machine that shuffles the cards as you put them in, but it doesn't shuffle all the decks together every time. So if a whole bunch of high cards come out you can be pretty sure that a bunch of low cards are going to come out after.
So on Saturday we went to the Perth zoo*. Usually I don't support zoo's because I think it is animal abuse, but this one was actually really awesome. It was huge! There was an African area, an Australian area and and Asian area. They had every animal you could think of, and an entire area just for primates! The thing I was most excited about was the tigers! I love tigers. I think they are the most majestic animals in the entire world, and in support of how much I love tigers I wore my tiger shirt. That way they would know I was friend, not foe.Today we just went back to freo markets to pick some stuff up before I embark on the second leg of my journey. We got lost today though and ended up finding this little plaza that had th craziest little shake shack! You could put anything in it. And I mean ANYTHING. TimTams, nerds, muffins, cheese cake, skittles, Zappos, Sour Straps.. The list goes on! I got sour straps with pop rocks on top. It was amazingly good!! Anyways, off for dins!
Keep on keepin on!
*stay tooned for more photos!

i really want to come kick it with you

Hello hello!
Well, today we went to the Perth Art Gallery to see the exhibition called Relativity. The artist, Patricia Piccinini, uses nature, the environment, science and art to show the relations between humans and the mutant beings she has created. It was quiet freaky in a weird awesome way. Everything looked so real. When you first walked in there were these two prematurely aged little boys playing game boy that I honestly thought were real. I actually jumped. The 'creatures' that she created weren't all the scary because they were so obviously fake, but it was the children that got me. They looked as though at any minute they were going to move, or blink, or say something. Heres the link in case you wanted to take a look at some of the work. http://www.artgallery.wa.gov.au/exhibitions/patricia-piccinini-relativity.asp Unfortunately this is not all of the work, but photographs were not allowed. One exhibit even had a mountain goat, not that I have ever seen a mountain goat. After the museum we walked down Murray st which is the Perth equivalent to Robson. Starting to see a pattern? I find that everything in Perth has a similarity to Vancouver, whether or not it really does, I like to try and find some. We went into a few shops, not really a huge shopping day. I have to set aside a day for that because to just spur of the moment shop is really tiring and I am never really in the mood when it's a spur of the moment thing. Plus Perth is outrageously expensive so I want to get all the tourist things done before I spend money shopping. Well off to Rotto tomorrow so you won't be hearing from me for the next four days! I'll try and remember everything that happens whilst I am on the Island.

(Ps. Sorry for the alcohol mom. It is for the next week or so. And can you believe wine down here is only ten dollars a bottle!? Three of those bottles were actually only 6! Crazy eh?)

Keep on keepin' on!

i wonder what they're thinkin' down under

Yesterday was a good day, it wasn't too hot and it wasn't too cold. It's been the same thing here everyday, cloudy but warm, and then at night it rains. Which is nice because we haven't been going out at night these days so it's alright by me to be staying in and watching a movie. Plus I have been going in and out of waves of being tired and being wide awake. For instance, right now, I could go for a nap, but I'm sure once I start eating and moving around I'll be wide awake.
Anyways, yesterday we went to this place called Fremantle, its basically like Granville Island markets, but only open Friday-Saturday. We walked around the markets for a little while, it was actually scary at one point we were sampling an apple and this lady got mad at us.. Why would you have samples of your apples if we aren't allowed to eat them!? After the fruit and veg market there was a shit show of little shops, it was really quiet amazing. There was a bunch of cool little tings, like hats and scarfs, and what not. Apparently in Australia they don't have livewires, so there was this little candy store that was selling all these sweets that you can't get here. Like Dr.Pepper, and gummie bears, and frogs and everything like that. It was pretty weird since I am used to those being sold all the time! After the markets we went to this restaurant called Little Creatures, which is also a brewery, think Granville Island brewery but with worse beer. Little Creatures is situated on the water, just like Granville Island, but it has this sand pit for kids to play in. And the smoking section is ABOVE the dining section so you don't have to worry about the smell of it! And not only is it on the water like Granville but it has crazy insane seagulls that fly right over your head like Granville! Wonderful!!
This was my first alcoholic beverage since I have got here and I was super disappointed! The first few sips were smooth and it tasted like Granville Island pale ale, and then it got weird, and then it was gross. We had to drink a sip of beer and then a glass of water. It was horrid. I thought I was going to puke.There's Sasha before she took her first sip of the beer, before we realized it was not very good.And theres me, after a few sips, forcing a smile, the beer was bad. I miss Granville Island Honey Lager. Yum yum! We didn't just have beer, we got a late lunch batch of natch (nachos for those who don't understand Ms. Sasha) and they were kinda of depressing. It was a plate made for one person, it was less then what I make for myself when I make nachos. Anddd they don't have que pasa chips. It's doritos down here, but plain, not the cheese ones or anything. Australia is weird... But anyways, I don't understand why restaurants always put sour cream, salsa and guacamole on the nachos. They make side dishes for a reason!! Putting it on top makes all the chips soggy!! GROSS! So since the nachos and the beer were a bust and we were still hungry we ordered some frites. Now those, oh my lanta, they were AMAZING! They tasted like plain Ms. Vickies without the crunch. And the aoli, to die for people. You need to come to Perth just for these frites, they are delicious. And they came in a bucket the size of my head! I am going to go back just for these frites! Not the beer, sorry Little Creatures brewery, but you are not worthy of the beer you sell. Well the frites and the view, and I am not just talking about the ocean, the chefs weren't to bad to look at... :)So after Little Creatures we walked back through Fremantle and went to the prison at Fremantle. Weirdly the prison is really pretty on the outside. And the way the sun was hitting it, gorgeous. Magic Hour I love you!After I went to prison we spent the rest of the night with Sasha's friends Janet and James who are leaving early Sunday morning. Then we just came home and went to bed.
Today we went to Subiaco which is also a little market place only open on the weekends to get some groceries for rotto on Monday. Groceries over here are so expensive! Frozen berries are about eight dollars for 300 grams. Think of a cardboard box that is about five inches by five inches and two inches deep.. Thats what berries come in. No bags, and so overly priced!! You quickly learn to look for the cheapest things. Now I know why my sister never has foo din her fridge! Other then that not much to report about today, pretty quiet day. Saving our energy for rotto!

Keep on keepin' on guys. Love and hugs from the other side of the world.

the stars the moon they have all been blown out

Moved into my new room last night. Or as Denise calls it my one third of a room... But honestly thats okay, as long as I have somewhere to put my head at night and keep my clothing then I am okay. The room belonged to Denise's sister Sharron but she flys in and out every four weeks 'cause of her job, either way thankfully I don't have to take up more of Sasha's room.Yes it's a little messy but as you can plainly see below, mother, I did tidy it up. Put my clothes away made my bed, all the stuff I don't do at home.So the reason Denise calls it one third of a room is because it's also her craft room, which you can see below is pretty wicked awesome. Like I said. I just need somewhere to keep my stuff.Well all, keep on keepin on. I'm off to get my day started. xoxo

lets continue where we left off.. shall we?

So tonight was sashas exhibition show, basically like a foundation year (emily carr students and parents who know what I am talking about) or a grad show.. for every year. It was pretty wicked, architecture isn't something I have ever really looked at in depth, but I will say that it's pretty amazing what they do. Here is some of the amazing work of Sasha. It's spectacular what the fifths years do, but even the stuff she was producing, man oh man, not in my life time could I do that!Congrats Sasha! You are a supasta :)
So after the exhibition we got on this really sketch bus to kingsway, and as sasha was saying, all kingsways , all over the world, yeah, sketch. And it really was, this kid on the bus apparently went to court because he hit his teacher with a crow bar... Like really? Why? But oh no, according to his friend that's not the best way to piss your teacher off, you should really just light their hair on fire. Who in the world thinks that lighting ANYONES hair on fire is a good idea? That just seems like over kill to me. What happened to the good old days when to piss your teacher off you would hide their chalk, or talk during silent reading. Now it's crowbars and lighting hair on fire.. Anyways, we went to mcdicks, which the aussies call mackas, and apparently in australia mcdonalds is the equivalent of a nicer resturant. For starters they sell family meals.. so four burger meals for 20 dollars, and they have real lattes, with latte art and what not, and cheesecake... I wanted to whip my camera out and start taking pictures but I thought that might be a little to touristy so I opted not too. However, they did have FROZEN FANTA. It was the greatest thing ever. And anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE fanta. :)Yes, that is me and my frozen fanta. It was green apple in support of Shrek.. four? Three? Of Shrek.

Well my dearest friends, mainly mom, I am off to sleep since its two am and I'm not sure if I am awake because I am just not tired, or if I am awake because in reality its like ten thirty in the morning....

Keep on keepin on. And remember, I'm in the future, I know what you've done before you do it. Xoxo

down under, up above, in and out.

welcome to my blog. the wonderful world of rlupton photography awaits your viewing, but while you wait for me to get my ass in motion and put some pictures up, follow me through my adventure on the other side of the world...

australia surprisingly does not feel like i am that far away from home. maybe its the house, maybe its that i'm spending it with my best friend, but whatever it is, i don't miss home as much as i thought i would. isn't it crazy how sometimes the places farthest away from home don't feel that far at all? the first day here all i did was sleep. that many hours on a place really takes it out of you. that and being in the future. knowing what all of you are doing before you do it is hard... :) today i walked around oxford street, its the equivalent to main street for all of you back home. except it's shorter and more expensive. apparently it's winter down here, but honestly, it feels like spring, yesterday felt like summer, i don't think i want to know what summer feels like.. i'll post some pictures when i feel like it.

missing you all greatly. xoxo R