Where's the naked people?

Last night, Gus had a sleepover at his bff's. With our free night, Vic and I decided that we needed to go see Bellini's La Somnambula at the Opera House, our first opera at the Opera House.

This poor opera had a lot to live up to. The last time Vic was at the Opera House, he was naked with 5,000 other naked people, posing for Spencer Tunick. And the last time time I saw an opera was in Berlin where I saw a modern interpretation of The Magic Flute, in which the flute was actually a penis and a large dildo was used as a prop (this is a true story! I swear I didn't include those words just to get more hits on this blog). It was one of the funniest things I've ever seen, and I laughed and applauded my way through all 3 hrs of it.

Needless to say, La Somnambula didn't quite live up to our previous opera-related experiences. Not only were there no naked people or sex toys, but the plot was bit puzzling to both of us. Why did Elvino prefer Amina, when Lisa was clearly the hottie of the two? And, why was Amina so stuck on Elvino, when he was so jealous and insecure? Ah well, the orchestra and the singing were fantastic and the experience did make for some great people-watching...let's just say I would have felt more at home if I had brought a fur stole and was 20-30 years older.

Last night...

...eating supper, joking around with Vic and Gus.

Vic: I'm such a jerk!

Gus: Finally, you said it!

Me: shaking with laughter but trying hard not to laugh out loud.

Gus turns to me: What are you vibrating about?

Achtung!

Cairns was completely amazing. Despite the signs warning of murderous birds, crocodiles and the minimal but still present threat of "stingers" (jellyfish), it was beautiful. Of course the best part of the mini-vacay was snorkelling the Great Barrier Reef. We swam through canyons of colourful coral with the craziest looking fish, with sea turtles, sting rays and even a reef shark.

Right now, Vic is getting ready for a birthday party for one of his co-workers. I'm debating whether to go, cause his co-worker asked everyone to dress up in something starting with the letter J - Vic's going as a juggalo and Gus as a jujitsu kid and I've got nothing. Plus if I stay home I could get a little bit of thesis work done and not have to worry about doing it tomorrow, which is very appealing.

Here's a few pics from our weekends in Cairns for you to enjoy.

A sign at the head of a little hike we took in Cairns, letting people know that if they see a cassowary, they should back away slowly, and to never turn your back on a cassowary!

One of the many signs we saw warning not to swim in the water, Achtung!


Vic, taking a break from snorkelling to check out what's hiding in the coral in low tide

Gus and I, in front of some Cairns street art.


Kookaburra, sitting in an old gum tree. Oh Mr. Kookaburra, you're such a cliche!

Finding Meemo

Hey peeps. Meemo is here for a visit! She got here about a week ago and was lucky enough to catch one of Gus' school recitals.

So, guess who was at Gus' school assembly to give one of the welcome speeches?? PETER GARRETT!! Rock star of my youth (and our local federal MP). Oh yeah baby, only in Australia does a rock star provide a welcome speech at a little public school. In true stalker fashion, I just downloaded the pictures from that day to find about 10 pics of Peter and 2 of Gus.

And the excitement doesn't end there. Tomorrow, we're off to Cairns to do some snorkelling of the Great Barrier Reef. Stay tuned for the pictures.

PETER GARRETT!!!

Meemo and Gus