Hello from Lancefield!!

Good morning, good evening, good afternoon!!! For most of you it will be Wednesday morning when you are reading this message ;). Or for some of you it might still be Tuesday evening. And a few of my followers are in the same time zone as me, and it it Wednesday afternoon over here :D.

Just got back from a very nice lunch in Kyneton, about half an hour from Lancefield. On our way to Kyneton, we actually passed a town named Carlsruhe. Yes, Carlsruhe (not Karlsruhe as it is in Germany), so funny!! This evening, we are going to have homemade pizzas at my cousin's family house. Don't think I ever had a homemade pizza before, so I am looking forward to it. Eating pizza though, will require extra running tomorrow morning lol. I actually found myself a very nice running route here. Went running almost every day since I arrived here (only skipped the Monday).

After one final run through Lancefield and its surrounding area, I will have the state of Victoria tomorrow evening. Booh. Time has been going way to fast, only have a couple of days left in Australia :(. Sorry to say to my family and friends back in the Netherlands, but I really don't want to come home ;).

Anyway, back to yesterday, when I spent some more time in Melbourne (a city that I have also come to like a lot). Got up early, because I wanted to get the 8.10 am bus out of Lancefield (a small town, so not many busses depart from here ;)). Bus was fine, comfortable and not that many stops. A little before Melbourne though, I had to switch from bus to train. I have travelled in a lot of trains, but this one was particularly slow!!!! I don't think that I have ever been in a train that SLOW!!!

But I got to Melbourne and I spent a couple of hours at the Queen Victoria Market, which was quite a treat. So much fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, clothes etc to look at. Very cool and yummy!!! One of my favorite parts of the market though was the food court. They were selling cheese, chocolate, candy, bakery goods, sandwiches and even bratwurst (!!) over there!! And wine. I bought my aunt (and myself) a nice bottle of wine. Yes, I drink wine now. Well, sort of ;). I have found wine that I can drink and actually enjoy. When I walked past a stand that sold banana bread, I couldn't resist. I love banana bread, so I bought some. I can even take it to Sydney with me and eat it as a snack :).

From the Queen Victoria Market I walked straight to a huge sporting goods store named Rebel. I was looking for some (full length) running tights. I found a very nice pair, which did take some time (since the summer approaching over here, they mostly sell either short tights or 3/4 tights). But I eventually found a nice pair of Adidas tights, wow, they were much cheaper as in the Netherlands!!! I was overjoyed to find out that I still, easily, fit in the same size as back home. Which means that I haven't gained any weight during my time here. Hurrah for me :P!!!

With my new running tights, I was now almost ready to run in chilly (at the moment) Lancefield. But I decided that I needed a long sleeved running shirt as well. Same problem, mostly t-shirts were available. But on my way out I saw a beautiful yellow running jacket (of the Livestrong Foundation). They even had it in my size!! Sold!! Back in the Netherlands, I usually do not buy cloths from the the A-brands: Adidas, Nike, Asics, New Balance, because they are way too expensive. Here, the A-brands are very reasonably priced.

When I walked passed the running shoe section of Rebel Sports, I found the exact same shoes as I have right now. Only in a different color. They were not available in my size though. Might see if they have a Rebel Sports back in Sydney. Because, like with the cloths, the price of the running shoes was very attractive as well.

After the shopping spree (sort of), I returned to the train station. Train was a little quicker as in the morning. Bus was the same, it even had the same bus driver ;). Arrived back in Lancefield about 5 pm.

Yesterday (and today), I ran in my new running outfit. I looked so cool, which is good since my running style is not so cool (in fact it is rather clumsy ;))!!

Just looked at the Sydney weather forecasts again. And hurray, they have improved spectacularly. Friday is still going to be pretty bad, with some heavy showers. But Saturday, Sunday and Monday are now looking really sunny (please stay that way!!!). So, for Saturday the Blue Mountains might be back on!!! What is definitely on is Mary Poppins for Sunday evening (assuming that Philip Quast is performing :P). Might even try to get myself an extra ticket for Poppins on Friday (assuming that again ... :)).