Lazy Sunday

I'm not sure about you, but I do some of my absolute BEST procrastinating during this time of the school year. Wonderful things happen--enter--the Lazy Sunday.

This past weekend my flatmates and I did possibly the cutest thing we've done all year, we went out for Sunday brunch together. What started out as an innocent brunch/minor procrastination tactic spurred into an entire day of adventure and, of course, avoiding the fact that we were all supposed to be stuck in desks on the top floor of the library studying.

First of all, brunch was AMAZING. We went to this place called the Croq-O-Dile Cafe. It sits right in the middle of the botanic gardens a few blocks from our flat. Every time we walk to the grocery (at least a few times a week) one of us always points to the cafe insisting (more or less) that (insert classical music and warm tropical breeze) someday we will perch on that quaint balcony, overlooking the gardens as we sip on espressos behind owl-shaped sunglasses, chatting in our Kiwi accents.

That day finally came, and boy am I glad it did. I indulged in a marvelous caffeinated beverage and the Crepe Croq-o-dile--filled with cherries, chocolate, sour cream, and sugary goodness. Although, I do have to admit that I always seem to have magical experiences with crepes--it sort of comes with the package of being a thin folded pancake with sweets slopped inside I suppose.

After brunch we took what was supposed to be a short stroll through the lower gardens. We're not great at forecasting the future, because we ended up hiking up the entire hill to the aviaries, where I got way too bird happy and took way way too many pictures of New Zealand (and other cool but not as cool as the New Zealand) birds. The sound that the New Zealand birds make is unlike ANYthing you've EVER heard (do I sound like an infomercial for NZ, 'cause I'm tryin!). They can make some of the wildest sounds--you'd think you were listening to an old cartoon. You know the ones with the crazy sound effects that whistle and slide while poor Wiley Coyote races and smacks into the side of the mountain before inevitably freefalling down a canyon and then boinking up and down on cracked desert ground or something? It's like that. Except cooler, because it's real!

Once my eyes were about to explode after too much bird colour exposure, we attempted to make our way down the hill, but ultimately got a bit turned around in the winding gardens. We get lost often though, so we weren't really phased, just enjoyed the views and the flowers. Once again I took way too many pictures. What is it about being in a new place and seeing trees or flowers and feeling as though you've never seen anything quite like it before? I was taking a million pictures from every angle of this "New Zealand Tree"--you'd think I'd never seen a tree before! At home I don't start yelling on the top of hills because I saw an extremely vivid red flower, and I certainly don't whip the camera out to take pictures of the trees in the Potlatch forest. Regardless, I fall into a shutter frenzy every time something semi-pretty crosses my path in New Zealand. I guess being somewhere different makes everything, and I mean everything, seem exotic. I almost took a picture of the freshly mowed grass here yesterday. That's right, the GRASS. It's just so greeeeen, I kept telling myself. Then I stopped and thought about it a bit and realized, wait a minute, we have green grass in Minnesota too...Maybe I'm just losing it, who knows.

Anywho, back to the Sunday. Deciding that we hadn't done quite enough procrastinating for one day, we managed to hitch a ride with a friend out to St. Clair Beach--renowned in Dunedin for its surf-worthy waves. We watched a few surfers and played a never-ending (because no score was kept thank goodness) game of beach volleyball with some AMAZING volleyball players! Get this--they were ALL guys!! I was shocked. Granted, of course they did all kinds of illegal moves (typical guys), but some of them were just awesome. It's not what I'm used to being surrounded by powerhouse girls I'm always trying to keep up with in the Cloquet area. There was some serious vball being played and I felt super rusty trying to keep up...with BOYS. Embarassing. Maybe they have more guy vball teams here than in Cloquet...I'm going to keep reassuring myself with that thought.

After over an hour of volleying, I carefully and methodically dipped my toes in the ocean, only to have it later splashed onto my face...(ahem thanks a lot Dan!) It was...cold. Basically, it was Lake Superior except more salty and probably a little less cold because I didn't feel as though knives were stabbing and twisting into my feet before they went numb.

Overall, it was a great Sunday, finished off with a nice trip to Pak-N-Save--the NZ equivalent to a Super Walmart except with just food and not all marketing-prettied up. It had a big warehouse feel to it, and was supposed to be cheaper than the other groceries, but I bought so much I couldn't really tell... Those warehouse chains can trap me even when I'm halfway around the world apparently.

The countdown has commenced, I will be back on American soil (fingers crossed--I haven't had the best of luck here) in 26 days!

Cheers!