Journey to the Centre of the Earth

Well, our family from Melbourne touched down in Perth on Friday afternoon and since then we have all been having a great time, mainly amusing ourselves with toddler Max's antics, most of which involve either dirt, food or trucks. Here are some photos from our adventures so far...

Max enjoying himself in the dirt this afternoon with his new toys

Learning to be gentle with Super-Cheep the House Chicken!

Breakfast outdoors this morning (Max had already finished his)!

Laughing at the antics of his very silly Uncle Andrew!

Being chased around the backyard by Uncle Andrew

And then getting his own back!

Looking very cool at our afternoon visit to Churchman Brook Dam, about 10 minutes away from our house in Armadale

And then launching a suprise attack at Uncle Andrew!

Riding on the big green frog!

About to enter a huge tunnel

Labels: Armadale, Melbourne, Perth

The hardest thing about being home again, apart from failing miserably to adjust our sleep cycle back to Perth time, is the thought that we may have to start shopping in ordinary shopping centres again....aaaaagggghhhhh. After weeks of haggling and wandering in markets and bazaars all over India and in Turkey, and having laid eyes on the mind-boggling array of olives, cheeses and assorted delicacies (marinated eggplants, capsicums, tomatoes) in small supermarkets in Haifa, not to mention the luscious treats on display in sweet shops everywhere we went...how can we ever face going back to Coles again???

The truth is, supplies have run low in our fridge and pantry but neither of us are game enough to venture out of doors...I opened a can of tuna for dinner last night and Shanks went without! The area we live in isn't exactly renowned for the fresh produce on offer. There are no fruit and veg markets nearby...the only hope we have is our little Italian grocer about 10km down the road and a cheese shop across the railway line (where we buy our supplies of parmesan, mozzarella and ricotta). The other difference is that shops and markets in India are open till late at night...often 10pm (in Perth everything shuts at 6pm) and wandering the streets of Istanbul and Haifa it was easy to find small delis open even later (no such luck in Armadale)!

Also, being in India, and witnessing the daily lives of hardship and suffering lived by so many thousands has also made us reflect on the life of excess it is so easy to lead here. Maybe changing spending habits on an individual level doesn't affect the quality of life for others the world over, but we will certainly start looking at our purchases more carefully from now on.

Anyway, here are some more marketplace photos (just from India) to tide you over until we have a chance to fill in the gaps from Israel and Turkey. Check out our friends' blog, http://allanmuna.blogspot.com/, for pictures of the markets that we never quite made it to in Haifa and also of their recent trip, like us, to Turkey (some of you will remember Allan - he was the celebrant at our wedding and has recently moved to Haifa with his wife, Muna).