Saturday was sunny and cool again. We explored the art museum and the Botanical Gardens. Flying foxes hung in the trees squawking and screeching at each other.

As we walked further I made a new friend. We saw a flock of sulfur crested cockatoos on the ground with people gathered around. A closer inspection was warranted, so we walked over. I had purchased a bottle of water and was holding it in my left hand at my side. For some unknown reason this was very attractive to one chubby cockatoo. He waddled over at a quick pace and stopped right next to my leg looking up at me. I let him explore the bottle with his beak. I thought maybe he wanted a drink, so I opened the bottle and poured some out. He tried to drink, but missed. This got him really excited and he flew up, trying to land on my shoulder. After seeing Susan loose jewelry to a bird a few days earlier, I decided to stick out my arm as an alternative to my shoulder. The plump cockatoo happily landed there. I tried to shew him off my arm, but he was having none of that. I started spinning around, hoping centrifugal force would help. He hung onto my fleece jacket with his beak. Finally, he broke free, everyone around quite amused. Immediately, he flew back up in the air at me. I ran off and he finally broke pursuit.

We walked Oxford St. stopping for lunch at a place called Wok On Inn. A cute noodle bar that was very good. Oxford is much like Castro Street but a bit longer. We didn’t need any rainbow colored objects so we didn’t buy anything. We had dinner at a Nepalese/Indian restaurant also on Oxford. It was delicious: goat curry and palak paneer. I had just read that mutton is often sold as goat. So, I’m not sure which animal it was, but it was excellent. Afterward we had a beer at The Oxford bar and headed back to the hotel, as it was too early for much to be going on.

Sunday we went to the Australia Museum. It’s mix of natural history and human history. The really sad treatment of the Aboriginal people is a significant part of the museum and very well handled.  I also enjoyed the section with all the stuffed birds. The variety and number is amazing.

The weather had turned a bit drizzly and it was still cold, so we opted for going to an advance screening of Brenda Blethyn’s new movie Clubland. It was an enjoyable film with Blethyn as a domineering comedian mother to two coming of age boys. It wasn’t as funny as expected, but certainly worth going to. Look for it in the States as Introducing the Dwights.

We still had hours to kill before our flight so we went off to Paddy’s Markets. It’s a crowded set of stalls with a bit of everything for sale; about half the stalls were selling souvenirs. We filled the rest of the day by checking email at the hotel and having another couple of beers on Oxford St. We headed off to the airport early and feel ripped off by the cab fare. It was $25 from the airport to the hotel and $36 from the hotel to the airport. Plus the driver drove like a maniac.

The flight home was fine. After dinner we both took Ambien and I slept like I’ve never slept on a plane before; at least 5 hours. We came through customs and immigration quickly to find a group waiting with leis for us: Andrew, Justin, John, Ed & Adrian.  We went off for brunch, home for some unpacking, to the beach and to Hula’s for drinks. It was our second Sunday this week and a nice re-introduction to home.