A Maritime Museum and a look at Australian television

Photos:

• Top left: a view of the side of the museum from the ferry
• Top right: I guess these paintings are a tribute to Australian beach-goers...
• Middle left: lighthouse outside the museum
• Middle right: playing around a bit with b/w on the camera. This is one of the ships that people can take a tour of at the museum, but you have to pay for that. So I didn't.
• Bottom left: a tiny bit of blue sky as I was taking the ferry home.
• Bottom right: yet another view of the harbour...

The sky in these pictures--unlike the ones from the other day--give you a really accurate idea of what the weather's been like this week. When I left the house this morning, it was barely sprinkling. Seconds later, the rain was falling in sheets. I was completely soaked by the time I got to the bus stop a block away. Needless to say, I went straight into Randwick and bought an umbrella. (The little twist of irony is that the store I went into to get out of the rain had the air conditioning on.) As I sit here typing (hours later), I'm still wet.

But anyways...

Yesterday I went back to Paddy's Markets. This time, I actually bought stuff. Came away with some good deals. Got really wet walking back to the CBD from Chinatown. Not much else exciting to say about that.

Next, I went to the Australian National Maritime Museum via the ferry. It was definitely worth the trip, and the fact that it was free was an extra bonus. This place has museum-ized nearly everything that can fit in the category of "maritime". Right down to the exhibit on bathing suits, including a display of a 1970s bikini and bathing cap. There's also a pretty big section on US-Australian maritime contact. I guess it was the US's gift to Australia to commemorate the bicentennial of European settlement on the continent. There's a big plaque on the wall where George Bush (sr.) made the dedication in 1992.

After the museum, all I wanted to do was go home and put on some dry clothes. Which is pretty much how I feel right now. But a little rain's not going to stop me from making the most of my last few days here...

And to conclude, I have another list for you: "Australian TV Shows Based on American Television".

• Bert's Family Feud. Complete with a guy who actually kind of looks like Louis Anderson, a former host of the US version of the show.
• Australian Idol. This one's pretty much self explanatory.
• Dancing on Ice. I think this one's called "Dancing with the Stars" (or something like that) back in the states. This season boasts "Stars" which include a morning news anchor with more chest hair than I've ever wanted to see, an ex-cricket player who now fills his days working as a cricket commentator, and to top it all off there's also a member of parliament.
• Big Brother. This one's definitely the winner by far. Now in season 6, this is one of the most popular shows in the country. Reality TV just wouldn't be complete without a zookeeper and a gay farmer-slash-model living in a house together for weeks on end...