Saturday afternoon

Since it looks like it will take about 6-7 weeks until Neil can work, in other words, until money starts coming in, we are starting to look for things to do that don’t cost money. Let’s be honest, even the things that don’t cost money, end up costing something but ok, you can’t have the cake and eat it too.

This morning we woke up with plans to go to the Koala Sanctuary but it was a little cloudy and for fear of being rained on, we decided to stay near. I had seen that the World Press Photography exhibition is not too far from where we are at. Also there is a famous farmer’s market that takes place twice a month, since both were free, we decided to walk there instead.

First of all, we discovered a really cool street on the way there. A lot of trendy furniture and home stores and little food stores with delicious foods and cheeses and olives and fresh baked pastries and breads and all the other cool stuff that you start drooling when think about too long.

Then I was goggling at gardens of the houses we passed on the way to the market. There were banana trees, mango trees, lemon trees, and what surprised me most was the poinsettia bushes that I’ve seen in a couple of different places. They bloom exactly like we know it but instead of being small pots they are like big rose bushes what are full of red flowers. Of course there are ton of other sub-tropical plants and trees that I would have no idea what they are. But they look cool.


The farmers market was really cool. Not just the usual garden vegetables but pretty much everything and anything you can imagine – from breads and olive oils to cheeses and home grown veggies and sweets and crafts and everything else in between. Of course that everything was out for samples, so we took full advantage of it.



When we had tried everything from mueslis to hot sauces to yoghurts to apples and hummus and a ton of other things, of course all one after another, in no particular order (because it all mixes in the belly anyway) we went to the photo exhibition. And let me tell you – wow.





Usually I like to stop and read and really look at the pictures because these are world class photographers portraying emotions through pictures but some of these were almost too hard to look at. Because it is photojournalism and behind every picture is a story, and mostly they are realities we are sheltered from because I don’t really know what happens outside my happy bubble, they were too realistic and sad. I had such a bubble of emotion that I wanted to start crying there but I realized that it would look a little silly so I just told Neil it’s time to go.



The cool thing was seeing a picture that looked a lot like something taken in Latvia. But what caught my eye was the Norwegian photographer who had taken it. I pointed it out to Neil since we have just been in Norway and then realized that it WAS taken in Latvia. It was taken on a June 23 (today!) when all the flowers and blooming and people are out in the nature. That made my day. All the way here, on the other side of the world, I felt so close to home, Latvia. And I was so proud that the picture had taken the first prize in one of the categories.