Happy Australia Day! Celebrate big...

In a previous post I mentioned the big icons in Australia. Here are some I recently visited!

This is the Giant Avocado; it's found in Tweed Heads in New South Wales, outside of Tropical Fruit World and directions are here.

Apparently this used to be "Avocadoland"!























This is Larry the Lobster who is about 18 metres tall. He can be found in Kingston S.E. in South Australia, along the Princes Highway.

Unfortunately the restaurant was closed when we were there so we couldn't try the apparently delicious seafood there.

This is the Giant Koala; it can be found along the Western Highway (between Melbourne and Adelaide) at Dadswell's Bridge.

It's 14 metres high and made out of cold cast steel.









Maybe it's like in "War of the Worlds" when the aliens sent their machines to hide in the earth and one day, these big icons will come alive. (Or it could be another one of these close to 40C days playing with my imagination!)

When it's 42C in Melbourne...

... except it said 45C on the car outside temperature guage! Well, it's been a weekend of icecream eating because what else is there to do when the mercury's rising?

Trampoline - gelato with flavour, made on site, hip.
I've been to the ones in Fitzroy and Hawthorn but they are slowly venturing further, with one opening soon in the city on Swanston St. There really is so much flavour!!
Especially recommend: Bloody Orange, Chocolate Crackle, and The Mint.

Gelo Bar - popular, icon. 74 Lygon St, East Brunswick.
Apparently there was a 10 minute wait as the queue extended to the back of the shop yesterday. Today wasn't as bad but we still queued past the tempting cake and biscuit display... if only we don't fill up on ice-cream each time!
Old favourites: Ciccolato, Nocciola
New, please keep it on the menu: Grape

The Lure of Supermarkets

My friend, Niki was looking for Chocopies in Melbourne. Knowing that Lotte is a Korean brand, I knew that I'd seen them in a Korean supermarket that I'd discovered. I'd also seen Chocopies, and variations of the treat, in Asian supermarkets so told Niki that I'd check next time I walked past one. (Plenty in the city.)

I went into Green Mart which stocks only Korean products and yes, Chocopies were definitely there! There are also some really good ice-creams in Green Mart; the Japanese and Koreans seem to like ice-creams that come in a biscuit/waffle case and I love that they come in interesting shapes like a shell, a fish or even a sweet potato!

Not knowing any Korean, it's fun guessing what's in the various packets. On this day, I also bought some "Alive" candy - ummm not sure why it's alive that's what was on the shelf label and there is not a word of English on the packet! (There are 3 flavours: banana, peach and strawberry and are basically chewy sweets with a gooey inside. Definitely nothing moving.)

I remember being in Tokyo and being absolutely fascinated by the supermarkets because there was all this new stuff to look at and taste. So, check this place out!

Green Mart
Shop 2/ 222 LaTrobe St, Melbourne