I spent the day at the Sydney Royal Easter Show.

Kind of like Toronto's Royal Agricultural Winter Fair. Except more like a combination of that and The Ex.

I saw a rodeo, sheep dog demonstrations, horse dancing, the Show Parade (parade of champions), whip cracking, sheep shearing, roping, fantastic fireworks and "Jemma" this odd live theatre show with animals (horses, cows, sheep dogs) and dancing and quite cheesy. We tried to see the racing, diving pigs, but people were overflowing out of the ampitheatre and we couldn't even see by standing on a nearby bench and looking over the heads of the crowds. Seriously, we were desperate to see the pigs. But in the end we admitted that we couldn't see anything and moved on. I should have known that diving pigs would be a big draw.

Discovered the concept of "Show Bags". Interestingly, there was a whole pavillion, packed with loads of kids and adults with their children, dedicated to this unique Easter Show feature. Basically, different companies set up a counter (or five, as the case may be) selling a bag of items. They display what's in the bag and they also have a whole section in the show program detailing what's in each "show bag". They all list how much the contents are worth (retail value) and then how much they're selling the bag for.

Jan says it's been a big thing since she was a child; everyone would look through the offerings, asking each other which one THEY were going to buy at the show. Richard, the youngest Plain, was disappointed to find out that he could only get one bag. And while he was originally told that he got $10 to spend all day, he ended up getting a huge bag of chocolate and candies for $19. But, Jan is quick to point out, it was worth over $40! He was good about sharing his chocolate, though. So I got to try a Violet Crumble and a Milky Bar. YUM! I'd also like to report that I got a Cherry Ripe chocolate Easter egg at dinner last night and it was the most delicious.

And yes, it's important that I tell you about the chocolate that I've eaten here. Shut up.

Got a call from my mom and dad this morning (or, their Sunday night). It was nice, albeit short. I'm told my dad thinks I drink/party too much. Ha, what a laugh! I've only been drunk ONCE the entire time I've been here and the morning after that was the first call I got from them. It was just bad timing that they happened to catch me with a horrible hang over.

I'm messaging with Sarah and Sharon right now... I'll be back!