Of Harry Potter...

While my sisters were playing game after game on their DS Lite, I indulged in one of my childhood hobbies, reading. :) I began reading the final installment of Harry Potter yesterday, taking my time to make sure I've gotten every detail clearly, enjoying each and every page. I didn't wanna sneak a peek to see what happened in the end because it will spoil the whole suspense, but I did flipped to the pages behind to see how many chapters were there hehehe. The fun is the taking yourself on a journey together with the characters, trying to feel the same emotions they felt and visualising the things they see. So, I'm not gonna offer any spoilers, if you want to know who lived and who perished, go grab your book, put aside several hours and go on your magical adventure :)

This final book shows more character development for one of the key figures in the book, a bit sad though. =( Even after finishing the book, I feel this nagging feeling of sadness. The last book was pretty poigant to me; like we've come to the end of the journey, like we've come to the end of the our childhood or something like that. =( No more Potter adventure...

Anyway, here's something for you to watch if you like Harry Potter.. hehe

The travel plan to Down Under

Yupyup, Bern & I had booked our trip! August 5th - 12th, airport transfers, hotel stay with breakfast, flights, airport tax, visa application and yadayada for $2105 per person. :)

Bern told me to start thinking of the places that I wanna visit and start calculating the remaining costs.. here it goes:

Melbourne

Melbourne Observation Deck

It offers breathtaking 360-degree views of Melbourne, the perfect place to relax after a long walk around town. *let's hope the 15% discount on the admission ticket is still valid when we get there!*
Stop: King Street tram stop, Address: 525 Collins Street
Price: $14.50 (before discount) for adult.

Retro Cafe
Retro Cafe embodies the whole atmosphere of Brunswick Street, which is a must-see when visiting Melbourne.
Address: 413 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy

Queen Victoria Market
Opening Hours: Tue: 6am - 2pm, Thu: 6am - 2pm, Fri: 6am - 6pm (General merchandise closes at 4pm), Sat: 6am - 3pm, Sun: 9am - 4pm
Address: Corner Elizabeth and Victoria Streets, Melbourne

St Kilda
Luna Park (amusement park)
Admission free, Unlimited ride ticket price $35.95 for adults

Crown Casino
For abit of gambling of course... hehehe

Shopping(!!!)
- Bourke Street Mall (Myer & David Jones department stores) (Jules Jewellery for customisation of sterling silver name necklaces at Walk Arcade)
- Swanston Street (young and funky labels, Melbourne Central)
- Little Collins Street
- Flinders Lane (retro fashion, one-off boutiques, cafes)
- Chapel Street
- Smith Street (DFO outlets)


Gold Coast/ Brisbane

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary
Price: $20 for adult

Address: Jesmond Road, Fig Tree Pocket.
Price: $20 for adults

OR
Australia Zoo
*contact Australia Zoo to arrange a free pick up at 07 5436 2000*
Address: Beerwah, Queensland 4519
I wanna feed the kangaroos!
Price: $49

Theme parks
The Escape Pass gives you one single day entry to two parks of your choice over three days. Visit any combination of two parks from Warner Bros. Movie World, Sea World and Wet'n'Wild Water World.
Ticket: $105 for adult

Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum

Price: $15 for adults

Fishmongers
One of the best places to get fish & chips!
7-9 James St, Burleigh Heads

Shopping!!!
- Queen Street Mall
- Valley Markets
- Harbour Town
- Cavill Mall
- Pacific Fair

Bern & I caught Hot Fuzz together after work sometime this week, heh it's been... a while since we caught a movie together. Not that long as our last movie was Fantastic Four. :)

Nicholas Angel was an overachieving and dedicated police officer, so good that he made the rest of the force look bad. Hence his superiors promoted him and transferred him out to the peaceful town of Stanford where there hasn't been a serious crime recorded in a decade.

There, he was partnered with Danny, the son of the town's police chief. Danny was raised on a diet of over-the-top action films, and his endless of ridiculous questions was getting on Nicholas' nerve. Nicholas tries to adapt, but his supercop instincts kicked in when he notices a strange pattern of murders befalling the locals, and believes a serial killer is in their midst when the locals write these murders off as accidents instead.

This movie is a fun ride, starts slow and ends off on a high and wacky note. The chemistry between the duo was great, a teacher who takes it as his responsibility to teach his student a few things, and a fan boy who's eager to prove himself in the small town. A brilliant marriage of American action and British wit, it kept me laughing hard and leaving the cinema in a jolly good mood. Go catch it too!

By the way, new stuff at xoxo, Opus! :)