18th December 2010

Saturday 18th December

We had a great time at Daikoko restaurant last night.  The food was incredible and it was almost like having a dinner and show because of having it cooked in front of you.   Definately recommend it if you are in the area. 

Steve and I woke up fairly early this morning for some reason but dozed on and off on the couch until about 8am when we woke up Monique to go out for the day.  Jenny said she would show us around town a bit.  We went to this incredible jewellery shop first up.  It was located upstairs in the old Brian Bell store.  The escalator was funny.  You can only fit one person on at a time as it was about 60cm wide.  The pearls that you can get here are so beautiful.  Steve wants to get a couple and do a some designs around them.  Really lovely. 

We went to the wholesale seafood place after that.  It was a tiny little room with 5 freezers in it and the most lush seafood at really good prices.  We got 2 lobster tails, 2 crabs, a tray of prawns, 3 large pieces of fish and a huge packet of smoked salmon.  It worked out at about $70 AUD.  Great deal.  I will be going there regularly to get stuff for Steve and Monique.  I just have to work out how to cook it though.  It's a bit of a hassle being allergic to seafood and the rest of the family liking it.  I have never really cooked it for that reason and now I am going to learn.  Another first. 

We stashed the seafood at Jen's place and then headed out of town to the Botanical Gardens.  Wow.  Incredible.  We walked around looking at gorgeous orchid flowers (it wasn't the best display as the flowers come out in October, but it was still great), really big mangrove trees, huge figs, frangipanis, bromilliads etc etc.  So very beautiful.  There were also some animals there.  Very healthy looking and obviously well looked after.  Tree kangaroos, kookaburras, crocodiles, snakes, cassowarys, parrots, birds of paradise, rabbits and really big pigeons with a fancy feather hat (I can't remember their name).  It was an oasis of peace and beauty that was a real pleasure to see.  There was also a lot of bbq and picnic areas dispursed all around.  We are going to go back a couple of times next year to witness various wonders such as the orchids flowing etc and in March to see the birds of paradise in full colour. 

Lunch was at Good Day restaurant and we all tried the Smoother Burger that Monqiue had raved about during the week.  She was right.  It was the best burger I had ever eaten, and Steve and Jen agreed.  We drove to Boroko shop to get some SP Beer and an icecream for Monique and then dropped Jen off and came home for a nanny nap.  We are heading out to dinner tonight to farewell Jenny for here.  She has been working her for 6 months and she leaves tomorrow.  It has been a great day and we have seen lots of new stuff.