weekly photo challenge: between
Sharing this photo for the challenge: driving “between” the trees on Kangaroo Island, Australia.
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footy fever in brazil
As the Australian National anthem is being sung, the reality of being here, in Brazil, finally sinks in. We both got goosebumps (despite it being subtropical temperatures) and we got a bit emotional as we squeezed each others hands, singing at the top of our lungs with pride.
Australia loses to Chile 2-1 and then loses to the Netherlands 3-2 several days later but it doesn’t matter. We are so proud of how the Socceroos played, the whole country should be proud. Australia gained a LOT of respect from supporters of all nations!
Following the game yesterday against the Netherlands, everyone (that are not Australian) have been really encouraging and supportive. After the Netherlands onslaught against Spain, people were “dooming” the chances of the Socceroos. We were getting all types of reaction before the game, everything from sympathy and jokes about Australia not scoring.
Twenty-four hours on, we hope the Socceroos have silenced their critics.
We thought we knew what footy fever meant but until we experienced football and World Cup in Brazil …. it has taken on a completely different meaning for us.
The entire country is immersed in green and gold (supporting Brazil, of course) with no one getting off lightly. But those who know, Australian sporting colours are green and gold too, so we feel like home here, except at games where the other countries are very well represented.
Every TV no matter where we turn has the game on when its game time. Even on the plane as we fly, everyone is glued to the TV.
The atmosphere is sensational and the games itself could not be more full of energy. We are one week into the World Cup 2014 and 21 games have been played so far. England are playing Uruguay as Le writes (with one eye on the TV) and David with both eyes on the TV. We are in the hotel lobby and all the staff are lined up watching the TV too.
One more Australia game for us to attend but that doesn’t mean the World Cup ends for us. It goes on up until that last game is played, even if it means watching it at some godly hour when we get home to Sydney. Because it is only once every 4 years for one month where footy fever infects (on a world scale)!
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aussies hit brazil for the world cup
We are so excited to have a featured post on Cover-More Insurance Australia blog page on being at the World Cup supporting our Socceroos!
Sponsored article here: Aussies hit Brazil for the World Cup – Cover-More Australia.
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weekend walks: porto alegre goal walk
The mayor describes Porto Alegre as “a port where a community with multiple cultures and different ethnicities live in perfect harmony”. This is a really pleasant way to describe the city. It seems rather harmonious but obviously it is tough to know for sure with one of the world’s biggest event currently going on.
Today was game day in Porto Alegre – France vs Honduras and the “Goal Walk” from Mercado Público through to the stadium (Estadio Beira Rio) was filled with French supporters donning the flag and their faces painted red, white and blue! 
But let us share with you some of the historical district that we saw on our walk. The City Hall was inaugurated in 1901. There is a beautiful fountain at the front made of Spanish tiles and given as a gift by the Spanish Community in 1935. The fountain now appears to be a landing pad for pigeons. 
Alfândega Square is one of the most famous squares in the city. There is a park area that has local craft markets around along the pathways and an Art Museum at one end of the entrance. Today we didn’t have enough time to visit the museum but will be sure to get there during our time here. 
Nossa Senhora das Dores Church is the oldest church in the city, and took almost a century to complete. Its blinding white exterior drew us in to walk up all the steps to have a peak inside. And inside was beautiful. The inside smelt like any other Catholic Church: candles burning and “woody” if we can describe it like that. Out of respect for those inside, we didn’t take photos, so you will have to take our word that it was beautiful 🙂 The ceiling was painted in a soft green and the altar was rather extravagant. It was encased in white columns with gold tips and really was the “centrepiece”. 
We finished up our walk at the FIFA Fan Fest for the rest of the afternoon cheering at a big TV screen, sitting on muddy grass 🙂 Hope you enjoyed coming on a brief walk through a Brazilian World Cup Host City with us! 
Wise Monkeys Random Piece of Trivia: The 30°S Parallel South of the Earth’s equator passes through Porto Alegre hence that is the city’s latitude.
wise monkeys abroad 