Oh, the Weather Outside is...Gorgeous!

The 12 Apostles

As my time is Australia winds down, I’ve been keeping plenty busy. Packing and moving house filled a bit of time, but the most memorable part of the last few weeks is definitely visiting Melbourne and having a bright and sunny, warm Christmas.

Melbourne CBD

Just before Christmas, I returned from a week long holiday in Melbourne with my boyfriend. He spoiled me so much by taking me to Melbourne. Between the city, sites, music, and food, I was in heaven. I don’t think that week could have been any better and I definitely fell in love with the city. Lots of leisure time was had as well as seeing the sites and doing the tourist bit. :)

Sleepy Koala

Great Ocean Road

The foodie in me had a chance to come out again and go on a bit of an adventure. We ate at some great restaurants and had some pretty fabulous food and wine. I must say that I will certainly be missing Oysters Kilpatrick when I head back to the states. *And if you don’t know what that is, Google it and tell me it doesn’t sound amazing!* My foodie side also had a bit of a sweet tooth this trip and I supplied it with plenty of chocolate. I treated myself to a Chocoholics tour in the city and what amazing chocolate I had! I visited a few different chocolate shops and tasted some of the best truffles ever. By far Koko Black had to be my favorite, but Ganache came in at a close second. To satiate my new found love of wine, we went on a wine tour in the gorgeous Yarra Valley. Before stopping at the wineries, we visited an animal sanctuary in Healesville where I saw, for the first time in Australia, a couple koalas. One even “smiled” at us. :) We then proceeded onto two very beautiful but large wineries – Yering Station and De Bartoli. They had some wonderful wines, but I think I still like Margaret River wines better. :)

In addition to heaps of good food, we saw some absolutely breathtaking sites. Even though Brad is originally from Melbourne, he was nice enough to venture along on a tour to the Great Ocean Road where we visited the 12 Apostles and London Bridge. Though these structures are only huge limestone rocks, they are still quite amazing to see and the coast line of the Great Ocean Road is so beautiful. The lush green of the forests that play off the deep turquoise of the ocean is something not to be missed. I would definitely go back in a heartbeat! We also visited a few small towns around Melbourne and stopped at Sovereign Hill in Ballarat where we panned for gold and visited the old confectionary. Such good candy!

London Bridge

We were also able to experience some fabulous music while in Melbourne. Brad took me to a little jazz club, Bennetts Lane, for the launch of the debut album of Rita Satch. To say I loved it would be an understatement! The pianist rocked the keys, the bass player was killer, the drummer had some great beats, and wow! did that girl have pipes. Not going to say I wasn’t a bit jealous, but she was amazing. Props to her for putting herself out there and going for it!

Unfortunately, the week away came to an end all too soon, but it was certainly great fun and it will be a great memory. A day after returning from Melbourne, I packed up from the Kirby’s house and moved to a friend’s house about 5 minutes away for the remainder of my time in Perth. I still can’t believe how little time I have left, but so far every bit has been absolutely great!

Delicious Christmas Eve Dinner

Breaking of the Bread

Christmas came and, for lack of better words, it was kind of weird. It was sunny, warm, and my family was nowhere in sight. However, with that being said, this Christmas was so much fun and I wouldn’t change it for anything. I spent Christmas Eve with my friend’s family. For the first time ever, I had a Polish Christmas – so much food and booze! After church the 12 course feast began. The night started off with the breaking of bread with family and friends and followed with a dip made of herring (salatka ze sledzia) a shot of vodka. Yum! We then proceeded to have champagne, barzcz with uszka (beetroot soup with little dumplings), croquette (pancakes stuffed with mushrooms), ryba (fish), bigos (Hunter’s stew made primarily of cabbage and is vegetarian on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day meat is added), salatka jarzynowa (vegetable salad), pierogi (Polish dumplings), sparkling wine, and enough cake (makowiec - poppy seed cake and sernik - cheesecake) to keep me full for the next week! The family even included me in the opening of presents and I received a very special Aussie movie. :) It was a great way to spend Christmas Eve! Na zdrowie – Cheers!

Makowiec

Yay for Christmas Crackers!

Christmas Day started with church as usual, but it was a tad bittersweet as I realized this was last time I would be at St. John’s for a service. I got through the service and then it was onto Brad’s house for Christmas dinner! I think I gained a few kilos over the weekend from the immense amount of food that was had, but I’m not complaining because it was such good food. :) Brad’s sister made homemade croissants and they were soooo tasty, probably some of the best I’ve had. We also had delicious cheeses, a fruit platter, seafood galore, salads, and my cheesecake that unfortunately everyone was too stuffed to eat. =P I also received some pretty awesome gifts from his family including two Australian cookbooks, koala oven mits, an Australian scenery book, an Australian address book, and an Aussie Beanie Baby bear named “Ocker.” Can you see a theme? :) Needless to say it was nice being included in his family Christmas and I couldn’t have asked for anything better!

The next two weeks are going to be filled with lots of fun and great events. On New Year’s Eve I’ll be going to the races here in Perth and on January 2^nd I’m headed to the Hopman Cup. I’ll also be filling my time with coffee dates and dinner with friends and visiting the beach a few more times. :) My time isn’t up yet and I’ll be using every minute I have to the fullest!!

Merry Christmas from down under and much love for the coming year! See you all soon!!

~A


*Post dated*