Just Desserts

This post doesn’t particularly have anything to do with Australia other than the fact that we live here and, as in the states, we enjoy hosting friends now and then. On Saturday evening, Ben and I invited several friends over for a ‘Just Desserts’ party.

As children, we’re taught to finish our vegetables and finish all our homework and do all the chores that are supposed to shape us into responsible people. All these tasks come before treats and rewards such as desserts. Well, now we’re adults and while that comes with much larger burdens, one of the upsides is that if we want to have desserts for dinner, then so be it!

I baked several desserts including pumpkin cheesecake, triple chocolate mousse cake, linzer cookies, lemon tart and brownies. One of the guests also brought over a delicious creation of her own while others contributed the night’s beverages. Cake was had by all and by the end of the evening everyone was glowing from the sugar high (the wine may have contributed too).

Hope your weekends were just as sweet! … and that everyone enjoyed the Superbowl (Yo Gabba Gabba looking back up dancers and Missy Elliot guest spot – what’s not to love?).

Australian Open and Straya Day

We had many things to celebrate over the weekend. First and foremost, Ben returned from his trip to Hong Kong. I am super excited to have him back home. He took the redeye Friday night and arrived bright and early Saturday morning. Unfortunately for him, there was no time to rest as there was immediate fun to be had!

Australian Open

The Australian Open has been taking place here in Melbourne.  We had passes for Middle Saturday which marks the middle weekend in the two week tournament (no awards for creative naming). I went ahead with a group of friends so that we could ensure good seats and Ben rushed home from the airport to shower and meet us at the venue. I think he’ll tell you that it was worth powering through as it was a great day out!

We were able to watch several matches including women’s singles Muguruza (24) vs Bacsinszky, men’s singles Becker vs. Raonic (8), and Isner (19) vs. Muller along with a brief viewing of one of the men’s doubles. I’d have to say that the highlight was watching Raonic who served up to a 230km/h (143 mph) serve.

Isner in fact is a UGA alum who attended when Ben and I were undergrads. We were thrilled at the chance to see him play… then, the match went forth and Isner fell apart. By the score alone, the game was very tight but if you were watching, there was nothing close about it.

Isner mentally broke down. He let his frustrations set in after the first set and could be seen arguing with his coach in the stands throughout the entire painful match. He even broke one of his racquets in anger at one point. As a spectator, you knew you weren’t watching the match you should have been and if Isner’s head was in it, he would have smashed this opponent easily.

Nonetheless, for us the day was a joy. We had a great time admiring the tennis pros, having a few drinks and obsessively re-applying sunblock all afternoon.

International Food Festival

On Sunday we attended an International Food Festival with some friends. There were tons of food stalls and live music and even some carnival rides but the whole thing felt a bit random. We’ve come to learn that whenever anything is hyped up in Australia, the likely outcome is generally more lackluster.

Still, we stuck around, sampled the food and mostly lazed about on the big lawn while listening for whichever music genre was to perform next – it ranged from 90’s covers to reggae and beyond. We were all waiting to see the headliner performance The Cat Empire and were determined since we had stuck around all day. However, the evening brought low temps and chilly wind. So, while we did manage to see the beginning of the act, we all called it quits early on because of the cold.

Australia Day

Monday was Australia Day (Straya Day) which marks the arrival of the first fleet of British ships in Port Jackson. Lots of people have barbies and celebrate outdoors and of course, there are festivals and events in town. There is also a bit of conflict that comes with the national holiday. Some Indigenous Aboriginals view this as a day commemorating the loss of Indigenous culture and have coined it ‘Invasion Day’. There are always a few protests in the major cities but we did not see any.

In fact, we spent most of Straya Day being lazy and watching Netflix. Ben was recovering from his trip along with the weekend festivities so we stayed low. We did feel a slight obligation to observe the holiday somehow so for dessert we bought some lamingtons and made fairy bread.

Lamington is an Australian dessert made up of sponge cake which is dipped in a chocolate sauce and then coated with coconut flakes. We just bought some store bought cakes but they were still pretty delicious.

Fairy bread on the other hand is something we learned about from our Aussie friends. Apparently, it is something you grow up eating as a kid. You take cheap white bread (like wonder bread), spread some butter on it and then top it with rainbow sprinkles. I guess this is what you give kids here instead of Lucky Charms 😉 So, we gave it a go. The store was out of traditional rainbow sprinkles so we went with stars. It tastes just like it sounds… I suppose I could see how anyone under the age of 10 might be pleased.

Summer…. ???

Considering the weather for the past week, I’m not sure what season it’s supposed to be. The weather here in Melbourne changes often and changes fast – before your eyes, it will go from sunny and hot to a downpour in a matter of seconds.

Last week, I was at the beach with a friend enjoying clear blue skies and 37 C ( 99 F) temperature. We were looking forward to a long afternoon of cooling off in the water and relaxing in the sun when a single dark cloud brought a monsoon down on us. We ran to the tram stop where we were soaked for lack of cover. What was more frustrating was that we could still see endless blue skies on one side of the beach while we were getting drenched.  Our significant others had a good laugh at us as they were both stuck at work and had no sympathy that our beach day was cut short. (The meme below was circulating on FB from several people in Melbourne that day)

Meme

Every day since, the weather has been unpredictable. Temps change daily from close to 40 C down to 18 C and back up again and rain clouds move in as quickly as they move out. It’s a bit like SF but more extreme! Thankfully we did get another nice hot day this week and were able to return to the beach – where we both proceeded to get sun burnt.

The sun here is SO STRONG! In general, I rarely burn and on top of it, with my added age and wisdom I’ve made it a point to prioritize sunblock over the past few years. I wish I could say that it was for the health of my skin but really it’s vanity driven – I don’t want to wake up as a 50-something-year old hand bag one day.

Apparently, there is a hole in the ozone layer above Australia which makes it that much easier to get burnt. Even if the temp isn’t super high, you can very much feel the strength of the sun. So, despite my precautions, I have the faint resemblance to a raccoon. Thankfully, the burn is quickly healing and fading. We’ll have to be extra vigilant about applying sunblock generously and frequently while we are here.

In other news, Ben is in Hong Kong this week for some client work. He’s gone for two weeks. I’ll be spending the time begrudgingly beginning the process of job hunting and hoping for more sunny days to get to the beaches (so that I can further avoid the dreaded job hunt)… but if Ben asks, I’m inside tirelessly sending out my resume! 😉 It’s not necessarily the job but the job hunt that is so tedious and tiresome.

As a note, the attached pictures were taken within days of each other. I will say that the changing skies do create some beautiful skyscapes.

Goodbye 2014, Hello 2015!

It’s officially 2015. Actually, it’s been 2015 here in Melbourne for two days now. I would have posted yesterday but we had a little too much fun on New Year’s Eve… so, much of New Year’s Day was spent recovering.

We met a group of our friends at a restaurant/deck bar nearby where we had booked a table. The booking was for an outdoor table and we got to enjoy a view of the city’s fireworks at midnight.

It was a wonderful way to bring in the new year with new friends. Ben and I toasted to our adventures in Australia and I have to say that I got a rush of gratitude and joy thinking about the fact that we had taken this big step together.

Looking back, 2014 was a fantastic year. Ben and I celebrated monumental birthdays, our 3rd year of marriage and we took a big leap in moving to Australia. We’ve accomplished something that we’ve talked about for almost a decade and it is better than I ever imagined it could be.

Neither of us are big on New Year’s resolutions. We tend to set goals regardless of the time of year. However, there is something nice about the beginning of a new year – as if you almost get a clean slate. If pushed to list any resolutions they would be as follows:

  • Ben: Keep the weight lost in 2014 off and steady
  • May: Take advantage of every moment and opportunity we have here in Australia so that none of it is taken for granted – specifically to travel, see and do as much as possible

2014 was an exciting year and I can’t wait to see what 2015 brings about!

Mornington Peninsula Wine Tasting

Our holiday continues. Yesterday we decided to take advantage of the good weather by driving out to Mornington Peninsula for the day. Mornington is about an hour outside of Melbourne. The area is known for its beaches, hot springs, seasonal restaurants and wineries.

Our first stop was Sunnyridge Strawberry Farm to pick up some tasty treats and sample the fruit. Ben also purchased some local cider. Then, it was on to the real stuff – the wine!

For a day of wine tasting, it’s a good rule of thumb to visit three wineries with a meal in between stops. This allows you plenty of time for tasting and enjoying a glass(es) of your favourite without feeling rushed. We stretched ourselves a bit and sampled four wineries with a fifth for lunch so that we could enjoy another glass with our meal.

I use the term “we” loosely. Ben was driving, so he limited his wine consumption to a minimum. Therefore, he spent most of the day driving me from winery to winery allowing me to drink and purchase – such a wonderful husband! Though, I think this arrangement was also his strategy of giving himself greater control over my purchases… I’ve been known to become a tad enthusiastic with buying wines that I enjoy 😉

Mornington is known for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. I’m a big fan of Pinot Noir but generally do not enjoy Chardonnay. However, I was pleasantly surprised to come upon more than a couple bottles of Chardonnay that I really enjoyed. We made our rounds through Eldridge Estate, T’Gallant (lunch), 10 Minutes by Tractor (10X), Darling Park and Port Philip Estate.

Eldridge Estate gave us our first taste of Gammay wine and had lovely views from their terrace. We enjoyed the tastings at 10X and definitely plan to go back for a meal at their restaurant. Darling Park had a very large tasting menu but was probably the least favorite of the stops. Port Philip was the largest and had beautiful views which it hides from the road with a large cement wall. Port Philip owns three different estates (Quartier, Port Philip and Kooyang) managed by one wine maker and you can sample all three at this location. I decided Kooyang was my favorite.

We had a great time and are looking forward to future visits to Mornington as well as the many other wine regions of Australia!

 

Great Ocean Road and Christmas

Hope you’re comfy because this is going to take a while. We have officially celebrated our first Aussie Christmas!

Ben and I both love the holiday season and are especially keen on Christmas. It was difficult imagining a hot summer Christmas thousands of miles from our family and friends. In fact, it was the first either of us has ever spent away from our families. Despite this, we knew we had to take advantage of the situation. We are in a beautiful country with amazing sites and it’s SUMMER!

Ben’s firm shuts down for the holidays. Technically, the offices in the states also close but that never meant the work stopped. Here, on the other hand, the company is SHUT DOWN. So Ben got a little over 2 weeks off. To add to the merriment, a friend from work offered to lend us his car for the duration since he would be visiting family up north. After a brief lesson to make sure Ben was comfortable driving on the left side of the road (crazy!), he deemed Ben suitable to drive and left the car in our care.

We kicked off the holiday with a viewing of Elf at an open air cinema on St. Kilda Beach. We met some meetup group friends (see Geelong Wine Festival) and enjoyed the free ice cream and not so free wine and food. It was a lovely warm evening and a perfect way to commence the mashing up of Christmas and summer!

 

The next day we headed out on a road trip along Great Ocean Road (GOR). GOR is a lot like Pacific Coast Hwy (PCH) in California. Both hug the coastline and offer beautiful views. Both are winding roads that can take a while to navigate, partly because you continuously stop to check out the views and partly because it’s easy to get caught behind slow drivers that don’t pull off to let you pass. However, I’m a little sad to report that GOR has a bit of an edge over PCH.

PCH does provide uninterrupted gorgeous views while GOR has substantial sections in which your view is obstructed by brush or is actually too far from the highway to see. Nonetheless, GOR has direct access to many of the beaches along the way so there are ample places to stop and the colour and clarity of the ocean is unmatched by the Pacific. If that isn’t enough, then you throw in the main attraction of the GOR – the 12 Apostles. But I’m jumping ahead a little….

The first night we stopped in a small beach town called Lorne. A little disappointed because it was a cloudy day, we took it easy and met up with a couple friends who were coincidentally also staying in town. We had great beach views from our hotel and were visited frequently by cockatoos on our balcony.  I have come to the realization that a couple cockatoos on your balcony is adorable and exiting, but 5 cockatoos staring in at you first thing in the morning is creepy and feels as if they are conspiring.

We set aside the next day to explore some of the rainforest. Did you know they have rainforests in Australia??? You probably did, but I was ignorant of this fact until very recently. We set out early in the morning and saw Erskine Falls and then made our way further up GOR into Otway National Park to check out the tree top walk. This consists of a steel structured treetop canopy walkway and is the longest and tallest of its type in the world. The views were amazing and we felt like we were walking through FernGully!

 

Then it was time to move on towards the Apostles. The 12 Apostles refers to a group of limestone stacks off the shore that have formed due to erosion. The name is a bit misleading. There are actually only 8 structures today but there were only ever 9 to begin with (1 of them collapsed a few years back). There are also a few other of these stacks within a short drive of each other so we made the rounds. Aussies may not be the best counters but these formations completely live up to the hype!

We stayed in Port Campbell which is just 5 minutes from the site.  It’s a tiny town of just 500 but since the weather was looking to be unpredictable, I wanted to ensure we had the best chances of seeing the Apostles in all their glory. And my strategy paid off big time!

I read that they were most beautiful at sunset and sunrise. So, we checked into our hotel and headed out to see the famous site. We were stunned. They are absolutely breathe taking! They were so beautiful in fact that I told Ben we had to come back and see them again for sunrise. He looked at me doubtfully and laughed that I was not exactly a morning person. This is true but never underestimate the things that can motivate me! 😉

5:30am we were up and back on the shores for our second look. Yet again we were in awe. The light was completely different and everything looked golden and bright. Then I realized I had forgotten our Christmas hats! The whole point of this trip was to get some holiday pictures that we could share with our loved ones stateside.

 

Sooooo….. we just had to go back through a third time! Thankfully, I have a very patient husband who has learned that once I get something in my head it’s hard to dissuade me, so he didn’t fight it. As a bonus the weather was completely in our favor and we got some fantastic pics!

Then, alas, it was time to head home. We stopped and took more pictures along the coast (with our hats) since the weather was so nice. Spotting a kanga and koala from the road officially made it the best road trip ever. We made one final stop at Bells Beach where the Rip Curl Pro surfing competition is held yearly and then we two happy expats arrived back in Melbourne for Christmas eve.

 

Christmas morning we woke up and opened presents and stockings. Ben even made breakky – something he only does once a year, if that! Along with heaps of candy, we got a few crackers in our stockings (called crackers in the UK while Aussies apparently call them bon bons) – they are cardboard packages filled with a novelty toy, a joke and a paper crown that you are suppose to wear all day. When you pop them open they make a loud “cracking” sound. Family had also sent over some gifts and we felt very loved and grateful.

We spent the rest of the day at the beach with friends. It was certainly fun playing on the beach and we consider ourselves beyond lucky to be here but it definitely did not feel like Christmas. We hope you enjoyed your holidays where ever and with whom ever you spent them!

 

 

An American Thanksgiving in Oz

During the holidays, it is easy to start missing all our friends and family even more than usual. It’s a wonderful time of year shared with people you love. Ben and I are big fans of the holiday season – all the parties, food and decorations… and cold weather that allows for the type of clothing that will hide away the extra pounds kilos resulting from the aforementioned indulgences.

Swimsuit weather doesn’t exactly pair well with stuffing your face full of all things cooked in butter. However, in the spirit of the holidays, we brought Thanksgiving to Oz!

This past Sunday we hosted Friendsgiving at our apartment. We booked the private dining hall and kitchen within the building and prepared a traditional turkey day feast. Most of the attendees were Ben’s work mates along with their significant others. We had 18 people in total so it turned out to be a pretty decent affair.

Gathering up all the ingredients proved to be a task. I spent all last week running from store to store in search of provisions. Ben and I even trekked out to a specialty USA food store – one hour away via tram and bus. We managed to find everything (or close enough substitutes) and I started prepping and making desserts through the weekend. Thankfully, a couple of friends came early on the day of to help out with the cooking – I would not have gotten it all done in time without them!

Sunday’s menu consisted of the traditional spread:

  • Turkey – of course!
  • Italian bread and chorizo dressing
  • Mashed potatoes and gravy
  • Broccoli casserole
  • Corn muffins
  • Cranberry sauce
  • Desserts: Pumpkin cheesecake, Pecan pie, and Chocolate cake

It didn’t quite have the same flare of my usual seasonal decor and place settings and Ben refused to let me go purchase additional glass and serve ware… But despite the plastic utensils and paper cups, it was a success. We stuffed ourselves silly and had a great time. Everyone even humored me in going around the table and naming something they were thankful for.

This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for an amazing and loving husband who works with me to do crazy things like move across the world and for the wonderful and welcoming people we’ve met here in Australia who are making this experience so great. I am also thankful for the technology that allows us to stay connected to our loved ones back in the states.

Since Thanksgiving isn’t actually until Thursday, perhaps Ben and I will celebrate again with a more local menu – seafood maybe?  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

Night Noodle Market

It’s been a while since our last post but we should be picking things up as the next couple months will bring holidays and summer and hopefully a little travel!

In the meantime, we’ve settled into a normal rhythm of daily life. Sometimes people forget that we are here to live and work [for Ben] – it’s not a study abroad or an extended vacation holiday. So while we are trying to take advantage of exploring Australia and doing as many amazing things here as possible, our daily and weekly lives are often still consumed with the normal “boring” things. With that said, we try to throw in a little fun during the week if there’s something going on in the city.

This past weekend kicked off the Night Noodle Market in Melbourne. It’s basically a giant Asian food festival downtown. There are over 60 stalls of food set up by different restaurants and it will be going on every night until the end of the month. The scene is pretty massive and since it’s centrally located, tons of pleople to flock over for food and drinks.

We went with a couple from Ben’s office and sampled a few different stalls. Towards the end of the night, the guys tasted “victory” at one pad thai stand where they stood in front defiantly for 30 minutes until the workers slashed the prices down (since they were about to close). As they happily chowed down on their noodles we asked if it was all worth it. Ben’s co-conspirator claimed he didn’t even like pad thai but that it tasted like success!

We were all happy we went to see the madness but decided a one off experience was sufficient to check it off the ‘to do’ list.

 

Geelong Wine Festival

Money can’t buy happiness but it can buy wine and that’s kind of the same thing…

While we missed out on trick-or-treaters and costumes and pumpkin carving, we had a wonderful time at the Geelong Wine Festival this past weekend. Geelong is about an hour train ride southwest of Melbourne along the coast.

We went with a Meetup group of couples in their 20/30’s.  It might seem strange to join a couples Meetup Group – it sounds as if you are going to end up somewhere with your keys in a bowl. We all did in fact joke that it was a lot like the couples’ version of online dating. You don’t know quite how well you all are going to get along but are hoping at the very least it won’t be too awkward and best case scenario you make some new friends.

This group happened to be fantastic. There were 7 couples – all from the UK with the exception of Ben and I. Everyone got on very well and had a great day touring several wineries in the area. The only thing that could have made it nicer is if the sun had stayed out longer as the weather kept shifting from one extreme to the other all day.

The festival is organized in a way that you simply pick a particular shuttle bus route and tour the different participating wineries. The shuttles run on a loop all day so you can get on and off as you please. The wineries all had some sort of food for sale as well as live music and of course plenty of wine – and in some cases cider – tasting. You could also purchase wine by the glass or bottle for consumption if you liked a particular variety or if (like our group) you got tired of waiting in line to get tiny tasting portions.

Our group chose the Bellerine route which is apparently more known for Pinot Noirs, Chardonnays, and Sparkling. Overall, we found some wines that we really enjoyed… we’ll just have to re-trace some blurred memories to remember which they were. But even better, we met some great people!

Phillip Island – Kangaroos, Koalas and PENGUINS, Oh My!

Yesterday (Sunday) we were able to get a little farther out of the city.  We took a group tour to Phillip Island to see the Penguin Parade. Along the way, there was also a stop at a small animal sanctuary where the group had lunch and we finally got to get up close to see and pet some kangaroos!

The tour was organized by a Meetup group we joined online. There are hundreds of different types of these groups for various interests and ages and people in Melbourne seem pretty active in them. We figured it’s a good way to explore the city a little more and maybe meet some new people. This particular group is focused on International Newbies [to Melbourne] and they organize all sorts of events, generally at a discount. Most of the members are in their 20s and 30s. It turned out to be a pretty fun day.

If you’ve never seen the “True Facts” videos on Youtube before, then here’s a little treat for you to learn a little about marsupials. The last bit about the Koalas is the best but now I can never look at them the same way! Disclaimer: the language and video content is intended for a more “mature” audience so I wouldn’t sit down and hit play with your little ones but then again who am I to tell you how to raise your kids 😉

The animal sanctuary was small but had a variety of inhabitants. I generally get sad at places like zoos. I don’t really like seeing animals in cages but I do feel better when I know that an organization is strongly affiliated with a conservation group.  Here at least the kangaroos and wallabies are roaming around free. And they are ADORABLE. Aussies consider kangaroos to be the equivalent of vermin –  they are overpopulated and can be a nuisance. But to me, it was one of the highlights to get so close. Who doesn’t think of kangaroos when they think of Australia?!

The best part of the day by far was the Penguin Parade. Every day at sunrise and sunset the penguins gather up in groups to cross the beach to get into and out of the ocean for feeding. The penguins are about a foot and a half tall and scurry across together in groups of 10 or so to avoid predators such as sea hawks.

A group of penguins will gather on the beach until they feel they have the right numbers. They hide amid the seaweed and then start inching forward together. Then they’ll make a run for it. The cutest is when you see a scraggler get left behind who then decides whether to brave the trek alone or run back to join another group.

Since pictures are absolutely forbidden once the penguins arrive on the beach, I had to pull a couple from online. Apparently, you can have yourself superimposed on an image of the penguins at the visitors center for a fee but we declined. And no worries, I suppressed the very strong urge to steal one and hide it under my jacket!