Booze

 A few weekends ago we went to a cider festival about an hour outside of Melbourne. Quick side note, it's so bizarre that it's autumn right now and not turning into summer! This specific weekend at Kellybrook winery felt and looked like October! It was a tiny charming festival. There were multiple ciders to taste, a.k.a., "scrumpy", and there was some tasty greasy food. There were some fantasticly random english country dancers, and they had set up an area for live music in their garden. The cider in Melbourne has been so good and is turning into a favorite alternative to wine.

This past weekend we went on a wine tour with the "Wines Guys" to the Yarra Valley. I saw the deal on living social back in March and wasn't sure what to expect; how often do you jump at the chance to go on a mob themed wine tasting tour? I have to say, it was so much fun. The tour guide was very funny and entertaining, and the people in our group were great. We did 4 wineries over the course of the afternoon, and had a really great lunch after the 3rd tasting...was definitely pretty tipsy by this point. We only ended up buying 1 bottle of a pinot noir from the first tasting of the day which is unfortunate, but, it's just an excuse to have to go back.

The Search

Since January, I have been living up and down St Kilda Road. We first started off at the Blackman Hotel, then moved up to the Hallmark apartments at Domain Interchange, and lastly, we headed back down the road near the Chevron intersection to our own apartment in Melbourne that we can finally call home and settle into!!!

It was a challenge apartment hunting because it's soooo different here and the real estate people are an interesting breed of human...not an easy task to get them to call you back, lots of them are grumpy, grrrrr. We only looked at a half dozen, because as soon as we walked into the second apartment on the appointment list, we both knew that was the one.

We've been in the new place for about a week and half and we're both loving it. All we need now is our shipping container to get its butt here so we can finish nesting! Fingers crossed it doesn't get stuck in quarantine....

Great Ocean Road - Part 5 - Koalas & Roos

The highlight of the trip was our final few hours, seeing both wild koalas and roos. As you slowly near Lorne, there's a turnoff road that has a lighthouse at the end of it. We were told that if you look really carefully, you can spot koalas in the Gumtrees. It took us both a bit to successfully discern the grey fuzzy mounds from tree bark, but once we found some, it was like the Where's Waldo of Koalas! So much fun driving down the windy road, seeing all other people in cars looking at the tree canopy (minus driver). And as soon as you saw another car stopped by the side of the road everyone would leap out of their cars and form a mini spotting group. It's amazing how koalas don't fall out of trees often while sleeping. Koalas are causing substantial harm to Gumtrees in that area because of their large population, so the Aussies are  paying very close attention to that area's continued well being.

As we were leaving the lighthouse road, Richard spotted this heard of roos hanging out by this house. We both totally trespassed on this private property to get better pictures and to get as close as possible. They were continuously watching us, and as we were watching the first group of about 15, another massive group of at least 20 others came hopping full steam ahead from around the corner of the house. It was a little nerve racking not knowing if they were going to come after us, but it was so amazing getting so close to that many wild roos. It was interesting studying their movement, I didn't realize until this point how much they use their tale for movement; it's massive! They're such awkward animals.

Fun fact, roos can't jump backwards;)

Great Ocean Road - Part 4

Rather than write about how breathtaking and unbelievable all the rock formations were, I feel as though photos will express everything much more succinctly...although photos don't do them complete justice.

Great Ocean Road - Part 3 - Moonlight & Snakes

Our introduction to the 12 Apostles was very fortuitous. It was romantic arriving at the Apostles at night with a full moon. There were no other people around, and everything was so wonderfully quiet. Although, I must admit, the beware of snakes signs leading down to the viewing area was a bit alarming. Even bathed in moonlight, we were able to see the silhouettes of the Apostles. All of these photographs were taken at night, and they have much more detail then was visible at the time with the naked eye. It's simply unbelievable how large they are! It was pretty cold and wicked windy so we didn't last too too long, but having a private viewing experience observing all that natural beauty was really moving. 

Great Ocean Road - Part 2 - B & B

We stayed at the 12 Apostles Hidden B & B in Princetown, which was amazing. It was so charming and the owner, Robyn, is such a character; she has some incredible stories. 

The B & B is across from a farm, and it's surrounded by gardens and flowers; everything about it is wonderfully fluffy. Our room was in the back of the house which overlooked beautiful rolling almost patchwork type hills that seemed to stretch for miles. Richard wasn't too keen on waking up at dawn, but the sun unfortunately woke me up, and I couldn't help but peek out the window…I was greeted by the most incredible sunrise. We ended up taking some amazing pictures around the B & B property greeted by the adorable B & B dog, and then jumped in the car to beat the sun rising over the 12 Apostles.

Once we came back, Robyn cooked us an incredible breakfast, everything was so delicious and tasted so fresh. She daily cooks with eggs that she hand picks from her hen house just hours before brekky. Robyn gave us a tour of the hen house, and there were fuzzy adorable chicks chirping around…so cute! 

Great Ocean Road - Part 1 - Wooden Sharks

One of my favorite things about vacations is the ability to have no set schedule and be completely spontaneous.  This was such a relaxing way to start our trip to the 12 Apostles. The guide book says it's about 253 kilometers outside of Melbourne, and with driving on a narrow road curving along the coast line that's basically Australia's version of the PCH, it does take a fair bit of time. Our mission was to arrive at the 12 Apostles slightly before sunset.

We stopped in Torquay to grab lunch at Swell, a surfer hippy cafe off the beaten path place that was delicious! Thank you Jamy for the reco! The locals did seem a bit confused by our accents...

We found this beautiful park and playground area and got some epic photos on a wooden shark (only in Australia)...

We made our way through Lorne and stopped for some caffeine boosts and wine for later that night. All the towns we passed were filled with so much personality and were completely charming. I love that there are also bizarre looking trees lining the roads that look like Dr. Seuss characters. 

We spent sunset admiring different vistas throughout the drive which were breathtaking. Unfortunately, we did not complete our mission of doing sunset at 12 Apostles.

We arrived at the 12 Apostles Hidden B & B in Princetown around 8pm, and quickly settled in. We ate some tasty food in one of the nearby towns, and excitedly made our way back to the turnout for the 12 Apostles….almost hitting 2 roos on our way. Why O why do animals see light and think it's a fantastic idea to run towards it?? Their tails are enormous btw! 

ANZAC Day 2013

https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/ABOUTMELBOURNE/ARTSANDEVENTS/Pages/AnzacDay.aspx