Weekend of Wine Tasting

Last weekend Ash and I planned a mini vacation to the Yarra Valley, the wine region of Victoria. Ash is doing a 5 week teaching placement right now so we left early Saturday morning and drove to the Yarra Valley. On the way we passed a dozen or so wineries all dotted along the highway. We went into Healesville one of the main towns in the Yarra Valley and had lunch at the Grand Hotel. We had enormous lunches, I had fish and chips and he had chicken parma- they were both unreal! We also had some really good wine to start our weekend off! Then we walked through the town, it was really cute - we looked at some shops and bakeries. We stopped at a cute little cafe for lattes and hot chocolate before heading up even further into wine country towards our Bed and Breakfast.

We drove through the woods up towards this mountain until we found the turn off for our B&B, Brentwood Guest Accommodations. When we turned in I was shocked at how beautiful it was. Up a steep driveway was a massive building. The B&B used to be a hotel that slept 64 which has now been turned into 4 beautiful self contained suites and the owners live on top. We were led to our suite and the view was magnificent. It overlooked the mountains and there were brightly coloured parrots at a bird feeder right outside our window. The inside of our suite was beautiful with a kitchen and beautiful wood table and leather couch, there was a partition and a large king size bed behind it and an attached beautiful bathroom. We had a nap and then decided to go into town. We went to a massive winery called Innocent Bystander/Giant Steps and we tasted a bunch of wines. I had a big list and I rated each wine individually. We loved the pink moscato it was SO good. Then we sat down for a glass of wine and a cheese platter. After this snack we went to this posh restaurant at The Healesville Hotel for dinner. We both had steak with truffles and oysters for an appy! On the way back to our B&B we stopped at the winery again and bought more wine and moscato!!! We finally made it back to our B&B and had our own wine party!

The next day we went to the visitor information center to find out some things to do. We went to a beautiful national park and trekked through the wildlife. Then we decided to head back to Carlton. The weekend was so much fun and I look forward to our next wine tasting adventure!! We're heading up to his parents place in 2 weekends and we're going wine tasting there, this time Ash can actually drink since he won't be driving!

Meanwhile, I got a job at the bakery next door to my house! Downside is I have to wake up at 6am tomorrow morning and work until 3:30!!! But oh well, I want to do too many things and need to make some money.

Anyway, the SAINTS made the finals and they just beat the number 1 ranked team so we have a shot at the GRAND FINAL!!! Which we placed 2nd last year so that's good news. Bad news, Reuben the big ass ram died at Ash's parents place - but I mean he did push me into the electric fence, what goes around comes around... haha no that's terrible.

Miss you all!!

xo

Sarah

Little Aussie Things

Not much exciting has been occurring in my life lately. Last week on Friday Ash and I went to RMIT (the residence all of my friends from Cairns are staying in) to celebrate one month in Australia! We had a potluck, I made a really good greek pasta salad - it was a hit!

So Ash has put me on a serious fitness regime for the half marathon I'm running in October. I ran 10.32 km this morning around Carlton Gardens. Literally right across the street from me is this massive garden with the museum in the centre and tons of paths and fountains and trees. It's a little over 2 km around and so beautiful to run through. I've been finding the first few k's of my runs really difficult but once I'm past the 5/6 k mark I feel so much better. My time hasn't been very good. I'm working on putting the k's in my legs first and then improving on time. I get scared to increase my pace too much if I'm doing a long run because I don't want to lose stamina. Ash and I watched the movie Run Fatboy Run the other night and it has served as my motivation for the race. Ash has challenged me to 30 k's by Friday and I am determined to make it. My garmin has been a lifesaver and I'm really starting to figure it out. Yesterday I uploaded all my runs to this online program and you can see your pace, distance, time, day, heartrate and everything, it's such a great training tool.

BIG problem here with running is that the cars go the other way! When I'm crossing the road I'm always looking down the wrong way, I've had a couple close calls so now I just run around the gardens to save myself any street crossing. It's funny, I've noticed it's not just the traffic on the roads that goes on the left. People walk on the left side going up the stairs, the escalators in shopping malls and department stores are on the left going down and up, it's interesting!

I'm loving our house here more and more. It's so close to little shops and restaurants and cafes. I just heard on the news that Melbourne has more cafes and restaurants per square meter than anywhere else in the world. It is also the worlds 3rd most liveable city and used to be the first. It may have dropped because of the shootings!!! News: on the street behind my house literally 30 seconds from my doorstep two men were shot to death in an arcade! Ash and I went out and saw the ambulance and the search lights but then we had coffee out on the street at a little cafe, I figured there's such a police presence it cant happen twice. So that was a little madness! I've taken a few pictures of our house/our room that I will post so you can check it out. It's cozy!

Lots of love,

Sarah

Campfire, Kangaroos & quite the shock!

This past weekend was so much fun I don't even know where to start. We went to Andy and Janina's (Ash's parents) place in Chiltern. It's three hours inland from Melbourne in the country. We arrived Thursday night after dark and I had no idea what to expect. We pulled up to this long gate and a sign that said "Jandroo's" I got out of the car to open the gate but couldn't figure it out, a good start to un-farmilar Sarah. When we went through the gate there was a beautiful long bungalow style house with pillars at the front. We parked in the car and got out to meet Janina and Andy inside. It was late but Janina still had the most amazing homemade pumpkin soup waiting for us. I'm not talking like bought the ingredients and made it herself. I'm talking like, grew the vegetables and made it herself. It was so good. The house is made entirely of exposed brick and it's beautiful with tall ceilings in the kitchen and den and a wooden stove that heats the entire house.

When we woke up the next day Ash and I had the day to explore because his parents had to go into work. I asked if his yard ended where the gate was and he laughed. No, his property is more than 3km around and ENORMOUS. They have tons of 'paddocks' and sheep and a ram and goats and chickens and doves and PEACOCKS!!! First we went out front to see the ram Reuben who is by himself or he'll have sex with all the sheep and get them pregnant too soon. Reuben was excited and was jumping up on the gate, it freaked me out, so Ash encouraged me it was fine and told me to go in the paddock with Reuben. He opened the gate and his two dogs a little guy Cranky and a big dog Boofy rushed in and surprised me and I got scared and backed up into the fence... but it was an ELECTRIC FENCE! I felt a huge shock and was so surprised. Ash felt bad but thought it was SO funny and I was laughing and crying at the same time. It was so funny but so shocking. Then we went for a walk through the bush and looked at the entire property which was beautiful.

The next day Andy and Janina took us into Beechworth, a town near their house for this special event weekend called "Ned Kelly Weekend". Ned Kelly was an Australian hero kind of like Robinson Crusoe or something. He fought against the police for Australia ect. In Beechworth they have a re-enaction with people dressed as old police officers on horses and law officials and they simulate the trial of Ned Kelly and we saw him captured in a horse drawn carriage being brought by horses to trial and he was yelling things and dressed old fashioned and it was really entertaining! Then Ash and I had sandwiches at this famous Beechworth Bakery which was amazing. We walked through the old town which is preserved just like an old mining town it's beautiful. We went to the Beechworth Honey store and they had over 25 different kinds of honey you could try. We watched a presentation on how the make the honey and then Janina bought us these amazing bubbly honey/lemon drinks, SO GOOD. Then we headed home. That evening was particular fun! We went out into the middle of the woods where there was a clearing and Ash's dad had constructed a little house out of old aluminum and wood. It had an old working stove inside and a table and little shelving unit. Outside he had built a picnic table and a swing and fire pits. We had two fires going and in the coals Ash's mom had cooked wrapped in tin foil pumpkin, squash, potatoes and mushrooms and on the other fire Ash's dad was cooking chicken, steak and sausages. Surrounding the property where these enormous rocks and it was just beautiful.

Then Ash's dad said is someone on our property can you hear that? Ash started getting annoyed because someone was riding some sort of vehicle on the property in the distance, it got closer and closer and it was his mom on a brand new four wheeler!!! Ash obviously was beyond excited and took me for the ride of my life around the property. One of the most beautiful moments was riding along the edge of his property and there are these beautiful sloping mountains, one is Mt.Pilot where Ash's brother Adam proposed to his wife Laurie. And looking as the sun was setting we saw these wild kangaroos just jumping along the horizon. It was breathtaking and something I'm sure I'll remember for the rest of my life. When we got back to the camp we ate the delicious food inside the shelter and when we came out we saw possums eating the food Andy had left out for them. The next day we had a campfire during the day at another part of the property and slow-cooked dinner which was again DELICIOUS before bringing it back and eating it at the house. Janina took care of us big time giving us homecooked meals to bring back and making us lunch for the ride home and dozens of eggs. Oh also I got to bottle feed a baby goat!!!

I had such a good weekend and it's weird to be back - but good! I was telling Ash at his parents place we are 100% kids and so spoiled and back in Melbourne we have to be adults again haha. I am just so happy, I don't think I've ever felt so just content with my life. Everything is working out so well and I'm having an amazing time. Don't worry mom, not such a good time that I don't want to come back just a genuinely great time and I'm so appreciative of the experience I'm able to have.

Miss you all but really loving Australia,

xo

Sarah

ps. The photos added are the before and after of the Reuben/Electric Fence incident!!

Footy Round 2

We went to our second Saints game the other night. Since St.Kilda is ranked 3rd right now and their opponents the Bombers were ranked 14th we thought it'd be easy. Ash got me a little beanie and he got a scarf and we were mad excited after the beautiful performance they pulled out last week. We got the first goal...AND that was pretty much it. WE GOT CRUSHED.

It was so disappointing. Not to mention we were the ONLY Saints fans in the section. BUT I tried my first pie. They sell these little meat pies at football games here, similar to getting a hot dog at a game in Canada. You put ketchup on top and they're so delicious. I think it's rather impractical for a sports game though. This little pie stuffed with meat and gravy that is piping hot and goes squirting everywhere, not exactly finger food but nonetheless delicious. On the way home from our embarrassing defeat Ash got pasta on Lygon and following this I got probably the best piece of cheesecake I have ever tasted at this little cafe beside our house - DANGEROUS. Anyway it was Baileys cheesecake and I have saved it for 3 nights now because it was a) so expensive b) its so delicious c) its so rich. Anyway the cheesecake was ALMOST enough to deal with the brutal defeat we witnessed earlier.

Last night Ash tried to make dinner. First he asks me what to do and I say boil the water. So he comes back and asks what is next, I say cut up the green pepper. All seems to be going well when he runs in and says "I need help I need help it's all gone to shit!" I go in the kitchen and the glass lid for the pot had exploded everywhere, shattered into our pasta, our veggies and everything. It was so funny! So Ash said that was it and we went to this really good burger place around the corner Grill'd. Then we went to IMAX and saw Inception. It is the biggest screen in Melbourne and I found it really trippy. It made me feel a bit nauseas but it was a pretty good movie. Ash was disappointed with Leo's performance but I thought it was pretty good. The IMAX and museum is directly beside our house it's unbelievable.

Miss you all!

xo

Sarah

Sushi & Meeting the Parents!

First I just have to talk about sushi. Melbourne actually has sushi on every single corner. Every shop is either a boutique or sushi I'm not even joking. There's a place dangerously close to our house that sells rolls for 2$. They don't cut up the roll they just hand you a massive roll and it's so cheap and so delicious. I am going to go into sushi overload. Ash has been trying to cut me back and then the other day on my way home from school I got a roll and scarfed it down. How could I not? I pass the place on my walk home it's torture. And most of the restaurants don't even have doors it's like an open walk through to the street, it's too enticing. Anyway, Ash kissed me when I got in the door and was like "you had sushi" and I protested and said I didn't he was mistaken, but he knew! I'm a sushi addict! If anyone loves sushi I'm telling you Melbourne is the place to be.

Moving on. On Sunday Ash's parent's drove down from Chiltern (3 hours inland from Melbourne) to take Ash and I out for lunch and meet me. I was really nervous but they were SO LOVELY. Ash's mom got me an adorable koala china mug and a kookaburra (special aussie bird) bookmark! Then we drove together to South Melbourne and had this unbelievable fish right by the water. You order the type of fish you want and then they make you beautiful fish and chips! We also got tons of calamari and scallops. I was so full but it was one of the freshest and most delicious meals I've ever had. Then we walked along the beach and looked at the Spirit of Tasmania boat that takes you on trips to Tasmania. We took some pictures on the pier and continued to walk along the beach. We stopped at this delicious ice cream place and I had mocha ice cream. I always get small or childrens size and it's still too much. They PILE on the ice cream here. Nonetheless so good. Then we drove back into Carlton and they went home. We're going up to their place next weekend and I'm really looking forward to it. Ash's parent's are so nice and I'm so glad I had the chance to meet them. It's so weird when you've heard so much about someone and seen pictures and such but never met them. It was surreal but really nice.

I don't have class today and neither does Ash so we went to the gym this morning where he killed me. Then we ran back and made lunch. It's such a beautiful afternoon. We were going to go to the botanical gardens but Ash says it's not quite warm enough. We're going to another footy game tonight which I'm excited for. We met another couple upstairs who just moved in. She's from Missouri and he's from France and I think they're coming with us to the football game tonight. I've been so pleasantly surprised with my roommates, everyone is awesome. School seems pretty intense and I'm a little nervous for it. Everything is worth 50% or 60%. There aren't small assignments or participation it's all like two essays or an essay and an exam. But I've paid enough to be here so I'm determined to rock these classes. Going to do some reading before footy tonight.

Miss & love you all,

- Sarah

First Day of Class

Today I had my first day of class at the University of Melbourne. I had two lectures today in International Gender Politics and Global Movements: Protest and the Planet.

Well, campus is enormous and despite Ash and I finding my class the day before I was lost. I finally found the Architecture building and I was missing Huron at this point. A) I am not used to massive lecture halls and I've never had a TA before either B) I'm not used to having classes all over a massive campus of 44,000! Anyway I found my first class and it was really good. Something that's sweet here is that the profs put all of your readings into a massive and I mean MASSIVE coursepack which cost between 25-50 bucks but they don't make you buy textbooks! Well atleast none of my classes have yet! It's phenomenal! BUT heavy. Anyway my entire grade is compiled of two 2000 word essays worth 50% and 50%. So it's definitely fewer marks into your final grade but it means you have to rock them. My other class has a presentation, a test and final paper worth 50%. So seems like they love the papers here at UMel.

Also people dress so nicely here. The typical dress code for girls is tights, flats or leather boots, baggy sweaters and massive scarves. Or nice jeans, I have yet to see sweatpants on a boy or a girl. Plus the guys here love the skinny jeans. Everyone, like jocks, artsy guys everyone rocks the skinny's. I was so frustrated today, it's so weird to think of myself as the exchange student but I am and people look at me like I am retarded when I ask questions. The bookstore was so efficient but crazy today. They had guards at the door and you had to leave your purse in a cubby and just take your wallet and find your books/coursepacks and line up to pay. It was nuts. I was really flustered today and thoroughly missed Huron though when people were seeing each other on campus and reuniting and such and I was like there is no way I will know someone on campus today haha. I am a first year all over again.

There's a bakery like 5 minutes from my house and it had a sign that said it wanted applicants. I was so brave and gave my resume today - never done that before. They said they wanted food industry experience but I told them although I was lacking in that sphere that I had lots of customer service experience! haha, so doubt I'll get that, but since I have Mondays and Fridays off I thought it'd be cool to work somewhere once a week to make some extra cash since I'm spending mine so quickly!!! Ash is taking me out to this Thai place we found on our street tonight to celebrate my first day of class. Gotta run!

xo

Sar

Friday Night Footy!

On Friday night Ash took me to an Australian Football game. His favourite team St.Kilda was playing Hawthorne. I tried to guess how many people were there and I said around 10,000 and at the end the final count was 49,000!!! I was WAY off.

We took the tram through the city to the docklands right on the water to the stadium. It was a beautiful but cool night so we bundled up. I was mad because Ash made me wear leggings under my jeans and I felt like I could barely walk like the Michelin man but I was thanking him later because it got SO cold in the stadium.

We sat in the third tier and you can sit anywhere up there. We got beers and went up into the stands an hour early to get a good seat. The game is played in a big round oval shaped field with two goals at either side. There are two tall goal posts and then two smaller ones on either side of those. If you get the ball through the middle goal posts it's a goal and it's worth 6 points. If you get it through either side post it's 1 point. You can only kick it through the goals. Players pass the ball by a hand pass sort of like punching the rugby like ball or by kicking it. If someone catches your kick it's called a "mark" and nobody can touch you until they kick or pass the ball. They don't wear any padding and tackling is fully encouraged unless you have marked a kick.

I got so into the game it was phenomenal. The teams were so evenly matched the whole time and from where we were sitting we could see everything that was going on. People were getting so rowdy and screaming and standing up and cursing it was amazing! I don't know what was more entertaining for me, watching the game or watching Ash's reaction to the game! St.Kilda was down in the final quarter and then they kicked a goal making the entire game a DRAW! So we might go again this Friday to see them play at the best footy stadium in the world the MCG. We took a packed tram back towards home but we were so hungry we stopped on Lygon street for pizza and pasta and then we walked down and got gelato as well. It's crazy here, even past midnight tons of places are open! I LOVE IT.

Anyway, I LOVE footy now and will forever be a St.Kilda's fan.

Love Australia & miss you all!

xo

sar