The Final Stretch...

Since I came back from New Zealand, there has been lots of down time and studying. I'm 3/4 of the way done with 1 more final on the 21st and then I am free to do what I want until July 2nd when I have to leave.

It has finally turned into fall here and we've had a few nights of very wintry weather. I wish I had warmer clothes and I wish Unilodge has central heating, because every time I go to the bathroom or out in the hall I freeze. We've also had some wild weather- i.e. wind and lots of rain at random points in the day. This morning it became torrential and I couldn't even see out of my windows. And then, water starting pouring through the window, obviously the windows have not been sealed properly. I thought the building was going to blow over, but it passed and now it is sunny.

Turning into fall on Campus

When I am not in the library with my Library Club (LC) members... or my LLC girls, I am out doing some things in Melbourne I haven't had much chance to do. This is what the last month has looked like:

Gym. Katie and I joined the gym again, and we have been gym buddies throughout the month of June. It's definitely helpful to have a gym buddy, because we motivate each other. We also went swimming at the gym pool, which was super fun. Before I go home I want to get down to about 62kg, which is like 135, because that's about what I was when I left New York. Silly Australia making me gain weight.

Cooking. With more free time, I have been able to improvise on dinners more. Last night I made lamb fillets. Katie and Laura came over and Katie & Laura made cabbage, pumpkin and gnocchi. It was a delicious meal, and the lamb turned out great. I had never made it before! Last week, Katie gave me the idea to make chicken nuggets. I took a chicken breast, dipped it in flour, egg and breadcrumbs and with a little oil in a frying pan cooked them up. They turned out soo good, and they have been making fun of me ever since for being super enthusiastic about it.

Chicken Nuggets from Scratch!

Visitors. Last week Nikita came to Melbourne with 2 of her friends from Uni in Sydney. We made plans to meet up, and along with Katie we went to St. Kilda to a restaurant called Lentil As Anything. Lentil As Anything is a little restaurant that accepts donations in return for food instead of having fixed prices for their meals. It started out as a place where artists could go to eat when they didn't have a lot of money for food, and then when they got money they would pay more to make up for all the free meals they got. They encourage you to "pay what you can or what you feel your meal was worth" It's kind of a cool concept and the food is pretty delicious.
Katie and I shared a Lentil Burger, and an apple curry special. For dessert, we shared a little carrot muffin. We are planning on going back tomorrow for lunch, and it will be delicious I'm sure.

Laura and I on Brunswick Street

Brunswick Street. After not ever going to Brunswick Street throughout the semester, I finally got the chance to go! Katie, Laura and I decided to go to a club/bar called Perseverance. It was the night of the World Cup Opening Game, and it was super packed. As we skipped down to the road, we ran upon a Possum that was pretty fearless and came super close to us. It was cute. Then we got to the bar as it started to rain, and we waited in line for about 30 minutes til we decided to give up and go home. We had grand plans for a movie night with popcorn, but as we walked home we all got tired. We had a run in with an adorable cat (And Katie loves her cats), and then all went home to get warm and dry. Even though it was a fail night, it was still fun.

A few days ago, as I didn't feel like studying, Katie, Laura and I went to Brunswick Street. It was so cute, I had no idea it was as beautiful and eclectic as it was. Brunswick Street is in the suburb called Fitzroy, and I think Hamish and I will look into living over there next year. We walked around and window shopped. It's a pretty alternative area, and is full of cafes and boutiques and vintage stores. We went in a Flower Shop, a fruit store, a garden store, and then decided to stop and grab a coffee. We sat outside and enjoyed the autumn weather.

Beautiful Garden Store on Brunswick St. Note the little sheep statues.

Ice Skating. Tuesday is "Tight Tuesdays" at Ice Skating in the Docklands, which means half price! For only 12 dollars, we got skate rentals and 3 hours of skating. This was our second time going. Charlotte, Katie, Laura, Hamish, Chris and I all had a great time, though my legs were cramping and sore from the gym earlier that week.

The girls Ice Skating

Exam. I had my marketing exam on Tuesday. And besides the fact that I had to take a test for 2 hours, it was awesome. Firstly, the exams for Melbourne Uni are mostly taken at off-site locations in buildings they rent out. In this case, they rented out the Royal Exhibition Building, which is right near the Melbourne Museum, about 10 minutes walk from where I live. It's a huge dome shaped building, and HUGE, (see photo). Inside, there were desks in rows: about 2000 desks to be exact. Each person had a desk number pre-assigned to them, and we had to find our desk. The 'reading period' started at 2pm. I never knew what a reading period was, but apparently you sit there for 15 minutes, not allowed to write anything, but you can look over the exam. I didnt want to do that because I would freak myself out about it. So I sat there bored and filled out my attendance card. Little did I know, we werent allowed to write ANYTHING on ANY PAPER, so I wasn't supposed to fill this out. Luckily, I didn't get in trouble. How was I supposed to know anyway? There were no rules told beforehand. Anyway, the inside of the building was gorgeous- had gorgeous ceilings and architecture. I would love to have a HUGE reception in there for like, my wedding. Except I don't know enough people to be able to fill it up....

Royal Exhibition Building (REB)

All in all, it has been a great finals month. It is nice that my finals are spread out, because it gives me time to have fun and be productive too. I cannot believe that I am down to my final 2 weeks here. It is so bittersweet. I am very excited to see my family and friends and it will be great to be back in NY for the summer. I cant wait to go to a Yankees game, and I am excited about my last summer at Bloomberg. On the other hand, I am really going to miss all of my friends here. It has been an unreal experience, and I feel so close with all of my friends here. On the bright side, the majority of them live within visiting distance and we all have plans to see each other within the next 6 months. And for that, I am happy about. I am going to miss the game of Footy. I'll miss Australia in general- the culture, the coffee, the people, the way of life here. But I know I will be back next year, and so I can only look forward.

Chris and I at Ice Skating

That is all for now- must go read a full semesters worth of notes.

Shopping, Fush & Chups and Rain

It has been wonderful in New Zealand. I love where my Nana's flat is located, in the town of Devonport, directly across the harbour from Auckland. I could totally get used to it, and it is a possibility, cause my parents are considering retiring here in the next few years. Pretty neat, but we'll see what happens, and if they are actually able to retire here, considering all that is holding us back in New York..

Anyway, the past few days have been fun. On Sunday, we went over to my cousins' house for a Sunday Roast lunch of lamb, potatoes and veges. It was yummy and it was great spending time with my 2 cousins who are 15 and 11.

Peter, Me and Emma

After, my Uncle dropped me off at my other cousins house- home to Lizzie and Katy and their parents Robin and Richard. They invited me to stay for the night, which was really nice. I love staying with them, because they are my age- 21 and 23. As per my request, we went out to a Mexican Restaurant. Last year when I visited, we went out to dinner at a Mexican Restaurant right at the base of the Sky Tower. The food was so good- authentic- just like the food we get back in the US, so as authentic as US Mexican food is. Anyway, Melbourne doesn't have any Mexican food like that, so I really wanted to go, and they were so nice to take me. We started the night off with some yummy Strawberry Margaritas and some Salsa, Guacamole, and Cheese dip. For main course, I had my usual- cheese enchiladas- with beans and rice. It was absolutely the best thing EVER. I was craving it so bad. I wish I had taken a photo of the deliciousness.

After dinner, Katy and Lizzie and I rented a movie, Couples Retreat, and watched it back at the house. Lizzie and I stayed up for a while, catching up on life and exchanging goss. The next morning, we woke up and had breaky and headed into the city on Queens Street. Lizzie wanted to see a New Zealand film in theatres called "Boy" so we decided to see it before she had Uni. It was such a GREAT movie! It was at Sundance, and it was so powerful. I highly recommend it. Here is the trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwqfR8g-Qow

After the movie Lizzie and I bid each other farewell and headed down onto Queen Street for shopping. First stop, Jay Jays! I bought 2 pairs of jeans and a black leather looking jacket that I have been after for a while. Ended up spending a lot of money, but the exchange rate from USD to NZD is better than USD to AUS. After that, I went and bought a wallet down the street, popped into a few more stores but ultimately decided I had spent enough money and couldnt be fucked to do any more shopping. So, I walked to the ferry building and made it just in time for the 2pm ferry.

Ferry building in Auckland

Once I got to Devonport, I had to walk back to my Nana's. I was carrying my backpack and all of my purchases- and stopped at the New World Supermarket to get some NZ chocolate bars and 2 $1 dollar scratch off lotto cards. I also stopped in the $2 dollar store and got some random knick-knacks for people. Then I began the hike home, which took a while, since I was holding so much stuff.

Self timer action on the way home

I was almost home, and decided to stop at the little beach/park near my Nana's, which have some excellent views of Auckland. I took some photos on the self timer and posed and had fun. It was a nice rest. For dinner we had some fush and chups! It was absolutely delicious. I have grown to really like fish since I have been down in the Southern Hemisphere. It was so fresh and tastey.

Today, I woke up around 10 and helped my Mum change my flight back to the US. I am now leaving on July 2nd instead of June 30th, only 2 days difference, but I'm happy cause now I have 2 more days to spend with Chris! After, we headed over to the mall. It was TORRENTIAL rain the entire way there, but luckily we made it there in one piece. I went to exchange my jacket at Jay Jays because I wanted a different size, and stopped at Valley Girl. It was an outlet store, so I got 2 things for cheap- a nice top and a cute little cardigan. Also stopped at Farmers and picked up some stockings, since the ones I have in Melbourne have holes all over the place.

We stopped at the hospital to visit my Granddad, who was in good spirits, and my Uncle and his girlfriend who had just arrived from their Hong Kong flight (Hes a pilot and she is a flight attendant) stopped by the hospital to say hi. We came home, had dinner, and have relaxed the rest of the night. Mum and I played a card game "Strip Jack Naked" which is always fun. What a silly name for a card game!

Tomorrow is my last full day in Auckland, which will most likely be spend doing some homework, and seeing some family. All and all it has been fun, and relaxing!

Auckland

Why, hello New Zealand!

Today I woke up bright and early at 6am and finished packing my bags up. My friend Holly was going to the airport to meet her sister who was arriving around the time of my flight, so we decided to take a cab together to Southern Cross Station and then the Skybus together. We arrived at the airport around 8ish, and got some lunch for later and had a coffee and relaxed. I was exhausted, since I went to bed late, around 3am...

My flight took off pretty much ontime, and it was smooth sailing all the way to Auckland where we arrived ontime. I got lucky and sat in row 3 at the window, just the way I like it, and I am pretty sure the seat I was in was premium economy because I had so much leg room. It was uber comfy, thanks Pacific Blue! I sat next to a couple, Dave and Vicky, who were from Auckland coming back from a trip in Bali. They were around my parents age, and were super nice. They own a pool designing company and also work closely with their son who is a car racer. Totally awesome. Anyway, as we landed they asked how I was going to get to the city. I told them by bus and they said, well, we're going that way! We can drop you off at the Ferry Terminal!

So, we walked through the terminal, stopped in duty free, went through customs, and got baggage and left together just like we were a family of three. We had great conversations and they were so friendly and nice. It was almost like they were family! It was really nice that they drove me, and it saved me $16 dollars and a lot of time! What good karma for them. I was so thankful. They dropped me off at the ferry building, where my Mum was waiting for me. We took the ferry back across to Devonport, where my Nana and Granddad live.

I was welcomed to Auckland by a rainbow!

We relaxed the rest of the day, and I ate a super early dinner, considering I am 2 hours behind NZ time. I am still hungry, and can't seem to get full. Oh well, I will just go to sleep.

Tomorrow I am going to visit my granddad who is in the hospital recovering from surgery, and will go see my Uncle, Cathy, and my 2 little cousins for the afternoon and dinner. It should be a great day.

Alex, me and Douglas

I have only been here for the afternoon, but I have to say, my heart is aching for Melbourne. I know its silly, and I am super happy to be here, but I do love Australian culture so much. Even New Zealand feels super different- with its measly 4 million population. I was watching the news and noticed it seemed to be more grim, and there seemed to be a lot more accidents and bad shit going on, whereas in Australia, things never seem too bad. Of course theres always a bunch of crazy stories, but it seems different here. Also, kids on the news seem so much more wreckless and bratty. Don't get me wrong, I love this country; and it is part of who I am. But, I think that the Australian way of life just suits me better.

It will be a great 6 days in New Zealand. I am excited to see the family and continue to see the differences between Australia and New Zealand.

Gorgeous view of Auckland at Dusk

Far too long in between updates..

Wow, it has been a while since I have updated. I guess it has almost been a full month... pretty crazy. Things in Australia have been wonderful. It has been hard to make myself sit down and write a blog since I have been having so much fun. Classes end in about a week, which is kind of ridiculous. I cannot believe how fast time has gone by... So what has been new with my life? Here's a few short updates...

I met a guy a few weeks ago, and I've been seeing him a bunch, which has been really fun. He's really wonderful and we get along super well and he makes me happy. He is also a chef, and cooks amaaaazing food.

Been going out a lot with friends, partying it up, taken advantage of the fact that I am actually legal to drink here. Tried absinthe, which was a cool experience, although contrary to popular belief, it does not make you hallucinate. Went out to Frankston for a night, which is out towards the Mornington Peninsula, to hang out with Stephen and his friends.

Wine tour Reunion Pic #2

Took a few long walks around the Botanical Gardens which is beautiful, as usual. Also, got a chance to go to the Shrine of Remembrance, which is a huge building, that reminds me of the Lincoln Memorial in D.C., that is dedicated to the soldiers of Australia.

Casto and I in the Botanical Gardens

Arnaud from California is here visiting Katie! It has been soo awesome to see someone from back in the U.S. I miss people from Oxy and such, but I wouldn't change a thing right now, cause I'm super happy to be here. Katie and I, also celebrated our half birthdays on May 17th, since we awesomely share a birthday!

1/2 Birthday Girls!

I'm going to New Zealand from the 28th-June 3rd to visit my family and my Mum who has been in New Zealand since she left Australia, staying there to help out Nana since Granddad is sick and has been in the hospital. I am super excited to see everyone.

Finals are coming up soon. Luckily things are spaced out perfectly, so I'm not worried at all.

With the end coming closer, I have made a list of about 15 things I want to do around Melbourne. My last final is on June 21st, and I leave June 30th, so I plan on utilizing those 8 days or so to do the things that I want to, but haven't had the chance to do yet. I am already starting to, see what I will miss about Australia when I am gone. Lots of the little things: i.e. hand sushi rolls on the go, the trams, accents, fun Aussie slang (which I hope I won't lose once I get back to the US... i.e. bogan, how ya going, whinging, good on ya, etc... I must remind myself not to lose this!). Also, I am going to bring Vegemite back home, because even though I haven't had it much here, I really sort of like it...

Laura and I on Absinthe Night

Anyway, I am really sad that in a month and 10 days I will be heading back to NY. But I will be back, since I decided to move here after I graduate early in February. I feel like Australia is where I should be at this point in time. Not necessarily forever, because I do miss home, but just for now, until I can figure out where my life will take me...

I love this city.

Time to go write a paper...

Oi, Sydney!

I really love self-proclaimed vacations. They really truly are the best, especially when you know all of your friends are stuck in class, whether that is in Australia or back home in the US. While they were all doing that, I was traveling to Sydney for 6 days with Hamish and Holly.

Courtney and the 2 H's. Speaking of "H" Australians pronounce "H" like "HAY-CH". It might be the oddest thing about them. Saying it the way they do doesn't even make sense. I'll give them "Zed" cause that sort of makes sense.... Except, why must they change all the sounds of the letters? Honestly. Regardless.

Sydney was amazing. We stayed at a 4 star hotel right in the CBD, about a 10 minutes walk from the harbour. We were able to afford it because we said there were only 2 adults in the room, and we then snuck Holly in. We almost got caught a few times, but we were able to drunkenly sort that out, though I don't really remember how we were able to do that...

It was Hamish's first time on an airplane before, by the way. Crazy stuff! Anyway, the first full day was spent doing touristy things. We went up the Sydney Tower and got an awesome view of everything from the harbour to the airport and even the SCG (Sydney Cricket Grounds). Then we went down to the harbour and walked up to the Opera House and part way over the harbour bridge. It was beautiful and we were loving the gorgeous weather. Later in the day, we met up with Stephen at a bar in Coogee Beach where he lives, and saw him play his guitar at a pub. We also hung out at Bondi for the afternoon.

Holly and I at Bondi

It was so great cause I got to see both of my cousins, as well as 2 of my friends from High School who moved back out to Australia with their family after being in the US for 7 years. Also, made a few new friends through Stephen, and of course saw Joel. We spent a lot of time down at Darling Harbour, which was beautiful and my favourite spot in Sydney. We also did a harbour cruise, which gave us awesome views around the city, and climbed the pylons on the bridge, which was the cheaper alternative to climbing the bridge. Also took a few trips on the awesome monorail! We went to Oxford Street, the gay part of town, and partied there, and also went to a pub in the city, and utilized our awesome hotel for some pre-drinking awesomeness.

Stephen, Me, and Holly at Darling Harbour

We had a few hilarious experiences. Firstly, Anzac Day was amazing. Besides the fact that we woke up early thinking things would be open to shop and wasted a few hours walking around, it was one of the best days. After meeting up with Joel and Andrew, we all wandered around for a while trying to find a pub that wasn't overflowing. Anzac Day, for the Americans reading this, Anzac stands for Australia New Zealand Army Corps. On this day, they celebrate the fallen, and celebrate by getting drunk and playing 2-up. 2-Up is apparently illegal on all other days except Anzac Day. So as one can expect, its a huge party day. We ended up at a pretty chill pub, and watched the Footy game (COLLINGWOOD VS. ESSENDON- YEAH MAGPIES!)... After a few drinks, we were all feeling pretty good and decided to head out. On the way out, we ran into group of people made up of a woman my mothers age, a man older than my father, and 3 young hot army guys. We figured they knew each other, but it turned out, the older man was a stranger to all of them, but like true Aussies, they bonded over beer. The woman and man were both drunk, and the 3 younger guys kept apologizing to us for their behaviour. We had a long conversation with them- the man is a pilot for Qantas and flies the A380! Stephen and I got excited and we thought he might have been our pilot on the day we flew here, but he checked his schedule and he wasn't flying that day. Oh well. Anyway, the woman's son was in Afghanistan, so she asked us, as awesome Americans, to say something to him on video. It was funny. Then, the best part.... The man opens his wallet up and hands me 5 bucks for a drink. The woman calls him cheap, and then the young army guy opens up his wallet and hands me 20 dollars. Feeling cheap, the old guy hands me another 5. We ended up with 30 dollars... and then the weird questions started coming about what ELSE we would do for money.... we promptly left before it got any weirder.

Pre-drinks at the hotel with Hamish, Steve, Holly & I.
P.S. Holly curled my hair <3

The second hilarious experience was Holly and I were sitting at the Opera house. Some Chinese tourist who spoke little english came up to me and said "picture". Assuming he wanted me to take a photo of him, I stood up and was promptly told to stand in place. Holly as well. Then his friend took his camera and snapped a photo of us 2 Americans and the Chinese guy. He didn't get that we weren't Australians... so I am now in some tourists photo album. Wonderful.

Sydney Harbour

Another last funny thing, was that I really wanted to use the word "Oi" in a text. Aussies says Oi all the time, and seem to use it in whatever context. So I decided to be Australian. And in a text message I wrote, "Oi, me too". Which in the context, made absolutely NO sense. And Hamish, my Australian friend, laughed at me for it. But it's fine, I was drunk. A perfect excuse for anything and everything.

All in all it was a great trip. Sydney's weather was gorgeous. I love Melbourne, though, and it was great to be back!

For the Good Ole' Collingwood!

Last night, Laura and I went to the MCG for a Footy game: Collingwood Magpies vs. Hawthorn Hawks. This was the first Footy game I went to at the MCG, though I went to a pre-season game at Etihad Stadium earlier in March. The MCG is an amazing stadium: holding close to 100,000 people. Last night's game had an attendance of 67,000 people. Let me tell you, the roar of the crowd was crazy.

MCG on a different day (Sold out!)

As I was sitting there with Laura, I thought about the population of Australia: 22 Million. Therefore, if you were to make 220 MCG stadiums, you could fit the entire country into them. How rediculous is that! It's so crazy that a country with such a large land mass, can have so few people.

Anyway, Laura and I made a decision to be Magpie fans, since her roommate barracks for the Magpies, and my friend Hamish does too. It was a really good game, and the Magpies kicked the Hawks asses. Footy is one of my favorite sports to watch- I mean, how did I live without this sport for so long? They wear no protective gear, only a mouthguard and probably a cup. But, it is so violent, with guys getting hit and injured all over the place. Last night, one guy got hit so hard that he was knocked out cold for a good few minutes. They brought out the stretcher, and he was carried off the field. This is a common occurance in Footy.

Getting the crowd excited!

For those of you who are from back home, here is a glimpse into Footy. Footy is NOT rugby. It is known as Aussie Rules Football, and it's like no other sport, though it could be like a mix between American Football and Rugby, but a million times better. Check this video out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_hqosNvv5E

At the end of the game, they play the team theme song. Laura and I vowed to learn the words by the time we go to the next game. It makes me want to dance every time I hear it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2bKb6pF24s

There is the link for your entertainment. Anyway, it was a great sober night, and we got some bubble tea after in Chinatown, and watched some street performers do a duet on the guitar. Absolutely beautiful.

A non-Sober Day in May at the Footy- Laura and I

The rest of my weekend will now be spent procrastinating, which is what this blog entry is a result of, and attempting to write a Behavioural Economics paper. I have 700 words out of approximately 3,000. We shall see how far I get into it, but it must be done by Wednesday morning, since on Wednesday night my friend Hamish and I are going to Sydney for 6 days! I am super excited. More to come later, plus photos from my trip, soon!

Bogans, Kangaroos, & Keep to the left!

It's been a great trip around Southern Australia with my parents. Left Tasmania after a lovely time with Sue and Gordon. We explored lots of where they live- in Primrose Sands- like the beach, an the Tasmanian Devil Park and Port Arthur, the old prison. We also had a huge family reunion with long lost relatives who lived in Tas! I will definitely have to go back there before I go home in July- or when I move back! It was gorgeous and so relaxing.

Mom, Dad, and I at Port Arthur

After Tasmania, we flew to Adelaide- which was really nice. It was a cute, quiet, laid back city and we did a lot of walking around. We went to an Aboriginal museum, Ayers House, and did some tourist shopping. My Mum's eye was bothering her, so we went to the ER and turns out she had pink eye! There is something weird about my family and pinkeye, because we get it all the time!

Anyway, we had some delicious meals in Adelaide- and I got to have some crocodile, kangaroo, emu, wallaby.... I think that about covers it. The first night we ate at a pub, and my parents were all weirded out because we ordered the food at the counter- which is something that isn't really done in the U.S at a place where you are going to eat dinner. But the food was amazing and it was really fun. We ended up walking back from dinner and saw a nighttime art display, of some artwork being projected onto a building. Pictures to come.

The next night, we as we were walking to dinner, we stopped along an overpass, on the sidewalk. My Mum was taking photographs, and I stood next to her, looking down at the traffic passing below us, and the tram tracks. I decided to check my phone, and reached into my purse.... grabbed my phone.. and then it accidentally slipped out of my hands... and FLEW off the overpass! I watched it land SMACK onto the cement, on the tram tracks, about 30 feet below. I couldn't believe I had just dropped my beloved blackberry off an overpass! I bounded down the stairs to down below, and went to pick up the pieces of the phone- everything was all in one piece, but the battery and back of the phone had come off. Luckily there was no tram coming, and I put my phone back together. The whole time my Dad was saying "There is no way this is going to work again"... and he was waiting for my "tantrum" to start.... well, to everyone's disbelief, my phone WORKED! I have had no problems with it... it's very confusing, considering when I dropped it 2 feet onto the bathroom floor last summer it broke... I guess I was just very lucky!

Anyway, after Adelaide, we headed to Kangaroo Island, on a dinky little 33 seater propeller plane. The flight was only about 25 minutes, and turned out not to be bad at all. I had never been on a plane that small, but it was pleasant. We rented a car on Kangaroo Island and drove to the otherside of the island, away from Kingcote and got to our hotel, which was gorgeous and was set back in the bush. There was wildlife all around! We went through the national park and saw lots of seals! We also stopped at a wildlife park where we saw all the native animals, and I fed lots of Kangroos. One slobbered all over me! But it was cute. Also had a conversation with a parrot. That night, at our hotel, we were sitting at dinner on the enclosed veranda- and the resident kangaroo hopped in and started sniffing around the table!

The next day in Kangroo Island, we headed to Kingscote and stopped along the way at a Sand Dune, which was totally awesome but felt out of place. It was a huge Sand Dune and people were sledding down. I wanted to, but I didnt have a sled and cardboard didn't work.

Me on the top of the Sand Dune

Later on, we made a surprise stop at Sandra's Bed and Breakfast. I had met Sandra on the wine tour up in the Yarra Valley, and was told of her B&B- so my parents and I headed over to her place. It was so nice to see her- I'm so glad we got to stop by. After that, we stopped at a honey/bee producer and had a little tour and taste of honey. Delicious. Only a few kms down the road, was our hotel and we checked in and quickly headed to see a Pelican feeding at the harbour. Later that night, we went on a penguin tour!

Pelican Feeding

Overall, Kangaroo Island was great- we saw SO much wildlife. Wild Koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, gowana (huge lizard thing), seals, lots of birds! It was so wonderful to experience it all. We flew back to Adelaide on the dinky propeller plane, through Kingscote Airport- with no security. We got to the airport early (As my mother always is early) and nothing was open yet. It was hilarious.

Arrived in Adelaide yesterday but rented a car and drove out to the Barossa Valley. It is a beautiful wine region, that specializes in the production of red wine. We went to Peter Lehmann, Jacob's Creek and Penfolds. My favorite was probably Jacob's Creek, which we visited this morning at 10am. It was a nice morning boost. After staying overnight in a cute cottage accommodation, and trying wine at Jacob's Creek at 10am, we headed down to Mt. Gambier.

Jacob's Creek, Barossa Valley

From Mt. Gambier we drove back along the Great Ocean Road, stopping at all of the main attractions, which I had seen on my first trip out there. It was particularly windy and cold that day, so our stops were brief. We did a Treetop walk, which was totally awesome- the metal walkway is elevated in the treetops. So neat.

All and all, it's been a great tip. We've done so much, seen so much and had quite a few laughs, particularly about my parents new vocab word: "bogan," in which they enjoy using freely and in the wrong context.

After we arrived back to Melbourne, we had a few touristy days together. Mum and Dad went off to explore while I had class, and then when I had my Tuesday off, we went to the Melbourne Gaol (pronounced Jail), which was super cool and was the site of the execution of Austalian's version of Jesse James. After experiencing what it would be like to be arrested, we headed off to the MCG where we took an hour and a half tour of the stadium, getting to see the locker room and upscale bars that we wouldn't normally be able to see. We also got to sit on the players bench.

Us at the MCG!

It was amazing being able to see my parents!