Week 9 – September 13th to September 19th (and 20th!)

(This week’s post is brought to you by Wikipedia – click on the links to learn fun things about Canberra and Australia!)

If I had to sum up this past week in 5 words, they would have to be: “work”, “work”, “work”, and oh, wait, MORE “WORK”. My first real deadline had approached, and I worked relentlessly on my mid-semester essay for my 100-level English class due Wednesday before diving into studying and research for mid-terms and papers to get me to the end of (this!) week. However, this past Saturday and Sunday I was able to take a step away from school work (although I am now kicking myself with how much needs to be done) and hop on a bus down to Canberra, the capital of Australia for a quick tour of the city and one night stay.

When I told people that I was heading down to Canberra this weekend, their immediate response was, “Why?” Having lived here for almost 10 weeks and with three and a half months to go, I wanted to be able to see the capital of the country that is currently acting as my home. And as an extra exciting added bonus of heading down to the ACT (Australian Capital Territory), it meant that I would be able to see Dakota, a member of some close family friends from elementary school who now resides in Canberra with her husband, Joel.

                        Gators reunite!!

#westcoastbestcoast Emi and I arrived in Canberra Saturday around noon to find Dakota waiting for us at the bus station. We hopped in her bright orange SUV and went in search of lunch, before cruising to city to get a glimpse of the new AND old parliament buildings and multiple embassy buildings. We picked Joel up and headed to the Australian War Memorial, one of Canberra’s most iconic monuments. What I didn’t realize was that the memorial is also a giant museum, dedicated to Australia’s involvement in all of history’s wars – WWI, WWII, 1945 and beyond, and even today still in Afghanistan. Walking through the museum was truly a somber experience. Growing up in Canada, we studied, well, Canadian history and our role in the wars of the 20^th century. What I had never considered having never been educated in it, was how devastating the wars were for the Australian population, and especially their role in Gallipolli during the First World War. Having grown up as my father’s daughter, I love history and especially studying the wars of the 20^th century, and so this museum was the most interesting way to spend the afternoon. Three and a half hours of learning about Australia’s involvement in what I believe to be the most put-together, comprehensive museum display I have ever seen made for an educational, but also emotionally-draining experience.

Afterwards we made our way up to Mt. Ainslie lookout for a spectacular view of the city, which was actually designed by an American! Who would have thought?! Following some wild-kangaroo sightings, we headed back to Dakota and Joel’s place for some downtime before in the car again and off to dinner. Since arriving in Australia, I had yet to have a real, burger-bar, thick-patty style burger. Brodburger, a once tiny food-truck now turned restaurant was an absolute treat. 500g of beef patty nestled between lettuce, tomato, brie, aioli and two scrumptious buns, my burger craving has been satisfied (for now…).

Wait, have I mentioned before that I like food? 😉

Sunday morning was an early start as we had goal in mind. I don’t know if you folks at home have heard about them, but there are these milkshakes in Canberra that like the Buzzfeed article says “people are losing their minds over”. And oh, were they ever right. I had the Golden Gay time flavoured milkshake, flavoured with the tastes of the beloved Australian ice cream bar. Creamy milk and ice cream (nope, just milk in Australian milkshakes) flavoured with syrup galore, caramel, chocolate whipped cream, honeycomb…oh man. And to top it off – a Golden Gaytime, in all its crunchy, biscuity, honeycomb glory. It was probably the most sugar I’ve eaten in one serving. But so, so worth it.

             The mother of all milkshakes

We then managed to drag our sugar-filled bodies back into the car and make our way over to Floriade, a nationally famous flower festival that is put on during Australia’s spring. To complement our trip to the war museum the day before, the theme of this year’s festival was “Remember”, with the flower beds planted to resemble different pictures of things related to the wars and remembrance. We walked around the flowers, took a ride on the ferris wheel and purchased a few homemade wares from the stalls. We were then off again to the Old Bus Depot to wander the stalls and sample alllllllllllll the yummy foods – breads, oils, sweets, olives, meats, I was definitely in my happy place.

              The Old Bus Depot Markets

Back at the station, I gave my final hugs to Dakota (and Joel!) and we got back on the bus to home-sweet-home in Sydney. It was so great to see my fellow Norgator down under here in Oz and to be able to explore the beautiful urban space that is Canberra. I wish I had one or two more days to see the copious museums and exhibits, but I couldn’t be more thankful for the time I did get to spend there. Thanks Joel and Dakota for being the host(ess) with the most(ess)! Can’t wait until our paths cross again <3

Much love,

Steph

A note for my beloved readers – I will not be posting about this week as it is pre-mid-semester break and has een terribly boring/stressful. Next week I will be in Melbourne, so don’t you worry –  I will get a post up about my travels as soon as I’m able to! Tata for now!

Week 8 – September 6th to September 12th

FOOD. The food scene in Sydney has been astounding so far, with so many delicious, scrumptious, and overwhelmingly numerous options to choose from. Seriously. Trying to decide where to go out to on any given day becomes quite the undertaking. With the possibility of every type of food available within walking and short busing distance, after narrowing down what kind of food you want, the question then becomes, “well which of the thirty options available should I choose from?”

This past week in particular seemed to be particularly food-filled. Which consequently meant a filled-Steph. There were tasty treats and cooking escapades everyday. Literally. Every. Day. Don’t believe me? Let’s go through “Steph’s week of culinary adventures” and see if I can change your mind.

MONDAY

With Sunday over and feeling rested up after that weekend of bush walking, bush walking, bush walking (three days to be exact), the concept of “school” for the next four days was a daunting one. No one really ever wants the weekend to end. However, Elle, Emi, Lily and I had planned to check out Elle’s work, “Milkbar” for some tasty brunch options. Because who doesn’t love brunch? (Answer: NO ONE. Everyone loves brunch).

We walked down and sat down at a huge, wooden round table and some cushion-covered milk crates. I pretty much knew what I was going to get before we had even entered the restaurant – a strawberry-rhubarb compote, topped with vanilla yogurt, muesli and  dash of honey. Oh boy, I will say, it did NOT disappoint. Sweet, crunchy, warm and quite obviously made with lots of love, I was extremely satisfied with breakfast. And based on the smiles on the faces of my fellow-brunchers, they seemed more than satisfied with the meal too.

TUESDAY

When on exchange, it’s comforting to know you have some friends around. For me, I have been extraordinarily lucky to have my dad’s cousin living in Liverpool, just a quick hour train ride away. However, it’s also nice to have a familiar face of someone who is going through the same things as you.

Tuesday morning I met up with Sofy, a fellow UBC-er currently studying at the UNSW for a semester abroad as well. We met up at the Paramount Coffee Project in a suburb called Surry Hills known for its coffee and café scene – having heard that it was a good one and approximately half way between USYD and UNSW, it seemed like a reasonable place for our outing.

All in all, it was a great morning – delicious coffee (lemon-grass infused espresso anyone?), chocolate-topped cronuts, and conversation with someone who knows what a touque and pencil crayons are (eh) it felt like a little-bit of Vancouver in this un-Canada country.

That evening also meant a night of gourmet cooking. For four weeks, QMB offered a cooking class for the residents free of charge by professional chefs in our communal kitchen. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love cooking – I love grocery shopping, meal-planning, prepping and making meals (YES MUM. YES GRAMMA). But currently living on a student budget, I was not about the miss the opportunity for some free food.

This past week was the third class in our series of four with a company called “Victor’s Food“. Based out of Australia, they are a group of chefs who put on workshops on how to cook healthy and quick meals at in small and large groups alike. This week, cooking with Jason, our chef-extraordinaire crew made cumin-rubbed lamb on a basil quinoa salad. YUM amirite?! Not only have these classes been educational, but they expanded my repertoire to include new and healthy meals that I probably never would have even attempted to make if I had continued to find and create recipes on my own. All I can say is, thanks Victor and crew!

go team go

WEDNESDAY

Alright, you got me. Wednesday was not a particularly exciting food day. Smoothie for breakfast, salad for lunch and homemade chicken, veggie, sweet potato shepherd’s pie for dinner (which I will admit was pretty great). I did make a Pie Tin run in the evening with Emi, Elle and Max however. Pie Tin, you ask? Traditional pastry-and-meat Australian hand pies, filled with meat, sauce, vegetables and looooots of love. They also do 2-for-1 pies during the last 15 minutes before the shop closes for the evening, so again thinking about cost-efficiency #studentlyfe we popped over to the shop for some cheap but tasty, tasty pies. A truly Australian staple that has found a place in my belly AND my heart <3

THURSDAY

Thursday mornings are my earliest during the week. I mean, 10am start is nothing compared to what I have experienced at home (let’s hear it for those 8am’s heeey) but when that 10am is a somewhat-dry two hour lecture, one finds themself struggling to focus by about 11:05. So, on the recommendation of Wyn, Dianna’s (my dad’s cousin’s) husband, we decided to pop into a place called Campos (link). I was skeptical when Wyn first told me that it was the best coffee he had ever had – it is a tiny whole-in-the-wall shop behind a somewhat sketchy looking bar. However, the inside was packed and the baristas were working like mad to keep up with the incoming orders. I ordered my Columbian flavours-infused latte (skim milk) and took a sip, and, wow. I mean, seriously, WOW. It was absolutely the BEST coffee I’ve had in Sydney so far, and as Sydney seems to be the café/coffee capital of the world (I swear), that is saying a lot. Fruity flavours lingered on my tongue and trying to drink up every last drop. It is definitely a place I would like to get back to, and would recommend for any coffee-connoisseurs making their way to Sydney anytime soon.

As I have mentioned before, Thursday evenings are reserved for baking and GBBO, and this week was not any different. The baking team took on a delicious recipe this week, thanks to our beloved Pinterest (what would we do without it?) we found a recipes for a dark-chocolate pomegranate tart. I actually found it to be a bit sweet in the end despite my baking-compadres declarations of baked love – but with some tweaking I think next time it could be a masterpiece (I suggest unsweetened chocolate). If you’re interested in the recipe click here for rich, buttery, cacao flavours. And as fancy as it looks, incredibly easy to make!

FRIDAY

After a long day of bush walking with the Bombin’ Bush walkers in the Royal National Park  and a cold-dip in the Figure Eight Pools, we headed back home for some good-ol’ roof top BBQ. In honour of Scott’s recent bill-of-good-health, some meat on the barby and a night out were just what the doctor ordered (alright, maaaybe not…). At home, as my mum can’t eat beef, we’re constantly looking for beef-substitute hamburgers. What has become one of my favourites for sitting on the back deck having BBQ family dinner, is turkey burgers. But, not just any, turkey burgers – onion, parsley, green apple turkey burgers. With a dash of cumin, these made for the perfect post 13km bush walk dinner. So tasty in fact, that I gobbled up two without pause.

WOOD-FAMILY TURKEY BURGERS

makes approx. 6 burgers

Ingredients:

• 500g mince turkey
• 1/2 onion
• 1/4 granny smith apple
• 1 egg
• some parsley (as much as you want)
• 2 tbsp. (about) cumin

Method:

Mix everything together in bowl. Flattened into approx. 6 burger shaped patties. Throw onto BBQ and grill until done. Devour those burgers because they’re so dang delicious!

A sunset BBQ made for the perfect pre-Friday night outing, followed by hours of dancing, friends, and an all around pretty awesome time.

SATURDAY

And finally, Saturday – the most food-filled day of the week by far. We started off by making our way to the Smooth Festival of Chocolate, located at Sydney’s Circular Quay. You name it, that festival had it – chocolates, milk shakes, pastries, biscuits, cakes, ice cream; the list goes on and on. We couldn’t head to a chocolate festival without trying something – so Elle and I ended up sharing a Nutella-banana scrollie (like a cinnamon bun) and a mango tapioca pudding in a jar. The three of us also shared a golzeme, which is a type of Turkish flat bread filled with feta, spinach and chicken. We had seen it at a number of markets and festivals, so it only seemed right to finally give it a taste at this incredibly food-filled event.

By the time Saturday evening rolled around, I was stuffed. However, there was one more food event before I could give my poor stomach a much needed break. The resident of floor 8 in the Queen Mary Building, also know as the “QM8s” (HAH clever right?) decided to hold our very first potluck-style floor meal. I tried food from China, Taiwan, Palestine, Denmark, etc, I have never eaten so much food in my life. I don’t think I stopped over the three hour span of the meal, as everything so darn delicious! S, I finished off the week with an extremely full belly and a 9pm bedtime. I couldn’t have been happier.

My love of food and growing love for the Sydney foodie culture was thoroughly satisfied this week – I could not have been happier with the delightful dishes I was able to experience this week. Until next time, folks,

Much love,

Steph

Week 7 – August 30th to September 5th (+ 6th!)

Week 7 started off fairly uneventful – as we’re now half way through semester (I KNOW, CRAZY RIGHT?) deadlines are starting to creep up. So that meant studying. And more studying. And some cartoons, because sometimes you just can’t study anymore. However, the copious amounts of studying was worth as it lead up to the weekend; “What did you get up to this weekend, Stephanie?” you may ask. Well, in Classic Steph fashion, bush walking. Yah. Yaaaaaah.

Summing up my feelings about heading out on some good ol’ bush walking in one gif

As a part of my Outdoor Education class we were required to spend three days hiking in the infamous Blue Mountains. 41 of us all headed from Sydney to the touristy RUGGED OUTBACK ready to take on all that three-days of bush walking had to throw at us. Waaaaaay too much happened over the weekend to sum up in writing – so I’ll sum it up in point form instead.

Day 1 (Friday):

• 5 am wake up due to mum’s insistent texting. Finish packing up bag. Eat breakfast (oatmeal, cinnamon and apple). Meet up with classmates who live in building. Leave to catch train.
• Arrive at 7:30am. Lots of time to relax. Catch train and leave station at 8:18am on the dot. Catch up on sleep for two hours. Arrive in Katoomba.
• Meet up with instructors. Hop on the bus driven by Bill the bus driver. Drive to start of bushwalk.
• Disembark from bus. Head down the Furber Steps and walk our way through the cliff track. We’re greeted by a challenge – to squeeze through a tiny hole in the side of some rock.
• Continue bushwalking. Take a break for lunch. Continue on and take a moment to listen to the bell birds. Bell birds? Yup. They ACTUALY sound like bells. Hike up 900 steps (nothing compared to the tower challenge!) to be greeted by the infamous Three Sisters. Group selfie-session. Finish bush walk for some more selfies and some food shopping at Coles.

Could pass as the 4th sister orrrrrr….?

• Arrive at our cabins in Megalong Valley. Cook dinner with new cabin mates. Campfire vibes and deep discussion. Head to bed ready for the next day.

Day 2 (Saturday):

• Wake up. Eggs and bacon for breakfast. Get on bus and begin the day’s adventure.
• Drive to Evan’s lookout. begin our decent into the valley – The Grand Canyon, carved from million years of ocean and water flow. Out. Standing
• Hike down. And down. And down some more. Take a snack break. Some flat walking, find a shelter, tai chi by the river, self-reflection by Junction Rock. Lunch break by the sound of rushing water. Mentally prepare for the trek back out of the valley.
• 2 hours of uphill walking. Steps, steps, and more steps. Burning thighs and calves. Greeted by a spectacular waterfall (30 metres or more!) for a quick break. Begin the steps again.
• Finish hike. Greeted by a human tunnel and cheering from the first group – the absolute BEST way to finish off any long day of bush walking.
• Back on bus. Drive back. Cook dinner (taco night!) and debrief in cabin 6.
• Campfire classroom session. Didgeridoo-playing. I am thankful for my cabin mates. I am thankful for my home. Sleep.

Day 3 (Sunday):

• Wake up. Eggs and bacon. Clean up cabin. On the bus. Arrive at Wentworth Falls. Debrief and maps. Head out on hike.
• Mist everywhere. Waterfalls galore. Cliffs and lush rain forest. Snap a few pictures of Wentworth Falls. Lunch while we wait for Jake to return.

• Finish walk. Back on bus. Bittersweet goodbyes, back to Central Station. Home.

HAPPINESS. If there was one word to sum up my weekend experience, it would be utter happiness. That was 1. The most bush walking I’ve been able to do since I arrived and 2. The closest difficulty to home’s mountainous trails. Not only that, but I have never bonded so much with a group of girls in a three-day span (SHOUT OUT TO MY CABIN 6 GIRLS <3). All-in-all, I would say that I was a very happy camper  this weekend. Literally.

(Me after three days of bush walking)

Much love,

Steph