Week 12 – October 11^th to October 17^th

(Media update: turns out I have to pay $100+ to add more media to my blog – and while my heart says, “yes! Do it for the readers!” my wallet and upcoming travel plans say, “absolutely not!” I’ve been able to add some links to another image hosting site cough *Google* cough cough and although not as convenient as just scrolling through them on the post, I highly recommend checking them out…since you know…it’s my blog. Anyway – Allons-ye!I)

Sunday. What a day.

As promised in my last post, I’m going to tell you why I bought 15kgs of produce from Paddy’s Markets the Friday before. And as promised, I think it’s a pretty great reason. In fact, a most spectacular one.

But first –

The week leading up to this Sunday was a bit of a rough one. This exchange has offered so many new opportunities and experiences that I definitely never would have experienced if I was home in Vancouver attending my regular old classes at UBC. And one experience I had never gone through leading up to it was being away from my family for an extended period of time. It also so happens that Canada was gearing up to celebrate Thanksgiving, a time which for me has always meant spending time with those I care about and love. And being 12,000km away from just those people meant it was going to be a tad difficult to accomplish that this year…

I was definitely maaaybe feeling a bit homesick leading up to Thanksgiving….how was going to indulge in turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie around Gramma’s table? How was I going to come up with a multitude of excuses to get out of the traditional post-dinner walk with my big cousin? How was I going to play “Chicken Feet” or “31” for dimes? Well, the plan old truth was, I wasn’t.

And so, hence why I bought 15kgs of vegetables from the markets. I had decided that I was going to cook a poor-students Thanksgiving meal for a few (errmmm, well actually, 25…) of my friend that live with me in the Queen Mary Building. Not only would it be a Thanksgiving meal for the Americans, many of whom would be missing their own family meals coming up in November, but it also meant that many of my friends who had never experienced Thanksgiving before would get a taste of a delicious and heart-felt North American tradition.

That Sunday morning, myself and some wonderful volunteers chopped, broiled, boiled and baked our hearts out and made what I think was a pretty darn good attempt at a Thanksgiving meal (considering Coles and Aldis don’t have some of the Thanksgiving essentials), including;

• Turkey breast (because full turkeys were $13/kg outrageous)
• Homemade stuffing
• Cranberry sauce (from re-hydrated cranberries)
• Dinner rolls
• Carrots (5kg of them…I never want to look at cooked carrots again)
• Asparagus
• Brussell sprouts + prosciutto (oh man)
• Green beans
• Mashed potatoes (nothing compared to Dad’s, but a good attempt)
• Sweet potatoes
• Corn

And of course…

• Pumpkin pie, apple pie and ice cream

Trying to explain to the Australians that pumpkin pie is in fact sweet was a struggle, but watching their faces light up upon tasting it was a good feeling (success)!

North Americans, Europeans, UK-ers and Aussies alike thoroughly enjoyed the meal, with sighs of content, complaints of feeling stuffed (now you know how those turkeys feel!) and thanks pouring out after the meal. But what a lot of them don’t know is how thankful I was to have them all there with me on a day that means so much to me personally. I didn’t realize that it was possible to grow to care about a group of people so much in a span of less than three months – but turns out, it really is. I couldn’t have asked for a better Thanksgiving away from home. I was able to spend it with some people who I have grown to care about immensely and it really helped me with the longings for home I was experiencing.

Thanks QMBuddies, for helping me get through an emotionally trying time. Thanks for being there for me and partaking in a holiday that means so much for me and my family. So much love.

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipPHpMvUOmASrdE0xSauBJhFC7HLIUgPS37Xv53_

The rest of the week progressed on, and Friday rolled around with terrific plans in store as usual. Emi’s boyfriend Kyle made the trek across the pond to visit her for 10 days. And with a tourist in town (I have officially decided that I am no longer a tourist!) we had to do SOMETHING touristy. Another resident of our dear QMB and friend, Lily, is from the Blue Mountains and a while back had promised us a weekend at her newly built house – so with Kyle here, it was the perfect opportunity. We piled into Lily’s little Holden (Aussie car maker) and headed for our first stop: brunch. Speedos Cafe at Bondi offers a range of healthy yet delicious breakfasts, and the toast and poached egg served with kale salad and quinoa-sesame bites did not disappoint. We then headed off for real, making our way to Wentworth Falls for some quality hiking. You may remember that I hiked Wentworth Falls a while back with my Outdoor Education class…however, this time we descended below the cliff walk and were treated to a fabulous surprise. The bottom of the waterfall, feeding into a huge swimming hole. It was the perfect lunch spot and a great place to escape the 30 degree + temperatures beating down that day. I did not swim personally (looked cold) but Lily and Elle hopped in for a dip (was actually very cold). We continued along our walk to find at least three more waterfalls, before heading off to Coles for some supplies and to Lily’s place for some R & R.

An evening in the mountains – what can I possibly say? It was spectacular. Views of the rolling hills, steak for dinner (red meat!!!!), ACTUAL smores with ACTUAL graham crackers (thanks Kyle!), an evening bonfire and Netflix before bed, it was the perfect way to end the day. It felt so homey, and with how the week before had been going, exactly what I needed. Thanks Lily, for opening up your home to us and being the most wonderful hostess. Anytime you need a place in Vancouver to stay, you know who to call!

The next day we drove to Katoomba, so Emi and Kyle could see the Three Sisters (if you go to Australia and don’t see them, did you really go to Australia?) A quick 2.5 hour bushwalk had us back into the car, on our way home for an early bedtime and sweet dreams of the weekend we had just had.

Just a few photos from the weekend:

https://photos.google.com/search/_tra_/photo/AF1QipO-jdkKK7u5mvdb3PBLelp-fQvRoyHObo0XGgvf

https://photos.google.com/search/_tra_/photo/AF1QipO-0JPY7sqtCwbRRvRamsSme5Fh4ImL4FCi9lvN

https://photos.google.com/search/_tra_/photo/AF1QipMlT1LBlYQD2hFEJCJGd6u5fQiwLGCxpBfo3rHW

https://photos.google.com/search/_tra_/photo/AF1QipNPFuASCcI5x42eJWLvjkMm9fYJhmMFPjGqTjUD

Despite the rough week beforehand, there were so many things to be thankful for this week – thankful for living in Australia, thankful for the people I’ve met here, thankful for the experiences and opportunities I’ve had – all in all, a week full of thanks and gratitude.

Much love (and thanks!),

 

Steph

Week 11 – October 4^th to October 10^th

(Errrrmmmm…awkward situation here. I have run out of picture memory for posting, so this week’s blog will be media-less until I am able to get things sorted out. Just think of it as an exercise in using your imagination…yeah, let’s go with that. Alright, read on!)

Well, getting back into the swing of things after an incredible week in Melbourne was…challenging. With assignments looming and deadlines drawing near, it took every inch of willpower I possess to say to myself, “Steph – get it together!” and snap myself back into a regular school, studying, cooking, and sleeping schedule. Alas, I will admit, the beginning of my week end up being exactly that – school, studying, cooking and sleeping. I must say, after 11 days away from home, I was glad to place a bit of routine back into my life.

Friday, the first day to my three-day weekend, ended up being an extremely productive (and expensive) day. The morning consisted of heading to the CBD in search of big summer hats. Why, you may ask? Well, Saturday a group of us were to go to the horse races, and can you really go to the horse races without a hat, right? Yup. Didn’t think so. Our shopping adventures lead us to Paddy’s Market, known for cheap souvenirs and even cheaper produce, after which we left happy with new $5 sunglasses, floppy hats and approximately 15 kilos of vegetables in hand. Wait, what? Well my dear readers, you’ll just have to wait for next weeks’ blog to find out why we dragged a gargantuan amount of veggies home with us from the markets (but I promise, it’s a really good one!)

That evening, a group of us (now dubbed the Noodle Squad) hopped on the bus in search of delicious, delicious noodles – which ended up being a fairly simple task, since we were headed to Sydney’s Noodle Markets, currently going on in Hyde Park. Walking in was a bit extremely overwhelming. I don’t know if I have ever seen that many options for so many amazing Asian cuisines in one place. It did take a while to decide, but eventually we all grabbed some tasty dinner and sat on the grass to enjoy the sights, and most definitely smells wafting from the various tents surrounding us. Aussie-style Yakisoba ended up being a pretty great decision that evening – I mean, who wouldn’t love chicken, beef and an egg on top of rice noodles and slathered with Japanese mayo? I most definitely did (my plate was SPOTLESS by the end).

And, when you’re at a market with stalls and stalls of food that you’ve never seen before and probably won’t see again, it only makes sense to grab a bite for dessert too. While wandering, I had seen a stall selling cronuts (“croissant donuts” for those of you who haven’t heard of them). But these weren’t your regular, everyday cronuts. Oh no. These were green tea matcha cronuts. How could I say no to matcha-infused flaky pastry? It was just the right amount sweet, crunchy, flaky, melt in your mouth goodness that definitely left me wanting more.

Saturday rolled around and after putting on our dresses and floppy hats, we were off! To the races, that is. Although Vancouver has a racetrack, I had never been to see the horses before. With Melbourne Cup just around the corner, the whole country has racetrack-fever and the whole event was quite the spectacle. Fancy dresses, suits, elaborate headpieces – it was definitely a formal event (maaaaay have been feeling a bit under-dressed in my maxi dress and flats…). We arrived, grabbed a few drinks (at least everyone else did), and made our way into the stadium to see the horses. A few of our crew made some bets on the first race – but horse number 7 just wasn’t able to pull through. HOWEVER – Ruth had bought two tickets – one on 7, and another on 4. And guess which horse won the race. YUP. Good ol’ number-4. Needless to say, after all expenses paid that day, Ruth walked away from her first races with $250 in her pocket. I’m still a bit flabbergasted (can you say ”lucky horseshoes” much?) In the next race, number 8 “Cosmic Cube” did not fair quite as well, and I unfortunately lost $5. Oh well. I couldn’t go to the races without making ONE bet while there – but it was fun to get dressed up and experience the atmosphere of the races, and I thoroughly enjoyed the day.

This week was definitely more laid back than the previous week of travel and vacation – but with three weeks of classes left and crunch time coming up, I was glad for some much-needed R&R. And I still got to experience two events which I never had before, so all in all, a pretty successful week.

 

Much love,

 

Steph

Week 9 & 10 – September 20^th to October 4^th

DISCLAIMER: This is going to be one heck-of-a-long blog post with A LOT of photos. Because it was one heck-of-an-amazing week, during which I took a lot of photos. You begin reading at your own risk, but real free to stop reading at any point. Or maybe have a nap part way through out of sheer exhaustion. Your call.

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PRE-MELBOURNE:

Before we left on our mid-semester break trip, school life was looking pretty grim. The week involved some late nights, copious amounts of tea and a lot of stress. It actually felt as though I were almost at home studying…but powering through, I completed my assignments and mid-term (yes, singular) with time to spare, allowing me ample packing time and some GBBO de-stressing before our busy week to come.

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MELBOURNE

An unpleasant 4:30am wake-up call rolled around Friday morning, and by 5am we were off ready for the week to come. A short 1.5 hour flight later we had arrived.

What. A. City.

Having now lived in Sydney for 10 weeks (WHAT?!), I had become accustomed to the hustle and bustle of city life. Not to say that Melbourne isn’t a city – because it really is – but I have never experienced a city so full of art and life everywhere. The first day we arrived, although tired from our early wake up and pre-break illnesses, we powered through and explored the botanical garden and Eureka Observation Deck, and all the public art Melbourne had on display along the way. The tower was similar to Sydney’s, but the view was about 10X more spectacular, overlooking the harbour and ocean for miles.

That evening we met up with Ruth, Melbourne-expert extraordinaire at a local bar called “Naked for Satan”. Why, you may ask? Leon Satanovich, known as “Satan” came to Australia from Russia. Dressed in nothing more than his underwear, he distilled vodka in the basement of a building on Brunswick Street in the suburb of Fitzroy in the early 20^th century #themoreyouknow. Serving over 20 types of distilled vodkas and featuring a rooftop bar overlooking Fitzroy, the laid-back establishment was great for some chill time before some dancing to complete up our 20 hour day.

The next day we explored Queen Victoria market filled with cheap souvenirs, the cheapest fruit and veg I’ve ever seen and tasty delicatessens selling a range of delicious meats, cheeses and breads. Which also ended up being my lunch. MmmmMMMMmmm, was it good. We ventured on to explore Fitzroy during the day filled with tons of artsy print shops and vintage/retro wares, before making our way back to the CBD to explore the infamous graffiti lanes of Melbourne. I don’t think words can do the visual beauty of them justice – both ACDC Lane and Hosier Lane were absolutely spectacular. So instead, I leave this little gallery of some of the pictures taken in hopes that you’ll see just how beautiful the urban street art really was.

Sunday morning we woke up with a particular goal in mind. Some of you may have heard of them before, or even seen pictures of them. Lining a stretch of Brighton Beach in southern Melbourne are these adorable, brightly painted beach houses. They’re one of those things that you can’t just miss if you’re in the city. SO, we gobbled up some brunch at a cute cafée, hopped on the train and made our way to the sea side. Max and Linnette arrived in Melbourne that day, so fortunately they were able to join us on our adventure! We walked along the coast and took waaaaaaay too many pictures of and with the Brighton beach houses. I’ll even admit that alas, I took the most touristy Australian picture humanly possible while here.

We continued our exploration into St. Kilda, another “hip-hop-happening” suburb or whatever you kids say these days, grabbed a sweet treat from one of the local bakeries (and busiest, so we assumed it MUST be good) and relaxed in a park before heading back into the main city for dinner. A restaurant called “Chuckle Park Bar” had been recommended to us so we thought we would “give it a go” (this Aussie lingo is getting to me). Located in an alley – yes, an alley and the food cooked from the back of a trailer – yes, a trailer, I experienced the best pulled-pork AND meatball sub (wrap, whatever) I’ve ever eaten. Two bests in one meal from literally this hole in the wall establishment, it was my favourite meal in Melbourne and potentially Australia so far.

Finally Monday rolled around, our last day in Melbourne. With high hopes we took a two-hour bus to Philip Island, known for the little penguins that inhabit the island.

Guess what??!

WE DIDN’T SEE ANY PENGUINS.

NOT A SINGLE ONE.

However, we did enjoy a day of beach shenanigans, terrifyingly aggressive seagulls (think Finding Nemo) and some very late Chinese food in China town when we finally made it back to Melbourne.

It was a fantastic way to end off our Melbourne leg of the trip. A city full of food, coffee, art and wonderfully friendly people, I thoroughly enjoyed the amazing sights Melbourne had to offer.

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GREAT OCEAN ROAD

Tuesday morning we walked over to Hertz, where we picked up our beautiful, spacious, GPS-included rental SUV for our three-day road trip. Where were we going, you may ask? Well, only one of the most beautiful ocean drives in the entire world, and one that has been on my bucket list for years. Yup. The Great Ocean Road. Spanning 243km of the south coast of Australia and built by soldiers returned from WWI as the world’s longest war memorial. I can honestly 100% say that this is my favourite thing I have done in Australia so far. The view was absolutely spectacular – winding roads around hills of green forest, the blue sea next to us, and tons of tiny beaches, with the only sign of civilization being the campers at them or the occasional cafe. Our first day on the journey was a bit rainy and cloudy, but we persevered on (the Australian sun and once a month rain is making me soft #VancouveriteFailure). We stopped off at Bells Beach and continued onto Aireys Inlet where we found an adorable, red roofed lighthouse. As I was snapping my first pic of the tower, I saw this:

Instant shenanigans ensued.

But of course we also took the opportunity to absorb the gorgeous view that the misty day was providing for us.

We then headed back to our hostel in Torquay to meet up with Ruth, Jacinta, Jordan, Uillo and Olivia for a BBQ dinner and a game of Harry Potter Clue. The next morning we headed out again, bound for Apollo Bay, stopping at the memorial marker along the way.

Off again, we were headed in search of the purpose of our trip – the infamous Twelve Apostles. Originally 12, now reduced what we guessed was 7, the Twelve Apostles are giant towers of sandstone sitting in the ocean. They were pretty spectacular – but my excitement to see them was instantly diminished when we arrived.

TOURISTS.

TOURISTS EVERYWHERE.

We basically had to push our way through hordes of people, just to get to a decent viewing point to see them. Dirty looks from walking in front of photographs taken (DON’T TAKE 500 PHOTOS THEN, JEEZE), bumping into others – not my idea of fun. In fact, quite the opposite. I think I would have enjoyed them much more if it hadn’t felt like we were being herded like cattle, but, c’est la vie. You take from it what you can and try to make the best of it. The plus side is I got to see a spectacular natural wonder of Australia. And that in and of itself is pretty dang cool.

On the way back to Apollo Bay we decided sunset by the beach was the way to end the day. Afterwards, back in the car to drive back to Apollo Bay for our last night on the G.O.R. With a sunrise wake up the next morning and a semi-early start, we had one last item to achieve on our trip. We were going to chase waterfalls (although a certain song has told us to avoid this otherwise). Just outside Lorne, we stopped at the 30 metre-high Erskine Falls. The 2-minute trek down the stairs made for easy access, but it truly was beautiful, and a nice break to stretch our legs before our journey back to Melbourne. After dropping the SUV back off, we ate a quick dinner, hopped on a plane and before we knew it, jetted back home to Sydney for one night in our own beds before the weekend to come.

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UMINA

Thanks to wonderful, wonderful Elle, with all her planning, a crew of 11 of us headed about 2 hours north of Sydney to Ocean Beach (yes, that’s what it is called) in Umina for weekend of sunbathing, swimming, BBQs and a few beers pops. With the weather reaching well above 30 degrees, it was a great way to finish up our mid-semester break after a busy week of touristing and non-stop on-the-go adventuring. I wish I had more to say about Umina, but it actually was just a fantastic weekend of doing nothing before heading back for the start of classes again this past Tuesday. But honestly? I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I got to spend the weekend with a fantastic bunch of people in a lovely town and eat tons of yummy food. Heck, I even had my first “shrimp on the barbie” (NEWS FLASH: AUSSIES DO NOT SAY THIS. IN FACT, THEY DO NOT EVEN USE THE WORD “SHRIMP”. MIND BLOWN. I KNOW).

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All in all, I enjoyed the most jam-packed school break of my life. Thanks team, for providing banter, jokes, deep talks and a whole lot of love on this trip. I guess that’s what happens when you’re on exchange in a country half way around the world 😉 but hey, no complaints here. I’ll admit, I am a bit glad to be back on a regular schedule, despite the fact that it is school. And holy, only 4 weeks left of school! Ack!! Time flies when you’re living in a beautiful new place full of exciting things to do. As always,

Much love,

 

Steph

An added bonus, for your viewing pleasure: pictures of Ryan asleep in the back seat of the SUV! <3 hehehe