I understand that spring has sprung in the Northern Hemisphere. I am so happy for all of you as I know what a brutal winter I missed whilst living in the Land Down Under. There is something special about that first bunch of daffodils popping up or the first time you can leave your winter coat and accessories behind and don your new spring jacket. And of course glorious daylights savings starting to do its thing when you wake up and head home from work. As for us down here we are having a glorious Indian summer! It has been positively delightful to get a chance to still wear my summer dresses, drink outside with friends and not have to worry about a jacket quite yet. I did see that we will be entering daylight savings ourselves Easter Sunday so must take full advantage of the next week or so!

The last couple of weeks I have been enjoying spending time here in Victoria til most of my family get here a week tomorrow (!!!!). A few weekends ago I went out to breakfast with some book club friends and had what is known as a Japanese breakfast. It consisted of a few pieces of salmon, omelette rolls, potato salad and a bowl of miso soup. It was not you everyday Western breakfast but for something different it fit the bill perfectly. After we headed to an incredible vintage market I have been hearing about since I first moved out here. Probably best for my savings that I only just went now as this place is what can only be described as my happy place. Stall after stall of beautiful vintage clothes in almost all great condition. I walked away with a 1970’s and 1980’s dress. I would like to treat myself to a few more things once more before I leave. In the early afternoon my Thanksgiving friends Liz, Gabe and I headed out to country Victoria for a day away from the city. We drove around the Macedon region which is looking particularly stellar at the moment after all the rain we have had recently. Sometime before I leave I will write a post about my experience living in a drought ridden state. We drove by Hanging Rock but would not be going up it. Instead we thought it more suitable to try a variety of wines at the Hanging Rock Winery. We then made our way to a classic Australian country town by the name of Kyneton. Sadly as it was Saturday and we had made our way there too late we missed out on lunch. We did though enjoy a few pieces of homemade chocolate at the town’s chocolatier! We then made our way to Woodend which is a very posh country town where I had a slice of the best quiche I have ever probably had. It was melt in your mouth goat’s cheese. It really was a wonderful afternoon and as always a pleasure to escape the city for a spell.

Last week I met with a friend after work to have a dip in the bay around the Port Melbourne area. This is a really posh inner city suburb that has much more appealing beaches then the popular St Kilda. We had a beautiful sunset to match. I feel I probably have not taken enough advantage of living close to the beach this last eight months. Also last week was one of my favourite holidays St Patrick’s Day. I have enjoyed this day in various capacities over the years. My final year of university I thoroughly enjoyed a bar crawl through the West Village. This also marked the day I met one of my dear friends Mr Queen Park Ben! A few years ago I was in Dublin for the holiday when it fell on a Saturday. That was the day I really truly realized how amazing Guinness can be when poured correctly. And the joys of an Irish breakfast and black pudding to line your stomach with to start the day off right. The Irish might not be culinary superstars but they certainly have their breakfast down pat. Last year for the holiday I was out in my neighbourhood with friends enjoying £2 pints of the Dark Stuff. This year it was time to meet some friends of friends for the first time in a few months. Emma and Steve are a couple from Stirling that my Hogmanay host Sandy put me in touch with. They are over here on skilled visas (teacher and software programmer). It was great to finally meet them and compare stories as they arrived here just shortly after I did. We went to a famous Irish pub in Carlton which has hosted an outside street party for many years. Sadly with the state government cracking down on bars (Google Save Live Australian Music for more information about this tricky time for bar owners in Melbourne) the license was only till 10 this year versus the usual 12:30. We still had heaps of fun though and headed to another Irish pub later. The next day I finally went and saw something in the French film festival my local cinema group has been hosting for a few weeks. I saw a very camp and cheesy French version of their James Bond. It is the second in the series and was a perfect Thursday night cinema outing. Sadly the festival ended this weekend so I was not able to see more. I have though been invited to attend the opening night party of the German Film Festival at the end of the month which I am looking forward to. This weekend my housemates and I hosted a cocktail party! We decked the garden in fairy lights and made pizzas to line everybody’s stomachs with. In the end only my friends turned up but we still had a great night. For those of you who are curious we made Lemon Lime Tom Collins, Blackberry Punch, Iron Butterflies and Piña Coladas! Our guests made us hummus, rice paper rolls and M&M cookies. They also treated us to homemade Strawberry Daiquiri’s (so fresh you could taste and see the seeds!) and Pomegranate Mojitos! It was a wonderful evening especially as my friend Alana joined us after returning from her two week holiday in Japan where she got engaged! The only downside was that we did not get to spend as much time in the garden as we would liked as the mosquitoes were their usual brutal self. Let me tell you I will not miss those suckers at all! My legs look horrific at the moment.

I probably won’t get a chance to update before the majority of my family get here next week but you can bet I will be keeping notes for all of our travels so that I can give you a detailed round up of our fantastic adventure! For those of you who don’t know we will be spending five days in Victoria exploring the Great Ocean Road, going on my walking tour of the city that I have honed the last eight months, having kangaroo at a restaurant I have been wanting to try for ages and celebrating Easter at an ocean front restaurant. Easter Monday we will be spending 3 ½ days at the world famous Great Barrier Reef. We will end the trip with 3 ½ days in Sydney. Three states in just shy of two weeks! I can’t wait!

I hope you all have a wonderful and restful Easter weekend filled with sunshine and family.

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