Tinkerblue

Jo and I - Impossible to Take a Decent Photo

I wanted a recent photo of Jo and I.

Neither of us can stand still, keep a straight face, or take the whole posing thing seriously.

So there were many outtakes. My favourite photo is the last one. Who knows what we were laughing at.

It is Goodnight and Not Goodbye

Excuse the sappy Girl Guide campfire song lyrics.

We had our last supper at Mezethes Greek Taverna at Salamanca Place. Jo and I tried to eat there last year, but no go. This year we finally made it. We dragged my Mum and Dad, Nan and Shaun and Kelly along with us.

I'm going to miss them all. A lot.

Photos are:
Shaun and I. Do we look like brother and sister or what? Just think he's my little brother.

Kelly and I. Shaun's partner and my friend.

Nan and I.

Dad.

Mum.

The Return of the Birds

Remember the birds? http://tinkerblue.typepad.com/tinkerblue_the_daily_tink/2011/12/advent-calendar-day-6-buy-a-new-decoration.html

Well they followed me to Australia.

There were birds everywhere at Floriade. And my Mum gave me one (the white one) to take back to Vancouver with me.

Weekend in Hobart Recap

Saturday:
Salamanca Market with Jo for falafel, carrot cake and wood boxes.

Floriade at St David's Cathedral with my Nan, Kelly and Jo.

Lunch at Mt Nelson Signal Station with my Nan, Kelly and Jo.

Sausage Sizzle for dinner to celebrate Irene's birthday with Jo, Claire, Cristie and Joanna.

Sunday:
Watched the Canucks game live with Sharyn, Kath, Garin, Karen and Tony. We lost in a shoot out but still fun to watch.

Bubbly, dinner and a movie (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy) at the State Theatre with Mum, Dad and Jo.

Watched the One Day International between India and Australia on TV with my Dad. It was close, but India won with 2 balls to go.

Monday (public holiday):
Dinner at Fish Frenzy on the wharf with Mum and Dad.

Evening at the Royal Hobart Regatta watching the Roulettes (like the Snowbirds or Blue Angels), listening to big band music by the Australian Army and watching fireworks.

A great long weekend with family and friends. I'm going to miss everyone when I leave next week.

The Odd Things I Buy

Three weeks in Australia and this is what I've bought to take back to Canada with me.

Vegemite
Milo
Turkish Delight Chocolate Bars
Mint Patties
Freddo Frogs
Turkish Delight Tim Tams
Black Forest Chocolate
Rocky Road Chocolate

My 3 Dates

I spent the first week back in Australia in Mornington, just south of Melbourne with my friends.

These 3 kept me amused for the week and smothered with hugs and kisses.

I watched Dale play cricket and score 30 runs, not out.

Liam lent me his bedroom for the week. He took me to his new primary school to show me his grade 1 classroom and then we went out to dinner wearing our matching Canucks t-shirts.

Tait is the youngest and very smiley. He loves to give kisses, although he could do with some practice, his kisses are slobbery. He also loved to pull on my bra strap and stick his fingers in my mouth. Cute when you're 8 months old, but a habit he'll need to grow out of.

I'm going to miss them heaps (and their mum and dad).

Home

A quick flight from Melbourne, (seriously quick, our one hour flight arrived 15 mins early) above the clouds and I'm home.

In my childhood home, sleeping in my childhood bedroom. Although the room has been through a few changes since I left. The wallpaper and the bookshelf remain the same.

Between jet lag and insomnia I didn't sleep all that well in Melbourne, but it must be something about the comfort of home - I've had two relatively good nights sleep.

No exciting touristy stories to tell, this trip is not about that. Yesterday I spent the day with my Mum and Nan. Today I'm home doing laundry and re-reading some of those books on my bookshelf.

The weekend will be all about hanging out with childhood friends.

Peninsula Hot Springs

I went back to the hot springs last night. Narelle had never been before, despite living only 30 mins away. We left the boys with Justin and had a girls night out.

Lucky for us if you go after 7pm you get a $10 discount on the entry fee. Nice!

Yes, I'm posting photos of Narelle and myself on the Internet in swimsuits. (I might change my mind and take them down). That is a wine barrel I'm sitting in, unfortunately no wine, just hot water.

How I Know I'm Home...

Because I can buy as many Violet Crumbles, Cherry Ripes, Turkish Delights, Picnics, Minties, Twisties and bags of Burger Rings as I want.

I haven't bought any, but I know that I can if I want to!

Chocolates, Hot Pools, Beer and Pizza

I'm almost home. I'm spending a week in Melbourne first with Narelle and Justin and their boys, Dale, Liam, and Tait.

Today I was lucky enough to spend the day with some other friends, Nicole and Brendan.

We started the day with brunch at Blue Mini Cafe in Rosebud. It was delicious and well with the detour to get there - don't ask Brendan for directions, he took us an extra 20+ km down the highway!

After we filled our bellies we headed over to Flinders to Mornington Peninsula Chocolates. See the fish in the photos? They are all chocolate. Nicole and I indulged in the tasting session - almond praline, honey ganache, and orange ganache. Mmmm, the honey ganache literally melted in my mouth. So good. I bought three to take away as a treat for later - raspberry ganache, grapefruit ganache, and ganache noir. The ganache noir was my favourite, I could have inhaled an entire box of them. They are "Stonier vintage sparkling wine with Force Noir Chocolate ganache dipped in dark couverture." I'm not hundred percent sure what all that is, but it was so good.
http://www.mpchocolates.com.au/

We spent the better part of the day at the Peninsula Hot Springs. Here's the description from the website:
"The Bath House has over 20 bathing experiences on offer with areas suitable for visitors of all ages including a Hill Top pool with 360 deg views, reflexology walk, Turkish steam room, sauna, cave pool, family bathing area and many more".

We spent a good few hours here. The outside temperature was 32c, the hot pools were hot, bloody hot, 42c. The cool pools were 31c! It was so nice and relaxing. Rose, are you reading this? It was similar to Scandinave, but more pools and a more natural setting. You'd love it. I liked the view from the hilltop pool, but it was too hot to sit in. The plunge pool was cold, take your breath away cold, but it felt good. Nicole wasn't a fan, but I loved the reflexology walk.
http://www.peninsulahotsprings.com/

We finished the evening off with pizza and beer at the Mornington Peninsula Brewery. I had the Aussie Ale, a medium bodied beer, made only with Australian ingredients. It went down quiet well.

I paired it with the spiced lamb pizza. I miss lamb, don't eat much of it in Canada. I've had it everyday since I've been back. The pizza bases are made with the brewery's beer. They were very tasty. I'd recommend it if you happen to be on the Mornington Peninsula.
http://www.mpbrew.com.au

A great day. Thanks Nicole and Brendan. I needed today.