Our first visitor!

Ok first blog post in a while! We have been super busy lately, mainly due to the fact that we both had our Master's dissertation due in last week so every spare moment for the last few months was spent working on that. Thankfully we got it handed in on time and are now anxiously waiting the results. Anyway, on to more interesting things!

At the end of July we had our first visitor from the UK, our friend Alison, who we both worked with in London. Being a teacher, she was only able to visit in July/August during school holidays, which is unfortunate as that is the worst time of year here in terms of weather. Luckily, Alison is very easy going and managed to have a good time here despite the cold temperatures and rainy days. 

Here are some highlights of her stay and her favourite things about Australia:

1. Great Ocean Road

Twelve Apostles in the rain!



We spent a weekend on the Great Ocean Road. Based in Torquay we drove up along the coast to the Twelve Apostles. Absolutely gorgeous scenery, unfortunately very cold rainy weather all weekend. I guess that added to the atmosphere?!

Sunrise in Torquay

Lovely Sorrento



Cockatoo in Lorne



Kangaroos on the golf course


2. Yummy food!
Like us, Alison really enjoyed the cafe culture and amazing restaurants in Melbourne. Our first dinner was at Mama Baba, a Greek/Italian place near our flat that we'd been wanting to try and it did not disappoint! We also had an amazing meal at Spice Temple, near the Crown Casino, a Yum Cha place that was recommended to us by a teacher friend who's sister works there. However, for Alison, nothing beat Spud Bar. Spud Bar is a fast-food baked potato place, and it is AMAZING. You get baked potatoes (or sweet potatoes) topped with fresh, healthy ingredients. It's healthy fast-food and I really can't believe it hasn't expanded overseas yet. We think Alison should open the first London store.

3. Winning Money
Ok so above I mentioned the Crown Casino, where Alison and Andy played some poker, and Alison won about $100. Andy lost, no surprise there! I sat at the bar drinking wine with another friend who was in Melbourne for a visit, a much better use of money in my opinion. So, winning money is always a good thing, especially when you're on holiday and spending like crazy.

4. Whitsundays
Alison spent a few days sailing around the Whitsundays which looked beautiful. We unfortunately, had to stay back in Melbourne and go to work, however after looking at her pictures and hearing about it we would definitely like to go someday.

Some advice to anyone planning on visiting: July is the worst month for weather in Melbourne. Don't come then! Also Alison found it pretty expensive, although the Aussie dollar is weaker than when we first arrived.

We really enjoyed having Alison here. I can't believe that was a month ago, and now it's September and all our teacher friends in Canada and the UK have gone back to school. Meanwhile we have one week left of Term 3 before 2 weeks of holidays, yipee! Now that the Masters is done I am planning on re-invigorating this blog, so look out for new blog posts soon!

Comments

Popular Posts