Family Gathering, Birthday Celebration, and Discovering Beautiful Montenegro

In June last year, all four sisters gathered in Montenegro to celebrate our youngest's 30th birthday. This was no mean feat, with the discussions and organising of this starting many months before.

Firstly we needed somewhere affordable for Katie, the birthday girl, to travel to and enjoy, given that she was living in London at the time, and was about to wrap up her time there. We also wanted somewhere none of us had been before - and here we settled for, and fell in love with, the beauty and surprise of Montenegro.

Further research had us book a house for the week planned, on the edge of the Bay of Kotor, in the tiny village of Prčanj. Which was perfect, because with our hire cars we were close enough to explore the Bay, get into Kotor for supplies and sightseeing, but far enough away from the throes of tourists that seem to swarm every other day in the area.

The Bay of Kotor is stunning - a weirdly shaped body of crisp, clean, cool water, surrounded by the Alps, creates a quite, calm and still part of the world.

The little villages dotted around the bay each had local restaurants, many of which we walked to from our rented house, across the week. The food we sampled throughout the area was really good - squid ink dishes, arrays of local seafood, little dumplings

The water held much fascination - cold and refreshing for a dip, it also held the twinkles of the lights from Kotor each night, and we were in the perfect position to see the Old Wall lit up.

During the days the water was spectacular, taking in the views of the mountains. The wisps of clouds in the morning that would hang around for some time. The everyday goings on in the little villages - all so photogenic and worth taking the time to take it all in.

Our week was perfect, and meet all our needs and exceeded our expectations. Montenegro felt like such a travel find!



jouljet Notes
Serious tip: Go! Montenegro is one of the world's newest countries, and is affordable, has great food, and feels so fresh. It's beautiful!
Time spent: We spent a full week here, but included a couple of day trips - one across the border to Dubrovnik, one into Budva, and then another inland to the capital of Podgorica and one of the monasteries.
Cost: Our 5 bedroom house worked out to be $45 per night, per person.
Quirky tip: There are so many cute, run down buildings to check out and photograph. Actually, there are so many things to catch your eye - the boats, the water, the islands on the Bay of Kotor. Seriously stunning place!

Booze For A Cause, On My Birthday

A combination of some of my favourite Melbourne things are coming together on Monday night - one of my favourite bars, Los Barbubos, is hosting a Scarf fundraising event. This will support the initiative to assist young people struggling to find employment to develop skills and confidence in the hospitality field. A real leg up to people who need it, to get their working lives started.

Oh! And there is a food truck!

It also happens to be my birthday, so that sounds like the perfect way to gather and mark the occasion! See you there! 

Project 52: Sunday Afternoon

This Sunday Afternoon was my birthday, so I put together a day of treats within Melbourne city. The afternoon found me at the National Gallery of Victoria, with a glass of pinot gris and a couple of flavoured macarons overlooking the wall of water, with Nicole. This was after wandering through the Art Deco Fashion exhibit, and checking out the Disarm! musical performance. A lovely afternoon!

This post is part of Project 52 with Jess from FuShMuSh.

Sweet Treats In South Yarra

The patisseries of South Yarra have been something that has sprung up and become a new pocket of Melbourne over the last year or so. I have been keen to go and check these out for some time, and wow, did LuxBite impress!

Springer and I, having our birthdays 10 days apart, had a bit of an impromtu, ad hoc birthday carnival this year, which included brunch and treats. A sugar high for our middle age!

LuxBite is on Toorak Road, a stones throw from South Yarra station, and it blends into those pretty and shiny stores on that side of the river.

Coffees were of course a necessity, being morning and being up and about and all, but it felt lovely having a rare weekday off to live like the other half of the world live! This was once I joined Springer at the single communal table in the front of LuxBite.

The decor was pretty, and colourful...and the place smelled like heaven!

Choosing breakfast wasn't hard, cos I had pretty much decided after reading the description of the eggs on the online menu.

The soft poached eggs are called 60/60 eggs....cos they have been poached at 60C for 60 minutes. Who looks after eggs for that long! They were light and delicious.

The maple infused bacon, plus avo. An amazing breakfast. Amazing.

Even though breakfast was more than enough, you can't go to LuxBite without choosing a treat. But that is actually the hardest part. What to have!

So many beautiful desserts, all laid out in multiplicity. The colours, the little details.

Even the names were cute - Endless Love, Apple Of My Eye, Be My Love.

One of the more famed of these treats from the LuxBite selection case is the Lolly Bag Cake. 7 layers of sweets, just like the lolly bags of the milk bars of our childhood. Redskin glaze on the top, there is a freckle layer, musk mellow, spearmint goo, banana and jaffa layers too. Incredible, the delicate differentiations, and the care put in. So impressive!

This was my selection, and a crazy hit of sugar. But you can make that type of choose on a birthday week, right!?

Project 52: Saturday Lunchtime

At the beginning of last month this particular Saturday saw Nicole and I dressing up for Mary's 30th birthday party - to the theme of "M". I dressed as a Mummy - although in a kid's costume, the skirt was necessary! Mary was her beloved Micheal Jackson, of course, and Nicole was a Mod.

The best costume of the day, however, was a Mona Lisa, with the artwork frame and long flowing wig to make it amazing. Good one Natalie!

This post is part of Project 52 with Jess from FuShMuSh.

Giving The Magic Of Harry Potter

This week just gone Cooper and Charli turned six. So hard to believe  when we think back to those baby photos! 6!

They also started school a couple of weeks ago, into Prep. School uniforms, and school lunches, and the big wide world at their feet.

For Xmas I bought them the first two volumes of Harry Potter, with the idea of introducing them to the world of magic, sticking up for your friends, and trying to do the right things. I love these books for those lessons, and so much more.

I had left them the next 2 installments for this birthday, although surely they won't need them for a bit longer yet. Dean was assigned reader, so I will see how they are going when I get back!

Happy Birthday, C and C! I hope school is wonderful!

"Middle Aged" Introspection

Turning a year older this year seemed to go by in a blur last weekend, which was perfect.  I had been getting some preemptive anxiety about the number, and the notion that by now I should have a clue about what I want to be when I grow up.

Hell, I think I am supposed to be a grown up by now! Although both the thought of that expectation, and the knowledge that I thought I would at least have all the middle aged trimmings in place by now, and clearly don't, makes me want to put myself into a brace position every now and then.  The kind when there is no seat in front of you.  But then the idea of being settled into things like Marriage, Mortgage and Maternity make me even more anxious, and frankly, nauseous! Scary stuff indeed!

The idea that I would be homeless and jobless, single and a little aimless at this age is staggering - imagine if I told my 15 year old self that!

A conversation last month with one of my longest and most impact-ful friends (in terms of spurring on considerations, decisions, and life directions in each other), had raised this very thought...what would my 20-years-younger self think of myself now. We talked about the crazy decisions we made when we were younger, and whether this has set us back in years, in terms of the path we want now.

When I was in High School, and picking my subjects for the all important final VCE years, all I wanted to be when I grew up with the doctor at the Hawthorn Football Club.  Wow, that makes me laugh now!!

I would love to tell that 15 year old self that she should pick the subjects that she likes and is good at, instead of the fruitless map for medicine.  That a change in that decision may well have fast-tracked where I am now gives me pause.  I mean, would I have ended up on this current path at all if I had stuck with Humanities!? Who knows.

Although, at the same time, I do believe that all decisions are stepping stones to get you where you are now, and where you will be in the future.  If I didn't pick all of those science subjects, I would not have gotten into Melbourne Uni for that first year, would not have moved out of Ballarat and into Medley Hall, and met some amazing people.  If I didn't fail Chemistry in that first year, as I was more focused on learning how to drink beer than attending class, I would not have searched for something else, and stumbled upon the Disability Studies course at Deakin...and so on, and so on!

The idea that a blog post I stumbled upon three years ago would set me on my current study plan blows my mind!  I am staring down the barrel of finishing my second Masters now, and feel like I have so very many options to move forward to.

Maybe too many options, because I am now have having trouble narrowing down a direction!  But a luxury indeed!

I have worked in the corporate world for the last 6 years, and finally broke free of that, knowing that it is not for me, that it did not make me happy, nor feel like it was somewhere I belonged. I mean, it served it's purpose with sorting out my post-UK travel finances, gave me some solid mental health work skills and experience, set me up for some amazing travels, and allowed me the luxury of not having to work this year since April in order to complete my MSW placement (and overseas at that). I am taking my time to finish these final subjects, and recover from the near burn-out of my old job...ready for the next adventure, whatever that may be!

I would really love to tell my 15 year old self not to worry about things, that great things fall into place.  That she will work from that age to now, earning every awesome thing and experience that comes her way in the next 20 years, and that she will do some seriously amazing things over those years.  That in 20 years time she will be pretty content, despite the absence of all the things people think she should be or have - and so she really needs to stop listening to people!

Degustation Lunch at Capital Wines

Being on the Foodies stream of the Human Brochure weekend, I thought I MUST share with you the delicious and beautiful six course lunch we had today, at Grazing.  Here, in Gundaroo Capital Wines Epicurean Centre delivered each dish with their recommended wine from the Canberra region.

The top is the Cream of Tomato Soup, with Hobbit Farm goat cheese toast.  Next was Snowy Mountain Rainbow Trout....drooling yet?

How pretty is the beetroot tortellini with kangaroo tail, above. Pretty and pink!  And delicious - I think this was my favourite.

Next was the Bungendore Smoked Lamb Cutlets, and then we were served Local Free Range Pork Belly Sliders.

Topped off with a Brulee Tart...what a sensational birthday lunch!  A serendipitous occurrence to be here for it, and oh so lovely!

This post is part of the #humanbrochure weekend to showcase Canberra as a destination, which I attended as a Plus One, with Carly Findlay.  We were part of the Food and Wine Stream, in the Australian Capital Territory Tourism initiative. 

Pockets of Toronto

Following on from our quest to get to as many of the different Toronto neighbourhoods and tastes as possible whilst I am here, I have found a handful of gems in the last month.

We made the trek out to the Danforth, or Greek Town as it's also known, where Kylie and Natalie and I had pints for a catch up, before grabbing a table at Mezes Restaurant for a feast. Having cheese brought to the table, and having the waiter splash brandy on it and set it on fire was almost as impressive as it tasted! The dips were to die for.

Coming out onto the street from our delicious meal, we stumbled upon a "candy" store, which delivered loads of fun and gadgets - and points of marvel for the Aussie girls. Despite our full bellies, there is always room for ice cream on a night light this, and we found Docle Gelato. The watermelon sorbet was the hero of my selection!

That same weekend I took a streetcar and bus up north to meet Arielle, and she took me to her local ice creamery. Dutch Dreams is the type of local legend where people line up down the street to get their chance at the front of the line, and make their cone choice. The waffle cones, made onsite, are coated with treats, making them too good to pass up!

The interior of the family run business is decorated with trinkets from Holland, giving the experience of eating in a very European feel. Again, the sorbet choices were sensational.

Kylie and I met up along Queen Street West the following Friday night, and put our names on the list for Kao San Road. Always a good sign when the restaurant is full early on a busy night, and that the line moves fast. This Thai delight was one I sampled as part of 1000 Taste of Toronto, and having the full menu selection this time was mouth watering.

The meals were fresh and delicious, as was the atmosphere within this busy canteen style eatery.

Then, the following Tuesday was Natalie's birthday, and I encouraged an outing to her favourite bar in Toronto. She nominated Three Speed along Dufferin, on a very very hot evening. We managed to survive the dash from the subway into this cute little front room, and settled in with refreshing cider and wine, and impressive meals from this tiny kitchen. The vibe in this space was very chill and casual, perfect for a week night out.

Niagara Falls

I have been doing a bit of travel lust thinking about Canada of late, and like this post, have been checking out some photos from very old trips of mine. These are the best photos I have of a visit to Niagara Falls, from October 2001.

This was during a trip to visit my mate who was living in New York, and we went to Niagara for a weekend to mark both of our birthdays.

We flew up to Buffalo from Newark, and I don't recall how we crossed over to the Canada size, but I vaguely remember stopping on a bridge to get stamps in our passports. We stayed on the Canada side, in the Vegas-like neon strip.

Taking in the falls from the land vantage point, we also got up close and personal with this wall of water.

First up we went on the Maid of the Mist, the ferry that takes you on the water at the foot of the falls. Provided with blue ponchos to protect yourself from the splash, some of the journey was just like a rainy day. But it was pretty amazing to be so close to that much cascading water.

The other way to get close to the water was Journey Behind The Falls. I actually had to look this up, to be reminded that it is a series of platforms and tunnels behind the falls, to view the flow from behind the wall of water. I do remember that we got yellow ponchos for this one!

These Horseshoe Falls at Niagara were pretty impressive, and one of those places in the world that you just have to go to if you ever get the chance!

This weekend trip is actually my only venture into Canada, making me able to colour the whole country on my Visited Countries posts, but really there is so much more to see!

Sydney Test '12

The SCG hosted it's 100th test this week, and what a test it was! An amazing innings, and captain's display, by Michael Clarke. Great batting by both Ponting and Hussey. Bowling brilliance by Pattinson and Hilfenhaus. And the anticipation, and as yet non-complete, of Tendulkar trying to reach his 100th International 100.

Being in Sydney for NYE, and having dropped down to 4 days a week at work, I managed to squeeze in Day 1 of the match. I sat with Little Banksy, who grabbed tickets for us both in the front row of the sun drenched Messenger Stand.

With the Indians winning the toss, we settled in the brief morning shade with the Sachin anticipation. A pretty exciting and eventual first session had the Aussie's on top...and us ducking downstairs in search of shade for the middle session.

Taking up standing spots in front of the bar, and chatting to those around us, we watched as the Aussie bowlers pulled the Indians apart, and the Aussies came in to bat. Leaving the ground at the end of the day with Ponting and Clarke building their 1st innings'.

Walking out of the ground we happened upon Belinda and Belinda, and Wizden, ready to hit the pub to mark B's birthday. We walked the short distance from the group to The Local Taphouse, for rooftop drinks with the Waving The Flag group in town for the test. Always good!

Flying back to Victoria that night, and driving very late back to Ballarat, and managing to put in an appearance at work, all my attention was on the cricket for the next 3 days. I ducked home for "lunch" on Day 2 to catch Ricky reaches his century, which was a lovely moment as he scrambled across on his belly for a risky single. And then I dunked home again to watch Clarkey reach 300...and then declare 29 runs later.

I listened to Day 4 as I was working from our Geelong office, to see out an impressive Aussie win, by an innings and 68 runs! Our cricket success has returned! And our new Captain has earnt his stripes this match!

The Jezabels

After seeing them at Splendour, and being captured by their debut album Prisoner and recent EPs, I snapped up tickets to see The Jezabels in Ballarat pretty quick - which sold out fast!

Andrea was my gig buddy for the night, and we had dinner together at Thai Fusion beforehand, for a really good catch up, and wine. We then walked up to Karova Lounge, and found a spot in the filling band room to catch Canadian Hey Rosetta! With violin and cello on stage, this band provided the perfect interlude for the main act.

The Jezabels arrived on stage to much noise from the filled Karova, and launched straight into their atmospheric indie-rock. Lead Hayley Mary wowed with her vocal range and animated movement dominating the front of the stage, moved in tight black including stockinged arms, as she belted out each number with everything she had. Endless Summer and the very popular Mace Spray were early set tracks, and allowed the crowd to be vocal too.

I had a girl faint next to me during Long Highway, which was awesome (the song, not the fainting!) - it was quite warm in the old YMCA pool pit that night! She's So Hard featured also, with a good mix of new album, the EPs of late, and the older EP.

Hayley spoke to us just towards the end of the show to thank the previous bands and announce the final numbers, and this was the only direct communication - however she had the full band room attention with her, and interacted subtly with her three other band members. Disco Biscuit Love finished the night, via an encore, capped off another great gig here.

As we walked out and waited for our ride home, we discovered that the day had ticked over and it was my birthday. Sitting outside in the night, seeing the young people of Ballarat celebrating their end of high school, we were both reminded how old we are, just by the reflection of our thoughts on today's fashion! Ha!

Cuban Jazz Festival

Last Sunday my sisters and I, and Heath and Greg, had a gorgeous day in the Yarra Valley for the annual Cuban Jazz Festival. A great, and easy day out, with great wine, fresh air and sun, and music!

We'd booked our tickets through Wine Quest, with a bus arrangement from The Saint in St Kilda. Having stayed at Jessie's the night before after my gig, I drove us and Katie and Heath over to Melissa's new place in Elwood, where we had breakfast, before getting a taxi to the pub. Here we grabbed our tickets and wrist bands, and then boarded the bus out to the Valley.

Arriving at the glorious setting of the Rochford Winery, with rolling green hills and paddocks of vines all around us, we set up our picnic blanket behind the dancing space in front of the stage, and settled in for the day.

Whilst Zumba classes were offered from the stage early on, we sampled the white and rose wines, before having our lunch. Included within our ticket, the lunch was amazing - succulent salmon fillet with potato salad and garden salad, it was delicious!

The Cuban dance lessons started from the stage, with many people dotted all over the Rochford hill up and dancing.


As helicopter rides were set up quite close to our picnic set up, and hearing that I had never been in a 'chopper, the girls gave me a ride over the Yarra Valley as my birthday present. Greg come along with me, and as he and the other male passenger on board were keen on steep turns, that's what we got!

Flying over the Valley, it's mountain ranges all around, and wineries all around, the lush green scenery was amazing from the air. We could see the Jazz festivities below, and could then also spot the city off in the distance. Was a great experience, thanks girls!

Back to ground level, the dancing started to kick off, and we spent most of the last hour up within the dance floor of the stage. This included Cuban music by Carlitos' Way. We also shared around a few of our collective remaining Cuban cigars, from our trip, just to top up the theme!

Once the music finished, we made our way back to the bus, and back into St Kilda, for a BBQ dinner put on by The Saint, again part of our ticket. Further drinks here, and a look at the Rugby World Cup final, we soon called it a day. A big Sunday, but such a fun day!

Laurnie for Mum’s 60th

After months of debate, Mum decided that a weekend away with all her girls, and a little footy, was what she wanted for her milestone birthday. So for the first weekend of the month Katie and myself, Jessie and Heath, and Melissa and Greg took Mum down to Launceston to mark her 60th, and spend some quality time together.

Getting into Launceston on the Friday night, we made a snap decision to get a mini-bus for the weekend, and we all instantly got Vengabus stuck in our heads. We then drove towards town, and found a supermarket to get supplies for the whole weekend, before discovering our amazing apartment for the 3 nights.

41 On York was somewhere Melissa had stayed before, and was pretty central for all we wanted. A three bedroom modern apartment, the lounge had bizarre blue mood lighting and Grecian white columns, plus a balcony overlooking downtown Laurnie. Comfy, ridiculously roomy, and fully heated, it was perfect.

Saturday was Mum’s actual birthday, and started with an amazing cooked breakfast by Jess and Health and Katie. We then loaded into the bus to check out the Cataract Gorge, before getting down to the dock for a cruise under the bridge and along the three rivers of Launceston. The cruise promised ‘fascinating commentary’, and it actually was. We learnt things about Laurnie!

For lunch we drove out towards the Tamar Valley, taking in the mountains and river views, before deciding on the Elmslie Winery for lunch. A gorgeous meal, and wines, and then dessert, in this dreamy setting allowed us to toast Mum’s day, and have a great meal all together.

Back to our apartment for more wine and cheese, we soon made our way out to the Country Club Tasmania, so Mum could go to the casino, as was her wish. Tonic was the bar we found, and we grabbed a table and wine, and possibly terrorised the two piece acoustic band with our enthusiastic singalong participation, who happened to play an impressive and complete range of tunes. When they finished, the DJ caved to our persistent request for Sonja Dada’s Lover Lover, and our night was complete! It has been sometime since the 4 Reid girls have been out drinking and dancing together, and we had a great night! We did try to carry on once back in town, but one of us was rejected for being, shall we say, a little untidy, and so we just kicked on back at the apartment.



The footy at Aurora Stadium was Hawthorn verses North Melbourne on the Sunday, and we walked down to the ground ready for the match. Sitting in the Northern Stand, this day was one of the coldest I have been to the footy in a long time, reminding us all of those arctic days at Waverley Park! Huddling in from sideways rain, and the freezing temperature, we all breathed a foggy sigh of relief as the Hawks managed to overcome a fightback from the Roos, to win comfortably in the end. Thawing out back at the apartment with a home cooked roast dinner and wine, to finish of the cullinary weekend.

Monday morning we took it easy before leaving the apartment, and then took a drive out to Evandale, just out past the airport, based on Jessie and Heath’s recommendation. A cute, historic town, we stopped at the tearooms for morning tea, before checking in back at the airport for our flight home to Victoria.

Mum had such a lovely weekend with her girls, and the boys, to celebrate her birthday, something she's been raving about to anyone who asks! Mission completed! Ha!

All At Sea

Leaving our island hopping portion of the cruise, our group completed another night of Sports Trivia, before launching into our biggest night on board. Everyone seemed to be up dancing at The Attic by the end of the night, as the ship sailed into rougher seas, making the dance floor move significantly.

The captain promised rough seas heading home, and whilst I am sure there is much worse, rough waters we experienced. The day after the big night, our cabin of three took in a lot of much needed sleep. We did, however venture out for the cabin crawl of our group, given that each room of our group of 25 was on a different floor. Working our way from Deck 6, to ours on Deck 8, a few on 9, to Fi and Dave's with their balcony, to Narda's and Barb's on 11 with their wind tunnel-making balcony, we managed to see most room types of the Pacific Jewel. We also learnt that the back end of the boat, and lower down, were faring better as the waves around us got higher.

This night we marked Fi's birthday, with a pre-Sports Trivia gathering of the group at the Casbar, with drinks and nibbles, and a cake. We were finally allowed to win trivia, in an unexpected showdown. Dinner at Waterfront - which sadly I ended up abandoning after ducking to the loo, and witnessing two spewers on the way out.....ewww. That totally ruined my appetite, and brought on thoughts of sympathetic sea sickness.

During this last full day, the captain had announced that he was taking a detour on the way back, to avoid the roughest seas. This then meant some question over our arrival time back into Sydney the next day. By 6.5 hours in the end, with many people changing flights, and me missing mine...by just a whisker.

As it turned out, though, Melissa was on a work junket showing an Italian client around Sydney, and thus I got to camp out in her room at the Radisson Plaza until I could fly home without selling a kidney.

This then meant that after having drinks and canapes with Melissa and her client, I got to meet Fi and Dave, Sarah and Lynda, and Dillo at the Edinburgh Castle for more drinks, in what Fi started calling the first cruise reunion. Surely the first of many, after such a great time away together.

Lifou Island and Noumea

The night before we arrived at Lifou Island, Vanuatu, during our cruise, our cranky Sports Trivia host recommended that we search for some hidden caves, for a waterhole and a swim. When we tendered off the ship for this island visit, we followed the directions of going right instead of left, being where everything seemed to be.

After being a little lost, and starting to think Anthony was getting his revenge on our loud and overly successful trivia team, we found a road from the markets to the second church that could be seen from the boat as we docked. Here, we found some villagers with a sign and an apparent successful business plan - and would take us to the caves for a fee.

B, Dillo and I were lead down a little path by a guy, who then passed us onto another guy further down the track. As the track got steeper, and smaller, we wondered if we would make the news, never to be seen again....but soon, sure enough, we reached a final jump down, and a dark cave with a black water hole. Now the locals were totally careful and set up for this, with a torch to ensure anyone coming down could see their footing, and then also get a view of the water. After a local demo of the jump in, Dillo was in.

Freezing, he said, but a pretty cool place to be having a dip! Soon another group arrived down there, and then the familiar voices of Peter and Liam, Narda and Barb and Enya found us too. The kids were straight in, as we marveled at the set up, with just a circle of light above us.

Back out into the world, we then walked back down the road, and to the other end of the road, to the Notre Dame de Lourdes. A view of the cruise ship out at sea, and the beach below, we decided that a patch of sand had our names on it for the next few hours. Perfect.

Cocktails out on Oasis as the ship sailed again, we then joined the big group for Sports Trivia, before this evening we had dinner at La Luna - the Asian inspired restaurant on board. 5 courses, little morsels mostly, but so much of it, the food was so good! We sung happy birthday to Fi here, cos we didn't know when her actual birthday was, and thus declared every day of the cruise Fi's birthday!

Our next and final stop from our ship was the city of Noumea the next day, being back in New Caledonia. Finding the Hop On Hop Off bus, we rode this past all the beaches, to get to the Tjibaou Cultural Centre as our first stop.

Here, we walked through The Kanak Pathway, through the gardens, which journeyed through the story of the mythical founder of the kanak people. The path ended at the door to enter the distinctive buildings, within which were art galleries, both contemporary and traditional, including rooms of history.

Back out into the sunshine and humidity for our hot day of our cruise, we grabbed the bus back around to the beaches, and found a piece of sand. After dozing off for a bit, we eventually wandered back towards town, taking in some ice cream, Saint Joseph's Cathedral, and a rather disappointing Coconut Place (Place Des Cocotiers), before reboarding our ship.

Our usual sail away party as the sun set on the Oasis deck had been featured on the daily cruise newsletter, and thus, everyone was on deck to watch us sail out of New Cal. Pina Coladas, the sun setting and the sky turning pink and purple, as land disappeared.

Isle of Pines, Mystery Island and Port Vila

Our first stop of the cruise was much welcomed, after 2 full days at sea, and would be our first of 3 stops in New Caledonia. The Isle of Pines is a small island off the main arm of this French province, and was our first experience of being tendered out from our ship to shore.

Doing as instructed, we took a number to board a small tender boat that would take us to shore, and waited and waited and waited. 2 hours later, we got to get out feet on our new country. Fi and Dave joined Dillo, B and I on the beginning of the walk up the hill in the middle of the Isle to check out the view - but were discouraged from completing the climb by someone coming back down, telling us how long it took. There was beach time to be had! So we parked up on the white sand, and took a dip in the ocean instead.

Finding the only bar on this side of the island, we then had a cocktail and a bite to eat, while discovering the bogan population that belonged to our cruise.

Back on board, B and I adjourned to the Oasis desk, to watch us sail out of our first port of call, with cocktail in hand. Here we listened as the Italian captain told us of the area, our night of sailing ahead, and about the Isle of Pines. A piece of land discovered by Captain Cook, although he didn't actually land here. He spotted smoke from the pine covered hills, and assumed it was inhabited - that wouldn't count in our country count!

We watched the sun set, and then the full moon rise, before retreating inside, to Sports Trivia.

The evening marked Sarah's birthday, one of Fi's friends from school and co-birthday girl for the cruise, and thus a group dinner all dressed up was had at the Waterfront Restaurant.

The next morning was our next stop, being Mystery Island, Vanuatu. An uninhabited island, the locals from surrounding ports all come across to set up markets of their wares for the ship's visit. Another tender boat experience, but having learnt from the day before, we managed to get across without the lengthy waiting times. I took a walk around the island, a full lap, before joining B, Dillo and Dave for a nap on the sand. This holidaying stuff is hard work!

Back on board this time, to watch the footy that was being broadcast - the Collingwood and Carlton blockbuster. Aussies just can't be without their footy, love it! Another round of Sports Trivia, our group becoming a feature, we then had dinner, and managed to catch another game and a half of the footy happening back home. The evening, again, ended at The Attic, with the same tunes still stumps.

The capital of Vanuatu was the next day's port, where we could walk off the ship. Fi, Dave, B, Dillo and I had booked ourselves on our only shore tour for this stop, being a semi-sub boat to go snorkeling.

Taken out into the bay of Port Vila, we could see the fish and coral below through the perspex-bottomed boat, and gain a preview of what we would see when we were in the water. Having about an hour to swim, or float in my case with life-jacket on, we all milled around in the water within range of the boat, checking out the life below. The colours and life were pretty impressive!

Sail Away

Waking up in Sydney, B and I then made our way to Wharf 5 to board the Pacific Jewel, for our 10 day cruise. Meeting Fiona and Dave as we dropped our luggage off, we walked through the tent to commence the boarding process.

Now this trip was an invite we had received from Fi at the beginning of the year, but with uni placement planned, I had thought it would not work for me. But as it happened, it fell into place nicely, with a winter escape found, and the chance to celebrate Fiona's 50th with her and her school mates, and a bunch of other mates from all over. The group numbered 25, with B, Dillo and I, Fi and Dave, 5 kids, the mayor of half of Queensland, a couple currently living in PNG, and of course, a pair from Ballarat!

Dillo found us as we were waiting to board, and we went through customs, being spotted by one of our group just from our chatter in the line! We then found our room down on Deck 8, before we found the soon to be favourite bar at the back of the ship, on the Oasis Deck. Beer in hand, sun shining, and the Sydney Harbour Bridge in our sights - perfect start!

The 3 of us then made our way to the top desk, ready for the sail away party, meeting the rest of the group, and watching our ship pull out from port, out under the Bridge, past the Opera House, and into the harbour. As the sun set, the city grew smaller on our horizon.

The three of us had our first dinner at the Waterfront Restaurant, for an amazing 5 courses, giving us a glimpse of the next 9 days of food! A bar crawl ensued, naturally, so we could check out all 8 bars on board, picking up Fi and Dave, Pete and Narda along the way.

The next 2 days at sea consisted of serious relaxation time in the sun, on the deck of Oasis, at the back of the ship. Lunch, or Linner really, after Brunch at the end of the breakfast buffet time, before starting with a late afternoon cocktail to begin the night. The second night we joined the large group for Sports Trivia at the Casbar, before dinner at Waterfront, where we met more of the larger group.

Nights ended up reaching The Attic, the nightspot on board, until stumps, then the best sleep, before starting again the next day. Awesome!

MDC 2011

Kay picked me up from home this morning, very early, as we made our way to the Lake for the Mother's Day Classic. The temperature read 8C when we got in the car, but awesomely, the weather held with a hint of sunshine for the actual event.

Growing in number, the Ballarat event is put together by 4 volunteer local women, and got just under 2000 participants today, in it's third year. It's also the largest community sporting gathering in Ballarat.

Dressed in our pink for Breast Cancer awareness, we met up with birthday girl and mum, Mel, and also Renee, ready for our walk/run. We also got to catch up with Katie, who was manning her Sharp Kids tent, painting kids faces for the day.

After a minute silence to mark the reason behind the day, and then the sporty warm up, the gathered runners and walkers made their way to the starting line, and were off on the lap of the lake. The 4 of us set a steady pace, and ran a couple of sections, including the final finish for the crossing of the line.


Once home and showered, I headed out again to see my Mum, and Katrina, Jessica and Melissa, and Heath and Greg, for our Mother's Day lunch. Mum is loving having all her girls home together at the moment, and we all tucked into a big feed at the Tokyo Grill House.

Happy Mother's Day to mine, and every Mum! And also a Happy Birthday to Mel!

A Day At The Polo

To celebrate Jessie's birthday this year, she invited everyone to spend a day at the polo. An event at Werribee Park, Kym and I arrived by walking through the Mansion complex, taking in the gardens and gorgeous building. Finding the group pitch side, we joined the picnic.

Sitting out in the sun, hanging out with the big group, and checking out the polo players and horses every so often, this was a great day out!

We got to laugh at many of the expected cliques, with boys with jumper arms tied over their shoulders, a major chino-fest, polo shirts and more Ralph Lauren than you thought possible outside of a store. Hilarious. Rich kids!

The boys seemed to be taking great notice of several of the star/frequently mentioned players wielding their sticks as they chase down a ball one could barely see from the sidelines, whilst on horseback. The highlight for the girls was really the chance to get out on the pitch and replace the divots, Pretty Woman style.

As the last of the games ended, we packed up our picnic, and grabbed a taxi back to the station, and the train into Richmond.

Finding somewhere to eat along Swan Street, we then walked to the back streets and found The Cherry Tree for more drinks.