Christmas in Australia

Spending Christmas in Australia was a different experience since it's actually summer here! Although it was difficult to be away from family at this time, the warm weather did help a bit I must say =). We had a great Christmas with our friends Carl and Rachel. First, we set off to the beach! It was windy, but the weather was excellent. We went for a nice walk and worked up an appetite. When we returned to their house, we snacked a little as we prepared dinner. We had barbecued salmon, strawberry salad, and a bean salad. That was by far our healthiest Christmas dinner ever, and it was delicious. We watched some episodes of a British TV show called Little Britain as we let our food digest. For dessert, Rachel made individual pavlovas (which are a meringue type dessert), and for some reason didn't bake all that well and were really soft and chewy, however they were still good to eat. On top of the pavlovas we added a topping similar to cool whip, but even better, strawberries, raspberries, blue berries, and passion fruit. After that we exchanged gifts, and parted ways a short time later since I had to get up early the next day to work on Boxing Day. Boxing Day is similar to Black Friday shopping in the US. I was paid extra to work that day, so I can't complain too much. Holy crap, there were tons and tons of people everywhere. I was running around like a crazy person trying to help people, and was a bit exhausting. Overall, it was a successful day for Skechers. We passed our budget from the previous year by a lot! Henry didn't have to work, so when I got home we headed out for dinner and drinks. I had a nice cold glass of dark beer and Henry had some type of vodka based drink.

Alos below is our (awkward) family holiday photo.

Bah humbug...

No comment.

Henry's Melbourne style shorts. Not a good look.

Vegemite

The video says it all.

Lunch Time!

One of the main attractions in Melbourne is The Colonial Tramcar Restaurant, which takes you around the streets of Melbourne for 2 hours while you eat a delicious meal. They offer lunch or dinner, but the four of us opted for the lunch. It was really HOT day, along with a very warm wind, on top of Emma and I both being sick, it was nice to be inside with air conditioning. Lunch included an appetizer, followed by the main course, and finished off with a cheese plate. The best part...FREE refills on all beverages including alcohol. We had a good time and then headed home so Emma and I could sleep. It doesn't get any more exciting than that.

Our photo shoot while waiting for the tramcar.

Henry creeping in the background.

Token.

 Here it comes!

Happy and full!

Relaxing Weekend

Henry and I headed out for a weekend get-away to a little town called Daylesford which is known for its Day Spas. There is also a main street that has lots of shops to visit and restaurants. It's two hours from Melbourne by train and a bus ride.

We started our Saturday morning by having a wonderful breakfast at a french restaurant called Rouge. After that, we hopped on the train and started making our way to Daylesford. We arrived there in the early afternoon, found the bed and breakfast we were staying at called The Manse, and luckily enough our room was ready for us. The B&B was great and we loved our room. Just to give you an idea, there were a total of six rooms, two on the bottom floor plus a day spa area and four rooms on the second floor. Our room was on the second floor.

Waiting patiently for Rouge to open.

On the train ready to go.

The Manse B&B.

Below are a few pictures of our room.

This had our breakfast supplies, cereal, bread, coffee, tea, butter, jam, milk, etc. The only thing missing was some fresh fruit.

I know your asking why I put a picture of the toilet in here, but it is a very unique toilet from back in the day. It was like a flushable pit toilet. A bit strange.

The view from our room.

Not sure what these are, but thought they were pretty.


Saturday started out sunny, but quickly turned cold and rainy so we didn't do much and just made it a lazy day. That evening we went to dinner at place called Perfect Drop and the food was lovely and so were the drinks.

These drinks were DELICIOUS and strong.

Sunday was a beautiful sunny day. We had breakfast and then headed out for the day. The first thing we did was walk around Lake Daylesford. It was quite a large lake so we took our time strolling around, taking pictures, and just enjoying the scenery. Next we went to the botanic gardens to have a nice lunch at the Wombat Hill House. It was nice, but not sure I would consider it a botanic garden. We walked around for a bit and then found a spot in the grass to relax and read. That evening we went to dinner at a place called Kazuki's which is a Japanese restaurant. Again, the food was great!

 Several pictures from around the lake.

Cute little ladybug.

On our way up to the botanic gardens.

View from the top of a tower that we walked up at the gardens.

Monday was the day for our massages. I was SUPER excited, Henry was looking forward to it too, but I was way more excited...haha. After our massages we just relaxed for a while and then went to lunch at a place called Larder. Great food. From there we went back to the lake to hang out, read, and enjoy the weather. We headed back to Melbourne that evening. We had wonderful, relaxing, and lazy time...and that's exactly what we wanted to do.

Second day at the lake. This was the view from where we were sitting.

This too.

This duck was very curious, he kept coming very close to us and then I think he just got bored and walked away.

This bird was walking near us and eating everything in sight.

This guy was eating away too.

Henry didn't know I took this picture. He was out like a light!!!