Weekend Home

We spent this weekend past around Melbourne. We invited our new Canadian pals - Jill, her husband Allister, and their 10 month old Lochlin out for dinner on Saturday night. We went to a local spot that caters to young families in the early evening (unlike most restaurants, they open at 5pm). It was lots of fun, if not pretty chaotic, with the 2 munchkins there. By the time we left, Georgia has pretty much destroyed the place (Lochlin sat quietly for most of the evening reading his books and snacking...G on the other hand, kept Scott and I both busy for the entire 2 hours)...I think we're going to have our hands full for the foreseeable future! They are great people, so we're looking forward to getting to know them during the next month.

G and I with Lochlin and Jill

On Sunday we hit the big mall in Melbourne. Chadstone's is huge and has every store imaginable in it. While I usually hate shopping in these monstrous buildings, I have to say it's pretty convenient for a one stop shop. As usual, G came home with the biggest haul.

Georgie wanting everything in the toy store

Later that afternoon, we hit our gym for a swim in the pool. Scott works on the days when G and I have swimming lessons, so he was excited to see her in action. She didn't disappoint...she spent 45 minutes splashing and yelling with excitement. Lots of fun!

Little Swimmer

Weekend Away

We had an impromptu long weekend away. One of the misters (surgeons here are called misters, which I think is hilarious. Also begs the question, what do they call their female surgeons - Gladys...can you comment?) Scott is working with offered for us to use his beach house in the Mornington Peninsula, so we took up on it and headed there on Saturday afternoon. It was a beautiful place, and a definite step up (or several) from where we are staying in Melbourne. While we certainly enjoyed the gorgeous country surroundings, I have to say the comfy couches, well stocked kitchen, and lovely bathroom were definite highlights.

I like to call this one "Mister Scott getting reacquainted with a kitchen" in light of his recent work schedule. This was taken in the beach house this weekend.

We were planning to stay just one night, but the owner contacted us on Sunday to say he had cleared Scott's schedule for Monday morning and insisted we stay another night. Gotta love a surprise long weekend (we don't celebrate the Queen's B-day here until June 14th). The Peninsula is only an hour from Melbourne and is a popular summering spot for Melbournians looking to escape the city. It is also a wine region, known for producing some great cooler climate wines like chardonnay and pinot noir. So, after a morning walk on the beach, we stopped off at a couple of wineries and had a fantastic picnic style lunch at Montalto.

The Peach and I getting ready to chow down at Montalto winery

After lunch, we drove to a popular hiking area along the coast to stretch our legs and spot some kangaroos in the wild. We weren't disappointed - there were several big guys hopping along a fence next to our hiking path. It's definitely the closest wild encounter we've had with them, and they are truly impressive animals. Check out how ripped this guys is.

On another note, Georgie and I are just back from playgroup, where we met a new member to the group. Jill, her husband, and their 9 month old boy just arrived from Canada for a 7 month work stint in the city. Great to chat it up with a fellow Canuck. Couldn't help thinking on my way out though, where have you been for the past 5 months of my life, Jill?! Nevertheless, it will be fun to hang out with them for the next few weeks and show them the ropes of St. Kilda before we leave.

Beautiful fall foliage

Week in Review

It's been a pretty low key week for us, and I have to say, the change of pace has been nice. It gave Georgie and I the opportunity to get back into swimming lessons and playgroup. We hadn't seen her little mates for about a month, so it was fun to catch up with everyone again. What a difference a few weeks makes at this age - Georgie sat on her own for over an hour at playgroup, and was chatting away (ie. high-pitched yelling) to the other kids who would then respond back. So cute. It was the first time we really saw them interact and 'play' with each other.

Sitting solo

We had some errands to run on the weekend, so we made the trek to our local Costco. I decided it would be a great place to hang out if I ever start feeling homesick - the Costco here is almost identical to the one in London, Toronto, Halifax, Moncton (Saturday afternoon chaos, and all)...you get the picture. Otherwise, we enjoyed getting out for a couple of runs, catching up with family and friends via Skype, dinner on Acland Street, and a few strolls around our fun neighbourhood.

Skyping with Swatty and Sassy (kind of sounds like the title of a new daytime talkshow)

The big news story of the weekend in Oz was the return home of a 16 year old Australian girl, Jessica Watson, who sailed solo around the world, unassisted and without touching land once. The journey took over 7 months. She sailed into Sydney Harbour on Saturday, where she was greeted with the applause of the 50,000+ who were there to celebrate with her. An unbelievable accomplishment. Check out her story at: http://www.news.com.au/travel/news/solo-sailor-jessica-watson-returns-to-australia/story-e6frfq80-1225867097824

Georgie, all smiles

PS. We're thinking a lot about our very good friends these days.

Sydney

We arrived home last night from an eventful week - Georgie got her first tooth, she started sitting on her own, and she mastered both during our 5 day trip to Sydney. Despite the fact that the purpose of the trip was for Scott to attend a conference, we found lots to time to explore this fantastic city. We had the pleasure of Gladys' company there to help guide our experiences. Scott skipped out on one of his 3 conference days, so we did a double decker bus tour of the city on Thursday (I know...cheesy, but such a great way to get the lay of the land and hit the hot spots) - loved seeing the iconic Opera House, harbour bridge, and surfer dudes at Bondi Beach. That night, Gladys and I had an amazing meal at one of the best restaurants in Sydney. A delicious taste of Thai, albeit a very spicy one.

Scott and the Peach at Bondi Beach

Georgie and I taking in the sights

On Friday, we explored the botanical gardens, where we were amazed most by the 'flying foxes' (ie. massive fruit bats) who perch in the trees there. Saturday, we rented a car and made the 2 hour drive north of Sydney to visit the Hunter Valley. We tasted some NSW wines, soaked in the scenery of the beautiful countryside, and enjoyed some great food and vino (this seems to be the unifying theme of the trip...bless the Aussies, and damn them at the same time, for the great food and wine they make. I fear you won't recognize us when we hit Canadian soil again - there is likely going to be much more of us to love).

Scott, Gladys and G lounging in the sun on beanbags at a fantastic lunch spot ("MoJo on Wilderness") in the Hunter Valley - great pick, Gladys!

To cap off the weekend, on Mother's Day (while sending lots of love and appreciation to our wonderful moms and grandmothers in Canada!), we took the ferry to the Taronga Zoo. The animals were impressive, but the views they have, were even more so. The giraffes have, hands down, one of the nicest pieces of real estate the city has to offer. Georgie's favourite animal at the zoo: the koala hand puppet we bought her last week - apparently she is still a bit too young to appreciate the zoo experience. My fav: the 2 month old baby elephant scampering around...it just doesn't get cuter than that.

What a view

Back to the grind today for us all...the one bad part about traveling is the unpacking and getting back into a 'normal' routine. So far, no more big trips planned until the second wave of grandparents (the Miller clan) arrive in mid-June. Until then, we'll hunker down at 1/4 Hood Street and enjoy our last 6 weeks in Melbourne.

The Millspoons (a rare family shot thanks to Gladys) with beautiful Sydney Harbour in the background