January 24 - The Year My Voice Broke

Today was one of the hottest days I've had in Australia yet, though the mercury climbed to a measly +37, which isn't that bad. In central Australia, a few weeks ago they had to add another colour to the temperature spectrum map, an incandescent purple for temperatures over 52 degrees.
Ruby and Steve's place is made from bluestone, with stone walls and stone floors. With the curtains drawn and the doors shut its like we have air conditioning. My plan was to stay inside and Internet all day, but alas, the Internet cut out in the morning. I was forced to be more actively productive. I grabbed some gloves and a rake and did a few hours of yard work! An interesting plan B for avoiding the heat... Life lesson #...who knows anymore.. Life lesson: there IS more to do inside then Internet. Like, say, books? Note to self, try and remember about books.
Despite the heat, it felt great to work in the garden and contribute to this household that has been so gracious to me. The heat isn't so bad. It's a dry heat. The shade is actually totally bearable.
In the evening Steve brought home some cold beer, and as the temperature started to fall it became very pleasant outdoors. Casper came outside to play, and was generally adorable. Daddy dressed him today...








Ruby and Steve have inherited some old school theatre seats from a friend, so we took out the projector, hung up a sheet, and invited some friends over for a backyard movie night. We watched the Australian classic, The Year My Voice Broke.








We cooked up some salads and sausages, filled the cooler (or as Australians say, "eski", like eskimo...not exactly p.c.) and settled in for the show.




The movie was great. Afterwards Ruby and a friend Rosa and I stayed up late playing youtube videos on the projector and laughing until our faces hurt. Mieke (Mika, I've been spelling the poor pouch's name wrong) was not impressed with the late hour, but seems to like the theatre seats.




Tomorrow this heat is supposed to break, but we will probably take the day off and hang around and get some much needed rest. Saturday is Australia Day, so there might be some fun activities going on. I'll keep you posted.
Until next time!

Location:Melbourne

January 23 - St Kilda and Luna Park

Today was an absolute blast.

The weather has been so perfect here. +24 to +27 during the day, warmer in the sun, cooler in the shade. In the morning I took Mika out for our run around the park. Then in the afternoon, we drove down to St Kilda to visit Ruby's mom.

St Kilda is a great little suburb of Melbourne, right along the beach. Ruby's mom and brother live in a charming little apartment, full of artwork and old photos and bright colours and big windows. Ruby's aunt also came over with her 9 yr old son, Sammy. Everyone was incredible and lovely and very pleasant to talk to. We all strolled down to explore a bit of St Kilda on the way to the beach.



St Kilda.



We grabbed some ice creams and some coffees and headed down to the beach, where we let Casper run around for a bit with his cousin / bff Sammy. Then it was off to the amusement park, Luna Park!

The entrance is the mouth of a clown, but apparently in the 89s used to be a drag queen. I can see it...



Us adults went on the Scenic Railway rollercoaster, which is over 100 yrs old and goes around the outside of the park, with views of the seaside and the suburb. It was so rickety and bumpy and terrifying, but so fun! I sat with Ruby and we squealed the whole way.

Post Scenic Railway smiles.




Then Casper had his turn on the rides.



We hung around for a bit. I had a Dagwood dog, which is the Australian term for a corn dog. Casper pointed at a lot of trains, and planes, etc. It was really fun.



We went back to Ruby's moms for drinks and snacks. Casper is just too cute sometimes. Such a little character.



Eventually we made our way back home and crawled into bed. Tomorrow it's supposed to be +37 or something, which is a great excuse to hang around inside all day. We are planning to have people over once the sun sets, and have an outdoor screening of The Year My Voice Broke, an Australian film that I apparently must see. I love outdoor movie night. Can't wait!

January 22 - Heide and Meatpies by the River

Last night we had a few friends over for a backyard dance party. It was a lot of fun. Steve's dance moves were particularly epic. We all had a great time, as evidenced by Ruby's and Steve's adorable smiles.








The next day, Casper was in daycare so we, along with a few friends, drove out to the Heide Museum of Modern Art to see the Louise Bourgeois exhibit. I was extremely tired, but it was quite lovely. I don't know why I've never thought of going to the art gallery hungover before. It's so quiet and calm, and I would just stare at Bourgeois' pieces and zone out for 5 - 10 minutes, slowly contemplating whatever the art brought to mind. They even have benches, so you can just sit and stare into space and you look totally normal, fit right in.

We walked around the grounds of the art gallery. Part of it is an old house that had belonged to the family that founded the gallery, but which now housed artworks itself. It was cool being in an old dining room, with table and chairs and all, but with art on the walls. The study was also pretty cool, full of old books. A great idea for a gallery space, it felt really intimate.

After the gallery, we drove down to a riverside bakery in Warrandyte for some fresh squeezed orange juice and delicious meat pies. We walked down to the river to eat, alongside the hugest ducks I have ever seen!



They were about twice the size of Canadian ducks. The adults, anyway.

Meat pies were delicious.



Then we went back to the bakery and reloaded on desserts. I missed the photo op of the half dozen or so delicious cakes and squares, as I was too busy eating them all up. Here are some leftovers.



We drove home, and I was too exhausted to do much else. Ruby and Steve and I ordered to most delicious pizzas i have ever had in my life. This place must be world renowned. It's called Al Albero, and anyone coming to Melbourne ever should try it. Apparently the guy is like the soup nazi from Seinfeld, but with pizza. Does everything in the shop himself, and yells if you slow him down or ask too many questions. Anyway, super delicious pizza.



Then we cozied up and watched Life of Pi on the projector. It was a shame I didn't see it in 3D, as you can really tell the movie was made to be seen in 3D format. Altogether a good movie though, and a lovely day.

Tomorrow we are going on a 100 yr old rollercoaster! Sounds so safe, right?

Talk to you soon.




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January 19 - Back to Walkerville

We slept in a bit (ok, I did... Steve took daddy duty), and relaxed for awhile at the Venus Bay house before getting back in the car. We decided to take another stab at Walkerville on the way home, and I'm so glad we did! We planned ahead (see life lesson 12) and went at low tide. The rocks and caves were awesome. We easily climbed down to a fairly isolated bay, and successfully picnicked before exploring the rocks a bit.




















Steve and climbed out to the edge of a rocky peninsula, and thought about swimming to a rock island a bit further out. With the tide coming in though, it got a bit sketchy. Instead we jumped in to water out on the peninsula, and swam back to the sandy shore.




After an amazing and exhausting few days vacation, it was nice to get back to Melbourne. That evening, we put Casper to bed, ordered indian food and watched Young Guns on the projector. I fell asleep halfway through the movie, with sand still between my toes and salt water in my hair. Life is good. Australia is being incredibly kind to me.
The next few days we will be hanging around Melbourne some more, taking it easy. I've started to read my SE Asia guidebook, and am attempting to come up with a loose itinerary (suggestions welcome). Today I have barely left the house, happy to write these posts and catch up on emails, etc. Who knows what tomorrow holds. I'll keep you posted.
Next week, we are planning another trip, this time visiting Steve's family, then camping in South Australia for 5 days or so. Exciting!
Until next time.
Jessica

Location:Walkerville, Australia

January 18 - Venus Bay

We left Kilcunda midday, and drove for a bit to Venus Bay. Our hosts, Heather and Ian, are Ruby's childhood neighbours and longtime family friends. Heather is an accomplished artist, and their house was filled with art and trinkets and nifty collections of all sorts. The house is built on the side of a high hill, with big windows overlooking the tree tops.












All around the outside of the windows is a water trough, originally meant to cool the house i believe. A few fish were put in to eat larvae that began growing, and now there is a full little ecosystem hanging outside the windows.




We went for a walk down to their old cabin, which was more rustic, with an outside dining area right in the forest.




We continued on to the beach, which has become Casper's favourite place.












Back at the house, we cooked dinner, opened a few bottles of wine and watched the sunset.




It was a very relaxing, lovely day. Though there was talk of snakes, no critters were spotted. Our hosts were lovely and gracious, and our beds were comfortable. The next day, returned to Walkerville on our way back to Melbourne, this time at low tide. I took the opportunity to finally take some pictures. See tomorrow's post!

Location:Venus Bay, Victoria, Australia

January 17 - Kilcunda

Reeallly long post. but really crazy day!
We left Rhianna's in the late morning, and drove about 2 hrs to Kilkunda, to a family friend's beach house. Our host is an amazing guy who used to run a bike messenger service before creating his own bag company, Crumpler. They make really great and durable messanger-type bags (and other types of bags now, too). He and his wife own part of a 7 unit block, with 7 different beach houses. The block is full of dense tea tree forest, so each beach house seems completely private. The 7 families have a fairly communal spirit, with one shared building where barbecues and such are held (though most of the houses are self contained).
The house we were staying at was made with concrete and cinder blocks in a geometric, Frank Lloyd Wright inspired style, with open spaces and wall sized windows.








The house is about a 10 - 15 minute stroll through the woods to the beach, at first dense and confusing but which opens up to a lovely pathway.




We saw evidence of wombats and kangaroos, but the only creature we ran into was this little guy:




The last bit of bush before the river crossing:




The beach was breathtaking. There were huge sand dunes, and huge surf. There was also the mouth of a river coming in from the ocean, which we had to wade through to get to the ocean shore, and where little ones could play and swim in safety (compared to the CRAZY surf waves!).
Casper exploring sand dunes:




View of the river:




The crazy surf!




Post wave excitement! So fun!




Swimming in the surf was terrifying but SO FUN. As soon as your feet leave the sand, the waves take control and you have to be really careful not to be carried off the sea. So worth it though. It was thrilling! I only lasted about 5-10 minutes at a time, because its really tiring being thrown around in the surf, and I was a responsible daughter and came out for a rest when I thought I would be too tired to power-swim back to shore (Safety first, right mom? Ok... Safety second. You would have forbid me from entering the water altogether).
In the evening we came back to the beach house and had a lovely dinner outside.




Then, after dinner, I felt something HUGE crawl across my bare foot. Being the candy-ass Canadian (but could these Aussie tough guys handle -30??) I screamed bloody murder and tried to flick it off my foot, and which point it grabbed on to my hand with its terrifying legs, and I continued to scream as I tried to shake it off (all the while trying not to die of a heart attack). Finally it fell to the floor and we had a chance to examine it. Well, everyone whose vision had not gone gray and blurry from sheer terror examined it. Apparently it is called something like a rhino beetle, or something.




The biggest insect I've ever seen in my life. This is a big glass, by the way! The bug was probably like 7 inches in diameter, I swear. It scared the shit out of me and everyone laughed at me so hard. In my panic to get away from it, I headbutted our host. I also walked through the screen door. Just keepin' it real, Jessica-style. The whole ordeal was probably great practice for SE Asia.... Wtf am I thinking. Good lord.
Around midnight, Steve, myself, and our hosts decided to go on a late night beach walk. We used our cellphones as flashlights, and wandered through the bush, along the beach, and up a steep sand dune to sit and look out onto the stars and the ocean. It was beautiful, and soon and alarm went off on my phone - it was 2am, meaning 10am (the day prior) in Montreal, and my final semester law school grades were released. This being the future, I used Steve's phone to log on and check my grades then and there. I did pretty amazingly this term! It feels great to finally know that I am totally and completely done with law school, grades in and all. We cheersed our last beers. Our hosts headed back earlier, so Steve and I had to try and navigate our way through the bush at night. It was terrifying, but I couldn't be THAT scared with this guy as my guide:




To top it off, as scared as I was of bugs and snakes and all manner of creepy crawlies, Steve did the whole walk barefoot. And with me practically strangling him the whole way. We didn't run into any creatures (that I saw), but we did hear some kangaroo thumping, which apparently they do as a warning... Yikes. We eventually made it through the bush to the house. The beds were full, so I slept in a tent outside, too exhausted to be thaaaat freaked out anymore. I fell asleep listening to the waves.
The next day we left for another beach house in Venus Bay. Stay tuned for more adventures!

Location:Kilcunda, Victoria, Australia

January 16 - Walkerville and Sale

We had planned to leave early Wednesday morning, relying on the toddler to get up at his usual ungodly hour and wake up the house. Obviously, this would be the day the kidlet decides to let us all sleep in... so we had a bit of a late start. Life lesson #12: Toddlers are generally unreliable.

Eventually we all packed into the car and started off. After about 2.5 hrs of driving, we got to Walkerville, which was another amazing beach surrounded by rocky cliffs. Being outside the city, the beach was more natural and isolated, with a number of small private bays separated by rocky cliffs. We climbed away from the main beach, over some rocks to our own little bay. As we set down our towels and unpacked our picnic, we realized that the tide seemed to be rising... and that getting back over submerged rocks might be tricky. So we packed up and went back. Damn nature, ruining our picnic! Life lesson #13: Plan for nature, wherever possible.

I stupidly brought my iPad and iPhone down to the beach, and with the riding tide I was too nervous to leave my bag on the towels and go for a swim, which had me very annoyed. I climbed a rock shelf overlooking the bay, and watched Ruby, Steve and Casper play in the water while feeling the spray of ocean waves crashing on the rocks. Life lesson #14: When Apple gives you lemons, an ocean breeze makes lemonade.

After the adorable family swim, we got back in the car and continued 2 hrs to a small town called Sale, where Steve and Ruby's friend Rhianna lives and works as a radio journalist. Rhianna was completely lovely, and her house was adorable, with a huge yard for Casper to run around in. Steve cooked a great pasta dinner, and after Casper went to bed us adults had gin and tonics out on the grass. The stars were incredible, super bright out in the middle of nowhere! All the constellations were upside down! So disorienting, I felt like I was on another planet under a whole new sky.

Another beautiful day. I guess in my ridiculous, uncalled for grouchiness and bitterness towards my technologies for keeping me out of the ocean, I forgot to take pictures this day, so you'll have to take my word for it. More photos tomorrow!


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Location:Victoria, Australia

January 15 - Half Moon Bay

I've been busy over here!

After my last post, we spent a few days bumming around Ruby and Steve's place taking it easy. Lazy days, jogs around Princes Park with the dog Mika (my new best pal), nights filled with beers in the backyard and various new friends.

Last Tuesday (Jan 15th) we drove to a nearby beach called Half Moon Bay, in the St Kilda suburb of Melbourne (I believe). It took be about 3 days to realize that when Australians say "St Kilda", they are not actually saying "Sin killed her", which sounded terrifying. it was not, in fact, terrifying. It was gorgeous!

Because of the bay, the ocean was still, and all around there were sandstone cliffs in bright yellows and rusty oranges. In the middle of the bay is a partially submerged shipwreck, which naughty people swim out to and jump off of (pretty sure you're not supposed to...but that might just be my lazy excuse to have stayed lounging on the shore). We explored some of the cliffs, then had fish and chips as the sun started setting. It was a gorgeous day. Here's some photographic evidence.

The view driving down:


Casper and daddy:



The cliffs:


Adventure time with Casper:





Adventure time with Casper's mom ;)






The shipwreck in the distance, or as Ruby dubbed it, "fish and ships":



All in all it was a lovely day. We went to bed early to get an early start on the next day's adventure - a drive around various spots in Victoria state to visit various friends. More about our trip in my next post!

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Location:Half Moon Bay, St Kilda, Melbourne