Well what a week it has been, the first for 2010.
The first 11 days have been full of strange, funny and unforgettable happenings, now all recorded on camera. Each picture is worth a thousand words, but I will limit this so as not to bore you and give away too many secrets!
Friday 1 January 2010
This is mine and two friends' ponchos/picnic rug laid out on the couch of a hotel room to dry after they did the duty of keeping us dry...well, they tried. NYE was spent relaxing then dancing the night away at a festival at a winery in the Yarra Valley. At 9:30pm the heavens opened up and didn't let up! But we kept on dancing until midnight, with beautiful views of lightening crack across the Yarra ranges.
An interesting trip back to the city in the wee hours ensued via coach.
The second day of the year saw a trip into one of my favorite parts of my city to check out some of the not-terribly-affordable-unless-you-can-save-your-pay-for-a-month-boutiques. Little did we know we'd make a new friend.
We had a long chat with the owner of one of the boutiques we popped into to see Alex Perry's latest. During conversation we assisted this person in making a decision on a major project of theirs. Yep, good deed for the day! The afternoon ended, of course, with a latte in a cute little Italian cafe.
A second trip into the Yarra Valley in as many days, and a lovely, posh 4 course lunch, a Christmas present tfor the folks.A per
fect end to the first weekend of the year.
Monday 4 January 2010
For me, this is a sign of Summer. Iced espresso (made every summer), with homemade shortbread (made every Christmas).
Tuesday 5 January 2010
The lovely, juicy, sweet apricots the tree in the backyard produces every summer - usually just after
New Year. The tree used to yield so much fruit that my mother used to make jam with the fruit no one could fit into their stomachs.
Another sign that summer is here!
Wednesday 6 January 2010
Once a week I go walking with workmates along the Maribyrnong River. While I walk everyday, its nice to have a change of sceanery, and this area is like a slice of the bush in the middle of the big smoke.
Nothing but yiu, the birds, wildlife and ridiculous amount of flys.
Thursday 7 January 2010
Not much of a picture really, but there's a funny story to it. This tree sits behind the fence in a paddock. Apparently my Dad had stood in the backyard, binoculars in hand, looking at a gold glittering thingie which appeared to be stuck in the tree.What it turned out to be was a new red, waxy leaf reflectingthe sun and making it look like a lovely, expensive, gold necklace was hanging from the tree.
However it did provide hours of fun....
Friday 8 January 2010
Today saw a visit from a family friend Joe Rouse (far right), who has been living and working in Peru the last 3 years. This was his first trip back to Australia since leaving. Absolutely fascinating listening to his stories on living among the communities there. Has made up my mind to definitely visit South America very soon.
Saturday 9 January 2010
Today was the first of the next few days of hot hot weather - around 35 degrees celsius. The afternoon was spent lazying around, while the evening was spent in Carlton, Melbourne's Italian precinct,with a friend.
Enjoyed a movie, dinner (at a vegetarian restuarant mind!), and coffee and cake at Brunetti. Brunetti is as close to an authentic Italian cafe/pasticceria outside of Italy itself!
Me, I had the giant Ammaretto biscuit...mmmmmm scrummy!
Sunday 10 January 2010
Jan Jun surf beach on Victoria's surf coast. A trip with friends via V-Line train to Geelong, then coach onto Torquay saw us get off at the wrong bus stop. So we disembarked at Jan Juc, and walked about 30 minutes until we hit the water. Lunch at the pub, before some relaxing and swimming on the golden sand and warm, blue water. A perfect way to spend a pleasant 34 degree day in Melbourne.
Monday 11 January 2010
Admittedly, not a very good, clear picture, however if you squint you should be able to see the mercury has climbed to 44 degrees! The hottest day since Black Saturday, and the first hottest day of the summer.
