Yarra Valley

Second round interviews await me on this third week of being in Australia, which only means my list-making and calendar notices are quickly filling up my days' events. Proving, this will be a fun and adventure filled week with high hopes of a potential job offer in the near future. Over the weekend, the entourage as I now like to call the 5 of us, (because to the seemingly judgmental public eye, we might look like one of those "alternative" families, especially when Austin calls out to people that he has "two moms..." It is hard not to notice us tromping around with a highly opinionated 6-going-on-30-year-old with a sweet little brother, 3 bossy adults, a stroller, 3 stuffed frogs, 5 coats, 5 cell phones loaded with Free iPhone game apps to keep the 2 kids entertained, a bag full of snacks and juice boxes and two overloaded purses bulging with brochures, train maps and chocolate tour companies) loaded up the car on Saturday to take a shopping trip in the CBD so Steph could use a birthday gift card on something nice for herself. Emptied handed, two hours and 2 grumpy and hungry children later, we settled into a delicious home-made pasta Italian meal complete with a bottle of wine and enjoyed a relaxing dinner in Camberwell. Sunday was a beautiful day despite weather predictions, so after a trail-run, we packed up the entourage again and this time headed to the Healesville Sanctuary (one of the state of Victoria's largest Zoo's just outside Melbourne). All the kids were interested in doing was playing on the "jumper," essentially an air filled moonwalk pad the size of a small house filled with little hooligans pretending to be kangaroos. After watching a painfully executed Birds of Prey presentation complete with runaway hawks and disobedient Aussie kids that made our 2 look like angels, I decided to explore some of the Australian wildlife now contained in captivity on my own (yes, Dingos, Wallabies, Wombats, Tasmanian Devils, Kangaroos and Koalas do exist and are the main features of the Zoos down under). During my exploration I saw my most favorite of the Down Under creatures: The Koala.

Although I am told these are creatures who could turn on you viciously at any given time, in my eyes, they seemed nothing short of a perfect new addition to our entourage: docile, eucalyptus-eating fuzz balls that could just hang out in the backyard until we need someone to play or cuddle with. My vote is, 1 Koala, yes please.
I also ran across these:

These roos are about as chill and nonchalant  as they look. They had that "I am better-than-you" attitude and "I don't care if you want to see me hop just because you think it's hilarious. I'm just going to lounge here with my arms crossed like I don't give a crap." And hopefully by my explanation of these creatures, you can imagine that no, I never once saw them hop.

Wallabies, Dingos (nothing at all what I was expecting, and quite disappointing really after "the Dingo ate by baby," true story turned Meryll Streep 1988 "A Cry in the Dark" film, anticipation buildup- they are nothing but a mix between a dog and a wolf), and Tasmanian Devils (he really did resemble the cartoon character-running in tirelessly in circles around his cage- too quickly to get a decent picture) - all were the most exciting of the other wildlife I witnessed at the Sanctuary.

A few more leaps on the jumper and we were off to our next destination: Wine Tasting at Rochford Vineyard. The grounds were beautiful and we were instantly captured by this particular vineyard as opposed to the 100's of surrounding ones because of the featured billboard that Steely Dan would be performing in September amongst these very vines. We pulled in and were greeted by a full-bodied Pinot Noir, a spicy Shiraz and a blood-warming fortified Cabernet port. This first experience of Australian wine tasting gave me a quick nudge to remind me that this place is once again particularly fitting for me. Big city life with vineyards only 30 minutes away. Oh the life...

I couldn't resist wine country and decided to venture out to the hills just a day later. Monday proved to be back to typical Melbourne winter weather: cold and rainy with hazy skies. I still believe I brought a stroke of Atlanta heat with me to Melbourne the week I arrived because not only were locals talking about the abnormal, sunny heat wave, I began to second guess why I brought my winter clothes at all. A snap back to reality - me standing on a street corner waiting for a bus bundled in the thinnest winter coat I own because I refused to believe I needed anything heavier when I was packing since those coats are just "too bulky and there was no way I needed anything that heavy." I had taken the train to the Lilydale station which is out toward the country and had to catch a bus 8 more kilometers (yes, I am still getting used to measuring everything in centimeters, kilometers, liters and Celsius) to the closest winery with a "cellar door" (that is what they call their tasting rooms) that was open to the public. I ended up at Whispering Hills, a small 8 acre vineyard, tucked away in Seville Hills with a gorgeous view and inspiring offering of Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Noir, Shiraz and Cabernet. The Pinot Noirroadtrip from Perth up the Western coast of Australia.

My trek was not wasted in the least bit. I mastered a whole new section of public transport. Saw a boutique vineyard with a hard-working, wine-loving owner and had a story to tell once I got home. Leaving Whispering Winds with a bottle of Pinot in hand and wide grin on my face, I could not help but be thankful of how friendly and open people are if you just stop to listen to their story, especially over a nice glass of wine...