Term 4 is always the speediest one of the bunch, it’s October and then suddenly we’re at the end of another school year with Christmas and a new year around the corner.
In October we hosted our second annual Friendsgiving which is always a pleasure to share Thanksgiving with friends.
We also cheersed to our two year Australia anniversary which also seemed to sneak up on us. Here are my most recent thoughts after being back in Melbourne for 26 months at the time of writing this journal:
- I have grown to somewhat hate and fear birds. They are mean and have ruined many of my days getting swooped whilst walking or waiting for the train.
- Living in a walkable neighbourhood is darling. The ease of walking for groceries or for coffee or to the gym is a really lovely pace of living.
- I have such an appreciation for Canadian homebuilding. I miss central air/heat, insulation, soundproofing, window screens and triple pane glass.
- The structure of the school year here is just better. There are four 10 week terms, 2 week breaks in between each term and then summer holidays. Really reduces burnout and improves work-life balance.
- We have really embraced the coffee culture here. So yum!
- I think being in such a massive metropolitan city that is close to the ocean yet not too far from national/state parks and within a day trip to the ‘mountains’ is wonderful. This city attracts so many events so you always have something to look forward to. Then from Melbourne you’re like a three hour flight away from the tropical north and the rainforest. Or you can fly down to Tasmania for the lakes and mountains and snow. Plus all around Aus are wineries and deserts and outback and more. Such a lovely and eclectic mix to be enjoyed and explored.
- I like that all listed prices already include the tax. Coming back home will be so frustrating when I forget to do the mental math before checking out!
- I also appreciate that tipping is not part of the culture here. You can tip if you’d like to, but it isn’t expected and is rarely offered as an option at checkout.
- The sun continues to be a scorcher here. You need to have a healthy respect for the UV and take the necessary precautions with daily highs up to 12-14!
- I also love that so many restaurants, coffee shops and bakeries here are independently owned. They do have some fast food chains, but the vast majority of places are standalone which I think is wonderful. A greater variety of eateries and mom-and-pop options.
In the spirit of celebrating we also had Michael’s birthday. We made a long weekend trip up to Newcastle, NSW where the beaches and wineries are lovely.
ACDC was back in Australia for what will probably be their last tour so we got some last minute tickets to the concert. We were on a roll with concerts and decided to get tickets to Lady Gaga as well.
December at school goes by super quickly with the end of the year wrap up as well as holiday festivities. I also said my good-byes as I completed my two year contract at school and will start at a new school in January.
The Saturday after school finished we drove down to Wilsons Promontory National Park, more commonly referred to as ‘The Prom’ to camp at Tidal River for the weekend. Camping in Tidal River has been on our list for quite some time, but getting a campsite is tricky business. We were super fortunate to get the site and left early Saturday morning and got to The Prom is just over 3 hours. We were promised to see wombats (affectionately referred to as ‘prombats’ due to their prolific nature in the national park) and do some awesome hiking. Unfortunately, we saw zero wombats and did zero hiking due to inclement weather. We had a good half day on Saturday once we pitched the tent and caught a pretty sunset. But overnight the wind picked up and brought in the rain. We cut our losses and packed up early on Sunday and drove back to Melbourne.
Since we had already planned a long weekend, we decided to take advantage of Monday and head down to the peninsula for a wine and sculpture walk. Sometimes it’s the impromptu plans that are just as lovely. We will definetly get back down to the prom and do those hikes at some point though!
My birthday was a quiet day in the city, had a few drinks with friends and then a lovely dinner out. Really taking advantage of having a summer birthday!
My birthday marks 9 days until Christmas, so things are usually pretty busy until New Years. We had a friends Christmas party on Saturday and then another weekend of camping with friends up in Lake Eildon.
We enjoyed Christmas Eve together and Christmas day with our friends Gunther, Mike and Elodie. Christmas in Australia means prawns, pavlova and sparkling wine. A bit different but a celebration all the same!
For New Years Eve we are planning on hosting a small dinner party and will ring in 2026 17 hours before you all will! The holidays are different over here on this side of the world, but we’re trying to find connection and joy in our own quirky way of doing things even when it may be difficult to understand why we choose to do things the way we do.
January will be a bunch of fun, we have our trip to Tasmania booked as well as the Australian Open tennis and the AO Live concert at the end of the month. I’ll start at my new school and welcome another school year.
Cheers to celebrating all the things big and small.
With love,
Alex & Michael
