Wilson's Prom & Goodbye!

It is a very early morning for us because we are currently at the airport waiting for our first of four flights today.  It's 5:30am on Saturday the 25th and we will be arriving at 10pm in Dayton on the 25th as well, just after 30ish hours of travel... yikes!

Wednesday we headed out with Zach to Wilson's Prom.  It's a national park that is located at the southern most point of mainland Australia.  It took us about 3 hours to get there (with a stop for breakfast, of course) but it was so worth it!  We stopped first at Squeaky Beach.  It's called that because the sand squeaks when you walk because it is made of quartz.  We rolled down the sand dunes, ran in to the water, and "climbed" the rocks.  And by 'climb' I mean Zach and Kendall climbed the rocks and forced me to do it...

After the beach we went to Lilly Pilly Gully for a little hike.  We stopped half way up on a huge boulder and had lunch with the best view ever.  We headed up to the top and could see Squeaky Beach, Tidal River, and pretty much everything else.  We were going to do another hike but didn't want to end up still on the mountain when the sun went down so we hiked to the Tidal River lookout and then back to Squeaky Beach for a nap and to watch the sunset.  We met a couple and took their picture and they offered to take ours but only ended up taking about 10 random candids and not one of us actually posing/smiling together.  Right now the sun is setting around 8:40pm which is a bit different than Ohio where it's probably dark by 4pm.  We walked back to Zach's car and began the drive home.  The drive on the road through Wilson's Prom to the exit was lined with wallabies and other wildlife, which was pretty neat.  We stopped at a random golf course to check out the stars.  The sky was so clear we'd never seen so many stars in our lives.  It would have ben an amazing picture but obviously our camera's could really pick up the light.  After a few twists and turns we made it back to Deakin around 2am- after a stop for some souvlaki, yum!  It was a long day but we agreed it was possibly our favorite day of the whole trip!

Thursday was one of the nicest days we'd had, weather-wise.  It was sunny and in the upper 80s... perfect for a day at the beach.  IT was also a bit of a recovery day after Wilson's Prom.  We went to SanTucci's for breakfast, again and made another stop at Bird and Nest Boutique to chat with our new friend, who we assume is the owner.  Afterwards we made it to the beach and met up with everyone else from the program.  We laid out for a while and then grabbed a late lunch and some gelato before heading back.  That night we all went out to a bar in the city, which Paul so accurately described as reminding him of Halloween town.  Eventually we grabbed some chicken and chips before heading home.

Friday was sad from the beginning because it was a dreary and rainy day.  On top of that we knew it was our last day and we still had some of our paper left to write.  We finished packing and writing around noon and went over to Hawthorne for lunch at Liar Liar.  When we got back we had to say goodbye to Matt :(  That evening we had a bit of farewell party in the rec room.  We had such a good time hanging out with everyone one last time.  We decided against going out considering we had to be up by 3:30am for a cab to the airport.  So we said all of our goodbyes Friday night and went to bed...

We have four flights today, which will be quite a haul.  MEL-> SYD -> LAX -> ORD -> DAY  Hopefully the weather holds off, especially in Chicago and Dayton.  We're excited to get back and see our friends and family but we're so sad because we have had such an incredible time.  We're so thankful to our parents for the opportunity to study and live in Australia for a month and can't wait to be able to go back!  We're also so happy to have met such lovely people and make some really great friends!

I'm hoping to edit some videos on the plane so look out for those!

Cheers!
Molly

Red Red Wine

Hi everyone!

On Monday, Kendall and I headed out bright and early to the city where we were picked up for a wine tasting tour through the Yarra Valley.  James was our tour guide and he was really great and funny.  We got to hear all about his travels.  He once travelled down the US west coast, across the southwest into texas, down to florida, up the east coast and to New York all by public transport.  He also lived on a deserted island with no running water, bed, or electricity for four months all for his girlfriend (things didn't work out) but he had some good stories.  

Our first stop was Yering Station.  It was really beautiful and I think, in the end, was my favorite wine, particularly the Shiraz.  We probably tried around 8 wines there and met a man and his father from California.  When I told him I was from North Canton he said he was recently there looking into buying a business.  Naturally I asked him, since he likes wine, if he went to Gervasi.  He hadn't heard of it and said he just went to an italian restaurant.  Just a shot in the dark, I asked if it was Sylvester's and it was! So ironic!

Our next stop was Balgownie Estate, another beautiful winery.  We tried another 8 or so wines and then had a really great lunch.  We sat with a woman and her father.  Again, they had some great traveling stories.  He was originally from the Netherlands and now lives in Oklahoma of all places.  She was born when their family lived in Perth, she became a travel agent, and for the last 17 years she has moved around to multiple countries but now she is back home in Perth for good... what a life.

Yering Farm

Our third winery was Yering Farm.  This winery was much more rustic and quaint.  Besides wine, they also make their own cider from pink lady apples grown on their orchards.  It. Was. Amazing.  Kendall bought a six pack... it's like candy.  Last but not least, we ended the our at Domaine Chandon for some sparkling wine.  We got to see the vats where the wine is fermented and learned about how vintage wine goes through a second fermentation.  The sparkling wine was amazing an the vineyard was beautiful, it's where we took most of our pictures.

When we got back to Deakin we were having a trivia and karaoke night... my two favorite things.  Declan and Molken tore up the karaoke all night, just sayin'.  We just hung out playing games for a while and then eventually headed to bed.  We woke up bright and early for breakfast, of course.  We went to Snow Pony with Zach and Rob and it was SO GOOD.  Zach and Rob both had us do psychological personality tests during breakfast and they were pretty accurate for most likely being made up off the top of Zach's head.  Since breakfast we've pretty much just been sitting at home attempting to write our final essays.  We'll be getting up early again to head to Wilson's Promontory, the southern most point of mainland Australia with Zach and Rob.  

inside the second fermentation room... those are all bottles of wine!

Molly

Nature is Neat!

Molly and I are in denial that we just had our last weekend in Australia- we have both come to the consensus that we are going to cry on the last day. Thus, we decided to make the most of this weekend and do whatever we wanted.

It has finally cooled down enough that we can actually venture outside and not feel like our skin is going to burn off. We took advantage of this and spent our Saturday in Brunswick, which is about a 20 minute tram ride out of Melbourne. Harriet had recommended we visit there for the young, hip atmosphere created by adorable little cafés and vintage stores. Since we didn't really have an agenda or a timeline, we decided to sleep in that morning and then head out. After about 2 hours in a tram- the Aussie Open is taking over all the trams- we finally arrived. We were starving so we randomly chose an unassuming café called Birdie and oh, what a choice we made! The waitress led us to an outdoor courtyard that was pretty much the most adorable thing I have ever seen with a little sand pit for children to frolic and play.

I enjoyed the most amazing breakfast of scrambled eggs and chorizo on toast, and Molly surprised herself by ordering a steak sandwich. Both of the meals were probably one of the best that we have had  since we have arrived. Unfortunately, we both were so excited to eat that we didn't have time to take pictures, so you will just have to take our words for it. After brunch, we headed out to do a little vintage shopping. I have to say that it was everything I was expecting and more! Each side of the street was full of little shops bursting with a combination of vintage and boutique clothing. To say Molly and I were in heaven would be an understatement. We ended our day by treat ourselves to a mani/pedi because we deserved it. Overall, we had a great and relaxing day.

Today, one of our PA's, Inga, had organized a trip to Healesville Sanctuary to see some australian wild animals. The sanctuary was absolutely stunning, set back in the hills of the Yarra Valley surrounded by wineries. When we arrived, there wasn't any other people (children) there yet so we set out to see as many animals as possible. Molly, Zach, and I had a jolly old time just goofing around and seeing some amazing animals. I would say that the pelicans, which almost killed me, and the Wombat, which is like a stumpy old man, were our favorites.

Now, Molly and I are just writing our papers for class this week and doing some laundry. Tomorrow we are going wine tasting and we are so excited. I'm sure we will have heaps of pictures for you all!

Peace.
-Kendall

Molly and Matt with Bunjil- the indigenous people's deity

A Kookaburra, which Zach was actually really good at imitating 

A red Kangaroo mostly found in the outback

A grey Kangaroo that can be found down in Victoria 

Lounging kangaroos

A majestic Dingo

Zach and a Lyrebird 

The most aggressive pelican that has ever lived

Aussie Open!

Hello everyone!

Thursday was technically our last day of class.  When we first got our schedules we thought it was going to be awful but now it's over and I hardly felt like I was always sitting in a classroom.  We finished with class around 2 and hopped on the tram toward the city to the Aussie Open.  We had a late lunch in the city at a place called Time Out and then headed back to the open.  If you're following the tennis tourney on tv then you may be aware that temps in Melbourne are well above 100 degrees.  Because of the weather, the matches were being delayed.  We bought ground passes, which gave us access to pretty much everything but the main indoor courts.  The Heineken bar area was really cool.  There were bars and food stands all over and tables, chairs, and lawn chairs in the grass facing big screens, which played the main matches.  With the delays, no games were going on and no one from our group had arrived yet so Kendall and I were pretty miserable sitting in the heat.  We thought about leaving and walked around some more when two older women approached us and offered us their tickets to the Nadal match!  It was so nice of them.  The seats were ten rows up- it was amazing!  It was cool too because Nadal was playing Kokkinakis, a 17 year old Aussie, so the crowd was pretty fun.

Oh, Hey Rafa!

After the match (Nadal won, of course) we headed back out to the Heineken bar and met up with Zach, Declan, and Zach's friend Aaron.  The rest of the night consisted of beer and tennis.  It also rained at one point, but we happily accepted the cool down.  We hopped around to different courts and then came back to the big screen for Murray's match.  Because of the delays earlier in the day, the matches went on pretty late, which doesn't normally happen.

Friday morning we were up bright and early to be picked up for breakfast with Zach and Aaron at Red Robyn- NOT the Red Robin in the states!  It was a cute vegan/gluten free cafe and we had some delicious breakfast and lattes, of course.  We had to be back at Deakin by 9:30am to board a bus into the city to go to the Victoria Museum and Immigration Museum.  Both were pretty cool, though we probably didn't need to be at them as long as we were.  Now we're all working on our essays about our visit to the museums.

Tomorrow the weather is finally going to break and cool down a bit!  Kendall and I are headed to Brunswick, an area a bit north of Melbourne.  Harriet, one of the PAs, said it's a cool area that has local cafes, bars, boutiques, and thrift shops so we're pretty excited!

Here's a really short (and silent for some reason) video from the Nadal Match!

-Molly

40 Degrees

We have to apologize for not posting every day but by the evening we are usually too tired (mostly from the sun/heat) to even think about what we've done that day.  Surprisingly we've been experiencing the same temperatures as Ohio, except you're all stuck in 40 degrees Fahrenheit and we are melting in 40 degrees Celsius (100+ Fahrenheit...YIKES)

Back on Sunday we got up bright and early and all headed to Point Addis beach to learn how to surf.  It was the biggest workout we've had this whole trip, and possibly ever.  We got our wet suits and surf boards and after a quick lesson on land we paddled out in to the ocean.  I was really surprised by how many people picked it up so quickly.  That wasn't exactly the case for Kendall and I but I did ride some waves in on my knees on the board and that was pretty fun so I was satisfied with that.... honestly, I would have been just as satisfied by the fact that I even got in the ocean.  After a tiring hour or so I rode a wave in and played frisbee for a while on land and then in the ocean.  The water was cold but it was so nice with a wet suit on so we had to take advantage of it!  After lunch we went back out on our board but I mainly tried getting some footage on the Go Pro.  I'll post a video eventually I just haven't had the time or patience to edit.  After the drive back to Deakin we were so tired, burnt, and hungry we went to Taste Dumpling with Inga and Zach.  It was SOO good!!

Monday morning we woke up early but really easily because we were so excited to go out to breakfast with Inga and Harriet to Harriet's favorite cafe, Santucci's.  It was delicious.  We had lattes, poached eggs, toast, and pancakes with bananas... seriously divine.  It was such a cute place too!  We had class at 10am until the early afternoon.  After class, we were so hot we headed with some others to a nearby pool, a really good decision.  For dinner, we headed back to Taste Dumpling because we became obsessed after our dinner the day before.  Worn out from the sun, Kendall called it an early night and I went down to the common area with everyone and watched the Wolf of Wall Street.  Honestly, I was slightly underwhelmed by it but I also fell asleep for about twenty minutes in the middle so I think I'll need to see it again.

Tuesday we had class in the morning followed by an awkwardly long break with tutorial at 3.  We used our break to do some homework and walked over to our classroom a little early.  Since our prof was there he said we could discuss our final papers with him and skip tutorial - score!  Since we got out early, we headed to the beach before everyone else was supposed to an had dinner and sangria at Abbey Road at St. Kilda Beach.  We met up with everyone else when they got off the tram and hung out on the beach and got some gelato.  After sunset we walked to the pier to see the penguins.  I think we only saw one but it was cute enough.  We attempted to go out and ended up back at Abbey Road with another pitcher of sangria.  Kendall, Matt, and I broke from the group and grabbed a cab home- best. decision. ever.

Wednesday we headed back to Santucci's for another amazing brunch and stopped in the Bird and Nest Boutique next door.  It's so cute!!  The two girls working were also so awesome and we ended up hanging out there chatting with them.  We hopped back on the tram and headed to St. Kilda.  We laid out and swam and then grabbed lunch and gelato and experienced THE WORST cab ride ever, but I won't even get in to that.  For now we are just lounging around.  We've both turned in our first papers that are due tomorrow so who knows what we will do tonight!

Also, sorry for the lack of pictures today but this week we've either been in class or dripping sweat and I'm not really in to that...

Lots of love,

-Molly

Typical Australian Summer

Here's a quick catch up from the last few days!

Wednesday we had class during the day, per usual.  In the evening we headed to the city for a scavenger hunt.  We broke up into groups with the Deakin peer advisors and walked around the city taking pictures at various spots on our list.  Kendall was in Harriet's group, while I was in Zach's.  Zach, having no sense of direction got our group completely lost- but it was a nice adventure through the city.  We ended the scavenger hunt at the Victoria Market which was a huge market with vendor's selling food, clothes, and miscellaneous items.  At the market, Kendall had a goat burger and I tried Kangaroo, which was pretty good!  We finished the night with some macarons...YUM!

We forgot to take a picture of the kangaroo burger but here is Christine's!

Thursday we had class and then spent the evening doing some odd shopping, laundry, and just hanging around.  Most other people were heading to Sydney for the weekend.  We also had to up at like 4am the next day so we wanted to get some sleep.

Friday was an AMAZING day.  We did some research and found Otway Fly which is a place where you can zip line and do a tree top walk.  It's about two and a half hours away from Melbourne so we didn't know how we would get there until we found Walter who does a day trip there.  We met him in the city (after missing our tram and frantically trying to find a cab but then ended up taking a later tram and making the tour a little late... we'd feel bad but it was just 4 others from our program and one random woman on the tour so they understood) and began our tour.  Walter took us on the Great Ocean Road to the Loch Ard Gorge.  It was soooo beautiful we took a ton of pictures and videos.  After the gorge, we stopped at the 12 Apostles. Again, it was incredibly beautiful.  Almost half of the 12 Apostles have collapsed so it was cool to get to see them before they're all eventually gone.  Around noon we arrived at Otway Fly and had lunch and did the tree top walk.  The walk was pretty cool but one section of the bridge is a bit wobbly and that just was not for me.  Finally, we went zip lining! It was so much fun!  The tour guides told us about the surrounding animals, trees, and plants and consisted of 6 zips and 2 rope bridge-type things.  I got to wear my Go Pro on my helmet and it had clips to hold it on, which was awesome!  Kurt, if you're reading this, I stepped off every platform with ZERO hesitation... so sorry for being such pain last time haha!  This zip line was totally different from the one at Catalina because you pretty much got to sit almost like you were on a swing and the way the lines are set up, you gradually slow down and land on your own.  After zipping we headed back to the city.

Loch Ard Gorge Photos....

We got back to Melbourne and were dropped off at Flagstaff Gardens just in time for some lawn bowls (similar to bocce).  We played a few games and then headed out on a bit of a pub crawl.  We all went to The Vic, which was a pretty cool spot.  Afterwards, Zach, Kendall, Dima, and I went to the Post Office (a bar not a real post office) and then met up with everyone again at another bar to go dancing.  I should Also mention that, unintentionally, Kendall and I were matching... like completely matching (red tanks, denim shorts).  Zach and Dima also were matching (blue shirts, white shorts).  We looked ridiculous walking around.  The live band at the last bar were so fun and we just all danced around until we were so tired and went home.  I fell asleep literally as soon as I got into bed... we had been up for 21 hours so I'm surprised I made it as long as I did.

Twelve Apostles and Zip Lining Photos....

Saturday we slept in a little bit and Zach picked us up to take us to Lysterfield Lake by his house.  It's considered to be more towards the "country" and it was so pretty.  We met Zach's friends who were SO nice.  We had a barbecue and played frisbee and football.  Afterwards Zach, Kendall, and I went on a walk around the lake.  It was like 5km and apparently the area has a ton of kangaroos.  Zach's friends said we'd be seriously unlucky if we didn't see any.... and we almost didn't until the very end of our walk, they were so cute hopping around!  Overall we had such a fun day, which Zach said was a typical australian summer day for him.  Kendall was obviously super tired and took a nap when we came home.  When she woke up we went one tram stop over for dinner and it was AMAZING.  I'd say prosciutto pizza really sums up our trip here and I'm not complaining!

The kangaroos we saw on our walk

Us at the lake!

Tomorrow we are going to the beach to learn to surf.... it should be really interesting and hilarious.  Hopefully I'll be able to take my Go Pro and you can all laugh with us haha.

Check out our video from the gorge, the 12 Apostles, and zip lining!

-Molly