Summer Holidays

Our first Christmas in the southern hemisphere was memorable. Home are decorated and festive tunes play in the stores, but it hits differently with close to 15 hours of daylight.

The weeks leading up to Christmas were packed with social events. Breakfast with Brie at Proud Mary Coffee, drinks at Fitzroy's Vegie Bar with Clarissa, and dinner at Patsy's with the small Vegan Australia team. As usual, all of these venues were home runs. 

 

April had us over for a potluck with the rest of the Vestas crew. We enjoyed the beautiful summer afternoon on her balcony, watching the bats migrate across the city at dusk.

On Christmas Eve, Amanda and Dave invited us over to their home in Coburg for a delicious Mexican dinner. We met fellow expat, Jeff, and played board games until midnight.

 

The next day, we joined Jorge and Katya for Christmas lunch at St. Kilda's Hotel Esplanade--a historic bayside building with a collection of small bars and restaurants that reminds me of the McMenamins establishment in the Pacific Northwest. Afterwards, we returned home to pack for our trip to Tasmania!

 

It is tough to spend the holidays without family (and Louie cat), but Tom and I are so grateful to be on this adventure together. Wishing everyone a very special holiday season!

A Christmas Carol

In early December, I completed my second triathlon of the season in Brighton. After a day of heavy rains, the swim leg was replaced with a beach run due to water quality. Swimming is my best event, but it created a unique opportunity to check my expectations at the door for my first run, swim, run. I finished in 1:18 in the top half of my age group. 

  

The Yarra Boulevard is second only to Beach Road as a popular training ride for road cyclists. With punchy climbs, no traffic lights, and a wide road shoulder, it draws cyclists from all across town. Fortunately, my new favorite ride is under five minutes from our house!

Our friend from Portland was recently in town for a few weeks, living nomadically as a software engineer. Kevin invited me on a couple of local bike rides. Yarra Bend Park is home to a vast colony of bats; more than 10,000 Australian grey-headed flying foxes to be exact! As nocturnal creatures, they are active at dusk and dawn. Kevin and I enjoyed watching the bats sleep upside down in the trees, occasionally waking to stretch before rewrapping themselves tightly inside their giant wings. Efforts are in place to preserve and support them; like so many animals, climate change poses a serious threat to this endangered species.

 

  

Trek hosted the annual Christmas party at Ivanhoe Bowls Club. It was a fun evening filled with laughs, food, drinks, and lawn bowling. I suspect our store in Docklands is the most culturally diverse--our team proudly represents Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, France, Germany, South Africa, Mexico, and the US! My boss and I were both recognized for being "fun and flexible!"

Marlon, Darrel, Jerome, and Francisco 

Tom and I invited friends, Dave and Amanda, on a double date. We met at Green Man's Arms (another gem) before catching them tram into town to see the play, A Christmas Carol at the Comedy Theatre. The inspiration behind this event came after I met the lead actor at the bike shop. Owen Teale played a side villain in the TV show, Game of Thrones. Despite his fame and success, he was incredibly humble and down to earth. Still, I was over-the-moon giddy after the encounter. I couldn't believe it--I sold Scrooge bike lights!