Photos From Down Under....the World

G'day World. I still don't have 'Aussie' out of my system and thought it was time for me to flash some images.

I said there would be some accompanying photos from my trip and here's the slide show. Now, I'm definitely not a photographer and most of the time I forget to take photos of the things that I should be taking photos of......however, here's what I've got form the trip - 

Simmo's Ice cream was a local ingredient only ice cream place/a miniature golf/playground/emu housing area? It was basically everything that you want as an 8 year old. What I loved, besides the ice cream? -the amazing signs:

....and the Emu! Excuse me, the "Ice Cream Eating Emu". haha silly.

Of course I loved the beach and played paparazzi endlessly. Here are a couple of beach time shots:

My mom, aunt, and family friends - cruising down the steps towards the Indian Ocean.

Perfect sun and the most amazing water! It was so royal blue! (phtotos really can't do it justice)

I am happy to say that I spent the majority of my trip in this spot with a book and the beach. Fabulous!

The most amazing starfish I have ever seen.

After beaching it, we would drive into Margaret River (the town) to wine and dine. It was great going to all of the wineries and getting to indulge in foods that I haven't had in almost a year! Thailand is good to me, but cheese and wine nights are certainly things I miss!

One of the many chocolate stops we made -amazing chocolate and ice cream. I've decided that Aussies are about their local ice creameries. It felt like every place we went to was advertising their own unique combinations - no complaints there!

            

                         Pass the cheese! (haha I'm a child)                                       

                      Olive Oils!

Local soaps and body lotions. They smelled like heaven.

WINE COUNTRY! Fantastic!

We went to this fantastic coffee company that makes coffee using fair trade beans from around the world. They had a variety of strengths and flavors and they were amazing. Here's my mom, my aunt, my cousin, Thomas, and I testing out the brews.


On one of our last days we stopped at a berry farm for lunch. It was so tasty and they made chutneys, dressings, jams, jellys what have you - all at this farm. Of course the restaurant used all of their creations to enhance the meals and it was to die for - in house balsamic vinaigrette, sweet chutneys, and zesty dressings.  My mom had a frittata with squash and veggies from the farm, while I had stuffed mushrooms. Both were incredible and just plain beautiful.

We also did a lot of cooking of our own. One of my favorite desserts that we had was the Pavlova. It is named after Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova, and is considered to be an Australian specialty. There is some controversy as to who created the dish first - the Kiwis or the Aussies, but it is a popular dessert that we stacked with peaches, mangoes, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, passion fruit, and kiwis.

                It was amazing and is really easy to make. If you are looking for a little bit of down under dessert - Pavlova (recipe included) is it. :) 

My mind was absolutely blown by the forests. The eucalyptus trees were so dense and the ferns that covered the ground beneath were vibrant and Jurassic Park-esque. I went on a morning runs around our house and was stunned by the vegetation - it was vastly different from anything else I have known. I was such a child and was desperately hoping to be running along the trail and stumble across some sort of wild animal and then I saw this guy!  

A kangaroo! Practically a few meters from me. I did my best to get a good picture of him, but he was quick and bounded away. It was so rad! Turns out, kangaroos are everywhere and I ended up seeing packs of them (what is the proper grouping noun for kangaroos?) during the rest of my trip. Definitely a highlight.

When we traveled back into Perth for the last couple of days, we headed into the downtown district and enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the multicultural city center. I was loving people watching and definitely enjoyed seeing all of the shops and styles that decorate the down town sector. Perth seems like a fantastic city where people are friendly, fun, and funky. I really liked the feel and can see myself spending time there in the future.

We saw this guy on a ladder staring up into the night sky and the sign that was at the base of the ladder which mused, "What are you searching for?" I really like that.

Finally, I saw this when I met up with Megan, the Bangkok Bandit, for lunch. I thought it was funny and it felt like a good summary to my funny Aussie vacation. 

Aussies seem laid back and like they are just all about having a good time. Megan said that Aussies remind her of the Irish + sun, because they just get all drunk and "aggro", but have this great sunny disposition mixed into the equation. I thought this was a hilarious way to describe the Aussies of Perth, but I enjoyed the ones I met. Whether they are shoeless, Bogans, or bourge-y winery types - I was psyched on Australia and hope to head down under again soon.