G'day Mate! (A Short Update)

Ok. So. I had FULLY intended to post frequent (dare I say daily?) updates as Curtis and I set off to trek about the Australian continent. Little did I know there would be no internet until now (or phone signal for that matter). And there is noooo way I can sum up the past 10 days in one post, especially seeing as we have to be up again in 5 hours to hop on a bus heading to Darwin. Hooray for 4am wake-up calls...

At the moment we are in Alice Springs, a beautiful, weird town, smack dab in the middle of Australia. The Outback dirt is rusty red and the sky is bigger than I have ever seen. I could stay for a long, long time. But alas, we journey North tomorrow.

Out of all the (over 2,700) photos I've taken in the past few weeks, this brings back one of my most favorite memories. I can still feel her soft, silky fur in my hands, and her tiny kangaroo breath on my face as she kissed me goodbye. Meet baby Francesca:

In other animal news, I now hate llamas. ALL I wanted to do was say hello. And then this furry monster spit on my face. And then Curtis fell over laughing as I drowned in embarrassment and bits of grass and pukey llama loogie.

Gross.

On another note, one of the positives of always getting up early has been the breathtaking sunrises we've seen. We pulled the bus over one morning as six o'clock slowly gave way to seven, and experienced this:

But the most beautiful sunrise yet, was watching the changing colors of the famous Uluru. Expect a full and detailed blog post with about a billion more photos later on, but for now, a teaser:

Alrighty, my creaky single bed in my 8 bed hostel room is calling my name. Time for sleep!

Lots of love, and more updates coming soon. And by soon I mean whenever I next get internet... which could be never. But no matter, I don't think I have ever been happier.

the traveling stahr...

Read more...

I Heart Faces: Celebrating Teens

This week at I Heart Faces, the challenge is all about teens. This photo of two of April's besties, Sarah and Rosie, was taken at our Christmas Party a couple years ago.

In just a few days, the four of them (April, Sarah, Rosie & Andrea) are headed on a wild adventure across Europe. Have so much fun, girls!

(and be safe, too...)

Love,
the traveling stahr... 

Read more...

Upcoming Tidbits, and a Midnight Adventure

So there are some things I need to tell you... like how Curtis built a giant soccer ball that a SocceRoos (worst team name ever) fanatic is currently living in for the next month, or how I finally managed to quit (I use that term loosely) my soul-sucking job at the restaurant, or how we have travel plans--big, exciting travel plans--coming up just around the corner.

But those stories will have to wait. Because after waking up at 2:30am and taking the night bus into the city to join thousands of soccer fans to watch the SocceRoos (really? come on guys...) get trampled by the Germans (so sad), I am going back to bed (at the ripe hour of 8:30am).

In the meantime, look at all the people who are as crazy (and by now sleep-deprived) as Curtis, James and I!

Love,
the traveling stahr...

Read more...

Play on, Playa

When you live with a guitar player, every day is filled with music. We play music, sing to music, and talk about music. We share music; we analyze, scrutinize and soak in music.

And on Mondays and Thursdays, we drink to music. Mostly good music—especially when James takes his turn on stage—but there are the occasional embarrassingly terrible performances thrown in for good luck. Because what would Open Mic Nights be without the lovely… variety?

This musician is one of the good ’uns:

He plays most of his own songs, and has this sweet, quiet demeanor that makes his talent all the more remarkable.

The I Heart Faces challenge of the week is “Play,” and I immediately thought of music, and how immersed I have been in the vibrant music scene since settling here four months ago. I sure will miss the everyday melodies of Melbourne when we move northward...

Love always,

the traveling stahr... 

P.S. Have I made an irrevocable mistake? How much longer can I endure this toxic working environment? Stay tuned for Day 24 of the epic journey Tales from “Down Under” the Table.

Read more...

I Heart Faces: Yellow

This is Curtis' twin Corey. They are like two peas in a pod, and I know they will both be very happy to be reunited with their "better halves" when we get back home to Canada.

For more yellow-themed pics, head on over to I Heart Faces!

Love,
the traveling stahr...

Read more...

I Heart Faces: Celebrating Mom

This week at I Heart Faces, the challenge is Celebrating Mom. My Aunt is one of the most amazing moms I know - here she is with one of her beautiful, lucky girls:

You can see it in their eyes,

in tender hugs and long good-byes,

a love that only moms and daughters know... 

(Anonymous)

♥ Lulu

Read more...

I Heart Faces: Smiles

It's "Smiles" week over at I Heart Faces, and after wading through many, many happy grins, I decided upon this one taken of April a couple of Christmases ago.

♥,
ts...

P.S. The first installment of Tales from "Down Under" the Table is coming soon. (In the next couple of days!)

Read more...

I Heart Faces: Collages

As winter draws to a close back home and starts to migrate over here to Melbourne (much to my dismay), I am reminded of all the times Curtis dragged me took me ice fishing in his hometown of Flinton, Ontario. This week at I Heart Faces, the challenge is Collages, so I put together a few pics that made me just a teensy bit homesick for Flinton in the wintertime.

(Wait a minute. Did I just say I missed the snot-freezing tundra weather of Middle of Nowheresville, Canada? That can't be right...)

Anyway, here it is!

I hope you like it! For more pretty collages, head to the I Heart Faces page.

ts...

Read more...

Springing into Fall... Reluctantly

I am wearing a jumper (the Australian term for sweatshirt… not a suicidal person on a tall building) and Curtis’ plaid pajama pants as I write.

Why? Because it’s cold. In Australia.

As in 13 °C (55 °F) cold. In Australia.

I don’t know why, but I sort of thought that maybe, since we’d come ALL the way from the other side of the planet, this whole “winter” thing might re-evaluate it’s desire to inhabit Southern Australia in the coming months. You know, out of kindness.

I thought we were pals, Old Man Winter and me. But since we’re already halfway through fall, I’m going to guess he didn’t get my memo.

Some of the leaves have begun turning that beautiful blood red.

And many others have already leaped from the now-bare branches to which they used to cling so desperately.

Crunch, crinkle, crunch.

But do you know what is weird? That I keep posting questions and then answering them, making my English teacher turn in her proverbial grave? Yes, but also, at the same time that the signs of fall are floating their way throughout the city of Melbourne, flowers are fighting the chilly air to bloom… everywhere!

Even the rosemary is budding.

Fall and Spring seem to be intertwined, weaving and dancing together to welcome winter.

But I’m not prepared to bid farewell to my bikini. I’m not ready to say goodbye to short skirts and thongs (the Aussie term for flip flops… not g-strings – last time I checked, those were an all-seasons underthing).

But, try as I might to will away winter, the brisk weather (which is really quite mild compared to the arctic atmosphere of Montreal in February, so I should probably quit complaining) is right on the horizon.

In other time-moving-forward-without-my-permission-related news, my little sister turns 20 in one week! WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN? Because last time I looked she was this big:

ts...

Read more...

The Great Ocean Road, L’Ultimo Capitolo (The Last Chapter)

The beautiful, breathtaking Twelve Apostles.

When they were first discovered, they were affectionately called “Sow and Piglets” (the big one – Loch Ard Gorge – was the sow, and the smaller stacks were the piglets), but their name was changed in the 1950s.

Not all twelve remain today. Time passes as time is known to do, and the constant battery of wind, water and rain cause the limestone pillars to fall.

But just as the violent ocean erosion brings these colossal columns to their knees, it continuously carves and crafts new Apostles out of the winding, ever-changing coastline.

Our first stop along the Twelve Apostles was Port Campbell, and our tour guide Clancy announced that there would be a special tour discount price for helicopter rides, if anyone was interested.

I thought a helicopter ride sounded awfully decadent. I don’t need to spend money to buzz around these beautiful rocks – I can see them just fine from here!

Oh, how wrong was I…

Curtis, Becky and I finally decided to splurge because, hey, I might only get this one chance, right? Except, from the moment that wobbly copter floated off the ground and long after it had hovered back to safety 15 minutes later, I knew it would not be my last flight.

But I’m getting ahead of myself!

First let me introduce our handsome pilot.

Swoon… I have a thing for dimples. But for anyone who has ever seen Curtis, that’s old news.

But I snapped out of it, I had pictures to take! And miles of coastline to absorb and inhale. A sweet and stunning breath.

Curtis snapped a few beautiful close-ups from the front seat.

All too soon after we had drifted up, up, up and away, we descended through the clouds and floated back down to the landing pad. As we squeezed out of the tiny cab, my body was buzzing.

Here I am, apparently trying to swallow the sky.

I was jumping up and down with adrenaline, and struggling to speak over the roar of the chopper and the wave of my excitement. I yelled spastically back to Becky.

That was! One of the coolest things! I have ever done!

Our bodies still humming with happiness, we piled back into the van and headed to our two final tour stops, the Loch Ard Gorge and the London Bridge.

Alas, as the sun descended upon the horizon, we began our journey back to the city, salty and tired, but oh, so incredibly happy.

A few days later, we were forced to say goodbye to Dave, Nicola, Becky and Hinnerk. (I suppose that's what I get for bonding with backpackers!) But, at the risk of sounding cliché, we will always have the memories...

Lots of love,

the traveling stahr...

Read more...

I Heart Faces (Focusing on Angles)

I've been following i heart faces for quite a while now, and I've finally mustered up the courage to enter one of their weekly photo challenges!

This week's theme is "Focusing on Angles." Here goes...

If you want to see more angles, head to i heart faces - there are so many incredible entries.

♥,

the traveling (and picture-taking!) stahr...

Read more...

"Everywhere You Go...

...always take the weather with you."

My roommate played this Aussie/Kiwi song last night at an open mic night. UH-MAZING song.

This is my roommate, James:

He's a bit of a rockstar... not gonna lie...

Also weather-related, we were caught in a WICKED hail storm the other day, the likes of which Melbourne has maybe never seen.

I read somewhere it caused nearly four. hundred. million. dollars damage. More pics and story telling to come!

Dry (now) and happy,

the traveling stahr...

Read more...