Farewell Guys

And once again we farewell Miram and Horacio who are going back to Argentina after a well deserved holiday in Europe. It has been nice to have you here, even if briefly. I wish we could have spent more time together...but life is so super busy!!! I was seriously shocked when you told me you were leaving in a week's time. Hope we can catch up soon again. Take care friends...watch out for The Watchytworous!

Exploring the Garden

What a beautiful weekend this was! I woke up at 8:00 to go the gym since I couldn't go on Friday. I felt so weird being there so early on a Saturday! I felt very good after though and washed the car I hired cause I needed to return it. A car service picked me up from Hertz Vermont, as part of my insurance agreement. I felt like a movie star since it wasn't a normal taxi that picked me up but a huge van with electric doors and limousine-like seats in the back. At home I baked an apple pie for dessert and got ready to go out. We went to Fitzroy again, since we didn't have a car and had to catch public transport, it was a handy place to go. Ric and Anton went to a music store and I just strolled around getting in those shops that they never want to go in. We met again about 1/2 hour later and had coffee and cakes at Jasper's. We were walking towards the records shop when I hear my name being called out. It was my friend from work who was sitting in traffic. We kept going and I went to a few other places  before coming back.
Today I did some gardening and the day was so beautiful that we took the cats out to enjoy it too. They are so funny outside, smelling absolutely everything. My garden is looking so pretty with all the flowers coming out and the smell of fresh-cut grass. The veggie patch is shaping up, still quite a bit of work to do before we start planting. A few independent seeds sprouted on their own already, seeds from last year must have lay their roots there.
We also met Miriam and Horacio in the city today and shared a bruschetta and a coffee, they will be going back home soon and we won't see them for a while. We wish them all the best, a safe trip and we hope they come back quickly.

Amazing Art Show at Work

Last Friday my school put up an Amazing Art Show, where students' artworks were displayed in beautiful and creative ways. Everything you see here was made by students between 5 and 12 years old. There was so much to see and do! I am so proud of having been a part of this fantastic day. Art teachers at BHPS you are fantastic!!! Congratulations Beverley Hills Primary School! (The robots were made by my kids)

El viernes pasado mi escuela puso un Increible Show de Arte, donde los trabajos de los chicos fueron mostrados en las formas mas creativas. Todo lo que se ve aca fue hecho por estudiantes de 5 a 12 anos. Habia tanto para ver y para hacer! Estoy tan orgullosa de haber sido parte de este dia espectacular. Las maestras de Arte de BHPS son fantasticas! Felicitaciones Beverley Hills Primary School! (los robots fueron hechos por mis alumnos)

Riding

How I'm loving bike riding again! It is quite an eventful adventure with lots of different stages. The preparation, the starting point, the warming up the legs, the building up of a pace, the long stretch of road along Swan Street, the Yarra.
Riding along the Yarra River it's quite beautiful. The buildings in the background add a touch of magic and it is followed by a game of dodging people, street performers and tourists all the way to Crown Casino, where a left turn starts to bring the bay wind towards us. This is the final stretch, the target quite palpable at the end of a straight ride to the bay. Finally the water, the pier and the fresh salty breeze of the sea.

Como me encanta estar andando en bici otra vez! Es una aventura llena de pequenos eventos en diferentes etapas. La preparacion, el punto de partida, el calentamiento de las piernas, el ir agarrando un ritmo, el largo camino por la calle Swan, el rio.
Andar al lado del rio es tan lindo! Los edificios en el fondo le dan un toque de magia que es seguido por un juego de esquivar gente, artistas y turistas hasta llegar al casino donde un giro a la izquierda empieza a traer el viento de la bahia. Esta es la parte final del viaje, el objetivo bastante palpable al final de los ultimos 15 minutos derechitos hasta la bahia. Finalmente el agua, el muelle y la brisa fresca y salada del mar.

The Beach in Sunset Light

I swear I did not use Photoshop to alter the colour of these images. This is what the beach looked like with the sun setting behind us. It was dreamy being there in that stillness. We stood with our feet at the edge of the water and were simply mesmerised by the colours, the reflections and the perfection of that moment.

Juro que no use Photoshop para alterar los colores de estas imagenes. Asi es como estaba la playa con el sol poniendose detras nuestro. Era un ensueno estar en esa quietud. Nos quedamos ahi con los pies al borde del agua simplemente hipnotizados por los colores, las reflecciones y la perfeccion de ese momento.

When the River Meets the Sea

Just across from the Allendale walk there is this gorgeous little beach where the St George River meets the sea. From the top of the hill (Teddy's Lookout) this place looks like paradise, the river curls around the rocks and meets the turquoise ocean waters. I always wondered what it would be like from eye-level.
I found that it is just as beautiful and significantly bigger than expected. My pants rolled up and my shoes came off to reveal my soft and virgin feet to cross the river. The water was as cold as a bucket of melted ice water. I could feel pain in my bones but for some reason I don't mind it. Moreover I enjoy the feeling, it is very cleansing.

Del otro lado de la senda que te lleva a Allendale esta esta preciosa playita donde el rio San George se encuentra con el mar. Desde arriba de la montanita (Teddy's Lookout=el Mirador Teddy) este lugar parace un paraiso, el rio se tuerce alrededor de las rocas y se encuentra con las aguas turquesas del oceano. Siempre me pregunte como seria estar ahi. Descubri que es tan preciosa como desde arriba y bastante mas grande que lo que parece. Mis pantalones fueron enrollados y mis zapatillas revelaron mis pies blanquitos y virgenes para cruzar el rio. El agua estaba tan fria como un balde de hielo derretido. Sentia dolor en los huesos del frio pero por alguna razon no me importa. Es mas disfruto esa sensacion, es muy limpiadora.

The Bushwalk

The first thing we did when we got there was find a walk to do. We found the Allenvale Bush-Walk entering via St. George River. There are two ways to get there, the flat path, which we did it last year, and another one (5.7 km).We chose the one we didn't know. To our surprise it was all uphill. So it was quite tiring, but beautiful nonetheless. The view from the top was pretty and worth the effort. We  could see the ocean and far in the distance the Aireys Inlet light-house. When we turned around to come back, we saw how steep the hill was hence the two sticks Ric is holding to aid our descent. This path is very close to the Ereskine River one and yet so different. Much dryer and with different vegetation and there were lots of ants. When we came back, we crossed the road to the other side to go and see that beach we always see from Teddy's Lookout.

Lo primero que hicimos cuando llegamos a Lorne fue encontrar una caminata para hacer. Encontramos la caminata hasta Allenvale entrando por el Rio San George. Hay dos caminos, decia el cartel, el camino chato que ya lo habiamos hecho el ano pasado y otro (5.7 km) que no conociamos, asique elegimos ese. Nos sorprendio descubrir que todo el camino era en subida, no muy pronunciada pero muy larga. Fue bastante cansador pero lo hicimos mas rapido que el tiempo estimado y valio la pena. La vista desde la cima era hermosa y valio la pena el esfuerzo. Se veia el oceano y a lo lejos el faro de Aireys Inlet. Cuando pegamos la vuelta nos dimos cuenta que tan alto estabamos y que empinada que era la bajada, por eso Ricky tiene dos palos para ayudarnos a bajar. Es increible lo cerca que esta caminata esta de la del rio Ereskine y que diferentes que son. Esta es mucho mas seca y la vegetacion es distinta, mas eucalyptus, menos helecho y muchas hormigas. Cuando llegamos de vuelta abajo cruzamos la calle y fuimos a conocer esa playita que siempre vemos desde arriba de Teddy's Lookout (mirador).