We just returned from a Christmas break in Oz where we enjoyed time with friends and family with lots of fun, food and fabulous moments. We were last in Victoria for Christmas in 2018 …. this time it was sadly without dad nor my family home. For these reasons I was really quite anxious about returning to my country of birth, but the warmth, generosity and kindness that was extended to us by my *precious friends and family made the trip truly wonderful. It was also a big relief to see my dear aunty recovering so quickly from an operation that she had during our stay.
Victoria is the same size as the United Kingdom, so we didn’t visit all of it in three weeks, but we enjoyed my home town of Tynong North (in an area known as West Gippsland) just east of the state capital of Melbourne before heading to different places in and around Melbourne followed by a loop towards the north-west to places such as Nhil and the Little Desert, Halls Gap and Anglesea before returning to the capital.
In true Victorian style, the weather was very changeable: ranging from 19c one day to 38c the next but we were prepared and it didn’t stop us from enjoying our stay which included tree surfing, a winery visit, BBQs, boogie boarding, gold panning, hiking, eating and talking.
One thing that I absolutely love when visiting Australia is the big sky (which appears weirdly larger than any where else….perhaps due to the huge hole in the ozone layer above it!) and listening to the native bird calls, especially in the early hours of the morning (apart from the cockatoos whose cry is quite unbearable). Coming across wildlife such as kangaroos, lizards and emus is also a highlight but we definitely did not appreciate spotting a brown snake at close distance during a hike in the mountains.
We tried to eat as much ‘native’ food over the three weeks and my foodie cousin Maggie educated me about some indigenous foods – including the delicious Davidson Plum by way of a homemade liqueur. We also saw quite a lot of indigenous art works in the Bendigo gallery and the NGV (National Gallery of Victoria) Ian Potter Center in Melbourne- which is dedicated purely to Australian Art.
The creativity of modern Aussie food is evident in the numerous cafes and restaurants (see some examples in the photos below). It is not uncommon for cafes to only offer one brunch-style menu which is served from morning to evening. I also noticed a huge increase in the number of asian restaurants in the city center and so we took advantage on our last day by ‘returning’ to China via a bowl of wontons.
The coffee culture remains very much alive in Melbourne and even though most people have a coffee machine in their kitchens, they often go out for a ‘real’ coffee in one of the many cafes dotted around every town.
Since our return to France, I have actually had one almost decent coffee from a local bakery and have been grateful to friends who over the last few days have made me feel welcome back here…with a New Year’s Eve dinner, a walk&talk and a gallette des rois (which I wrote about in January 2017) which was just delivered to our front door by our neighbour. These have all been very helpful gestures in order to cope with coming back to short winter days with a horrible case of jetlag.
*A big THANK YOU again goes to Kath, Elise, Rachael & Jack, Ben and Phoebe, Geraldine & Terry, Lily and James, Nick & Meredith, Maggie & Rod, Sam and Tom, Kate & Brendan, Simon & Lisa, Rob & Marg, Ian & Karla, Jo, Emma, Rebecca and Jason….. French kisses to you all (the cheek kind)
Start with intention 
It really feels that way about Australian sky. Though the ozone layer is closing off