wandering hunter valley

and quite liking the spoils of vineyard living. 

bought more bottles than we could legally bring back but that happy problem solved itself with constant drinking for that perpetual buzz. 

part of me is tempted to compare hunter valley with tuscany and bordeaux, both fantastic wine country in their own right. but life would be sad if new experiences were always compared with existing memories. plus the added element of romanticising something that's past. having next to no expectations for hunter valley meant that i did end up appreciating the hunter for what it was worth. 

and for that i am grateful :)

thus concludes the sydney and hunter valley series folks! thanks for reading.

morning ramble hunter valley

 

stumbled upon a bona fide sardinian restaurant run by a bona fide sardinian. the fare was so hearty that we had a late lunch there, before going right back for dinner. it's an unspoken rule that we don't visit the same place twice while on holiday. after all, there is so much to see and eat. however, this find was worth a double dip and we ordered way more than we could finish, which is in itself quite a feat. but never fear! whatever we couldn't finish at night, tasted even better for breakfast on the deck.

before sunset hunter valley

lakehouse hunter valley

one rowboat short of the notebook.

perth in photos

good times, and parting is only a sweet sorrow
if there is a white christmas reunion in the works... :)

helloooo perth

and alex, and simon.

Peter Pan Syndrome

Phuket (image from jetsetter.com)

As an undergrad, I knew it was exam season when I began feverishly planning my post-exam getaways. Am slightly ashamed to admit that I’d be at the copier frantically Xeroxing the relevant lonely planet, instead of the textbooks I should well and truly have had my nose in. So after consistently spending eight semesters that way, it’s little surprise that the escapist in me has carried this guilty pleasure to the big bad working world. Less than two weeks to go before I’m done with my training contract and I’ve been spending every free moment (outside office hours, I should add) plotting where to go and what to do. Headed to Perth the day after I’m done at the firm, and then to Sydney over the National Day pseudo long weekend. After that, I’m tempted to take up a dear friend’s offer to be his guest at Turi Beach and drag granny along for some gma-gdaughter bonding.  Also currently torn between Phuket and Bali for early September. Being especially masochistic and trawling through every single deal imaginable on www.fascinating.travel in an attempt at creating my own spreadsheet to compare the various specials. Guess short jaunts are the way to go in this pre-departure period. Seeing how I’ll be away for the foreseeable future, I’m all for maxing out my year-long Australian visa and exploring the South East Asian backyard.

Psyched and counting down the days :)

Now if only the pasture I’ve been dreaming of being relegated to would materialize…

Bali (image from jetsetter.com)

less than three weeks to

 

and

and

but sadly not nick who has since had a sea change and moved to melby for his first job!

alex's flying visit to singers left me massively missing my friends down undah and what better way to celebrate the end of pupilage than swinging south for a couple of days.

can't wait to see team australia on their home turf!