Hunter Valley Winery Tour!

Today I went on a school sponsored trip to the Hunter Valley to tour three wines and one brewery. Hunter Valley is the oldest commercial grape-growing area in the country. We started early in the morning and took a two hour bus ride to Hunter Valley. We stopped at the McDonald's for breakfast which everyone was grateful for - no one wants to taste wine on an empty stomach!! Our tour guide was a very good looking young Australian man named Bob, and since the majority of our group was American girls, Bob certainly got a lot of attention!

Our first stop was Drayton family wines. We went into a decorated room and got small wine glasses to do our wine tasting. Two young guys were explaining the wines as they came around and poured each one into our glasses. We tried white wine, red wine, dessert wine... I had never tried dessert wine before but it was very sweet! After we were done tasting wine there, the girls and I took a lot of photos on the property. It was beautiful with a fountain, vineyards, and the beautiful valley in the background. It was here that our tour guide Bob had prepared a sausage BBQ sizzle for all of us.

The next stop was Bluetongue Brewery. For $12, we received a "taster's paddle" which held six mini glasses of each kind of beer they offered. After trying them all and returning the paddle, we each got our own glass of our favorite beer. It was a great set up with a lot of outdoor seating and live music playing. I quickly stopped in the winery located there before the bus left. My favorite wine there was a white fruity wine called "six degrees." I probably would have bought a bottle if the bus wasn't leaving right then!

The following stop was another winery - McGuigan. This was my favorite stop of the day! We walked into the winery and saw tons of large barrels and bottles of wine in true winery setting. The group sat around large rectangular counters while our wine experts Steven and Emma explained and poured each wine for us. Again, we had white wine, red wine, and dessert wine. I like the sparking shiraz the best! Delicious. It was a fun atmosphere, and everyone seemed to have a great time! Next door was the cheese shop. It was a bit unorganized, but we sat at tables and tried 5 different types of cheese with crackers. I tried all of them, some were very strong! My favorite one was some sort of "fromage" and it had tomatoes and some oil it in. Very flavorful without being too sharp. Once again it was time to get in the bus!!

The last stop was quick, but the scenery was gorgeous. It was called Golden Grape Estate, and we were able to see the valley and the beautiful sky! Olivia, Jackie, Heather, Mary and I sat at a table. We had one more space so I called good ol' Bob over to sit with us. We had a good time tasting 6 different drinks - the last one was "chili schnapps." It's called Dragon's Breath, and with good reason - there was two chili peppers in the bottle, and it was pretty hot! I didn't think it was too bad. After the tasting, we took some pictures in front of the beautiful fields before hopping back on the bus for the ride home.

Overall it was a great day to learn about Australian culture and try a lot of different wine! My dad is a semi wine expert, and after spending today at the wineries, I'd like to learn more! On a different note, I only have three weeks left here. It's surreal, and my friends and I can't go a day without talking about how much we are going to miss this place and each other. It's strange to think about going home, but it's not necessarily a bad thing - I miss my parents and friends so much! Bittersweet is the way to describe these feelings the best.

More soon, as always! Cheers. (PS - yes that is Bob with Olivia and me in the last photo!)

quick update

The first picture is from a walk I took with Mary over Easter. :)

This past Friday I went into the city with Mike and Mary to see our friend Matt who we met in Cairns. He is studying in Perth, but his parents were visiting so they travelled to Sydney together. It was fun catching up and showing Matt the places we had been the week before! Also, we got to see his really cool hotel - the Westin right in downtown Sydney. It was beautiful and really high tech.

Yesterday afternoon I walked into Manly and met up with my friend Taylor and her mom who was visiting her. Taylor and I played soccer together at Benet, and it has been awhile since I have seen her so it was great to catch up. She is studying in Sydney and living right by Bondi Beach. I showed them around Manly - part of the Spit Bridge walk, the Corso, Manly Beach, and Shelly Beach. After tiring them out from all of the walking, we went to Four Pines Brewery for lunch and a pint. We ended up staying a couple of hours talking about all sorts of things, including their recent trips to Darwin and Cairns. It was fun having the chance to catch up and also really nice seeing familiar faces from home!

The grading system here worried me at first! Something as low as a 75% is a 4.0, but that is split between getting a "distinction" or a "high distinction." I am just getting credit for taking these classes as long as I pass (which is a 50% here) so I didn't think about it too much, but of course the nerves always hit when you are about to get a paper or test back. So far I've gotten 3 grades, my hospitality quiz which I got 30 out of 40 on (75% - distinction), my health issues paper (high distinction), and my most recent grade I received, intro to sport management (distinction.) I am very happy with the grades I have received, especially because I found the assignments interesting, but I have not spent them same about of time here studying as I normally do in Albion.

Tomorrow in Service Management I am giving an individual presentation on a service leader from my home country. I have chosen Herb Kelleher (founder of Southwest Airlines.) I am also turning in my hospitality report which is describing a conference venue that we have to plan out. Hospitality itself is very interesting, but this assignment is tedious and not exciting in the least bit.

There is not much going on this week, but I am looking forward to Saturday. The school is sponsoring a trip to Hunter Valley - Australia's wine capital for wine and cheese tasting! Can't wait. :)

defying gravity!!

On Thursday afternoon Mary and I went into Sydney to see Wicked!! Mary had seen Wicked two times before in Chicago and absolutely loved it, and I had not yet seen it. I wasn't sure what to expect because while I had heard amazing reviews, I am not always the biggest musical fan, but I was incredibly excited nonetheless.

After getting off of the ferry, we walked along George Street towards Capitol Theater. We had plenty of time, so we walked through the Queen Victoria mall which was full of high class and expensive shops, but we fit right in since we were all dressed up to see the show! We ran over to Paddy's Markets for a couple of minutes so I could buy a couple of gifts. For dinner, we stopped at the Three Monkeys pub. We split delicious nachos for an appetizer; I had a ham pizza, and Mary ate chicken tortellini. Because we had some time, I enjoyed a cider as we sat and listened to music and watched soccer on tv. The atmosphere was pretty chill, some younger crowds stopping by for dinner or a drink after work.

From there we walked to Capitol Theater - the main event!! The theater was decorated with green lights, and you could get an "ozmopolitan" from the concession stands in green lighted souvenir glasses. We were seated first in our area - on the upper balcony, three rows back, and right in the center!! The seats were great - we could see the whole stage perfectly. The set design was amazing (as the girl who sat next to us said "she could just look at the set all night, no need to see the show..." strange..). There is no way to actually describe the show in words besides the fact that I was amazing and I loved it!! The music and actors were wonderful; we couldn't ask for better!

I am so glad I have my DG sister, ACWS teammate, and one of my best friends here with me. While Mary and I are all about having our own study abroad experiences, we have been able to share some amazing times together that I will certainly never forget. We have been able to bond over some crazy and memorable experiences, and I am so glad to have Mary in my life!!

the WOW factor - Mad Hatter Dinner

Last night was the WOW factor charity event. Term 5 events students put on one big event and get graded on it. My friend Ashley was a part of the group running the event, and it turned out great! It was a black tie event, so all of the girls were in cute dresses. When we arrived, we walked down a hallway decorated with candles, floating paper lanterns, and giant playing cards at the entrance. We were served "mad hatter" cocktails which was sparkling wine colored blue with blueberries. My friends and I were seated and soon the show was underway. One of the teachers here, Paul Collins, was the "Mad Hatter" MC who made comical jokes and sang both at the beginning and the end. The talent was great as well, six singing acts and one drum solo! Two of my friends, Chui and Jessa, were in the performance as well and they did amazing. Chui even won second prize! The judges included a representative from Bear Cottage (a children's hospice home a few blocks away - the money made at the event was donated to them), a lecturer from ICMS, the mayor of Manly, and her husband. My personal favorite act was two lecturers - one being my Hospitality teacher - singing and dancing up on stage. The dinner was delicious - a salad to start, chicken stuffed with cheese and tomato including asparagus and potatoes on the side, and an interesting pudding dessert that tasted a lot like marshmallow to me. The local brewery - Four Pines - donated a lot of beer for the evening as well. Overall, it was a great reason to get dressed up and have a great meal!!

all night adventure in Sydney

After parasailing on Friday, I relaxed on campus, napped, and watched some movies all evening before going to bed. Saturday I went on a great run, napped, and got ready for a great night! Mary, Mike and I took the 9.45 ferry into Sydney to walk about 20 minutes to Bar Century where we met up with Ashley and Pete. We stayed there until midnight when we walked in the rain (umbrella's up!) to Jackson's on George - making a quick stop at "Macker's" along the way. Jackson's had four floors and six different bars. Mary, Mike and I danced the night away (or until they closed) and made our way over to The Rocks. Pancakes on the Rocks was definitely a great choice for a very early breakfast. I had the "bananarama" pancakes. Delicious! The next stop was a big part of the night: the Sydney Harbour Bridge! On the way there we were able to see some Easter bunnies out hiding Easter eggs :) We were probably on the bridge for an hour or so, watching the sun rise over the Opera House, as well as the lighted skyline. Pictures cannot show the amazing views we had, but we took about 100 pictures anyway!! We stopped at Starbuck's before getting on the 7.15 am ferry back to Manly - not without seeing part of a rainbow by the Harbour Bridge! Very tiring trip - but an unforgettable experience to say the least!!! Could not have spent the night with better people!!

After sleeping all day Sunday, I went to 6 pm Easter mass with Mary and Kaleigh after eating burritos at the CYC. A strange but wonderful Easter evening! Easter Monday was filled with relaxing, eating, and going on a couple of walks to get some fresh air. A quick Easter weekend to say the least!!

Onto a two day week of classes :) Cheers!

sunset from Shelley walk

The beginning of Easter break was Thursday. I spent the afternoon at the beach with Mary. After dinner, I went on a walk with Mike beyond Shelley Beach to watch the sunset. We took a path up to some cliffs where we climbed a rock for a perfect space to see the sunset, the ocean, Manly Beach, and ICMS. Here are the pictures from the night!

parasailing in Manly cove!!

Easter break started yesterday! Some friends of mine left to go on weekend trips, but I am here at school with a few friends just relaxing and taking advantage of the long weekend. I spent Thursday evening with Mary, Ashley, Mike, and a new friend Corbin playing card games pretty much the whole night. It was really fun and quite relaxing.

Yesterday I had the amazing opportunity to go parasailing in Manly Cove with Mary!! Mary, Ashley (our photographer for the afternoon), and I arrived at Manly wharf around 11.45 to wait for the parasailing boat. We could see them out in the cove. The sky was incredibly clear, and while it was a little windy, the weather was great! After waiting awhile, the boat came back to the dock and the people who had gone before us got out of the boat. Of course a couple of teenage boys walked by and said "that was the scariest experience of my life" - I'm sure they said that just to scare us! Of course, I was pretty nervous. I really don't like heights at all, but parasailing seemed harmless enough.

We got on the boat with one other couple and quickly we were out in the harbor! The couple went first, and seeing them up there made me really excited to get to go! There time went by really fast, and before I knew it Mary and I were getting strapped in to the parasail. We had to wear life jackets and these harnesses around our waist and thighs that hooked into the parasail, so it kind of seemed like a swing. Also, if anything was to happen to the cord that connected us to the boat, the instructor told us we would just float down to the water with the parasail. That statement alone made me feel a lot safer!!

The cord attaching us to the boat began to lengthen and we were soon high in the air! No words or pictures can describe the amazing views that Mary and I saw while we were up there. The water looked like it sparkled with the sun, and we could see ICMS easily! One of the coolest things was just being able to see all of Manly and the ocean on the other side of the Corso. Because Mary and I had been so anxious and excited to get up to the top, we didn't tell the instructors if we wanted to get wet or not, and I'm really glad we didn't tell them anything because getting dunked in the water was great! At first as we get lower and lower to the water, I was nervous that it would hurt to smack the water and then be lifted up high very quickly, but it was really gentle and fun! That was deceiving for the next time though, because I wasn't nervous at all, and wow did the water hit us!! We both got slapped in the face with the straps, but it was more funny than painful. Overall, we got dunked four different times which made the ride even more exhilarating.

Soon, we were getting lowered back into the boat. Like everything, the ride seemed incredibly fast, but also totally worth it. I am so glad I didn't let my worry of heights hold me back from parasailing with Mary, because it was definitely an experience of a lifetime, and now we can always say that we parasailed in Australia!! It really could not have been better.