♥ some hands-on

This week's theme at I ♥ Faces is Hands-On Fun. This shot was taken a couple of weeks ago when I volunteered a photoshoot of my friend's newborn Lily, to practice some baby photography. I like the heart-shape formed in the shot, and the idea of size you get from the tiny feet. I haven't entered an I ♥ Faces challenge for a while, but I enjoyed them when I did so I'll be doing more.

See the rest of the entries at I ♥ Faces.

Fat Tuesday

Yesterday was one of those times I wish I was back in Europe, with money to burn and nothing to do but eat. Today is unfortunately too late, because being Wednesday and a Wednesday of the Ash variety, it's the start of Lent.

The particular Tuesday that was yesterday is know here as Shrove Tuesday, or for our very secular nation, Pancake Day. A day of feasting, of celebration, that is done more correctly (in my opinion) in Europe and South America. What would you prefer - crappy pancakes on the school barbeque, or the masquerade parades and fireworks of Venice? The point is to indulge before you spend the next 40 days obtaining absolution for your sins by way of confession and penance. It's no wonder the French call it Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday.

If Italy wasn't an option, I'd take Brazil. I've heard Rio has a few celebrations on the go, and if we throw in the 2016 Olympic hype it's probably not a bad little party. Mardi Gras was one of those word that gave me a lightbulb moment in France - the translation suddenly clicked, and then everything fell into place. Too bad I'm back home this time, but I've no doubt Venice will one day play host to me and a mask or two.

Not that I'm a particularly sinful person, but I did have a couple of indulgences myself yesterday. On Monday I received an offer of employment for the job I'd been crossing my fingers for, and was particularly excited about the whole occasion that I went out and bought a car. I sold my last one when I went away, and while it's nice driving Mum's brand new car every now and then, the freedom to get around on a whim in Adelaide, oh ye town of little public transport, is highly valued.

She still needs a name, but here's a picture:


Another debt to add to the list but a debt worth having in my opinion.

One more thing - while everyone in Europe is still scraping snow off their cars, we're preparing for another heatwave of at least 4 days above 37 degrees celcius. Unfortunately it's bushfire season, and Ash Wednesday also marks the anniversary of some devastating fires in South Australia and Victoria in 1983. It was one of Australia’s costliest natural disasters, with over 3,700 buildings destroyed or damaged. 2,545 individuals and families lost their homes which is probably a bit too much to give up for Lent. Not quiet so many fatalities and Haiti, but destructive nonetheless. If I prayed, it would be for some idiot not to throw their cigarette out the window and start another fire.

I'm not a very Christian person, so I don't partake in Lent, but I'm sure it's not a bad time to think about the things we do have, and the things we can do without (I just can't do without a car). I've got a job, and home, a beautiful boyfriend coming to visit tomorrow, and a weekend of perhaps un-Lent-like festivities at the Adelaide Fringe Festival.

Fat Tuesday may have been extended to Fat Week.

Souvenir Foto 2

I'm participating in another online photography course because (a) I learn a lot, (b) they're fun, and (c) they're an excuse to take even more photos than I need to.

It's run by Miss B from The Blah Blah Blahg and this course is focusing on following a living object over 6 weeks, photographing the changes. I'd love to follow Lily Grace for 6 weeks, as no doubt she'll be changing a lot, but in place of stalking a baby I'm looking at this lime tree.

I'm not sure that it's even going to change much over 6 weeks, but we'll see. I'll at least learn how to photograph the same thing 12 different ways!

Pink and Perfect

This weekend featured a couple of a baby-related celebrations, thankfully none of them mine :)

There is one on the way, which called for pink macarons and High Tea;

And one already arrived:

Trying to get a start somewhere, I offered to photography my friend Nicole's daughter Lily Grace so I can start building a portfolio. I've been reading Anne Geddes autobiography, and while there are no pot-plant babies in the near future for me, it's interesting to see how other people have built their careers. I've also found a local wedding photographer who'll let me tag along on some jobs for experience.

The purpose of all this is for me to try as many different avenues and see what I enjoy. I've found a passion in this hobby, but I'm not sure yet where I want to take it. This afternoon I'm off to photograph somebody else's Valentines Day and it's a paid job for a change. Cheers to a few more on the horizon!

Hello Boston!

This might be a bit weird, but I've noticed on my traffic feed someone from Boston, Massachusetts who visits just about every day. I just wanted to say Hi and Thanks, particularly because I'm not sure I know anyone in Boston but it seems they find the blog interesting!

So... thanks!

A Taste of France at Home

One thing I love the most about France is macarons. Made correctly, they really are a sweet little party in your mouth - and they're almost impossible to find here in Adelaide. I bought a macaron recipe book in France and after a little time spent translating, Grant and I decided to bake some of our own.

They were pretty tasty, but don't take our word for it. There was taste-testers lining up for them and the batch of 40 didn't last long (even the dodgy ones got eaten).

Apple & Caramel Macarons

Honey, I'm Home

My dog remembered me when I got home. Jazz, pictured in the last post, didn't forget who I was, or how I smelled. She was all jumpy and licky and then she was over it and fell asleep. My other friends haven't jumped on me or licked me, but they didn't forget me either. Some moved really far away just before I got back, which may or may not have been coincidence, and others were waiting to catch up. Sure, I missed a few get-togethers but there they were, still there for me and ready to hear my stories over a glass of Alicante Bouchet.

The real problem is I've returned home as a broke, jobless graduate. Other friends from my program still have a semester or two to complete, so they're back studying while one friend and I hunt for jobs. I have an interview on Wednesday that would be my ideal job right now, so fingers crossed for that. As for my friend, she's facing the good ol' Catch 22 - graduates who need experience to get a job but a job to get the experience. One Marketing Assistant job we heard of received 250 applications - that's some serious competition. We're trying to figure out how a year in France is going to help in this current situation. In the meantime, we do what we can to get by - I wait tables at a restaurant I used to work at, and moan about how Australians don't tip like Europeans.

There's also something called Reverse Culture Shock, resulting from the psychosomatic and psychological consequences of the readjustment process to the primary culture - or in other words, how coming home can feel kind of crappy. I've read that knowing what to expect can help lessen the re-adjustment process, but I failed to keep up to date with a lot of Adelaide Life, and as such was shocked to discover the following things:

• My bus now comes at 5.23pm instead of 5.28pm,
• Muzz Buzz, the stupid drive-thru coffee at the end of my street, is still in business,
• Julie's Dumplings had a 50c price rise on their Lunchtime Special, and
• my cousin's 3 year old is now 4 and knows the difference between a Dromedary Camel and a Bactrian Camel.

I was not shocked to learn that the following were still the same:

• The Central Market is busy on a Friday night,
• when it is summer it is really freaking hot, and
• Mum and Dad want to charge me rent again.

Maybe I'm making light of a serious problem for many travellers, but I honestly can say I enjoy being home right now, and that it's not too hard to accept my immediate conditions. Being home with my parents isn't even so bad - but I'll admit that paying board is about at attractive as the brown carpet in my old room and that my own space again is a dream I hope is not too far away. Last year was a step in a good direction of personal growth that I intend to pursue.

Adelaide is certainly different to Europe but I'm not worried. It won't take long before we're uber cosmopolitan and I feel like I'm back in some exotic capital. For example, I heard on the radio today that by 2013 we are going to have "Smart Cards" that you charge with a value and swipe on both the bus AND the tram to get around. Talk about fancy! But for now, I'm liking where I am and busy myself by working out how much of my future salary I need to save for the next trip.

There's no place like home, right?

Why Home is Nice #21

Little Cupcakes

Chai and Cupcakes from Little Cupcakes

7 Degraves Street, Melbourne

Good Morning Australia

I've only just finished unpacking but it's actually been nearly 3 weeks since I woke up in a Melbourne bedroom at lunchtime, a little dazed and confused after a 26 hour journey and a 3 hour nap to get me through Arrival Day. The whole Dubai thing meant I had to land in Melbourne instead of Adelaide, and what better excuse to spend some quality time with my I've-Been-Home-For-7-Weeks boyfriend.

I don't think there's much to say about the journey home. On the plane, I made friends with Newcastle Joe next to me, whom I originally mistook for Irish Joe and then Scottish Joe. Conversation was sparked on account of him reading the same book as I was. Lo and behold, the woman next to him also had it on her lap, so we all discussed whether The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo was a book about tattoos, as Newcastle Joe has suspected. It is not.

I will say that Emirates is a fantastic airline, not least for their pre-flight service, which I've mentioned, but they also have electricity plugs in Economy. Newcastle Joe assured me he's seen it before on other airlines but I sure hadn't, and so I had plenty of laptop juice to get me by when I got sick of the 46,000 movies and TV shows they had. I like to think I appreciate the small things in life.

Being a small and somewhat flexible person, I can usually find some sort of obscure yoga position to sleep in, as is required in Economy. For whatever reason, this position eluded me and I barely managed a few winks before arriving at Melbourne International the following morning. I dragged my things through Customs and smiled at the Customs Officer wearing a Spiderman Mask, a small reminder that although we have some pretty strict immigration and import restrictions, home-grown inappropriateness has still managed to infiltrate every government department.

At the Arrivals Hall, there was a very smiley young man with a self-made haircut and a SwedishWifeFinder.com sign peering eagerly at the crowd. He looked like fun, so I went up to him and asked for a lift into town. He turned out to be Grant, which was convenient because I was staying at Grant's house.

Grant and his family took me in and nursed me back to sanity, which, surprisingly, didn't take too long. I was spoiled rotten and I loved every minute of it. At this point, I think it's good to mention that going straight home to my own house might have been more of a shock to the system. When you go back to your own country after a year away, it's worthwhile going somewhere that isn't your hometown first. That way, things are just different enough to ease you back into comfort and the reverse culture shock is toned down. You can stay in tourist mode a little longer, but now you can read the bus timetable and stop converting the price tags in your head.

Ok, so I was converting Australian prices back to Euros and thinking "Wow, that's cheap!"

So I was back on home soil. It was just enough like home, but still a step away. I wasn't sure if Grant's Mum was saying "graff" or "grarph", but I didn't really mind. I woke up after that first nap and listened to the Magpies warbling outside the window, then lay in the hammock on the back lawn and ate half a box of Barbecue Shapes. It certainly was nice to be there.

A Desert Safari

With winter pretty well covered, it was finally time to make my way home. I had a defrost layover planned in Dubai and so it was with a heavy heart I packed my 48kg of luggage into 30kg of baggage and made my way to Heathrow Airport.

Again, and I cannot stress enough how thankful I am to everyone who took me in this year, I was fortunate to stay with a friend who showed me some of the best the city had to offer. This is one of the best things about travelling - the people :)

So, merely days after it was officially opened, the Tallest Building In The World stood towering above the Emirates as I flew in over the Gulf and landed in some very welcome sunshine. I took the Newest Metro In The World and after putting down some bags, took a taxi to the Most Expensive Marina in the World. I navigated the Most Non-Existent Footpaths In The World, and after crossing an 8 lane highway, walked past the Royal Palace and the Biggest Fake Palm Island In The World to the Most Expensive And Exclusive Hotel In The World.

Later that night, a very friendly friend of a friend came by to take me to the Biggest Mall Outside The US, which is home to the Biggest Aquarium Inside A Mall. Outside, the Tallest Building In The World was lit by millions of lights and if that wasn't enough to get your attention, at it's feet was the Nicest Water and Light Show In The World. Just because.

The next day, with nothing planned and a slight feeling I was missing out on something, I began to trawl the internet. What to do in this most strange city, built on sand? Why, take a 4WD safari trip, that's what! At 1.30pm, I organised a pick-up at my room at 3pm, and the next 6 hours were filled with about as much sand as I could handle.

That night, with a belly full of Arabian BBQ and my henna tattoo staining the sheets, I lay in bed and thought a lot of thoughts, some of which I still haven't figured out.

And the next day, I went home.