I can't believe that we've almost been in Australia for 18 months! What a difference a year makes. I am amazed how much has changed...for the better! I am in such a better place than last May. We are enjoying ourselves & this post is just acknowledging the little things. We began May celebrating Cinco de Mayo at a Mexican fresh mex fast food joint just outside the city near St. Kilda. It's called Mad Mex, similar to Chipotle back home, but not quite as good. They do however have cool decor inside that reminded us of one of our favourite movies, Nacho Libre. When we just have to get our Mexican food on we head over to Hawthorne for High Tech Burrito
hightechburrito.com.au. It's good & really rivals the fresh Mex back home. I just wish it were closer.
We also hit another Footy match with our friends, The Grant's, but this time we went to an evening game. I prefer an evening game, it just makes things feel like football season. We bundled up & brought in our dinner (it was cold), hot dogs, hot chocolate, drinks, etc. It's fun to go to a game with the family because it's affordable! You are allowed to bring in your own food if you wish & tickets for our whole family were $45.00. I love that we can go & watch a game, which is something we didn't do very much back in America because games were always on a Sunday, plus tickets are $85.00 and up. Melbournians are passionate about their footy (Australian Rules Football). There are tons of teams, just in Melbourne alone. It's not like back home where San Diego has one team like the Chargers. So often families are divided by the teams that they support. Also, you sit in the same seating area with the opposing team's fans. The enemy can be sitting right next to you! We "go for" (Aussie way of saying root for) Hawthorne. Our next sporting event should be a Rugby match or a Cricket game. And if you know of any great Mexican food around the Melbourne area, let me know!
 |
| Mitchell Grant |
 |
| Hannah & Katie |
Rachel You are so beautiful right now - and Dan is so handsome- at the top of your game!!! see - 40's not so bad. Kisses- thanks for the pics. Love you
ReplyDeleteHi Rachel, I saw your post on my friend Brooke's blog (House on Chambers) I'm an Aussie in Melbourne with an American partner (LA). He's really excited about Mad Mex too! My fave Mexican place is Los Amates on Johnston St at Fitzroy. It's really authentic Mexican, so Adam's not as keen on it (Chipotle is more his style). Mamasita on Collins St in the city is also really good, but fancy and hard to get a table at lunch or directly after work - esp on a Friday.
ReplyDeleteI posted on Brooke's blog, but thought I'd put it on here too, that St Kilda Baseball Club is full of Americans, many with young families, so if if you, your husband, or your kids are looking to play, or you have a hankering for a baseball game, hot dogs, and would just like to hear some friendly American voices, I recommend popping down of a weekend (they're playing at home on 10 and 24 Nov, 8 and 22 Dec, 19 Jan, 2 & 16 Feb and 2 March). There's usually games from about 1-7pm. (http://www.stkildabaseball.org.au/index.html and they're on facebook too). Hope to see you there, or at least hope that you're enjoying Aus! And I promise the great weather is just around the corner, I think it's going to be a really hot summer!
:) Clare
Clare-What a treat to hear from you! I've been to Mamasita's & agree, it's too difficult to get in without reservations. Thank you for letting me know about the baseball games, sounds fun. I'm looking forward to the sunshine & any other tips you may have:)
DeleteYou're very welcome. I hope you're enjoying your time here, it certainly looks like you're seeing some great things.
ReplyDeleteThe 1000 steps at Mt Dandenong is a great little hike in summer (don't go if it's been raining that week though, they get pretty slippery!). It's near a lovely little town called Sassafras which has the loveliest little tea house 'Miss Marple's tea rooms' where they do a scrumptious devonshire tea - the scones are to die for!
Torquay is lovely in summer, as is Lorne - definitely swim between the flags though as there's some strong rips out there.
For the adults, if you're not allergic to or scared of horses, there's a horseback wine tour in Red Hill which is really fun! Beginners are welcome, super quiet horses and lovely wineries.
I'll keep thinking and let you know some more of my favourite Melbourne things!
:)
Thank you Clare! 1000 steps is definately on my list (my husband has been several times, but not me yet) & we hope to visit Torquay this summer with a trip down the Great Ocean Road. We're expecting family from the USA in January, so hopefully we'll be able to show them all the beauty & fun of Melbourne! Thanks for your suggestions, love them!xx
Delete