and so it seems i've been away from my blog for a while...
there have been things happening of course, but never really prioritize the spare time i have, for blogging. Now, Sunday evening, seems like the right time :)
So latest news: 2 weeks ago I went home to Belarus!
The whole trip took 6.5 days (I flew half the world!!!), which means I spend 3 days traveling, and 3.5 days at home (I am convinced now Frankfurt airport has a long way to go in being a convenient place, and Singapore one is quite nice). Got new passport (the old one was expiring in May - yes, I'm turning 25!..), spent time with family and friends, which was so nice, after a year seeing them last time... And it wasn't even too cold, -2 at most, which is very unlike January in Belarus. Of course was with my parents most of the time - they don't change, just get more grey hair... Spent also some time with my brother's wife (he got married in August), with my friends and their 1 year and 3 months-old son, was enjoying so much being again with dear for me people...
And on the other hand, this trip made me also think what i want to do and what i don't, where I want to be and where I don't... Had a strange feeling, lying trying to fall asleep in my old room at home in Svisloch - is that Australian life, with blue sky and Sydney, love and good work, easy and carefree, does it really exist?
Thankfully, it does :)
Came back on Australia Day (which was spent in true blue way, bbq and being outdoors etc); applied for my visa extension - I'm staying in Australia for at least another 6 months, till mid-August. And now I came back from a wonderful weekend away on south coast, Kangaroo Valley - beautiful place to celebrate best 90 days in the relationship :)
I was thinking the other day that my life indeed was quite easy and carefree for the last year - love and work are great, I live in one of greatest places in the world, and in a nice house, no major financial crisis for me, healthy and safe. My days are now going by as work-yoga-spending time with Karan (third biggest share of my day after work and sleep :) -catching up with friends-social events-parties-going places being it a nice bay in Sydney, valley down the coast or a beach-volleyball time.
And now there is the big question - what happens in 6 months?
How do I combine my love life with my travel continents idea, searching for a job/lifestyle that would be my true passion (that some of my friends call random idea and some call great idea), all of this topped up with my nationality requiring visas to go or stay anywhere?..
I feel the need to do something with my life, and at the same time I know that all that living and working abroad - without him, it just won't be as good.
ahh the choices I have to do...
(on the bright side - it's great I'm facing these choices and not how to escape the boredom/survive somewhere!..)
there have been things happening of course, but never really prioritize the spare time i have, for blogging. Now, Sunday evening, seems like the right time :)
So latest news: 2 weeks ago I went home to Belarus!
The whole trip took 6.5 days (I flew half the world!!!), which means I spend 3 days traveling, and 3.5 days at home (I am convinced now Frankfurt airport has a long way to go in being a convenient place, and Singapore one is quite nice). Got new passport (the old one was expiring in May - yes, I'm turning 25!..), spent time with family and friends, which was so nice, after a year seeing them last time... And it wasn't even too cold, -2 at most, which is very unlike January in Belarus. Of course was with my parents most of the time - they don't change, just get more grey hair... Spent also some time with my brother's wife (he got married in August), with my friends and their 1 year and 3 months-old son, was enjoying so much being again with dear for me people...
And on the other hand, this trip made me also think what i want to do and what i don't, where I want to be and where I don't... Had a strange feeling, lying trying to fall asleep in my old room at home in Svisloch - is that Australian life, with blue sky and Sydney, love and good work, easy and carefree, does it really exist?
Thankfully, it does :)
Came back on Australia Day (which was spent in true blue way, bbq and being outdoors etc); applied for my visa extension - I'm staying in Australia for at least another 6 months, till mid-August. And now I came back from a wonderful weekend away on south coast, Kangaroo Valley - beautiful place to celebrate best 90 days in the relationship :)
I was thinking the other day that my life indeed was quite easy and carefree for the last year - love and work are great, I live in one of greatest places in the world, and in a nice house, no major financial crisis for me, healthy and safe. My days are now going by as work-yoga-spending time with Karan (third biggest share of my day after work and sleep :) -catching up with friends-social events-parties-going places being it a nice bay in Sydney, valley down the coast or a beach-volleyball time.
And now there is the big question - what happens in 6 months?
How do I combine my love life with my travel continents idea, searching for a job/lifestyle that would be my true passion (that some of my friends call random idea and some call great idea), all of this topped up with my nationality requiring visas to go or stay anywhere?..
I feel the need to do something with my life, and at the same time I know that all that living and working abroad - without him, it just won't be as good.
ahh the choices I have to do...
(on the bright side - it's great I'm facing these choices and not how to escape the boredom/survive somewhere!..)
Weekend in Melbourne
1 Comments Published by Svetlana Zhukova on Sunday, November 04, 2007 at 10:46 AM.
Time to describe the greatest weekend getaway I've had so far, a couple of weeks ago in Melbourne.
I'll try to be short, my pictures on flickr tell much more
I went with Patrycja, a friend of mind, Polish intern here in Sydney, and we stayed with another friend of mine in Melbourne, Hungarian guy Tomi (here we go, international networks :)
In total:
4 nights,
3 full days,
1 Melbourne city centre,
(..) beers,
many kilometers walked,
250 kilometers of Great Ocean Road seen,
1 horse races attended,
3 live music events,
1 tourist tram line ride and at least 15 times on a normal tram,
3 nights out,
18 hours in those 3 days and 4 nights slept,
and ONE GREAT MELBOURNE TIME!
(and even the weather was very good and sunny all days, too! even though the weather is said to be the only bad thing about Melbourne :)
Night 1:
even as we arrived late, nearly midnight, our wonderful host Tomi convinced us to go for drinks to a local pub, and it was so worth it! local beer (yes, I had VB), and local band making one of best performances I saw (cross-dressed, but what an energy they had!)
Day 1:
Melbourne city walks -
narrow streets with cafes all along (add some more chaos and Middle-Easterness, and there is Cairo Khan El-Khalili for you; add some waffles smell and rocky pavement, and there's Brussels; love those kind of arcades)
Some landmarks -
Flinders Street Station
Federation Square
Royal Botanical Gardens
And here's how Adshel's medium looks like! (I work for a company that is a major player in street furniture advertising, out of home media)
We took trams a lot - it's interesting how trams a perfectly normal and usual transport in Europe and in Belarus and Russia, but are so interesting for Australia - nearly everyone told me before my trip to Melbourne - "take one of their trams somewhere" hehe
Night 2:
Birthday dinner (and guess what, Thai :) of a friend of a friend in a far away suburb; partying till 3am in 3 clubs/bars in the same building, in a true Melbourne spirit hidden away so you have to find the place; Cookie is one name I remember
Day 2:
Caulfield Cup day! (part of Melbourne's Spring Racing Carnival)
The first time ever I've visited horse races: great weather, field full of dressed up people (like in a movie, every girl is wearing a head-dress!); champaign in plastic glasses; and the thrill of seeing the horces cross the line and supporting your number... I bet a little and won a little, great and unreal experience I'd never get at home :)
Night 3:
Walking around evening streets, Yarra river night views, dinner in one of Italian restaurants on those little streets, some beers in Young&Jackson's (one of oldest pubs right in the centre)
Day 3: GREAT OCEAN ROAD
[UPDATE: can't upload images anymore here for some reason, just check here for Great Ocean Road trip]
Wonderful day, full of amazing views and landscapes;
Even got closer to not-so-wild-life - we saw kangaroos, koalas (someone 'khe-khe' me, even climbed the tree to get closer...), fed parrots
Drove with U2 loud in the car and wind fresh with ocean breeze, through the hills and turns and turns of what is indeed a GREAT road;
saw simply amazing sites like this (Gibson Steps), which are so serene and perfect without any humans there; but we did jump around with joy anyhow :)
Twelve Apostols
and Loch Arch Gorge, where we were running along the beach under the moonlight...
The trip took the whole day - we left the last site in Port Campbell after 8pm, and arrived about 1am back to the city...
Night 4, the last one:
packing, getting the photos and catching a bus at 3am for 6am flight...
Tired but oh soo happy!
Great, GREAT times in Melbourne - I might be even coming back!..
I'll try to be short, my pictures on flickr tell much more
I went with Patrycja, a friend of mind, Polish intern here in Sydney, and we stayed with another friend of mine in Melbourne, Hungarian guy Tomi (here we go, international networks :)
In total:
4 nights,
3 full days,
1 Melbourne city centre,
(..) beers,
many kilometers walked,
250 kilometers of Great Ocean Road seen,
1 horse races attended,
3 live music events,
1 tourist tram line ride and at least 15 times on a normal tram,
3 nights out,
18 hours in those 3 days and 4 nights slept,
and ONE GREAT MELBOURNE TIME!
(and even the weather was very good and sunny all days, too! even though the weather is said to be the only bad thing about Melbourne :)
Night 1:
even as we arrived late, nearly midnight, our wonderful host Tomi convinced us to go for drinks to a local pub, and it was so worth it! local beer (yes, I had VB), and local band making one of best performances I saw (cross-dressed, but what an energy they had!)
Day 1:
Melbourne city walks -
narrow streets with cafes all along (add some more chaos and Middle-Easterness, and there is Cairo Khan El-Khalili for you; add some waffles smell and rocky pavement, and there's Brussels; love those kind of arcades)
Some landmarks -
Flinders Street Station
Federation Square
Royal Botanical Gardens
And here's how Adshel's medium looks like! (I work for a company that is a major player in street furniture advertising, out of home media)
We took trams a lot - it's interesting how trams a perfectly normal and usual transport in Europe and in Belarus and Russia, but are so interesting for Australia - nearly everyone told me before my trip to Melbourne - "take one of their trams somewhere" hehe
Night 2:
Birthday dinner (and guess what, Thai :) of a friend of a friend in a far away suburb; partying till 3am in 3 clubs/bars in the same building, in a true Melbourne spirit hidden away so you have to find the place; Cookie is one name I remember
Day 2:
Caulfield Cup day! (part of Melbourne's Spring Racing Carnival)
The first time ever I've visited horse races: great weather, field full of dressed up people (like in a movie, every girl is wearing a head-dress!); champaign in plastic glasses; and the thrill of seeing the horces cross the line and supporting your number... I bet a little and won a little, great and unreal experience I'd never get at home :)
Night 3:
Walking around evening streets, Yarra river night views, dinner in one of Italian restaurants on those little streets, some beers in Young&Jackson's (one of oldest pubs right in the centre)
Day 3: GREAT OCEAN ROAD
[UPDATE: can't upload images anymore here for some reason, just check here for Great Ocean Road trip]
Wonderful day, full of amazing views and landscapes;
Even got closer to not-so-wild-life - we saw kangaroos, koalas (someone 'khe-khe' me, even climbed the tree to get closer...), fed parrots
Drove with U2 loud in the car and wind fresh with ocean breeze, through the hills and turns and turns of what is indeed a GREAT road;
saw simply amazing sites like this (Gibson Steps), which are so serene and perfect without any humans there; but we did jump around with joy anyhow :)
Twelve Apostols
and Loch Arch Gorge, where we were running along the beach under the moonlight...
The trip took the whole day - we left the last site in Port Campbell after 8pm, and arrived about 1am back to the city...
Night 4, the last one:
packing, getting the photos and catching a bus at 3am for 6am flight...
Tired but oh soo happy!
Great, GREAT times in Melbourne - I might be even coming back!..
