Back in 2015, we wrote a list of the 38 things we wanted to do in Australia. On there, as item 5, was attend a wedding. Yesterday I experienced something that was not on the list.
I was invited to attend a funeral. The 16 year old daughter of one of my colleagues had passed away.
Hi this is Luka. Apologies that I did not write a blog post in a long time. But I am back again.
One day I was walking back from school with my family then my mum told me to get in the car. Continue reading “Getting my ears pierced”
Most of the birthday parties that we have experienced in Australia so far involve going somewhere with a large, or very large group of children. Having over 15 kids is no exception, rather a norm. However, we stuck to our traditions here and Luka invited as many girls as her age.
We considered many different locations: the pool, cinema, a dance-lesson party or skating. However at the end Luka decided to do a home party this year and she wanted to watch a movie. Continue reading “Birthday party for a nine year old”
Melbourne is a city that hosts a lot of major sports events, so there is great enthusiasm in both watching and participating. That love for sports gets seeded very early on in Australia. Next to the normal sports hour in school, there are after school sport activities, sports days and inter school sports – competitions against other schools.
In the almost two years that we lived here, Kai has qualified for some of the school teams, so we got to see what the competition is like. Here is our experience. Continue reading “Primary School Sport in Victoria”
A few weeks ago, we spent the weekend in Rutherglen on invitation from friends of ours. They, and a group of their friends, have been going to this little country town every year for the past twenty (or so), as annually, the wineries around the town hold a tasting event. You pay some money, get a glass, travel from winery to winery, taste their wines, eat good food and generally enjoy yourself. Which we did.
At the same time, in a town not far away, there is a day of horse racing. Some of the men in the group felt like going to watch, and since I had never been to a horse race, I figured I’d join them. I was also curious about this sport, that – to me – is just an excuse to combine three of Australia’s favourite pastimes: being outdoors, drinking and betting. Continue reading “Country Races”
My Dutch parents have been here for six weeks and time has flown by. It was their first visit, but it is safe to say that they have been infected with the Australia virus. They were already talking about coming back before they even left.
Can I put six weeks in one blog post? Probably not, but here’s a short impression of what we did with them. Continue reading “Visitors from Europe”
At 6.30 we got our wake-up call, Kai was standing, or rather bouncing (yes, even more than usual), next to our bed. Today we were going to the Australian Open and Kai was ready!
If you are thinking, wait, wasn’t the Australian Open in January? Then you are right, but we are not two months late, Kai was playing a 12 and under (age group) ranking tournament at Melbourne park, home of the Australian Open. Continue reading “Melbourne Park Tournament”
Wherever you go to in Australia, you are guaranteed to see a hot plate barbecue. They are in almost every park, playground, campsite or close to rivers and beaches. You can even find them in the middle of Melbourne, along the Yara river. And, they are heavily used. Some are coin operated, many are completely free. Continue reading “How to use an Australian hot plate?”
Don’t be surprised if you see a big crowd of people gathering in front of a house. You see this a lot when you drive around on the weekend. This is not a gathering after a flashmob or an accident, this is the auction of a house. And everyone is invited! So, join me.
Eat-Sleep-Cruise-Repeat. That’s the motto on one of the T-shirts they sell in the gift shop on board and which a couple of people on board are wearing. And that’s pretty much what we are doing on any of the five days at sea we have on this cruise.
Our usual wake-up time for us is around 8am, which is pretty early by ship standards. – I actually managed a 7am once to go running around the promenade on deck 3, but that, I have to admit, was the exception rather than the rule. Another one for the “do better in 2017”-list.
europe2australia.com 