Stress free

I hope you enjoyed the title of this post...Do savour it as I think it will be a long while before you see anything remotely resembling it again any time soon.

My holiday in the lovely city of Melbourne has just been absolute bliss. I have not felt as stress-free as I currently feel for as long as I can remember and I am loving every minute of it. I knew I needed a break but I didn't realise just how much I needed to distance myself from the all-consuming madness I am part of daily.

For those whom I was in close contact with, they will know just how hectic my life is and this distance I have given myself has been extremely beneficial. I will go back refresh and ready to hit the ground running again and power through my last term at uni.

It has also called for some reflection while I have been away. I realised just how much of a home Auckland now is and that when the day comes for me to leave it will be extremely hard (and I do mean that). Despite knowing that I needed the break and distance from life and ppl in Auckland, I have miss everyone terribly. Believe it or not, I actually can't wait to go back...Crazy, I know!

Anyhow, I guess, I just really need to keep searching and listening as to where I'm headed in this area. On another note...a quick rundown on the past week's happs...

I arrive on Thurs evening and was greeted by a lovely friend. Got dropped off at my guardian's place where I would be based for the duration of my trip. Fri I was off to the osteo here in Melb (long story and I'm not going to go into it). Then I went into Camberwell to meet up with some friends that were in the boarding house with me. We had a lovely lunch and catch up session. Then it was back to my guardian's in Clayton to prepare for the dinner I was to cook that nite. All in all, not a bad start to my trip.

Sat was the day of my 5yr school reunion. It wasn't all that great but was def nice to see some friends I hadn't caught up with in ages! We had lunch, took photos and had a tour of the new boarding house and old school. After which some of us decided to take the reunion and continue it over a GIANORMOUS take away gelati. Oh it was oh so delicious...The weather was just perfect too...Couldn't ask for anything better.

Sun was a nice quiet day with the family. We went to church in the morning and I cooked dinner. Mon was spent with Kath and Woolie (not her real name). We headed to the Dandenongs and had a lovely time at Miss Marple's. Let's just say that it is a ladies' place...the desserts were huge and good! The it was back to Woolie's to chill for the rest of the arvo before I prep-ed for dinner. We then has a lovely dinner together and the 2 bottles of wine def made the nite a little more special..! The choc fondue for dessert was also nice.

Tues started off with a cooked breakky and then a train back to Clayton. A quick lunch with my guardian and Kath before heading to the osteo again. It was a nice bus ride back to Clayton before spending the evening being spoilt by the one and only Mrs O...

I was taken to Lygon St (THE place to go for Italian food in Melb) for dinner. It was a good dinner too. And so was the conversations and company...then it was off to Koko Black for some chocolaty treats before gorging ourselves with more gelati! We were the off to a beautiful concert in which the kids were singing. They were recently on the local Channel 7s Battle of the Choirs where they came runners up. It was such a lovely treat and I had a blast! Thanx again Mrs O...

Today, it was off to the city to get a few things for dad. We started our little adventure by checking out the various patisseries in St Kilda. Then took a tram into the city where we had lunch at Degraves Cafe on Degraves St. It was a quaint European style street with such atmosphere. Thanx Alan for this little suggestion. Then we headed off to the chef shop to get stuff for dad where I picked a few things to add to our collection!!! To top off the day, we headed back to Koko Black for a hot choc and for me to get some choc to bring back as prezzies...

Tomoz I'm off to buy some windows (ie window shopping) at Chadstone with my guardian. It'll just be nice to walk around and reminisce. Later in the evening, I'll be off to the new BUGS premise and help coach before sitting down and catching up with my previous coaches/friends.

Fri will be spent with the family again and me cooking my last meal for them. I leave them on Sat morning to spend one more day with Kath, Woolie and Smillar. We are going horse riding during teh day and prob just chilling for the remainder of it. The lovely Kath will then put me up for the nite before very kindly getting up early and sending me to the airport on Sun morning...

Hmm...so this trip was very much done in true Jean-style-packed full with activity!