Another season

Whelp, it seems that winter is upon us. The month of May has been unseasonably cold, almost like we skipped autumn altogether. Which is fine, given that I still feel like we should be heading into summer, seeing as how June 1st is tomorrow. So with that in mind, since I haven't gotten around to it yet, let's talk about our "Spring" break and Easter, shall we?

"SPRING" BREAK

Actually, more like fall break in the US, only it's two weeks long. We decided it was prime time to go on our first big Australian adventure, so we turned to one of the greatest attractions in the entire country, which happens to be right here in Victoria: The Great Ocean Road. 280 kilometres (about 175 miles) of two-lane road running along the southernmost coast of Australia. Windy enough to induce motion sickness and scenery gorgeous enough to make you run off the road if you're not careful with your rubbernecking. Koalas, wallabies, and fur seals abound. Sheer cliffs, limestone rock formations, lighthouses, waterfalls, and some of the greatest surfing in Australia.

We cannot wait to go back, hopefully during whale season. If (when!) you come and visit, you will be going here. So bring your motion-sickness bands and a good camera.

EASTER

Ahhh, Easter in Australia. A prime example of how these folks in the Southern Hemisphere have to come up with new and relevant ways to celebrate holidays that are seasonally appropriate in the Northern Hemisphere, and not so much here. So my take on Australian Easter? It's basically Halloween, without the costumes. But oh, the candy. Chocolate, really. As one friend put it, in his mind, Easter = chocolate. And boy, does it. Rows and rows, aisles and aisles of it at the stores. Bags of it at the schools and church. There are no jelly beans, no plastic eggs, no dyed eggs. There are chocolate eggs. And chocolate bunnies. And chocolate bilbies and wombats. No, seriously.

We couldn't NOT dye eggs, but Abe was sure to put his own Australian twist on the decor.

(That's Collingwood vs. Melbourne, for the majority of you whom are ignorant about the AFL.)

We had an egg hunt, of course. All the eggs were found...

As were a few well-loved items that had been MIA.

Happy Easter/Autumn!

Now on to winter...