A trip to the HaNgInG MoUnTaInS

Off late we haven't been doing much outing thanks to the cold weather. But enough was enough and so planned a trip to the Hanging Rock at Mt Macedon last weekend. It was a good 2 hour drive from our place. Since I haven't got my full license yet, I didn't offer to share the driving. We started after having breakfast and reached Woodened suburb around noon. After collecting some maps from the very friendly people at '"I", we proceeded to have some quick lunch.

While going around the entire market area I could find it a lot different from the suburbs where we stay. It had more of a "country touch" to it. People there seemed to be very friendly, pleasant and laid back. I could hardly find anyone walking quickly let alone rushing to do anything. It certainly made us think of settling in such a country side at some point of our life. Having said that, it also made me think about the choices we had for earning a livelihood there! So after a good search we ended up having lunch at Maloa House, a gourmet cafe which not only served food, but also had an interesting concept of selling household speciality items like cushions, scented candles, back drops, cutleries, wines and wholesale food, all under one roof! It was one of its own kind and I went around looking at them by the time our food was served. The things were a bit pricey, but making food stuff preservative and artificial colour free with gourmet and fresh produce made that difference. After a lovely lunch we headed upto the main attraction "The Hanging Rock". You can read more about that here.

Since no vehicles were allowed to the top, we parked our car and set on foot to see this beautiful rock formation formed from the volcanic eruptions millions of years ago. We took the summit walk which was a good 1 hr walk in total. On our way to the top, we saw many huge eucalyptus and fern trees. We walked and climed through these rock structures and reached the top which is about 718 metres from sea level. Thankfully it was a pleasant day with no rain. Enjoying the panaromic view from there, we clicked few pics to mark our visit.

After returning to the start point, we quenched our thirst with some hot chocolate. Know for its flora and fauna we spotted a kangaroo too once we came out to the car park. From there we drove to the Camel's hump lookout which is even higher than the fomer, 1000 metres from sea level. From there we could see the Mt Macedon.

Having finished seeing what we had planned, we drove back home via city were we stopped at the Federation Square (a popular spot in city) for some good hot dinner and called it a day! Looking forward to more such day trips (it's too cold to have a whole day trip in this winter).

On a different note, WE are celebrating our 2nd year of togetherness this coming 14th. Hurray!!! To make that day all the more special, I am giving my driving test too!!! Please pray for me to have a double dhamaka ;) Watch out this space for a special post about those in the coming weeks :)

Have a pleasant week ahead. Chao :)

Break ke baad!

For the past few weeks there were things which needed atmost attention and that caused my absence in the blogging world. But I tried my best to read the updates of my fellow bloggers.

Time being the best tutor teaches us valuable lessons of life. It has taught me to take life as it comes. I know I sound like a sanyasi type. But that is the fact..right? So here I am back with a new vigour and newer perspective of life.

Moving from the gyan,  the weather has become quite chilly here. What more can I expect in winter. Planning to start the long forgotton excerise in next  few weeks. Have a goal in my mind and wish to achieve it. So wish me good luck ;) One good thing about winter is skiing. After experienced my first snow in Chicago in 2009, I am longing to go to the Mt Buller which is 3-4 hours drive and indulge in the traditional winter time activity.
Note to self: Plan a trip with hubby soon!!!

Might sound absurd, but risotto has become one of my recent time favourites! Yes, thanks to hubby I am just loving it which used to be a strict NO-NO previously. The version I like it is with sweet potato, spinach and parsley. Yet to try with mushroom and peas. Passionfruit is another liking I have recently developed. I simply loved the crepes with passionfruit curd which hubby made for dinner once.Yumm...food is always fun, isn't it???
While talking about food, Masterchief Australia has been our daily-after-work-entertaintment at home.

I wish my sister and nieces who are reaching Chennai tomorrow a super-duper summer vacation with appa/amma. I shall certainly miss being with them but you know how international travel works. Planning and booking tickets alteast 3-4 months prior, asking for leave at work etc etc. Though I have not fully closed the door, they don't seem to be widely open either!

After a long time watched few new movies, Vaanam, Ko, Payanam and Shor in the city. Now don't picture me as a movie buff, watched it over a period of few weeks.

Super Short Reviews:
Vaanam:  Similar concept like Dus Kahaniyaan, nice Santhanam comedy
Ko: Good movie though the actress wasn't appealing, like the song "Yennamo edho"
Payanam: A must watch movie, no unwanted romance, stunt etc
Shor in the city: Very different movie, good concept, expectated lot more from Sendhil Ramamurthy

So how have you guys been? I would love to know.

P.S: sanyasi: saint

Weekend in beach, cricket, birthdays, movie and rest

It was a while since hubby and I went for a long drive. Thanks to the beautiful weather (bright clear sky and 27 deg C) last Saturday, we went to one of the world famous surfing beach in Philip Island called Woolamai Beach. The one and a half hour drive (one way) was worth it!


We strolled along the shore for a while enjoying the cold sea water. The waves were high enough to come upto our waist. After we stood in the water to our heart's content, we had some cheese and crackers for snacks and drove back to our house.


Yesterday's match was a sheer dissapointment. Luckily we saw only the first innings (yeah we are 5:30 hours ahead of IST) and slept with good hope that 338 was good enough for a comfortable win. It's always heartening to see "the little master" scoring the unstoppable 100+ which seemed effortless! But who could guess that it would end in a tie! When I saw the news today morning I was shattered to say the least! Anyway we didn't lose too. It was definitely a thrilling match from what i read from cricinfo.com and yahoo cricket. But it feels sad when such a big total deserved only a tie :(
Hoping for a clear victory for India in upcoming matches.


Saw "King's Speech" last weekend and whaaaatttttaaaa movie! IT IS A MUST WATCH. I mean it...if you haven't watched it, GO WATCH IT! Geoffery Rush and Colin Firth's acting is impeccable! It might look like an art movie but the storyline is just superb (simple yet deeeeeeeeep)! I am sure it's an Oscar material!


Hubby has been surprising me with a lot of new and innovative recipes and they have all tasted godly! I thoroughly enjoyed the fig+goat's cheese pizza, bruschetta+goat's cheese salad with herbs. Yup I cook too, don't get me wrong. It's just that we take turns and it is more apt if I put it this way that hubby likes cooking very much esp likes to try out new recipes. He liked my chettinad style kathirikai karakuzhambu as well.


Both my cute little nieces are celebrating their birthday this Feb, the elder celebrated early this month and the younger celebrates today! My love and hugs to kutty! Have a great birthday darling :)


Hope all is well at your end too. Have a pleasant week ahead!


P.S:  Chettinad style kathirikai karakuzhambu: A South Indian style spicy soup made with eggplant

Here they are..

...the long pending photos for you to see what we did during our Christmas holiday in Singapore. We did a lot of sight seeing this time which included Night Safari, Singapore Zoo, Sentosa Island and Bird park. Needless to say that I did shopping at Orchard Rd too..;-) Got to see the beautiful lighting and decorations for New Year in the city.

The photos shall speak for themselves!

Have a good week ahead...Cya!

Back after a fun packed holiday!

Yup now you know why you didn't hear from me for the past 1 month! I had been to Chennai to visit my parents, relatives and stayed with my parents-in-law along with hubby at Singapore on the way back to Melbourne! I had a fantastic time meeting them all, to say the least!

Parents pampering, mom's delicious delicacies, aromatic filter coffee, thattai, polli,kalli+kootu, mavadu, mahali kizhangu, margazhi kutcheris and what not! The list is never ending. Spending quality time with parents, eating great tasting food, relaxing, meeting relatives, going to temples, shopping and sight seeing were the main agenda and were fulfilled thoroughly!

Not even a bit of me wanted to come back, but no holiday can be endless right, so here I am back to reality although I am happy to be back in a way, back to my routine, back to my own world..:-) We are in the middle of spring cleaning the house and sorting out the travel and shipped stuff. We are expected to get back to the routine in a week's time.

So spare me for few days to elaborate more on the holiday and watch out for this space for some Kodak moments too!

Have a great week ahead and a very happy new year to all you guys!

P.S: thattai: a type of savoury
polli: a type of sweet which looks like thick dosa
kalli+kootu: a recipe prepared on a festive occasion
mavadu: a pickle made of small unripe mangoes
mahali kizhangu: a white coloured pickle
margazhi kutcheri: a series of carnatic music concerts which happens during December

ROSE is a rOsE is a RoSe is a rose

I am loving it! Yes I am in love with the spring esp with the blooming roses in our garden, the fragrance from them very time I walk along the driveway, the very welcoming sight when I get back home from work. Much to my whinging in the last post, I am happy that the real spring is here! Thanks to the house owner, who must for sure be loving gardening and ROSES (when I am saying this I am also referring to all sorts of garden tools, fertilizers, potting mix, lawn mower etc placed in orderly fashion in the car shed)! 

No doubt I have seen many flower shows and hill stations, but this is the first time I got to see so many roses, in so many colours grown in a household garden. In fact I see so many houses here in Melbourne blooming with flowers esp ROSES. Not just one colour, but in colours and sizes you might have not seen before!

Ok let me just stop talking and let you enjoy this visual treat!

Quarter century and so...

Yes I turned 25 on 28th Oct. I am happy that I am now officially old enough to have just 3 months of learner's permit for obtaining drivers license! I no longer need to pay additional car insurance for being under 25. Also it's kind of cool to say 25 because, in your early 20's you are considered YOUNG, also in your late 20's you are categorised as NEARING 30. So 25 is chic and safe..lol..;)


We are having a gala time with my MIL for the past 1 week. Sadly she will be leaving this coming weekend. Also with the outings we did, made my birthday exxxxsssshtra special!!!
 

Entrance of Dandenong National Park

  

Though our plan to visit the Lakes Entrance got cancelled due to bad weather (I know but it's supposed to be the beautiful spring season), we did have a plan B. So on thursday morning after a sumptuous lunch, we started for the Dandenong mountain ranges. This place is about an hour drive from our place. Thankfully the weather was superb (25 deg and bright blue sky)! We reached the national park at around 2 and planned to do the Living Bush walk which was moderately steep trail walk out of the many mentioned in the map there.






Tall green eucalyptus trees

 The first part of the walk was plain ground with little ups and downs. We walked through gigantic eucalyptus trees and huge fern plants. Surprisingly we saw a lot of people doing the walks though it was a weekday. Some were even running all the way till the top. My attire didn't allow that since I didn't want to sweat in my new birthday dress. But I am sure I shall be running there sometime in near future. It's a very good work out since it's not a monotonous route of plains to the top of the ranges.





That's me..:-)



After we reached the start of 1000 steps walk, we delibrated little bit about continuing further since it said that the route is steeper. But we wanted to fulfill the whole purpose of visiting there and so WE DID "THE 1000 STEPS". These stretch of steps were built in the memory of those killed in Kokoda Trail. Along the way there were plaques depicting the lives of the men who fought and died on the Kokoda Trail in Papua New Guinea during World War II. After reaching the top, we got a beautiful view of the city and the walk was worth it! The walk still continued from there but we wanted to return back since we didn't want to get late for the evening plans.

After resting for a while, we climbed down the steps and reached the foot at around 4:30. We drove back home and freshned up for our temple visit in the evening.

The Shiva Vishnu temple that we usually go is huge and gives me immense pleasure and peace everytime I go there. After offering our prayers to the God, we drove to The Madras Banyan Tree for our dinner. I don't need to say much about this restaurant since the food speaks for itself. We had a fantastic dinner and were quite FULL after that. We returned home and called it a day.



Melbourians enjoying their sunbathe

 
The next day we didn't want to make the best use of gorgeous weather (because it rains in between) and so went to enjoy the sea breeze. We drove to one of the famous beaches in Melbourne city, the Elwood beach and it was the first time I went there and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Wetting the legs in cold clear water in warm weather was such a treat!







The couple

 



There were quite a few who enjoyed their sunbathe, walked along with their dogs, swam etc. We strolled along the shore for a while and did the very traditional thing of eating ice creams in the end. I loved my gelato..yummy!

And so these outing were like icing on top of my birthday cake..:-)

The next big festival Deepavali is kocking at the doors and we are looking forward for a dhamaka!

Advance happy deepavali to you all. Have a wonderful time with your family wearing new dress, bursting crackers, eating good food, watching newly released movies, catching up with friends and relatives!

Cheers :-)