Chocolate, Ghosts, & Sisters
Just got back to Sydney from the long weekend in the country and I'm plagued over an identity crisis: City mouse or country mouse?! I always thought city but this weekend might have me swayed... I was SO excited to see a different part of Australia and spend time with Conor's family, and to say the weekend didn't disappoint is a vast understatement.
Saturday morning, Conor picked me up from Bondi around 10am after his last client of the weekend. We loaded up the car with our warmest clothes, boots (the country is still cold), and snacks (protein shake for me, hummus and bikkies for Con), and hit the road to Marrickville to pick up his sister.
Everyone settled in for the drive and the road soon opened up to this...
The first stop was in a quaint little town called Leura. Conor's stomach grumblings became too loud to ignore and Jess mentioned an amazing chocolate shop + a haunted pub in Leura, so in to town we went!
Saw this sign and laughed... I think you might be doing life wrong if you need a workshop in how to appreciate chocolate.
Anyway, the inside of this shop smelled AMAZING. Looking around at everything, I was a little overwhelmed because I truly wanted it all. Jess said that last time she was here, they had a chocolate replica of the iron throne!! (From Game of Thrones for all you nerds who are living under rocks and don't know what that is). This time however, they had chocolate stilettos... pretty cool but nowhere near the impressive factor of a chocolate iron throne...
They also had these trees and bustier thing, kinda random, but still cool!
These little guys are espresso and chocolate flavored morsels IN chocolate coffee cups! The cutest, right?!
I spotted an array of what looked like the best brownies I will ever encounter in this lifetime...
And before I could even get the words out, Conor was already instructing the chocolate lady to set one aside for him...
I chose a dark chocolate Tahitian vanilla situation that was consumed too quickly to be immortalised on this blog, and this pretty little peanut butter cup...
We walked along with our sweet treats and headed towards the haunted pub...
Certainly looks the part, am I right?
To my dismay, there were no ghostly sightings other than my pale reflection in the mirror.
Our next stop on the drive was to see the famous Three Sisters rock formation in the Blue Mountains. The whole view of the valley and mountains from this viewpoint is spectacular, but the three sissies are the most famous. They get their name from an aboriginal legend about three sister who were turned to stone.
Gorgeous, right?! We couldn't stay much longer than it took to snap a few pics because it was positively freezing. And Conor brilliantly wore shorts. Back on the road, we were treated to beautiful views of the open country, cloudy skies, and our handsome driver!...
To get to Orange, our destination, you have to pass through Bathurst. We didn't get out of the car but we did do a little loop around the town because this is where Conor went to Uni! Here's the drive on to campus...
A quick, fly-by snap of the dorms...
Back on the road.
We were on this road for a while and by the looks of it, there was not a lot to be seen other than a whole lot of livestock and greenery. But out of nowhere, Conor pulled off the highway, onto a grass driveway and we were home... Literally happened so fast, I barely got a pic!
Sadie the pup, a.k.a. Greeting Official...
Conor's home is absolutely beautiful and inside was so warm and cozy! His family was so welcoming to me and I felt at home right away. And really, is there anything better than being with family in a cozy home??
"Welcome-to-Orange" champers were poured and we sat around the fire catching up and warming our toes. I hounded Conor's dad with roughly 100 questions about Australian critters... Will I see a giant spider while here? Which ones are poisonous? What should I do if I get bit? Are there a lot of kangaroos around here? What is a wallaby? He very patiently, and without laughing, gave me the downlow. And then he played the didgeridoo!
Conor's lovely mum, Paula, and I bonded over our love/obsession/admiration for Stevie Nicks and our shared belief that the world could use a little more girl power. On my recent trip to South America, we visited a gold museum that chronicled the Spanish conquest of the Aztec civilization. The Aztec culture was very matriarchal and women held very high positions in the community. I remember thinking how odd it was that women had so much power so long ago. This seems to be a trend in a lot of ancient civilizations, but in the Western world, it's all about the men. How'd that happen?? Paula told me that she gets together with a few women each month to empower one another and encourage more equality. Love that! She also recommended a book series, Clan of the Cavebear, that I can't wait to get started on! She cooked an incredible roast chicken din...
After dinner, I baked some cookies that I had brought, and we played a few rounds of telephone pictionary in a total sugar high... If you have never played this game, you are missing out!! You go around the circle alternating between drawing and writing and by the time it gets back to you, you are left with a hysterical chain of drawings and phrases and the original message has been lost. For example, I started with "Justin Bieber" and ended with "a drunk dad singing and embarrassing his kids".
It was the absolute best first night in the country and best start to the long weekend!
