Friday was my first Hudson "kick off". I learnt that kick off means a good celebration for a strong performing quarter and in spite of the fact that I had made no contribution to the excellent performance of ther previous quarter, I still got to join in and have fun.
Kick off kicked off at about 15:30 on the Friday afternoon and we traipsed to a pub in Windsor which had a nice outdoor deck area. There we had a team bonding exercise and enjoyed several jam donut shots which were delicious. Dinner was at a lovely Chinese dumpling place where plate after plate of dumpling were brought out to us. We had a lovely private dining room and lots of wine. Kick off ended at about 23:30 for me and Steve came out to escort me home. I'm looking forward to more of such occasions!
Kick off kicked off at about 15:30 on the Friday afternoon and we traipsed to a pub in Windsor which had a nice outdoor deck area. There we had a team bonding exercise and enjoyed several jam donut shots which were delicious. Dinner was at a lovely Chinese dumpling place where plate after plate of dumpling were brought out to us. We had a lovely private dining room and lots of wine. Kick off ended at about 23:30 for me and Steve came out to escort me home. I'm looking forward to more of such occasions!
Saturday was date night. Steve had bought us Mary Poppins tickets and dinner on he Colonial Tramcar Restaurant and this Saturday was the night it was scheduled to take place.
Dinner was early and at 17:30 we were queuing at the tram stop waiting for our car to arrive. Decor is classically twee with drapes around the windows. We had an entertaining maitre d', an Italian chef and a smiley waiter. Good combination! We were served champagne and the tram started circulating the city and headed out towards St, Kilda. It was a lovely sunny evening which made gazing out the window a nice experience. We started off with a red pepper dip and some chicken liver paté. I went for the steak with red wine jus and onion marmalade accompanied by potato rosti and some green beans. The steak was cooked really well; nice and rare just as I like. A couple of glasses of Victorian red wine washed it down. Steve went for chicken with a macadamia nut pesto with sweet potato mash and he took the Victorian white wine.
Dessert was sticky date pudding, some more champagne and finished off with two measures of Frangelico on ice. Not bad for the 90 minute trip! We then headed off to the theatre to see my favourite nanny.
Mary Poppins was great to watch with some entertaining song and dance routines. The sets and backdrops were creatively done and we both really enjoyed it. I thought the voices of the leads weren't as strong as some performers we've seen in musicals but Mary Poppins isn't about technical singing. The audience certainly enjoyed it and we did too.
Dinner was early and at 17:30 we were queuing at the tram stop waiting for our car to arrive. Decor is classically twee with drapes around the windows. We had an entertaining maitre d', an Italian chef and a smiley waiter. Good combination! We were served champagne and the tram started circulating the city and headed out towards St, Kilda. It was a lovely sunny evening which made gazing out the window a nice experience. We started off with a red pepper dip and some chicken liver paté. I went for the steak with red wine jus and onion marmalade accompanied by potato rosti and some green beans. The steak was cooked really well; nice and rare just as I like. A couple of glasses of Victorian red wine washed it down. Steve went for chicken with a macadamia nut pesto with sweet potato mash and he took the Victorian white wine.
Dessert was sticky date pudding, some more champagne and finished off with two measures of Frangelico on ice. Not bad for the 90 minute trip! We then headed off to the theatre to see my favourite nanny.
Mary Poppins was great to watch with some entertaining song and dance routines. The sets and backdrops were creatively done and we both really enjoyed it. I thought the voices of the leads weren't as strong as some performers we've seen in musicals but Mary Poppins isn't about technical singing. The audience certainly enjoyed it and we did too.
Sunday was spent with my uni friend Jenny who had flown in on Thursday night and had been staying with us. Jenny had done some independent exploring and met up with some of her other friends and we made plans to spend the Sunday together.
We decided to drive to the Yarra Valley and go to Healsville Sanctuary to see some Australian wildlife. Weather was hit and miss and it started to rain as we finished breakfast. Determined not to let the rain deter us, we headed into the sanctuary with our matching blue ponchos.
Healesville Sanctuary is a good place to spend a few hours walking around looking at the various animals. Jenny was very excited to see koalas and we were pleased to see our first kangaroos. The rain meant they didn't move much however so we saw no jumping; so maybe next time. We also saw dingoes, lots of reptiles, nocturnal creatures, sleeping Tasmanian Devils, emus, wallabies, various birds and an echidna which is a very strange large hedgehog type thing.
We decided to drive to the Yarra Valley and go to Healsville Sanctuary to see some Australian wildlife. Weather was hit and miss and it started to rain as we finished breakfast. Determined not to let the rain deter us, we headed into the sanctuary with our matching blue ponchos.
Healesville Sanctuary is a good place to spend a few hours walking around looking at the various animals. Jenny was very excited to see koalas and we were pleased to see our first kangaroos. The rain meant they didn't move much however so we saw no jumping; so maybe next time. We also saw dingoes, lots of reptiles, nocturnal creatures, sleeping Tasmanian Devils, emus, wallabies, various birds and an echidna which is a very strange large hedgehog type thing.
Unfortunately the rain at Healsville meant the mosquitoes were out in force. I lost the battle with Aussie mozzie and was a delicious Chinese banquet for them. Boy did they have a feast and I have bits along my arms and legs. The worst bite was on my eyelid causing the whole area to swell up. Highly unattractive and very irritating. However it's been more than 48 hours since it was it's worst and I'm pleased to say my eye is gradually returning to normal.
Jenny's brief visit ended with a BBQ at home. It seems only right and traditional that whenever we have guests we have at least one BBQ. This one was one heck of a meat fest. We had BBQ ribs, lamb cutlets, steak, chorizo burgers and various sides. It was a fitting farewell meal for a lovely houseguest.
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