Feeling the warmth

12 days in Fremantle…

Fremantle is a beautiful port city, 19 klm southwest of Perth in WA, with population of almost 40.000 people. With long, golden beaches, surprisingly amazing restaurants, cafes, shops and a great deli, a nice big green park with huge trees, charming churches and a well-preserved architectural heritage, Fremantle is a place that I could easily visit again and spend the sunny days of spring and summer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What I enjoyed in Fremantle was the relaxed and slow pace way of life and a perfect break from the fast and non stopping movements of the cosmopolitan Sydney. Emotional uplifting bicycle rides and open window tours in a rustic VW van, long beach walks, hundreds of shutter blinks, mesmerizing smells of  blossomed bushes and neratze trees, orangey sunsets and a pale full moon, watching “Boy” in the dark room with macadamia choc top, drinking homemade chai and making Rocky Road for the first time, eating multicultural dishes from Egypt, England, Asia, Greece and Australia, watching football with pies and ketchup, picking jelly beans colors…  

There are many nice places to see in Fremantle, even while you are walking at the streets you can slow your pace to admire some pretty cute terraces, beautiful churches and well preserved heritage buildings. I was quite amused by just having a walk on a sunny, lovely afternoon admiring the architecture of this little town.

A few meters from Fremantle’s green park with the tall trees and the spacious, open area and right on the waterfront is the most amazing, charming, made out of a movie scene, micro brewery, aptly named \”Little Creatures\” Brewery. It is just the right place to meet friends, have a romantic dinner or Saturday lunch with the family and enjoy the colorful, full of tempting smells, sounds and a vibrant atmosphere micro-brewery and restaurant!

The “Little Creatures” freshly FRESH tab beers, the “Two Brothers” -“the stone picker” Semillon sauvignon blanc  from Margaret River, the chili beef-guacamole-sour cream nachos, the chili tomato mussels and the toasted open mushroom and avocado sandwich are just so good I think I had a love affair with!!

And then, just next door, the “Creatures Loft” is the perfect place to relax, even more, on the comfortable little lounges under the soft lighting and the sounds of a live guitar playing, with a glass of a Margaret River region rich wine and an almost fairy made Rocky Road that’s just going to taste like a cloud of magic in your mouth…

Alternative option and almost as good, is the Norfolk Hotel. With the stone as the focal material, the big wooden tables with the benches, the trees and the white “ship sails” tents, the yard of Norfolk is perfect for a warm spring/summery night. The Steak Burger with bacon, tomato chutney, onion jam, aioli, rocket, egg and hand-cut chips is just a mouthwatering sin! As about the wine, the Sandalford Estate Reserve Chardonnay from Margaret River is my personal choice for its fruity, candy and light taste.

If it’s Wednesday and you feel like pizza, then go to ecco! for an exotic Hawaiian with tomato, mozzarella, ham & pineapple for only $11!! Good deal for a really tasteful and big enough for two people pizza!

Next day, after all those Margaret River glasses of wine, “X-Wray” and the bacon-avocado toast (OMG), a banana smoothie and a raspberry muffin will take the hangover away!! Yum Yum Yum. I also saw a lustful Quiche Lorraine at the kitchen front display, which I craved to taste but didn’t managed to, so please someone taste it for me!

With all this food I can just think of a perfect place to lay under the sun, walk or swim. The Mosman dog beach. A beautiful beach, where the long waves wet the sand for about 10 meters far from where they brake and make it ideal for walks next to excited Golden  Retrievers chasing balls and Frisbees, happy puppy Cocker Spaniels wading in the ocean and shy Dachshunds hiding behind their owners. Mosman beach is simply the perfect playground for dogs and the most therapeutic place for smile-less days!

Heading back to the town’s center, the end of Market street in Freo was also a favorite spot. An amazing deli named “Kakulas Sister” with every delicious treat I can think of, from olive oils and cheeses to teas, fresh coffee, chocolates, dried fruits, even Greek mastiha from Hios, is just a wonderland for big kids where you can even spend a whole day looking around and being surprised every second minute by a new discovery!

Next door you find “Lick” and “Store” with unique clothing and accessories and colorful itchy bitsy things from aromatic soaps and aromas in cute bottles, to Parisian notebooks, plastic kids plates, ornaments, wishing cards, bags and jewelries made with heaps of imagination!

As for some book dreaming, New Edition Bookstore is full of new, freshly printed books, placed in helpful-to-find-what you’re looking for sections in a neat, lightful and welcoming environment with cozy reading corners. I was just sitting on the wooden floor, picking books with many pictures from the shells and day dreaming of more places, more yummy cooking recipes and more presents for each one of my friends. The last day, I left from there with a Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition of Bronte’s Weathering Heights.

Take a bicycle (Fremantle is truly a very bicycle friendly town thanks to the bike lanes everywhere and the low car traffic) and discover that place, that I may admit, stole a small bit of my heart.

Ready for Freo?

 

Good Morning

Sometimes, beautiful things happen at the most unexpected places…

My room here in Sydney is small and all it has is a mattress, a bookcase, a vintage drawers and a little white window. It’s simple but enough to feel comfortable, secure and mine.

I spent hours and hours in this little room my first two months in Sydney. Long nights skyping with beloved ones and late mornings sleeping in, refusing to get out there in my new reality. In all those days, I never stood by my window gazing thoughtful or admiring the view, there’s no particularly admirable view from my white window.

All I can see is a tree and the living room window from the terrace next door, full of light at nights filling my room with false moon light.

But, life can be unpredictable and surprising, full of ordinary miracles. Some things can be underestimated and in the universe’s effort to prove us wrong about our cruel judgment on them, it reveals us the real magic and the meaning of everything beautiful in this world.

This morning, while dressing unwillingly to go to my class at 9am, I looked out of my viewless window, to see in my surprise, a mother possum with her little baby upside down at her back breastfeeding. She was calm as she was staring at me taking photos of them and smiling like a fool all by myself.

Since that moment, my day became a little bit brighter and I was thankful for being lucky enough to see and realize how close the Australian nature is and how unique the view from my window can be…

We can just try…

How far can one go for love?

In Australia I realized how strong can love be for two people. Only the last two weeks I met two couples that able to go 24 hours away from their countries to be with the person they most wanna spend their time.

An Australian guy at his 31 is ready to quit his safe and well paid job in Perth to follow his 21 years old girl from Germany. It wasn’t easy for them to get through the distance that separated them for a few months and decide that they want to be together more than they want a safe and ordinary life. She’s come to Australia for him, struggling with all the visa stuff and now they are ready to leave for Germany, start a new life in common…

He is from San Francisco and took the decision to move to Melbourne with his Australian girlfriend about a year ago, but it didn’t work out for them. He travelled around Australia and when he had sold his car, his surf board and was about to go back to the USA, a really sweet and charming Australian, doctor to be, girl, showed up in his life. Since then they are inseparable. He decided to study in Sydney to be with her and now they live together close to the beach, travelling around the world together, spending the holidays in California and Canada, surfing and skiing…

But, is it easy to do such thing? When do you decide that you can be with someone, whenever that is? How can you be sure? And how can you protect yourself from falling in love with a person from the other end of the world?

You can’t. Love is not logical. And we can’t say that we will only set our eyes and our hearts to people who live at the same city and they will be there for the rest of our life. You fall in love when you fall in love and if that is not enough to move the world upside down to be with that person, then maybe love poison on cupids arrows wasn’t strong enough.

Girlie-ness

Sometimes girls just love pretty things that make life look a little bit more sweet…

Skirts and floral prints are a must in Sydney and Miss Dalley knows how to do it best!

Black on black on black? Yep!

Instead of buying the dress, I found an idea of how to decorate my room’s walls…

Macadamia is an Australian passion that I love!!

Lemon cheesecake, an afternoon treat for $3.

Chai tea made with milk in a sause pan. The perfect company for a rainy dusk.

Beautiful books made to be read, used as decor, taken photos…

To complete this post I give you the song that’s been playing in my head lately…The Kiss by Trevor Jones

Current location

Sydney for me, thank you.

Yes, after a month and a half I can say that I have some favorites in Sydney I can share. I can’t say that I feel Sydney like home yet, but that will come with the time too…

So, here’s the list

♥ Darling Harbor in full moon.  

Check your diaries for the next full moon night and visit the beautiful Harbor. Start from the top of George str right next to the Harbor Bridge and walk under the bridge, past the 4 seasons, the nice restaurants at the small port, take some photos of the Opera House and head towards it to take some nice ones of the bridge as well. If you are a little bit more romantic, enjoy the bright light of the full moon at one of the benches under a tropical tree in the Botanical Gardens…

♥ Pick a nice sunny day to visit Coogee beach.

Coogee for many Sydneysiders is more preferable than the world famous Bondi and I think I can see the reason, the manmade concrete pools at the sides of the beach. Big ocean water pools hidden in the rocks next to the waves, which are pretty unique! Even though I haven’t swam in them yet, I like the idea of the calm waters of a huge bathtub next to the great waves of the furious ocean… 

♥ Manly surf shops and ferry ride

Yes, Manly is the heaven of the amatuer surfers in Sydney but, if you are not a surfer, it worth going  there for two reasons. The first is the beautiful surf clothing boutiques of Quicksilver and Roxy, Billabong and Rip Curl. Especially the Quicksilver boutique is just a dream even for the non surfers!! The second thing is the ride with the ferry from and to Sydney that just gives fantastic photo opportunities. And if you really wanna see Sydney at its best, take the ferry back at sunset…

♥ Glebe Markets and lunch at Clipper Cafe on a sunny Saturday

At the public school of Glebe you will find a nice market with some pretty good and some pretty crap things as well. If you are going to buy, look for young people selling their own clothes. If you are lucky enough, you will find some selling brand clothes in almost perfect condition for really good prices! Also, be careful of the fakes, they are everywhere!! Ceramic kitchen goodies are also a cheap must! And when you think you’ve seen every stall, walk back to Broadway road from the side of the school and you will find the “Clipper Cafe”. Be patient till you get sited, it worth it, I promise! Super cozy and tasteful arty place, busy enough with reasonable prices(for Sydney always!)My favorite choice, gnocchi with pesto, fresh tomato and greens…a poem…Second choice, bruschetta with eggs and prosciutto.

♥ Jogging at 7pm on an week day at the Glebe port

Glebe has a beautiful waterfront facing the Anzac bridge of Sydney, with a smooth alley ideal for relaxing jogging or walking. I prefer going there at 7pm when people have finished their jobs and are exercising or having a walk with their cute dogs of every possible breed. And here’s also a little game for you: match the owner to the dog-find 3 similarities…sooo fun! For those who prefer daytime exercise, dog swimming is your way of making the walk even more interesting on a warm or hot day.

♥ Spend a day in the Gould’s Book Argade on King’s str

Yes, you can really spend a day in a bookshop without working in it! This is the second hand book’s heaven!! A beautiful, magic, mesmerizing place full of the old paper’s nostalgic smell. Just try to find a nice copy of your favorite book. Cheap, environmentally friendly, unique!

♥ Eveleigh Farmer’s Market on a rainy Saturday morning

Behind Newtown, an old storehouse hosts stalls of farmers, breeders, florists,  restaurants and cafes from the town of Sydney. Be careful! Don’t have breakfast before you go because walking around the stalls, you will be able to taste olive oils, yogurt, cheeses, mandarins, crackers, sausages, grilled duck, pastes, muesli, salad dressing, macadamia butter, fresh pasta and even puppy food! Maybe Eveleigh market is not the perfect one to buy fruits and vegetables cause of the high prices, but it’s a very nice place to spend a morning with your friends, lovers, kids or dogs.

♥ Cross the Harbor Bridge

Just cross it! You will feel nice!

I think this can be part one. Part two will include favorite food, dessert and tea places in Sydney so far…

When you’re hunting stories…

…sometimes you forget how to have fun.

You have a main topic and all you have to do is come up with three story ideas, have a panic attack cause they were not good enough, find new ones and people to talk to you, record, listen, understand, write, correct, write again if needed, finish, feel your heart coming back at the right place…

Journalism is so much like life…and for some people, it is their life. I don’t know yet if I want my life to be like this. Do I wanna be stressed all the time, running up and down, writing in front of a computer?

Hmm…maybe I do. Well, I don’t really enjoy the stress and the desperation  but when you’re done, the result is immediate just like the satisfaction the accomplishment gives you. After all, difficulties make you appreciate what’s worth in life…

Perfection is boring, or at least that’s what we say to ourselves to comfort us when we don’t have it! Sometimes I feel like I’m doing my best not to reach perfection. I might be addicted to strange, tangled and difficult situations because when something good comes out of them, is always more…easy to smile.

Travellers in Sydney

It’s so really bad when a journalist doesn’t feel like writing or has too many things to write about. But, I’m only human and not a journalist yet!

I will just let my photos tell their little story about my beautiful last week…

Enjoy…and have a nice week!

And for the end a beautiful song that was playing live from Offradio Thessaloniki while I was waiting for the photos to upload…Let it play…

Lonely days…

Unfortunately or not, there are times when we’re alone, with only company ourselves…

We are social beings from our nature, loneliness can’t and mustn’t be a permanent situation…But sometimes, loneliness can be proved to be the cure for all the stress and the anxiety. With one condition, proper use of its power!

The main function of our brain when we are alone is the internal monologue. That monologue has the power to destroy and ruin everything as it can also make things clear and magically solve every problem of the soul.

I didn’t choose to be alone today; it was just the conditions that brought me to that position. So, I decided to take advantage of my loneliness and even enjoy it! I dressed up pretty, like I was going to meet my friends for lunch in a sunny vineyard or a secret lover waiting for me in a small cafe full of people reading, laughing and talking under the sound of a Spanish guitar. Imaginary sceneries that someday I’d like to live…

Feeling already pretty in my lovely skirt and wrapped well with my soft scarf, I took my camera and my notebook, put my headphones on and let the Beatles( And I Love Her)place me in the scenery…

I was going to my favorite place in Sydney so far, “The Clipper Cafe”. A small cafe with high and low tables that looks more like a friend’s house than a coffee shop. Decorated with unexpected objects, photos taken by a familiar face, vases with fresh flowers, colorful pillows and rustic benches, it makes you feel comfortable and beautiful. Aromas from freshly made coffee and cooked vegetables, eggs, beloved haloumi and herbs, fill the air while low music backgrounds all kinds of conversations and the welcoming voices of the staff.

What I appreciated today, was the fact that, unlike Greece, in Sydney, sitting alone, enjoying your hot drink or meal while reading your newspaper or working at your laptop, is something totally normal. Nobody is looking at you like you are some kind of freak. I understand it only now, that this is a very useful privilege, now that I’m alone so often…

…I sat at the back of the cafe, on a high stool and observed the people in the room, the way the sunlight was coming in and all the photos and decorating on the walls, the wooden tables and the bottles full of brown sugar in them. I ordered a hot chocolate; I took my notebook and my pencil out and started writing my bulletin for the radio subject. It felt so new! Something so unimportant and maybe even sad like sitting alone and doing work felt so pleasant…

For the first time in the three years I’ve been studying, I can’t wait to do some work, to write, report, find stories! Of course I feel terrified at the same time! I will have to do all that work in a language other than my native, I have almost no idea about what is going on in the country, I’m not familiar with the culture and I’m certainly way out of my comfort zone!! Yet, I can’t wait! I thirst for something that will set me on move, which will inspire me and give me the will to do more, to grow my mind, to broaden my horizons, to want to become a real Journalist.

Today, I also realized that I want to travel; I need to travel and live in many different places in the world. As I was walking back home, having the sun setting in front of me behind the houses at the end of Glebe Point road, eating almond meringue from a white paper bag in my arms, I caught myself dreaming of walking like that at a street in Venice or Paris, tasting sweet delicacies from traditional patisseries, enjoying the beauty of the city at night, mooning dancers swaying at the side of the river, feeling a little bit sweet jealous of couples kissing for a second and then separating, observing people and smiling to myself…

Maybe it’s romanticism over the top, maybe it’s day dreaming, maybe it’s how I want to live my life…

Where am I?

July 22. Christina became 21…

Away from home, in a new and different country, I decided to become 21. But, as I’ve said before, I’m a weird creature so; I spent half my birthday in Melbourne and the other half in Sydney. Pretty unique I admit!

I personally believe that the birthday is not that much different than all the other days, especially when you are young. You don’t become older because the date on the calendar says so, but because of the work, the fun, the relationships, the good and the bad days you had during the whole year. Celebrating a number is just the reminder of all those experiences. So, a birthday can be important for someone who chooses to celebrate all those things once a year, or just an ordinary day for someone who celebrates for life every day…

What I like about birthday is when the people I love put their best smile on and say how much they love me…It’s a totally selfish and egocentric celebration I must say! That’s why I seize the opportunity and just accept all that expression of love!

This time, all my beloved faces where thousands of miles away. However, new faces wished me Happy Birthday, smiled warmly at me and hugged me. I wasn’t alone in any case…My birthday cake was a lovely cupcake covered with a pink shinny glaze blanket decorated with silver fairy dust made of sugar. A candle was enough for the simplest wish I’ve ever made…

After a nice breakfast with eggs Benedict and Darjeeling tea in Melbourne, it was about time to keep on moving.

Next and final destination, Sydney!

I was terrified when I realized the size of the step I had made. I was in Sydney and Sydney was chaotic, different, unfamiliar, strange, huge!! When I saw the sun setting at five o’clock, I understood what I had done and where I was. The summer was lost at the other side of the earth, the wind was cold, the sun was gone…Panic and fear. I felt uncomfortable and so alone. My eyes where craving to see something familiar, something to give them hope and comfort. Even though I was really good taken care of and I had good friends of friends around me, all I wanted was to run back home, close my eyes in the cold dark and open them under the fiery sun.

It didn’t take much for those feelings to soften. However, they haven’t disappeared yet, not even this very moment that I’m writing these words after a whole week and a half in Sydney. I still feel numb. I still hate the early sunset. I still miss my home.

But, the things that worth the most are those that don’t come easily. I do already have some favorite things and places here. What I look for in this new place is things that make me smile by myself…

July 2010…

This is it…my month, my year, my life!! 

Well, my horoscope keeps repeating it, “2010 has it all for you: love, luck and even a new job offer…say goodbye to life as you know it!!” . Ok, that might be a big coincidence but, every time for the last four months, I happen to read my horoscope in some women’s magazine, it’s like reading what is happening in my life lately…new experiences, brand new faces, unknown places…

So, stop no2 on my way to Australia was DOHA, the capital of Qatar at the United Emirates. Unfortunately, I had time only to get off the plane and get on the next one. What I caught with the side of my eye was a vast area with thousands of airplanes and buildings that looked like Arabic palaces. The airport from the inside was like it had been cleaned with bleach, from the non existed decoration to the colors used for the walls and the furniture (black and white purity). And the surprise of the night was that the airport officer, who checked if I was standing at the right queue, smiled and welcomed me in Greek when he saw my Greek passport! You think he knew how to welcome people in every language? Interesting question…

…I took a deep breath and got on the Boeing 767 that would get me to Melbourne…13 hours of flight sited on an uncomfortable airplane sit…Thankfully, (Technology Almighty!) at the back of the front sit, was  my personal screen with hundreds of movies, TV show’s episodes and games!!

Alice in Wonderland, Date Night, The Last Song(I wouldn’t pay to watch Miley Cyrus playing the bad girl) and some Simpsons and FRIENDS, 3 or 4 hours of painful sleep and two chicken meals(one of them had “Greek salad”- the crapiest Greek salad I ever had!!!) later I was in Melbourne!!!

I was there for only a full day and I can already understand why Greeks love it so much. It is a pretty unique city. Cool, alternative, youngish, fashionable, cozy, beautiful, green, super duper do!! From the posh suburbs with the breathtaking houses and gardens, the small creeks that flow around the city, the huge botanical park with all those people running around it as if they are the guards of its green carpets and giant trees, to the Brunswick street and all its cozy cafes   with the big front windows and the vintage shops that display their treasures to interesting people of all ages and hair colors…So many attractive people! Like a friend says, my eyes were almost hurting! Young girls and boys with a great sense of the fashion that takes birth on the streets, not on any catwalk, that flirts with the international trends and the unique personal style at the same time…An excellent combination of New York glamour, European casualty and Australian carefreeness. They were everywhere on Brunswick street! But, I might have gotten a little bit carried away…

I can’t really tell what Melbourne is like. A day is not enough time, not just to get to know Melbourne, but not even a little village somewhere in Greece that looks almost forgotten from God. What I know about Melbourne for sure, is that I already have a favorite place there, or two to be honest. The first is Peg’s house. Peg is one of the most beautiful people I know, a true superstar, who took care of me as long as I was there and hosted me at her beautiful house. A nice one-level house with wooden floors and high ceilings, decorated with art pieces and memoires of a life time. A warm and friendly house… The second place is “apte” (a place to eat). A cool “place to eat” ,have coffee or tea, tasty cute cupcakes, huge omelets and fresh salads. What I really loved about “apte”, except the food, was the modern simplicity of the place, the big wooden tables that bring people closer-it’s not that bad eating next to a stranger, especially if it’s an Australian, they are pretty polite and careful-, the lightning that made the cupcakes look super delicious under their glass “shields” and the smiling and friendly staff.

Tip: only for those who love salmon! Have the scrambled eggs with salmon, feta, tomato and parsley…a joy!! 

So, if you ask me about a top destination in Australia, oh yes, I will definitely answer MELBOURNE!!