amazingly, i was down the coast two more times in january which is more trips down in january than the entire 3 years i've lived in melbourne!!
the first weekend, i headed down with some girlfriends for the day for a hike up the hill (arthur's seat) which allowed for some fabulous views of the coast and a rewarding swim/frolic in the beach after!! i'm not sure which i enjoyed more ;D
the weekend after, i headed down with shannon for a friend's birthday. they'd planned a horseback riding winery tour which was a novel idea except for the minor accident! my old horse would do nothing but trot despite all my prodding while everyone else was cantering. a friend's horse (a new young male horse) decided to overtake and suddenly my horse was off at a speedy canter, forcing the young horse into the bushes and my friend fell off!! ... as soon as he'd blocked the young horse from passing, my horse slowed down to a trot!! obviously, there was a bit of competition between them!! we spent the evening barbequing, chatting and relaxing. sunday, we saw some koalas, had a picnic and a relaxing afternoon under the shade of a tree!!
otherwise, i've been in and around melbourne city, having picnics, attending wine tastings, birthdays, seeing movies under the stars, attending the pride parade and my local st kilda festival to name a couple of fun activities!! in addition to the fun bits, i've been looking for a house/apartment/townhouse to purchase... it's been a tedious process (as parameters have changed a couple of times) but today, i successfully purchased a two bedroom townhouse/apartment in seddon, vic!! i'm most excited about the prospect of owning a place in australia and truly settling here! that said, i need to get my permanent resident visa progressed so i can qualify for their first home buyers grant...
hugs and hope everyone's having a great new year!
s
