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Dinner with Greeks

Sadly not with our favorite Greeks in Seattle, but we still chose Greek street for our final dinner in Melbourne J  I think when I was here last there was more of a Greek Town, but similar to Little Italy in Manhattan, the Greek area in Melbourne seems to have shrunk due to an increasing Chinatown next door.  Nonetheless, we found a cute Taverna and popped in for dinner.

First we shared their trio of spreads, two which were nothing like I’d had before:  and eggplant dip that was chunking with onions and one called Tarama, a red caviar dip –both were good and new so that was fun.  The third was tzatziki, always a fave 🙂

Next we got a Saganakii which did not come flaming to the table but was still delicious as fried cheese always is.

For entrees, BK got lamb and I got grilled calamari, both served with Greek potatoes and a small salad.

Overall, pretty delish and fitting way to end our stay in town.

PS:  this red Greek wine we shared was nice to, very light and fruity:

Today we went biking…

with Jamie Moyer!  yes, All Star pitcher, former Mariner, Jamie Moyer – how weird is that?  as you know, we love doing bike tours when we travel, so in Melbourne we signed up for a tour with Freddy’s Bike Tour.  We met up in federation Square, and as we looked for our guide, I noticed a large family also looking for a bike tour – I’ll admit, I was a little bummed at first  when I realized this family would be on our tour because they were a big group with a couple young kids I figured may slow us down or be difficult to wrangle.  As we all gathered up I looked at the dad and thought he looked really familiar, but the family said they were from California so I didn’t think about it much.  Looking at the mom and all the girls, they were decked out in LuLuLemon and colorful nikes so I knew that had $$$, and moved on.

As the ride commenced, BK started chatting with the mom though and she mentioned they used to live in Magnolia.  And the kids had lots of Notre Dame gear.  And there were a lot of kids. And the dad was retired.  And everyone was really fit.  Slowly my brain started to piece things.  At one point I started biking with the mom and all was confirmed once the Moyer Foundation was mentioned.   They had been up at Hayman Island first – a spot I noticed in a travel mag YEARS ago and have dreamed about since, and now were in Melbourne for a few before the kids needed to get back to school.

So random!  so crazy!

 

Great Ocean Road

We went out to the Great Ocean Road yesterday and despite some wind and rain saw some fantastic views of the water, Bells Beach, Twelve Apostles, a couple unconscious Koalas and even a cool temperate rain forest.

More photos are posted over to our Down Under Gallery http://thebriankdotnet.smugmug.com/BPKphoto/Travel/Land-down-under

Happy New Years!

It’s early morning in the US but here in Melbourne we’re only 4 short hours away from 2014!  We’re relaxing in our little studio apartment rental with some cheese and beer while we upload photos from the last couple days up in Cairns.  You can see our pictures so far over on our photo site http://thebriankdotnet.smugmug.com/BPKphoto/Travel/Land-down-under and we’ll be adding more to that gallery as we go along.

So happy new years!

Wow

We’re only three days in and it already feels like a week and we could come home feeling like we accomplished so much. But we still have a month to go! Lots more photos and pics in a couple days when we get a strong internet connection, promise!

Where in the world are BK and KMJ?

The short answer?  We’re headed to the deep south for a few weeks in Australia and New Zealand!  Looking forward to some extended time to explore and enjoy another round of summer weather.  We’ll be blogging of course and check back here for more info starting next weekend when we arrive in sunny Cairns, Australia for a few days of exploring the Great Barrier Reef.  Where else are we going?  Here’s a good overview and check back for updates, we can’t wait to get going!