Christmas in Brisbane.

My lovely Scottish house mates wanted to have a typical Australian Christmas, which involved an Australian Christmas tree. They decided they wanted to make, or drink, their Christmas tree with green VB cans, or really, any can that was green. Possibly some red ones and the shown blue ones to look like decorations. We brewed over endless ideas and possibilities of how to build it, what shape and 3D form it could take, white wine angels on top, tinsel and lights delicately draped around it, whether or not to use tape or just balance them one on top of the other and hope the breeze of the AC wouldn't blow them over. I contributed towards my free rent with beers, with a deeper understanding that this was part of their thirst-quenching Christmas spirit and the start of an intoxicating Australian tradition. I wouldn't get to see the final product of this Very Bogan Christmas Tree, nor would I be around to finish the rest of the chocolates in my advent calendar, but I am sure it came fully into a boozy fruition. 

What I Miss #9

PBR's at the Press Room.

Just Kidding

Ok, well maybe a little miss.

miss it's company.

Third Weekend: Third Great Southern Roadtrip

 I don’t know if I would call it a routine, but for the third weekend in a row, we have spent a lazy Saturday enjoying the backyard sun, reading, cleaning, and nursing a Rocky Gully Pub’s ginormous-burger-calorie-ridden lean-over: there’s nothing lean about it. For the third weekend in a row, Sunday, the day of rest, has been our day of action. This Sunday we decided to be a bit more touristy and visit the Valley of the Giants outside of Walpole along the coast of the Southern Ocean. We drove to Denmark for our obligatory $100 shopping trip – we’ve almost come to terms with the fact that we just can’t get away with spending any less – and then on further another 50 kilometers or so to the Valley of the Giants Road which winds through the Walpole-Nornalup National Park. According to the books, Valley of the Giants is Western Australia’s most visited spot. Its 600m tree-top walk is multi-award-winning: of course it is.

We were cautiously advised to be prepared with appropriate hiking gear (sneakers: check. Water bottle: check. Sunscreen: check. Australian pie as a snack: check) and to allow 40-60 minutes for the walk.
We were done in 10, maybe15 minutes and could have worn thongs (aka flip flops). 

Looking down wasn't bad. It was the shaking that made me hold on.

In less than an hour, we even walked the Ancient Empire Boardwalk, a boardwalk to protect the fragile wildlife through the karri and tingle tree forest, as well as, stopped to eat our Australian pie snacks on a bench, visited the gift shop, rest rooms, and had a smoke-o. So much for the warnings and so much for the $12.50 we forked over for our less-than physical less-than-anticipated-full afternoon.

Reached the highest point!

We followed the signs to the tree-top walk and up we went. A slow incline on a slightly-shaking metal pathway led us up to the highest point of 40 meters above the 400 year old trees in the forest. The heights weren’t as scary as I thought; it was really just the swaying and bouncing of the walkway that was a bit nerve-wrecking. There were posted signs warning of maximum capacity of people on the walkway, which probably means that during high-season it can be quite busy, therefore taking 40 minutes not 10. There were only 3 elderly people in front of us. 

looking down 40 meters.

The weather was cloudless and warm but the canopy of the tall trees kept us cool. We probably took more pictures than number of minutes spent on the walk – actually that probably is a definitely – and so we wandered on to the Ancient Empire Walk, the walk below the tree-top walk. 

see the people?

From the base of the eucalyptus forest, we could see the hollowed out red tingle trees. These tremendous trees can grow up to 75m high and 20m in girth. The hollowness is caused by fire, fungal diseases, and attacking insects. The karri trees are the tallest tree species in Western Australia. They can be identified from their slim posture, a smooth shedding bark, and contrasting surface colors on the different sides of the leaves.

Don’t get me wrong, I am glad we went. It felt accomplished, almost, to cross off one of the remote region’s hot spots. I think we were anticipating more of an intense hike, more impressive views, more feelings of anxiety over the tree-top heights, but what we got were more shots of trees than we’ll ever need to look at again and more than anyone will ever be interested in looking at – “you had to be there!” So yeah, you can’t describe the heights, the pictures don’t capture it, so you will just have to go for yourself and cross it off your Western Australia sight-seeing check list.

What made the day of driving worthwhile was, not only this picture, but a stop at Peaceful Bay. .

We decided that despite the tourist spots, the places we really appreciate are the places we’ve been recommended to by locals. Peaceful Bay wasn’t exactly that peaceful, the wind was quite rambunctious as it was caught in the bay, but sitting on the sifted-soft floury sand that would make any baker want to dig his hands in and start making bread out of it, was receptive enough for us. We commented on how spoiled we actually were being able to see the ocean once a week on our day off. It may take about an hour to get there, but it’s always appreciated and can always be broken up with a stop to a local brewery with a view.

The Denmark Brewery – I’m not sure if it’s actually a brewery – has spectacular views over looking neighboring farms and the blue ocean breaking up the contrast between the rolling-green fields and the sun-setting sky. Sitting there, absorbing the view, imagining what life would be like there, planning our post-vintage self-indulgences, and sipping on a cold brewed beer: now That, was peaceful. 

And yes, I do have a ton more pictures of trees, more so than anyone will ever want to see or are worth framing for myself to see again, but just serve as a reminder of the futile attempt to capture the feeling felt by the height of the trees and the forest surrounding us. You will just have to go see it yourself. 

A Day in Fremantle

Upon first impression, Australia is very westernized, well, with funny accents and driving on the other side of the road.   It reminds me a lot of California: downtown Claremont reminds me of Santa Clara, the suburbs around Claremont remind me of a wealthy Brady Bunch neighborhood with funky modern architecture, and Fremantle reminds me of San Diego.  I took the train to Fremantle and think I must’ve walked around every corner, every block at least twice. 

The city was quiet in the morning and I sat by the water for a bit reading my book. Fremantle has a lot of restaurants and cafes to sit outside at, secondhand book stores, Aborigine art galleries, seafood restaurants along the marina, a park with it’s own Eye, a Target, and the Round House which is the oldest building in Western Australia which used to be a 8-celled prsion even though Western Australia was a convict-free state. Seven hours is definitely enough time to spend there by yourself in a day. 

It was windy.

Downtown

 

 good luck stones

boomerangs

 Although I wasn’t bored, it was a little bit boring, or lonely, spending the day wandering alone without anyone to share it with or talk to about. Luckily, JD came to meet me and brought me to Little Creatures Brewery where they make everything on site and we ate KANGAROO! It came on skewers, perfectly medium rare with a side of a tomato salsa that tasted a bit too much like marinara sauce that wasn’t the right match for the gaminess of the kangaroo. The meat was good though, tasting a bit like lamb. The beer was good too.

 Typical, apparently, of WA, the service wasn't stellar, so instead of waiting to order round 2 and some pizza, we left to check out the Mussel Bar for some seafood and local wine. Good night.

 'Roo!

I have noticed, and liked, that in Australia, they are very proud of serving their own produce and products, displaying where they come from. The majority of the beers, even in an Irish pub, are Australian; I think all of the wines I have seen have been Australian. And for good reason – this shit’s good. Like Dad said, it’s probably an expensive country because they have a lot of imported goods, and maybe for the same reason, instead of exporting, they have a lot of Australian products to offer.

UNISG Internships

"you can develop taste, but passion is certainly a genetic thing, like a good ear for music." Judith Jones

Not only have I loved my experience during my stage so far, I love being in Colorno with my friends/other students who are doing their own independent studies and get to learn what they are experiencing. 

Arina for example, is studying the "obscure" left-over/less popular meats like brain, liver, tripe, and pork skin for example. Not only has she been cooking and eating with nonnas and Italians all over the boot, she made a delicious chicken liver pate the other day. (liver is apparently, according to Massimo Bottura, very good for the health of women). and yes, it was very good. 

 Brittany is exploring birra artigianale -  artisinal Italian breweries and brought over a P.i.L.S beer from Pausa Cafe in Torino. I believe it is a brewery inside a jail where prisoners can learn a course on brewing beer. Not only is it a good cause, it's full of floral hops and bright gold in colour. deliciously sinful.

Poppi also went with Brittany to Piemonte to discover the legal world of Robiola di Roccaverano. She brought back cheese that was made 4 days earlier (four days!) as well as an aged Robiola. The fresh cheese was moist and melted in your mouth, not too sticky like some goat cheeses. The mature cheese was full of flavour and relentlessly irresistible to eat. 

"I am not a glutton - I am an explorer of food"
— Erma Bombeck

A Multinational Thanksgiving in Colorno, Italy

196 photos. 100 italians. 37 fist pumps. 30 alma kids. 26 unisg students. 21 drinks spilled. 16 different countries. 9 Nh-ers. 7 hours of dancing on tables. 6 creepers. 5 tutors. 4 tables full of food. 3 turkeys. 3 bottles of Prosecco. 2 professors. 2 "bomb-diggity" dj's. 1 secret ingredient. 1 crowd surfer. 1 allergic reaction. 1 american holiday. 1 tiny town pub in italy. unlimited tear-inducing laughs.


For all the Americans who felt homesick, I think this holiday in Italy really lived up to some serious expectations and surpassed any judgements foreigners have about what Thanksgiving is all about. Usually, you eat so much that you can only slouch on the couch and daze at the football on the TV. However, this year, after gorging on delicious recreations of everyone's family's favourites, the turkey-fest was filled with dancing on wooden picnic tables to infamous pop music on repeat. What a way to burn off all those calories! I had a blast. 


I'm not sure if I can include any photographs in this post or if they are too incriminating. There are fantastic videos on youtube though, if you can find them...

paper plates and plastic utensils.

Salone del Gusto

As we walked into the great halls of Salone del Gusto, the world's largest food fair, I was beyond overwhelmed. There were hundreds of booths and stalls offering information and samples of their products. It isn't only about tasting food, it is about learning about the products, but of course, in a food fair, there are people who grab samples without looking at the name, where it's from or barely recognizing what it tastes like before they stuff another sample into their mouth. Some of the booths have abundance of samples, some require a payment or donation, some have really nice packaging and marketing campaigns that they hardly seem small scale or artisinal, some are really enthusiastic to talk about their products, some use unique techniques like half dressed women in aprons to attract patrons, while others lure you in to buy their products so that they can fund their way home. It was fantastic to taste these products from all over the world with people who wanted to share, until there was the pressure to buy. Then it lost the point of the fair.

Just one of many Italian cheeses.

Calabrian Chili Peppers. Beautiful.

Tuscan Beans. Made friends with them and their minestrone bean cart. Delicious. 

Women weaving Tomatoes.

 The largest of the rooms was occupied and sorted by different regions of Italy. Cheese, Emilia-Romagna cured meats, Tuscan olive oil, Basilicata cured meats, Piemontese cheese, Sardinian cheese, Trentino wine, balsamic vinegars, artinsal beers, Val d'Aosta cheese, grappa, Friuli wine, chocolates, preservatives, bread, Puglia olives, Lazio cured meat, Sicilian cannolis, cheese, Campagnia olive oil, bread, Tuscan wine, artisinal beer, Calabrian spices, cheese, cured meat, cheese (notice a common Italian theme?) let alone a ton of Slow Food Presidium products - red celery, turnips, onion, peppers, lentils, beans, biscuits, fish, fruits, and cheeses and cured meats of course. 

Dried Goat Jerky.

Beautiful Chocolates.

Spicy Cheese.

Red Aubergine.

Cannoli the size of his foot. and he ate it all. 

We wandered through, wide-eyed. We were unsure of the etiquette - could we just taste and sample our hearts out without having to buy anything? We couldn't walk more than 2 steps without having more overloaded plates of samples in front of us. A new pant-size amount of cheese samples and a rice-based beer later, we made it into the international hall - my favourite part. Here were booths with most, but not exclusively, international presidia products from all over the world. Honeys, Spanish cured meats, Latvian bread, Bulgarian beans, Scottish haggis, French foie gras, Norwegian dried cod, German cured meats and cheese, Polish sausages and knishes, American craft beers, Mexican mescal, French ground-cured-multi-aged cheeses, Tibetan Yak wool and cheese, Chilean peppers, Peruvian potatoes, Latvian tree sap beverages, a Korean restaurant, Swiss cheeses that were shaved like truffles, Spanish seaweed, Austrian pit cabbage, Afghanistan raisins, rums from around the world, UK beers, Welsh salt, German beers, Macedonian dried figs and pickled cabbage, Central American coffees, Dutch oysters, lobsters, and cheese, Czech beers, and of course Irish raw milk cheese and a stall from Board Bia. 

Tibetan Yak Cheese. Way Fattier Than Cow's. too cold for an internship.

Scrumptious Latvian Bread, with leaves...

The Mexican Stand.

American Craft Beer. Way to represent, America. Hello, NH!

Japanese Oysters.

Dutch Oysters.

Spicy Mexican Insects. we tried to go back for more...

I could probably go on and on and on but it would be impossible to taste everything. It wasn't just about the tasting the different products, it was about talking to the producers and asking them questions. Some of them were asleep at the stalls, some look bored, but most of them were enthusiastic to talk about their products. They had a lot of pride. They had a lot invested in their products - to most of them, this was their livelihood. They had all traveled a long way to be here, they should show off what they have to offer.

Waldo and Juan from Chile. 

The international pavilion was by far my favourite.