Melbourne & The Gillon Farm

On Friday morning we drove back to Melbourne airport and dropped off our rental car and then were picked up by my Aussie friend Amanda who was so kind to invite us to stay with her at her house for a few days while we were in Melbourne.  Amanda and I met a few years ago in NYC after she responded to my craigslist post looking for softball players for my co-ed softball team.  She said she had never played softball before but that she played amateur field hockey in Australia.  So like all good softball team managers would do, I Googled her and found out that she had played for Team Australia and then immediately welcomed her to the team.  Best free agent pickup ever!  Amanda can hit the ball a country mile.

On Friday, we hung out with Amanda during the afternoon.  That night we went downtown to meet up with our good friends Seajin and Ben who randomly were visiting Australia at the same time as us.  We had a great night in the city thanks to some good recs from Amanda.  Even though we didn't spend a ton of time in Melbourne, we both really liked the feel and vibe we got while we were there.  We were not surprised when Amanda proudly informed us that Melbourne topped the Economist's most livable cities rankings this year.  Although as a Canadian I was proud to point out that 3 of the top 5 cities in the rankings were in Canada.  Woot woot!!!

Sharon, Seajin, Ben & me drinking it up at a riverside bar in Melbourne.

On Saturday we slept in and relaxed for most of the afternoon before Amanda took us to a pre-season Australia Rules Football game.  I made the unfortunate mistake of saying "Isn't it kind of like rugby?" to Amanda to which she curtly replied "No. Not really."  So a note to future travelers to Australia...Footy (as the Aussies call it) is not like rugby;)  We had a great time watching the game while downing some beers and eating some meat pies.  Speaking of the meat pies, one thing I definitely didn't like about Australia was that frequently they charge you extra for condiments.  A small packet of ketchup is like 50 cents or something, and with my ketchup habit that can add up to some serious dough.  I mean seriously, every person in this world has the right to free condiments.  Shame on you Australia!  That alone should have taken Melbourne off the top of the most livable cities rankings.

Amanda & me drinking some beer at a footy game.

Looks like rugby to me;)

I actually remember watching some footy games on TV in Canada when I was a kid which I did remember enjoying quite a bit.  However, I really only clearly remembered one thing about the games from back then and that was what the referees do when they score...

"Don't move, these are loaded."

...they run to the goal line and pretend to pull out two make-believe guns and point them forward.  This is so awesome that I had to do this at random times throughout out trip in Australia.  Sharon did not approve.

On Sunday, the three of us got up early and drove to Amanda's family's cattle farm about 2 hours north of the city to visit and stay the night.  Amanda's parents and her sister's family were also up for the long weekend (it was Labour Day on Monday) so it was great to meet and get to know them.  First off, the farm was amazing.  I think it was something like 1200 acres and had around 300 cattle, and their farm house was soooo nice.  Huge props to Amanda's mom for her gardening and landscaping expertise.  And secondly, the Gillon family knows how to have a good time.  We ate and drank like champs while we were there.  We had such a great time.

The Gillon farm.

The farmhouse.

On Sunday afternoon we had a delicious BBQ enjoying some Gillon raised beef, and copious amounts of Australian beer & wine.  Speaking of wine, the most amazing feature of the farm (according to Sharon) was this:

"I wonder what this shipping container is doing embedded into this hill?"

Sharon: "Jackpot!!!"

Amanda's dad had the ingenuity to take an old shipping container, bury it in a hill, and convert it into a wine cellar.  Awesome.

They were some great toys at the farm to play with too.  Amanda's dad has this gas-powered remote control car that had some serious power.  When I had my turn to play with it I actually rolled and flipped it into a fence to luckily have it bounce back on to its wheels and zip off again.  It almost looked planned.  Almost.  I have notified Sharon that I want this as a gift later in life when we have a big backyard to play with it in.

Amanda's dad showing her the ropes.

Amanda taking it for a spin.

They also had a 4-wheel ATV that Amanda showed me how to ride.  After a quick solo ride around the farm, Sharon hopped on nervously and we went for a spin.  I still have nail mark scars to prove it...

Sharon pretending to drive the ATV.

Amanda's brother-in-law Ben showed me around a lot of the farm while I was there (thank you Ben!) including teaching me the how to catch yabbies, a type of freshwater crustacean that resembles a small lobster.  He would throw these traps with slightly opened cans of cat food as the bait into the farm's dams (man-made ponds used to provide water for the cattle to drink).  After leaving the traps overnight, he'd pull them in the next day, and voila, if we were lucky there would be several yabbies in each trap.  Here are some pictures of my yabby catching adventure:

A successful yabby catch!  Ben with Ellie & Hamish, Amanda's adorable niece & nephew.

Pirate Yabby: "Aaargh!  Don't come any closer or I'll get ye with me big claw!"

Even though we didn't catch enough yabbies for all of us to have a yabby feast, we took 4 of the largest we caught so that Sharon and I could taste the local delicacy.  But before we could eat them, we had to cook them.  Take a look:

Ted: "Zut alors!  I have missed one."

"Aaargh!  At least give me the decency of walking the plank."

"Petey, how's the water in there?"

Voila!  Cooked yabby.

What did one yabby head say to the other?

The yabbies were quite delicious.  Not surprisingly they tasted a lot like lobster.

We also met three of Amanda's nieces and nephews while at the farm.  They were so damn cute we wanted to take them home with us.  I introduced Ellie and Hamish above, and there also was baby Oliver...

Sharon with baby Oliver and baby fever.

I also can't forget about Roxy and Hobart, the ever so friendly dogs who were also nice enough to escort Sharon and me on a walk around the farm.

Roxy and Hobart (aka Hobie) taking a break.

Thanks again to the Gillon family for being such great hosts.  We had a fabulous time and definitely hope that we can make it back sometime for another visit.  Pilar, if you are reading this right now, you totally missed out on an amazing time.

That's it for now.  Next stop...Sydney.