The St. Valentines Day of Sarah

Woke up this morning by a text from my Mom telling me Happy Valentines Day.  I have to remind you that it was Saturday, 2/13, for her when she sent it (but Sunday, 2/14 for me).  It was so sweet and thoughful and I couldn't ask for a better Valentine this year.  :)  Love you, Mom! 

I had an amazing time at Ruth's family vineyard on Saturday.  Her families house is actually right in the middle of the winery.  Her family was so welcoming and the family dinner was unreal - with food and drinks overflowing.  The food consisted of biscuits (crackers) and dip and smoked salmon and mayo on bread to start, followed by lamb shanks, fresh zuchinni and squash from her Mom's garden, and potatoes for dinner.  After dinner we had the most amazing cheese and bread, followed my birthday cake for Ruth's Dad and brother, and last but not least, chocolates.  The drinks were never ending as well.  Her family has a wine cellar consisting of about 2000-3000 bottles of alcohol.  We started out with two bottle of Champagne, followed by 3 different bottles of red wine from the family vineyard (one of the bottles from 1980 - Ruth's birth year), a bottle of port with dessert, and finally a bottle of Cognac from 1976.  I couldn't believe the flow of drinks.   This is the part of traveling that I love the most -being submersed in the culture, listening to the family tell stories of how they acquired the 250 acres of land almost 30 years ago, the winemaking process, and stories of everyday life in Australia.  I couldn't have been more happy and have felt more comfortable - enjoying a nice home cooked family dinner halfway around the world.  Her family is some of the nicest people I have ever met.  To top it off, I even got to see my first Kangaroos hopping around right in her backyard!

Valentines Day I spent the day at the St. Kilda Festival, which included live bands, tents for shopping, and food vendors from every country imaginable.  I must admit hanging out at a festival by myself wasn't the most exciting, especially given it was Valentine's Day; but I did enjoy relaxing by the beach and getting my first sunburn of the trip!  The sun actually drained me and I came home and took a 3 hour nap - I'll take the sleep when I can get it, but I think I keep screwing up my sleep schedule.  
A few things I realized today:
1)  Festivals are not fun alone and I probably should have just visited St. Kilda on a normal day to really experience the town.  It was far too overwhelming with the festival going on.
2)  Dry Festivals are not that exciting either (you could only drink in designated areas, which were basically the restaurants and bars).
3)  There are a lot of Jersey Shore type people here.  I heard they were looking for a warmer climate to film in, maybe they will consider Australia...?
4)  My backpack is not going to cut for festivals and trips to the beach - it's too darn hot on my back.
5)  I really miss my trendy clothes.  Solid color pants and shirts everyday are BORING!!! 

Ruth came home and we both looked at each other and said we were in dire need of a healthy meal of vegatables.  It couldn't have been more perfect that the huge zuchinni I brought her from my wine tour was sitting right in front of us.  We ended up making zuchinni soup, which was quite delicious.  We sat and chatted while drinking tea, and Ruth gave me some pointers for my trip to the Great Barrier Reef area.  I'm a little bummed that it's their rainy season, but hoping things hold out for me to get out to scuba dive.  I booked a flight for Wednesday - 2 more days left in Melbourne for me!  I'm actually looking forward to moving on to my next destination.  I'm ready for some activity and action! 

Want to wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day from across the globe and a very Happy Birthday to my best friend, George, back home!!  Mwa!