A food journey through Hobart…

Seven Mile Beach. Ocean wave sounds = Instant baby sleep.

Another Christmas in Tasmania, this time to Hobart. I’m simply going to talk food.

Seafood at Mures Lower Deck. Gelato at Van Demons Land Creamery. Bloody Mary at Tricycle Cafe. Donuts at Lady Hester. Craft cider from Salamanca Fresh. Toes barefoot on the grass.  A birthday. Perfection.

 

Ubud, Bali, Indonesia

I’ve never seen so many sunrises as I have in this country.  I used to stay up partying in Kuta until 5am, now I wake at the time because my jetlagged babies are raring to go at dawn. It’s fair to say traveling with our 2.5yr and 7 month girls has been a beautiful yet exhausting week so far.

7 years ago fell in love with Ubud after a daytrip here. I’ve always hankered to come back to do a silversmith workshop, check out vegan cafes, browse for Balinese cushions, be almost be convinced I don’t hate yoga….

Obviously this is all still on the wish list as my babies allowed me to do non of this.

Instead we experienced travel from a toddlers agenda; lots of time in the pool and eating our own weight in tropical fruit. They have life sussed. Every other picture in my camera roll is us posing with coconut juice or smoothies. We also discovered the joy of acai bowls, which we ate Udud style in a plush cushioned swing.

My top tips for Ubud with kids under two…..

1) Avoid the famous monkey forest, and 1/2 km radius of monkey forest Rd. Wild monkey vs wild toddler….i’m not sure who my money would be on.

2) Scooter traffic and South East Asian pavements (or lack of.) Negotiating the manic roads with my two little ones scared the s#!t out of me. The only time we actually got to use our double pram was for our 5am walks to the local fruit market when the streets were less crowded. During the daytime our baby hiking carriers were a travel essential. It felt much safer and more nimble negotiating the narrow streets. Plus they slept happily cocooned on us as we browsed the busy flee markets and snuck in cheeky Bintangs.

3) Discover all of the tiny ramshackle warongs and the more quiet places to grab an evening meal where kids will be welcomed with open arms. Literally, a team of nice Indonesian women were happy to grab our baby from my lap and entertain her in a rice field whilst I ate. You know what they say; It takes a village.

 

4) I’m going to pretend I loved adopting a “if you can’t beat them join” attitude of being woken by babies louder than roosters for a three hour walk before breakfast. We experiencing the beauty of silent rice fields at sunrise, the traditionalists of the fruit market, and saw Ubud from a rarer perceptive….Who am I kidding, I value sleep! Although one of the nicest benefits of such an early start was being in bed by 7pm which i secretly loved. What a difference 7 years makes :)

Where we ate….

Welcome to The Seeds of Life

http://cafepomegranate.org/

https://acaiqueenbar.com/welcome

Where we stayed….

http://bucuviewubudbali.com/

 

New Year’s Eve, Phillip Island…

After a sorcher of a Christmas Day in Melbourne (36c!) we took off in search of sea-breeze for a mini-break on Phillip Island. Here are our top 5 discoveries… (without even a mention of its famous tourist hotspot; the Penguin Parade)

1) Orange, almond & ricotta gelato from Pino’s Trattoria, Cowes
2) Old fashioned milkshakes in the retro Silverleaves General Store & Cafe
3) Cape Woolamai Pinnacles walk
4) Tasty Greek food at The Goat in the Boat 
5) Discovering how relaxing life is when you holiday with extended family. Namely having grandma, aunties, uncles & cousins on tap to entertain your toddler! It was one of our tamer New Year’s Eves (in bed by the stroke of midnight) but just as well with baby #2 due any day now…

 

Lake Baikal, Russia

 

Everyone’s favorite Baikal fact; it contains 1/5 of the world’s water. It’s so deep and huge it’s hard to remember it’s a lake, it seems more of a sea.

As an avid ‘Risk’ board game fan, I was thrilled that the Trans Siberian stop for Baikal is Irkutsk, a 75 mins marshutka to the town Listvyanka. It’s a Russian version of Cleethorpes, mixed with Greek countryside and part ski village. Shingle beaches, pine forests and alpine ski lodge guesthouses.

The place is famous for ‘omul;’ smoked fish native only to Baikal. After 4 days on train you are craving some omega oils! Plus another local speciality, pancake caviar for only 300 rb. When in Russia…

Where we stayed; Baikal Chalet – 62 euros for a double room and tasty breakfast. Located 10 mins up the hill with views of lake from the balcony.

Pics of the Week; Singapore Botantical Gardens

Halia has to be the nicest of our afternoon tea locations, nestled deep into Singapore Botanical Gardens.  Their savory/sweet sets are $28++ including their sign ‘Halia’ Infusion drink (clue; Halia means ‘Ginger’ in Malay.) It’s also next door to the beautiful National Orchid Garden (entry $5 SGD) voted Singapore’s #1 attraction on Trip Advisor.