Europe Trip

In April this year, Faye joined her school mates ranging from Year 9 to Year 11 for a Europe history themed tour. It’s the first time that she’s touring without families.

Below is the extract from her school newsletter 🙂

An itinerary packed with a lifetime of experiences that our students will remember and treasure forever.

Our journey started in London with visits to the Tower of London, Tower Bridge and a relaxing Thames cruise. All of the students were suitably impressed with our first glimpse of Big Ben. The London Dungeons provided a snapshot of medieval London history and was a very educational and entertaining stop. Madame Tussauds was so much fun having ‘selfies’ with our favourite famous people. The Lion King was our ‘West End’ theatre experience and the performance was extraordinary. We were able to relate to all the ‘Brexit’ jokes and added SIMBAlism throughout.

The Warner Bro’s Harry Potter Studio Tour was a personal highlight to all. It was incredible to walk around such detailed and well-lit sets, to learn about the costumes and animatronic creatures and to taste Butterbeer for the first time. Many of the girls bought their favourite character’s wand as a lasting souvenir.

The Eurostar carried us to France in the ‘Chunnel’ and our first glimpse of the illuminated Eiffel Tower at night took our breath away. The Palace of Versailles was extraordinary – We were blown away by the intricate artworks and the Hall of Mirrors. It was like we had stepped into the 18th century. Shopping in Paris was an exciting time for us all. There were a variety of stores ranging from well-known department shops like H&M to little French boutiques. On our second morning in France we climbed the Eiffel Tower, and were rewarded for our patience in the queues with a spectacular view of Paris. Later, we visited L’Arc de Triomphe and then had a quick look around the Louvre, stopping by the Mona Lisa of course!

We spent the next three days in Arras, visiting World War One battlefields, memorials and Commonwealth War Cemeteries. Our excellent tour guide Jon, taught us so much about the Great War; one of the facts being the youngest Australian soldier was only 14! This will be a valuable experience as we continue our study of senior history. Annabel Baldwinson, Faye Ma and Zoe Scobie had the privilege of taking part in the Menin Gate Last Post Service laying a wreath on behalf of our school. As we left France for our onward journey to Berlin, we looked back with some pride on our attempts to speak French.

On Anzac Day, we were fortunate enough to be invited to the Australian Ambassador’s residence in Berlin for breakfast, and then lay a wreath on behalf of the Youth of Australia at an official Anzac Day service, an incredibly unique experience for not only Bethany Cross and Ashleigh Rogers who represented the school but all who attended this special service so far from Australia.

Berlin offers a unique historical perspective. Most intriguing were the memorials to the Holocaust and the Cold War ‘wall’ remnants. The Jewish Memorial in the heart of Berlin was a sobering reminder of the atrocities suffered. The remaining pieces of the Berlin Wall were truly mesmerising and reminded us of what life was like in the divided city. The East Side Gallery (street art on portions of the Berlin Wall) was an amazing experience and showed the group how Berliners expressed their frustrations creatively about political divisions.

Our visit to Nuremberg was magical. We stayed in the Kaiserburg town castle and spent our days exploring the medieval town and shopping in this quaint location.

Despite only spending a few hours in Munich, we discovered the majesty of the city. Our final day was spent at Dachau and linked our experience at the Jewish Memorial in Berlin to the realities of a concentration camp.

While the focus of the trip was History and a chance to practice our French, we did manage to positively support the economy of the EU with our expert ability to shop!

The trip has left us with a lifetime of memories and an understanding of historical complexities that have shaped Europe.

Tasmania here we come

  There is so much to say about Tasmania: naturally beautiful beaches, naturally grown fruits and veggies and naturally friendly animals… The list is long, my words stuck here, naturally.

  Launceston is a cosy city, well the smallest city I’ve ever visited. Its charm lies with its cosiness. Their museum is definitely worth a trip. All of us enjoyed it surprisingly as most of the times I would be the one found it boring and dull -)

  Mt Wellington in Hobart has a stunning view! It was a long drive, in fact it wasn’t that far from Hobart. But there was simply not much to see except forest, forest and forest. Alex bored to death, and we had to try so hard to entertain him.

  Wineglass bay is also a tourist spot, and I recommended the flight tour if you can. We didn’t as half of the family were freaked out:-)

 Bay of Fire, my favourite day that was. Amazing view and sea lines!

Port Arthur – yes, a must visit place an hour drive from Hobart.

Air walk was our highlight of the trip. Isn’t it stunning?

 

Launceston Gorge – fun time with Faye.

Hobart gallery  
 The best café ever in Launceston. Totally enjoyed it!!

Days of my life

Spring is here without a hesitation. It brought back my childhood memory: gentle touch of breeze on my skin, smell of flowers slows down my step on the street, blue sky with soft clouds lazily wandering, they just don’t want to go to sleep and our days are so much longer…

The jacaranda tree is blossoming on time. I’ve tried to take photos of them every year, and I really like some that I took this year. Verdict time……

   
    
    
 

Are you ready for the reunion?

I cannot imagine a trip to home without reunion with friends. Grown and educated in China, the home town always has a place in my heart and I keep it reserved for as long as I can.

It’s funny that when all of the girls in my high school class met, we were gushing: omg, you didn’t change a bit! And as you know, we certainly have changed a lot since high school years… we have more wrinkles, our eyes are not as shiny as before, we’ve gained weight, etc. Looking at the selfies that we took~ the beauty app on the phone made us travelled back to 1980s!

Reunion is a time to revisit the good old memories, it’s a time to feel young again, it’s a time to put down your armour and mask and be real yourself for a while. For me, it’s recharging since it would give me so much love and energy. It’s not saying that I live a miserable life overseas, but school friends are not your ordinary friends. The interesting thing about life is that you meet people in your life journey. They could be all different, or they could be similar; some of them you cross path and never has the chance to meet again. Some would stuck with you for your whole life. One lesson I learned is that you could never take anyone in your life for granted. They all come for a reason, and you learn things from each of your friend.

To all my friends 🙂

  
  

The festival season at home

We travelled a long way and finally touched home a week ago. Home, it’s  where all the families are. For years, I have been splitting myself between China and Australia. As the kids grew, I found that I am less attached with the town I was born~ Baoding. They are not attached with my hometown at all, not only the language barrier but also the commercial environment. In recent years, China’s small to middle sized cities have all become alike. The American fast food chains have slowly emerged into every corner of China. Personally I am not impressed with all these foreign culture evasions. The lack of characteristics worries me as I cannot imagine what China will be like in 20 or 50 years! Am I a worrier and think too much? It seems the traditional Chinese culture has and will be replaced. I don’t blame the kids for not fond of my hometown. I found it’s hard to show them any unique memories that I grew up with. For this reason I prefer to take them to country town where there dad grew up. At least there are still the humble farmers and earthy village that exist. Life in the village is still humble: the little snack bars although sells cheaply and fake snacks, people are all genuinely happier. 

Well the food is the best part of the trip! The fresh fruit and vegetables are quite distinct too. I would love to share some unique food and will write more about my reunion with friends next time.  

   
    
    
   

If candy doesn’t crush, Grind it

I have been exploring the best cafes in Adelaide for a while. This lovely spring Saturday brought me to the Glenelg beach. A 30 minutes drive from home, Glenelg is always our favourite place to be when weather allows. A friend of mine once recommended a cafe at the beach called Grind It. That was over a year ago and I finally got a chance to pay a visit. 

It is out of my imagination that a highly rated cafe could be so small. With simple deco and a tattooed waiter, I couldn’t see anything different from an ordinary cafe. The order took about 20 minutes to arrive, but that gave me a glimpse of hope that the food can be fresh. I was on my candy crush while waiting and  I did find my jelly bear, yeah!

The latte is better than I thought. The home made beef pie with mash was extraordinary! Vegie burger didn’t disappoint us either. For a location like the beach, it is expected to be pricy. Kids enjoyed all and that, tells something I guess.

   
    
 

Lemon Tart

Winter in Adelaide is such a bless. I remember complaining the rain, but somehow I’ve decided to enjoy the winter. What more could I ask? No snow? That’s not a problem although it can be a bonus if there is snow. But having lived in north China for that long, my memory of snow wasn’t all pleasant. Kids would love to play in snow for sure, so we will have to take them to see real snow one day.

But for this short two weeks school holiday, a trip to see the international soccer match will put a big smile to their face. A drive to Melbourne sounds so much easier than a few years ago, so why not? It turned out to be something that I really enjoy ! I was never a fan of long distance drive, the physical drain makes me bored to death. Alex tends to have car sick when he was younger, so I wouldn’t make the trip unless I have to. Well this time he is on it as his dream team is playing in MCG!! We had a smooth and enjoyable trip of 3 days. The food, the shops, of course, the soccer, everything was as planned. Road trip was surprisingly not that tiring except that I got a bit of sun burn on my face due to long distance driving, but that’s nothing I guess.

Back to home the next day, we got some lemons from the neighbour. It’s the lemon season and what’s the best way to celebrate lemons? A lemon tart! That’s what Faye’s decided to do. We both are big fans of lemons but apart from the lemon honey water I drink I’ve next tried to make a lemon tart. Faye always order them when we go to Cafes, I have to admit they are attempting.

The process was not that easy if you are beginners of making pastry. But if you follow the recipe it should turn out as you expected. Recipe from Good Food magazine.

1. To make the pastry, mix the flour and icing sugar in a bowl. Rub the butter into the flour with your fingers until crumbly. Mix in the egg yolks. If the pastry is still too dry, add 1-2 tbsp water until it comes together. Roll into a ball and divide in half (freeze one half for another recipe). Flatten out the pastry with your hands, wrap the dough in cling film, then chill for at least 30 mins. While the pastry is chilling, make the filling. Beat all the ingredients, except for the zest, together. Sieve the mixture, then stir in the zest.
2. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to about the thickness of a £1 coin, then lift into a 23cm tart tin. Press down gently on the bottom and sides, then trim off any excess pastry. Stab a few holes in the bottom with a fork and put back in the fridge for 30 mins.
3. Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Line the tart with foil and fill with rice or dried beans. Bake for 10 mins, then remove the tart tin from the oven, discard the foil, and bake for another 20 mins until biscuity. When the pastry is ready, remove it from the oven, pour in the lemon mixture and bake again for 30-35 mins until just set. Leave to cool, then remove the tart from the tin and serve at room temperature or chilled.

For pastry here is what you need:

• 500g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 140g icing sugar
• 250g unsalted butter, cubed
• 4 egg yolks

For the filling here is what you need:

• 5 eggs
• 140g caster sugar
• 150ml thick cream
• juice 2-3 lemon (about 100ml) and 2 tbsp lemon zest

Teen girl

It’s hard to imagine where the years have gone until the children jump into my eyes and talking about things that I don’t usually hear from them. It’s like I have stopped growing (not age unfortunately) and stopped getting to know trendy stuff and I have only known it from the children. They remind me what is the popular song right now, who is the best you tuber this year, what app is the best, etc. I hate admitting that I even learn strange word from them. What can I say? However, I do see resemblance from my little girl and it constantly reminds me of my teen days: insecure, emotional, friends centred, loves reading…We didn’t have electronics, we didn’t have make ups, but it’s still the same. The simple games I played, cards, jumping rope, group elastic band activities, all of them have just disguised themselves into candy crush, fruit ninjas :-).

Making the mascara more precise and charming and trying to control the iron curler, she is ready to celebrate with a few friends. Jamie Oliver’s Italian and then having some girls time in the shopping mall. This is what a typical teen girl’s birthday is, and I just learned about that recently.

Sinful dessert time

Everywhere I go nowadays people seem more health conscious than anything. I agree that we are what we eat, who doesn’t want to be healthy? However, balance is the key. I certainly never want to be deprived. There were times when I was younger that I would starve myself. Who was I trying to please I wonder. Luckily my kids seem naturally slim, and naturally the last thing for them would be to eat healthy food. Although lots of healthy food are tasty at the same time, but you know what I mean…

Here is a recipe we’d like to save and share to others : four ingredient raspberry hazelnut brownies.

What you need:

4 eggs

2 cups chocolate hazelnut spread

1 cup self-raising flour 

1 cup frozen raspberries 

Action:

1. Preheat oven to 180C degrees. Grease a baking tray. Use baking paper if you wish.

2. Using an electronic mixer and beat eggs for about 10 minutes until thick and creamy.

3. Place hazelnut spread in a bowl over simmering water. Stir occasionally unti it just melt.

4. Gently add spread into egg mixture until combined. Add flour, beat until combined. Fold in raspberries. Pour mixture into tray. Level top with a spatula.

5. Bake for 40 minutes or until top of brownie is just firm to touch. 

6. Enjoy when it cools down 🙂 

I can tell you that this one is definitely a keeper in my family!

  

Yoyo Yoga

Only that much I know about yoga until a friend seriously and passionately told me that how much yoga had changed her. Well, is there any harm to do it ? Of course not , I was thinking and secretly thought it wouldn’t be so hard to do.

There I started my yoyo yoga journey. As a working mum I declare myself as super busy. Everyone knows how busy I am, how can I squeeze time for yoga? Life is too short, my priority would always be family. So, a 10 minutes sometimes 20 minutes routine was a perfect plan. I know I am still not perfect with lots of poses, but guess what, I feel great. Isn’t that the most pleasure from yoga?

Cold weather is coming, let’s get moving!