My 6th week in Australia emphasized the study element of a study abroad program. This week, I began a group project about the Japanese Yen, aced my international marketing quiz, and began to prepare for my international finance midterm.
The most significant story from the week came from Wednesday night when the clouds helped to make a very nice sunset. After looking at it in the apartment for a few minutes, Tomy invited me to go on a walk to try and catch a better look at the evening sky. This walk quickly became a run and while we covered a lot of distance, the sun set much faster than we could find a better place to watch it from. We decided to take a longer walk back to our accommodation afterward, window shopping some of the stores we passed along the way.
The sunset over the harbor (the colors were much better in person than in the photo)
The weekend was the most exciting part of the past 7 days. On Saturday morning, we embarked on our bus ride to the Hunter Valley region, stopping in a very small town. By small, I mean that Lewisburg would be considered a metropolis in comparison. Nonetheless, we enjoyed lunch as a large group of Bucknellians before exploring the antique stores.
The general store in the town we stopped in where I got really delicious gelato
After lunch, we first stopped at Brokenwood Winery. I really enjoyed the atmosphere of this winery with round tables for the tastings, an outdoor patio, and a small museum showing the winery’s history. My favorite wines from this tasting were their Semillon, their Sangiovese, and I even bought myself a bottle of their Sticky Wicket dessert Semillon.
The initial list of wines we tried though our sommelier added a few extra based on our preferences at the end
The bottle of Semillon I bought to enjoy on a nice occasion before we leave Sydney
While still feeling the first winery, we went to Ernest Hill Winery. This winery was clearly more of a family operation and offered a far more intimate wine-tasting experience. I also feel that I learned the most about wine from this stop and really enjoyed their rosé and their 8 years aged Muscat. (The Muscat would make for a great 21st birthday gift if anyone is working on gifts this early by the way)
Walking around the vineyard at Ernest Hill
We then checked into our hotel and a group of us Bucknellians went out for dinner at an Italian restaurant a few blocks away. Unfortunately, I needed to spend my evening preparing for my international finance midterm but received an email as I was writing this blog that it was worth the time due to earning a 100% on it.
I studied more first thing Sunday morning before having breakfast at the hotel with Dylan and Dom. Shortly after, we all checked out and headed to a preselected restaurant for Thai lunch. Thinking I had never had Thai food before, I decided to order chicken pad Thai and was amazed that I had yet to have it to this point in my life. I enjoyed my lunch (and leftovers for dinner) and am happy to have expanded both my food and wine palate after this weekend trip.
On our way back to Sydney, we made our final stop at Margan Winery and I enjoyed the presentation of the wines here the most. My favorites from this winery were their rosé as well as their Chardonnay.
The barrells inside the wine tasting room at Margan
This weekend trip gave me the fix of wine culture that I was disappointed to miss in France. With that said, I definitely will put a few wine tastings at the top of my priorities list when I eventually have the chance to make it to the country I’ve studied so extensively.
Right now, I have very little planned for my 7th week in Sydney but recognize that I should begin to try and knock my final bucket list items off during this final weekend. While classes have been more intense this block, I definitely need to ensure that I fill my downtime with more adventures before we head up north. I look forward to seeing what I have to write about at the end of this upcoming week!
A picture from Bondi where I wrote this entire blog this week!