Blogs from Richmond, New South Wales, Australia, Oceania

Hi! First of all, yes I realise it's been more than a week. The reason for this is because I've been running all over Sydney trying to get some things sorted for the university. Also, no, I did not actualy see sharks. We just talked about them a lot this week. So the last time I updated was on Monday the 10th of July and I can now happily report I have seen some more of Sydney by now. So one of the things I did was go to the movie theatre in Richmond with some people from the village (when I say village I mean the campus). We went to see Spiderman: homecoming, which was way better than I expected it to be. Something I really liked was how the Theatre here is exactly what ... read more

Polo Sport is known to be sophisticated and elitist. It's a traditional British game like cricket. Though I am more into dressage I decided to get to know Polo and to be a horse groom. The work behind the scenes is extremely rough- for both the groom and the horse.When an important game is taking place a horse has to be tacked up in less than 2 minutes. What is the tack all about?- two different reins (straight rein and draw rein)-martingale-breast plate-girth and over girth-bandages-plaited horse tail The player often switches the horses between chakkas and can quickly change his mind about what horse he wants to ride. A groom must be very flexible.Apart from my work as a groom, the horses had to be fed and watered in the morning and in the afternoon. ... read more

Wednesday we headed towards The Hunter Valley, wine country time. As with most wine regions in Australia, The Hunter Valley is blessed with scenic surroundings which make the experience for those from home and abroad all the more pleasurable. First up we stopped off at the Hunter Valley Chocolate Company and sampled some fine Belgian chocolate as well as some delicious fudge. And who could leave a chocolate shop without a few choccie frogs in hand? Not I. We enjoyed the laid back drive and continued to look at what the region had to offer. Next on the itinerary was the Brokenback Bar where we enjoyed a coffee overlooking the impressive countryside and then walked around to the Hunter Valley Cheese Co. The cheese, sundried tomatoes and apple and rosemary paste that we purchased were top ... read more

Richmond Farmers Market is held the 2nd Saturday each month at the Richmond School of Arts. Just near this is the Lions Club Markets in Richmond Park. The Farmers Market is well worth a visit for fresh produce and gourmet foods that you will not find in the big supermarket chains. The markets are a great place to support smaller, local producers and also to find some produce from further afield as well. Lorenza and I decided on some curry pastes, fresh produce, cheeses and marinated quail breasts. After attending the market we decided to share our bounty with some friends for dinner. The cheeses we purchased were great, a “blue” cheese that to me looked more green than blue, but had a great taste to it. The double washed brie was very creamy. The blue ... read more

So yesterday I decided to check out Richmond and see what its all about and let me tell you..not much. It kinda reminds me of a bigger Berwick, and I like it. Just a big park with a few shopping areas and resturants around. Also in the center of town is the trainstation. I was able to mail off some post cards and pick up some bubble envlopes to send some gifts back home as well. Once done looking around I had a cap. at a little cafe (seems like everyehere you go there is your choice of cafes). I then picked up some food from the local shop and headed back "home". Buff (dog) has been pretty good as well. I went to take him for a walk but he didn't seem to into it ... read more