Christmas Aussie Style

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For Christmas we got a real taste of the country...Our friend Mark invited us to celebrate with his family in a small town outside of Melbourne called Wangaretta...His uncle owns an olive orchard and grows many different types of fruit trees as well...He even made his own proscuitto and salame for our Christmas dinner...We had a wonderful appetizer course followed by a huge dinner of turkey, ham, roast vegetables and loads of GRAVY!!! For dessert we had some traditional dishes called summer pudding, Christmas pudding and this type of custard...(FYI a pudding is not like what we know...it's actually a kind of cake)...Following dinner we all got in the backyard to play a game of cricket...After about an hour of "bowling" and batting I still don't understand the game...(I have a feeling never will)...Mark's uncle has a 4 wheeler so he took us on a tour of the farm...The only rule was you had to have a beer in hand...hahaha...During the ride Elizabeth and I both spotted a ton of Kangaroos...You would be suprised how big/fast they are...After a jacuzzi everyone headed to bed...Mark's relatives were soooo lovely they set up our own little camper in the yard...We had such a wonderful Christmas and were very lucky and blessed to be in such good company...It felt as if we were right at home...The next day we went to another small town called Myrtleford...Mark's friend Jacko graciously offered to host us for another day in the country...His relatives own Walnut orchards so he took us on a tour of their groves...He made us stand in the back of the yute (Aussie lingo for truck) like the real country folk...We got a wonderful suprise when he took us to a rescue shelter for orphaned baby animals...We got to hold, pet and feed wombats, walabies and a variety of different birds...After that we visited two different watering holes for a picnic lunch and nice swim...To top off the whole novel country experience we spent the rest of the day drinking beers at the Rodeo...Basically, every single different thing you could do in the country...We jam packed into two days...The next day Jacko drove us home and on the way we stopped at the Brown Brothers winery and tasted a few different vinos...It was a wonderful few days and we were lucky to spend the time with such great people...Thank you to everyone who sent us presents and cards as well...That made us feel very loved and blessed during this Christmas season...Love you all!!! and Merry Christmas!!! K and E

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