Upside Down Under

NC to NYC to Chicago to Melbourne

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Guest Post: Becki Planchard

Becki and Sean came to visit us for two weeks over Christmas. We had an incredible trip jam-packed with beach picnics, Boxing Day cricket, wine tasting, Australian cooking, road trips, penguins, and coastal views. I’m endlessly grateful to have friends who will travel 10,000+ miles to spend time with us. Becki shared some thoughts from the trip, which are poignantly heartfelt and touching. 

Our visit to Australia was amazing. I loved our koala trek, touring Yarra Valley wineries, spending 8.5 hours barely understanding cricket but enjoying the meat pies...I could go on about the activities we did. 

But the part I loved the most was seeing my best friend and her husband’s love for each other up close halfway across the world. 

Brooke and I decided we probably hadn’t spent this much non-stop time together since high school. In those days, over winter break Brooke would come live at the Feinglos household, or we’d drive the five hours down to her family’s beach house in Hilton Head, South Carolina. It had been a long time since we’d been the inseparable B&B, and we hadn’t done it with our husbands in tow. So, needless to say, we were both excited for Sean and my trip to Australia. Brooke sent us an Excel spreadsheet itinerary months (MONTHS) prior to our arrival date.

I spoke at Brooke and Brian’s wedding rehearsal dinner a few years ago about comfort. In my life, the friendships that stand out to me are the ones where we can sit in absolute silence and not have to try. Brooke is my best friend because she is ferociously smart, she makes funny jokes, she challenges me, and because I feel like nothing is ever forced. When we are together, Brooke and I know we can be ourselves, and we can relax- which is difficult for our Type A personalities (speaking of Excel spreadsheets). I noted that evening before their wedding that over the years since Brian had come into the picture, Brooke became even more comfortable in her own skin, more so than I’d ever seen in our decade of friendship at the time. 

I’ve seen in the past two weeks, however, that in the Moys’ love, it’s not only Brooke who gets to be comfortable: Brian is too. 

Seeing Brian and Brooke together, just living their precious Melbourne life, was the greatest privilege of this entire trip— and that’s really saying something because I saw a real live PLATYPUS and a WILD ECHIDNA.

Their tag-team cooking and cleaning protocol for dinner parties could be its own Food Network special. When they show affection for each other, it’s in their own unique way: Brooke might stroke Brian’s back and give him a kiss on the cheek, and Brian might find Brooke’s sunglasses on a shelf and put them in the Hold Everything Bowl so he makes sure she has them when she needs them. He also established the principle and location of the Hold Everything Bowl for Brooke’s sake in the first place. 

For Brooke and Brian, getting outside the US has allowed them to focus on each other in a way I don’t think they could have done in their first years of marriage if they were in the comfort of a familiar place. Getting uncomfortable by moving to a new country and continent has pushed them to be even more comfortable with each other. With time zone complexities, it might be difficult to call a loved one for support in an emotionally stressful moment. Brooke and Brian are each other’s front line for words of encouragement and care. 

Marriage is love, but marriage is also a team effort. My husband and I were married a month before Brooke and Brian, and we’ve spent our first years together in graduate school- we’ve chosen a different way to work and build our own beautiful foundation. Living abroad might not be for us, and, if I’m being honest, I was upset when Brooke chose to move so far away. But now that I’ve seen the life she and Brian have created together, the marriage they’ve cultivated, and a love unlike any I've ever seen, for the Moys, Australia was the right move. 

Thank you, Brooke and Brian, for being incredible hosts, and for showing us a two week peek at the love you share. 

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Australia votes 'yes' to same-sex marriage

Celebrations broke out across Australia after a two-month national postal survey came out "overwhelmingly" in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage.

Finally! 

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All the quokkas

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Perth Weekend

Last week, Brian had a business trip to Perth and I decided to crash the end of it so we could spend the weekend exploring the area. 

If you’ve never heard of Perth, there’s probably a good reason for that. Perth is considered the most isolated city in the world and it’s 1615 road miles to the next closest urban area (which is Adelaide...so urban seems like a strong word). If you go by flying miles, it’s actually closer to Indonesia than it is to another city in Australia.

Perth is the capital of Western Australia, the largest Australian state. It’s also the least dense (technically the Northern Territory is less dense part of Oz, but the NT isn’t actually a state) and there’s only an average of 1 person per square kilometer, with the vast majority of people living in Perth. Here’s a quick Australian geography lesson:

Here’s a map of Australia with states and major cities/towns. You can see Perth alone on the west coast and the vast size of Western Australian. 

Now, here’a a population density map of Australia showing where people actually live:

There was a party on the east coast and Perth was definitely not invited. And wow, Australia is super empty.

To really drive the point home, here’s what Australia would look like if the states were sized based on their population:

TL:DR: Perth is really far from everything and no one lives in Western Australia.

I took a 5 hour flight from the east and arrived in time for dinner thanks to the time zone change. Since it was a work trip, Brian’s hotel was in the CBD, which had turned QUIET by 9pm. It reminded me of a big, sprawling Texas city like Houston or Dallas, where everyone drives their giant SUVs across endless suburbs and mostly stays out of downtown. Perth itself is a product of the mining industry, where people have made crazy fortunes taking 6 figure jobs on isolated mines in the middle of desert. The city has gone from boom to bust to boom to currently bust, but you still see plenty of flashy wealth around the city. 

The next morning, I had a chance to go for a run through Kings Park, a gorgeous botanical garden minutes from the city center with stunning views of the city skyline and the Swan River. 

After some brief exploration of the city, I met up with Brian and his clients in Northbridge, the so-called “cool part” of Perth. It reminded me a little bit of River North in Chicago, where people come to throw money around casually and listen to EDM. They took us to a rooftop bar called the Mechanics Institute and proved to be both gracious hosts and super fun girls. Both of their partners work in in the mining industry, so they taught us about fly-in-fly-out (aka FIFO) where people work for several weeks onsite, come back for a week of leave and party like it’s 1999, before going back to the grind. 

The next morning, we headed north along the Indian Ocean Road to explore the natural side of WA. It didn’t take long before the city and suburban landscape turned into a languid emptiness. On our first stop, we visited Yanchep National Park for some kangaroo spotting. We had great luck in finding several momma kangaroos with joeys still small enough to fit in the pouch (and sometimes not quite small enough but still trying to fit). To add to the cuteness, we stopped inside the park’s small tea room before heading out and my heart melted at the sight of 10 older ladies having an afternoon cup together. 

On our next stop, we got our first sight of the Indian Ocean in the tiny holiday town of Guilderton. Here, the mouth of the river meets the ocean and we had amazing views of an almost empty beach. Guilderton, like many typical Australian vacation destinations, doesn’t even have a full grocery store and is mostly dotted with tiny cottages and a popular caravan park.

We had a quick lunch in the beautiful (but smelly) fishing town of Lancelin before hitting up the Lancelin sand dunes for some sand boarding. I had never experienced dunes of this size and it’s almost impossible to describe the vastness of the landscape. Sand boarding started off terrifying but turned into a ridiculous amount of fun. After an hour on the dunes, we had sand EVERYWHERE. I swear I’m still finding it on my clothes and in my hair despite multiple washings.

For our last stop, we trekked out to Nambung State Park to see the Pinnacles, eerie limestone formations that even scientists haven’t been able to fully explain. It’s probably the closest feeling you can get to visiting another planet.

Upon returning to Perth, we hit up a Greek restaurant in Northbridge and then promptly succumbed to the time difference.

Sunday morning, we took the train to the port town of Fremantle, which is known for it’s bohemian vibe. Nowadays, it’s popular with cruise ships so it’s starting to lose a bit of its authenticity, but was still lovely. After smashed avo and coffee, we boarded a short ferry to Rottnest Island, affectionally known by locals as Rotto. 

Rottnest Island has no real permanent residents or privately owned homes. The only accommodations are a few groupings of holiday cottages and (you guessed it) a caravan park/camping ground. There is a small town with restaurants and shops, but the rest of the island has almost no sign of human interference. They don’t allow cars on the island, so everyone commutes around by bike. Even on a peak weekend (the entire ferry was sold out) you had the feeling of having the entire place to yourself.

We biked almost the entire island perimeter, stopping at rocky overlooks, secluded beaches, and crystal salt lakes. We saw migrating humpback whales, playful seal colonies and of course, the world famous quokkas. Unfortunately, we visited on an unseasonably cold day so we didn’t have the benefit of trying out the world class snorkeling. Something to save for next time.

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Grand Final watching. Notice the classic Melbourne shifts in the weather. We had scorching sun, pouring rain, strong winds, and perfect temps.

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Go the Tiges

Hey guys!! We’re back in Melbourne. Or more accurately, we’ve w were in Melbourne for one week, then we were in Sydney and Perth, and now back in Melbourne again until Brian leaves for Singapore tomorrow. We live on planes. 

Fortunately, we were town the weekend after getting back from the US, which meant we got to watch the Tigers WIN the Grand Final. While attending Steph and Tim’s wedding in DC, Brian stayed up until 4am just so he could watch the semi-final match on his computer in our dark hotel room. Commitment.

I thought we’d buy tickets to the game itself, but as it turns out those start at around $1500/seat. What happened to the Australia which sells footy match tickets for $40?! Apparently, with Richmond having the second largest fan base in the AFL and the team having not played in a final in decades, people were willing to pay any price to get a seat in the stadium. We were not, even if I have to take back what I said above about commitment.

As an alternative, we got seats to the Punt Road Oval watch party, which allowed us to join 25,000 other Tigers fans for a giant tailgate. Punt Road is perfectly positioned between the MCG itself (close enough that you could hear the roar of the crowd) and the main streets of Richmond. We were able to have bacon and eggs on the BBQ at Jordan and Emily’s place before walking to the event. In the days leading up the match, the entire city had gone absolutely Tiger mad and everyone we passed seemed to have on yellow and black.

While Adelaide had been favored as the number 1 regular season team, Richmond actually played brilliantly and people were going out of their f-ing minds. By the final quarter, the entire thing had turned into one giant block party with singing and crying and all around good will.

After victory was secured, we walked to Swan Street, where people poured out of bars and restaurants to celebrate. It reminded me of...all the other national championships I’ve been able to enjoy. Brian and I will admit that we’ve been totally spoiled in that regard. Between our teams, we’ve been able to witness 2 college national basketball championships, 2 Super Bowls, 1 World Series, and now 1 Grand Final. We know how to pick em. 

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Brian: Guest Post #2

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World’s Most Adorable Wedding

On the Sunday morning after I arrived home from Tokyo, I took a very short power nap and then hit the showers to prepare for Tom and Maria’s wedding.

While I was in Japan, Brian and Tom’s friend Alex had been collecting videos from Tom and Maria’s family friends to put together a virtual guest book. They had also been coordinating with Tom’s mom, who wanted to a hire a wedding day car for the couple. They deserve so many kudos.

In the early afternoon, we met up with Tom at the Imperial for a quick pre-wedding pint. Alex showed up with his partner Amy and we were joined by Beth, Adam and their one week old baby. We met up with Maria on the steps of the Old Treasury Building and were ushered into a Victorian style waiting room, where Brian got cozy on the chaise lounge.

After confirming to the justice of the peace that they weren’t first cousins, Tom and Maria were wed in a brief and lovely ceremony. Alex and I signed the paperwork as the official witnesses, while Maria’s family watched the whole thing via FaceTime. It was possibly the cutest thing that’s ever happened in the Old Treasury Building.

Following the official nuptials, we took some pictures in the Treasury Garden, popped champagne, and then pretended we were going back to the Imperial, only to surprise the couple with a pink getaway car. They literally didn’t believe it was there ride until the driver called them by name. 

We sent them off with the video guest book to watch in the car. We took a drive and met up with them at Brighton Beach, where we snacked on soft serve with sprinkles, drank more champagne and found a Chinese tourist who seemed more than willing to be our official photographer.

We met up with more friends at the Stomping Ground Brewery in Collingwood and celebrated with additional champagne, cheese plates and pizza. The wedding could not have been more adorable if it tried. #toelopeisdope

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Marriage: year 2. The official gift is cotton so Brian gets a cozy blanket and a "manly" apron. I get lounge pants and a bathing suit cover-up. We make homemade fish stew and do a celebratory dinner at BYO Greek. #partyanimals

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Yellow and black! Tiges in the top 3 🐯🐯🐯

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Footy Finals

If there was any doubt about my commitment to the Tiges, I think it was dispelled last Sunday, when I got off a 5am flight from Singapore, took a quick nap, and then headed out with Brian to watch Richmond play their last regular season game. They were competing for a spot in the top 3 and my boys Dusty, Jack, and Alex got it done. 

Next step: finding a way to stream the post-season from the US. 

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You know you fly a lot when...

-You have a hoarders style collection of free travel toothbrushes

-Your husband asks you which movies will be available on his upcoming flight and you’re able to recite the offerings from memory

-You recognize the flight attendants 

-You know your passport number by heart

-You have a piece of clothing called your “airplane sweater” 

-Most importantly, you never, ever accept the hot breakfast. Hey everyone—how do you think they made those eggs on a plane? Do you see any flight attendants carrying frying pans? Use your brains, people. 

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Winter Party

Back at HQ in the US, my company throws a summer picnic. Not to be left out, we get a mid-winter party at the same time. 

Last year, it was only my first week of work and I found myself competing in an Amazing Race event around Melbourne. This year, we removed the athletic component and did a murder mystery dinner at the Old Melbourne Gaol (in case you were as ignorant as me, that word is pronounced “jail.” Learned that the hard way). Fun fact: at a happy hour event a few weeks before they announced the party venue, I told our facilities manager that I was terrified of prison. I later found out that she had immediately called her co-worker freaking out that I was going to hate the party idea. Fortunately, my fears are reserved for actually going to modern prison, not attending a work event in a 19th century jail. The overall party theme was 1920s and people went ALL out. Brian dressed like he was about to take Jay Gatsby out for a sail and I had my hair stylist do a killer 20s style side bun with a rented jeweled head band. Per usual, our facilities team didn’t skimp on the details. The food was catered by Ezard, one of the most well-regarded restaurants in Melbourne and the dessert was prepared by an Australian Masterchef contestant, which included a cotton candy-smelling finger bowl that at least one person accidentally tried to eat. By the end of the night, people were taking turns wearing a Ned Kelly bushranger mask on the dance floor.

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Hens’ Night

When Maria and Tom decided to elope, I decided we needed to throw a pair of hen’s and buck’s parties before the big gay. After making plans to jam out to boy band and Britney hits at Club Retro, I ended up building out a 90s theme. I fell into a deep Etsy and Pinterest black hole and came out with the following:

-Gift bags filled with neon lighting bolt earrings, scrunchies, shuttershades, temporary tattoos, glowsticks, Juicy Fruit gum and mentos

-I found a recipe online for homemade dunkaroo dip and served that as the pregame appetizer alongside sour patch kids, skittles, and M&Ms. I also made a Skittles cocktail with the intention of managing the  liquor consumption prior to dinner, but this plan totally backfired when I somehow messed up the ratios and ended up serving everyone a STRONG signature drink. Like, real strong. 

-As a gift for Maria, we chipped in for a pastel blue poloroid camera, which made for the perfect retro item to play with throughout the night.

-I decorated the apartment with twinkle lights and enough hot pink for a child’s birthday party, including a giant unicorn balloon which haunted our apartment like a demon for weeks afterwards.

-After the pregame, we arrived at Hu Tong in Prahran for BYO dumplings. As it turned out, the restaurant had messed up and they weren’t actually BYO. Undeterred, we went to a next door dumpling place that was more than happy to accommodate our 6 bottles of wines.  -As planned, we ended up at Club Retro for all the sing-along tunes we could handle. The boys met up with us after Tom’s bucks night, which Brian had organized and had included korean fried chicken, gambling and whiskey.  -The next morning, I was more hungover from sugar than from alcohol and our entire apartment looked like the night after one of my 6th grade sleepovers. Successful night overall. 

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Tokyo Tower and drinks with a view

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Harajuku

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