Goodbye Mel :(

These past few days have been many goodbyes and get togethers for my friend Mel.  She is done with her stay here in Australia and is heading back home.  I'm very sad that she is going as she's been with me through my entire stay in Newcastle and its been fun hanging out,eating, talking, cooking, shopping, adventuring, and even working together.  Last night Elodie and Gustavo invited us girls over to their house for dinner and it was really lovely.  She made a simple but delicious French dinner for us.  Their place is so cute and welcoming and both of them are just great people.

Elodie & Gustavo, great couple!

Dinner was appetizers of hummus and tarte a la tomate, entree of ratatouille, and dessert was homemade chocolate cake with cookies and cream ice cream.  It was a wonderful time and the food was homey and delicious.

 

Tarte a la tomate

(Home made tart crust layered with mustard and cheese and topped with fresh tomatoes & oregano, YUM!)

Dessert & picture time!

 

Buddies! 

For Mel's last meal here, we took her out to our favorite restaurant.... yes, Goldbergs!  We knew lunch would be just as awesome as dinner.... and it was. Mel ordered her favorite pumpkin penne, Yushi tried the Marinara which had plenty of seafood over fettuccine and I had a fantastic lamb burger on ciabatta; this dish was fantastic! The meat was unlike beef, a bit softer but the spices and flavor mixed into it were delicious and I don't think I can recreate this.  Combine that with the grilled onions and the fresh vegetables along with the crispy ciabatta and you have a top rated burger. We had a bottle of our favorite Verdelho to enjoy with our meal and ended with the best dessert ever, the Rocher Chocolate! It was described as a gluten free rich chocolate mousse nougat set on meringue and covered with chocolate ganache.  It came with two scoops of vanilla ice cream dusted with cocoa powder and was the best thing we've ever tasted. Happy smiles all around!

 

Bread of the day and our bottle of Verdelho

Marinara

(Mussels, squid, prawns, fish & baby octopus, garlic, shallots, tomato sauce with fettuccini)

 

Lamb Burger

 Rocher Chocolate

(Rich chocolate mousse nougat set on meringue and covered with chocolate ganache )

It was not just the food that was great though but the company.  As we talked over lunch and reflected over our time in Australia, we realized that we really appreciated having the opportunity to be here together and to have been able to form these lasting relationships with each other as friends as well as colleagues in our profession. I'm thankful for them both.

As we were walking back to our apartment we were so full we could barely walk, but each time we complained about the fullness we remembered how good the food was and that made it worth the while.  As we laughed and talked I could not help but feel sad that our third amiga was leaving soon. We took a last picture before she left with Gordon our apartment manager.  I miss her already!