My Return to Whitesbeach!

If you were reading this blog about three years ago, you might remember my days as a nanny for a fun-loving, multicultural family in Torquay, Australia.  I spent an amazing 7 months in Australia in 2013 and when I found astoundingly cheap airfare from Shanghai to Melbourne, I jumped at the opportunity to return for a visit in the land down under!  

During my first stay with the Handley family, the kids (Dillon, Veronica, and Liam) were ages 2, 6, and 9 and the family run Whitesbeach Guesthouse was still being remodeled so it doubled as both the bed and breakfast and our home.  This time around, the kids had certainly grown, now ages 4, 9, and 12, and the guesthouse was completed and up and running.  Which was so lucky for me!  They treated me with the 3rd floor princess suite, with a balcony, an ocean view, and a jacuzzi tub included!  If you ever find yourself in Victoria, Australia and headed down the Great Ocean Road, make sure you stop and enjoy Torquay for a day or two and relax at Whitesbeach Guesthouse. Link is here >>> http://whitesbeach.com.au/!  Stephen, Claudia and the kiddos are excellent hosts!

I felt more like a queen in my princess suite and it was a nice taste of luxury after a year of living in China and before the weeks of backpacking in Southeast Asia that I had in front of me.  I slept in in my giant bed, did yoga with an ocean view, inhaled the clear, fresh Australian air, baked cookies and enjoyed dinners with my Aussie fam, became besties with the new nanny, and, of course, watched Finding Nemo!  

 My cute little sidekick has grown quite a bit!

In 2013...

...versus this year!

Having fun with Veronica in the swing!  And Liam hiding underneath us!

 The scenery was beautiful!...

The air was incredibly refreshing and not toxic!

And I loved my week of luxury living!

As an extra bonus that I hadn't really planned on but got to enjoy anyways - the Rip Curl Pro started the last day I was in Australia!  Rip Curl Pro = one of the biggest and best surfing competitions in the world.  It happens in Torquay every year when the pros take to the waves of the famous Bells Beach!  

I hadn't planned on joining the competition but thanks to a giant wave that attempted to take out spectators (and succeeded in taking out a few belongings and a couple of unfortunate cell phones) I ended up looking like I had!  I spent the next few hours watching the competition in my wet, salty, sandy attire but had a great time anyways!

 Jasmine and I on the beach and before the tidal wave and brief moment of almost body surfing...

This time I was riding waves (sort of) and next time I'll be riding a camel...stay tuned!