I still remember the sweet shops when I lived in India for a month studying Ashtanga -  neat rows of tantalizing bite-size treats. The shop owners used to laugh at my pronunciation when I placed an order, but I didn’t care. It was worth the humiliation. Washed down with cool coconut water from a freshly cut coco, it was the perfect end to a hard day of yoga and lounging around steamy Mysore.

"Rows of Indian Sweets!"

For the longest time, I thought about recreating burfi (also spelled ‘barfi’ but that sounds so unappetizing – lol) into a raw-ified version and I finally got around to it. Oh my, it’s sooooo good!

Raw Cardamom Pistachio Burfi

"Raw Candy Yum!"

I will type and post the recipe soon, in the meantime, check out Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays!

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Finally got off the road and settled down in Byron Bay. This is the perfect balance of town living combined with country serenity for me. There are tons of little shops, cafes and things to do in Byron – loads of daylife and nightlife, without being overly hectic or too sleepy. And the town is actually open past 5pm, which after living in Dunsborough is sooooo nice!

There are no big box chain stores here – no Target, MacDonalds, KFCs or Kmarts. (Although there is one Baskins Robbins and a Subway. I swear there are more Subways in Oz than the USA!) There is a restriction on building height, so nothing over 2 or 3 floors which adds to the quaint seaside town feel.

The beach is gorgeous, although I must admit that I think the beaches in the Southwest are somehow more stunning. There is a deck overlooking the ocean at the Pass, that I love to jog to in the morning and then sprint up the stairs three times. There’s also Byron Lighthouse which is a magnificent walk along the seaside cliffs – it’s a quadblaster for sure. ;D

On the Deck Overlooking Byron Bay Beach

There’s a great farmer’s market in town every Thursday and on the first Sunday of the month, there’s an amazing market of food, crafts and music that literally takes over the town – it’s a mob scene. There’s even a raw food stall called Raw Ecstasy – yum!

Raw Treats by Raw Ecstasy

The only downside of Byron is that the traffic getting into town can be bad. I’ve been living with some friends right near the center of town, which is great because I can walk everywhere. This is the only way to go if you live here – within walking distance of town. That being said, it’s a great place. So open, cruisy and easy to meet people. I could definitely live here.

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Wow – lots has happened since my last post! Here it is in a nutshell.

After Melbourne, I bee-lined it to Sydney and headed to Bondi Beach. Bondi is sooooo cool! Right on the ocean with magnificent footpaths around the cliffs, hip shops and cafes and the BEST weather. Much warmer, sunny and less windy than Melb. There I hooked up with an old friend, Bella Donna. We met while working together at the Tree of Life in Arizona a few years ago. It was so fun to catch up!

Bella Donna & Me soaking up Bondi Nightlife

Of course, I did the requisite sight-seeing – Opera House, Darling Harbour, the Rocks and I gotta say, for a big city, I really liked Sydney. The weather is great, lots to do, it’s clean and easy to navigate. I could totally see myself living here.

Few days later, I had a great surprise – I had dinner with an old internet friend, Christy who I met through RTP-blog.com. Despite being a bit under the weather, Christy cabbed it to Bondi to meet up on my last day in Sydney before I headed up the East Coast. Christy, Bella and I met for dinner and had soooo much fun catching up. She is so funny and sweet!

Christy & Lilla after unapproved Shredder dessert - shh!

After getting my fill of Sydney, I drove to Byron Bay. This was a long haul of a drive, but I was tired of living on the road and wanted to settle in and meet up with some friends, so I just kept driving and driving and driving. Phew – made it! Stayed for one day, unpacked and then yep, back on the road for a quick swing into Brissie to attend the Aussie Shredder Summit! More fun with old and new friends – Adam Waters, David Waters, AussieCleo, Jules, Mummie and Renae – all acquaintances made on the web. Ain’t the internet grand! I was having too much fun to take pictures, but here’s a couple from the boat cruise dance floor. (Rumor has it that there is some top-secret video floating around too!)

Dave's New Dance Move - the Golf Swing!

Dance Floor Boogie

Left Brissie the next day and am now living in Byron Bay! AWESOME place – more on THAT to come… ;D

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While in Melbourne, I treated myself to a meal at what I believe is the only all-raw food restaurant in Australia, Le Cru. The space is absolutely lovely – warm rich wood and candlelight. Outdoor courtyard. Great waitstaff!

Le Cru In Melbourne

I wanted to sample a few things, so I tried to keep it light and opted for soup, salad and dessert.

First course was a spinach soup. Nice flavour and different from other raw soups I’ve had. It was OK, though it didn’t blow me away.

Subtly Spinach Soup

Next was a dandelion salad with avocado dressing and crumbled raw crackers. Yum, yum! Loved the flavours and the crunchy texture of the crackers with the creamy avo dressing and bitter greens. After I few bites though, I was full from the fattiness of the avo and crackers – just a wee bit too heavy on the fat. More greens would have been nice to balance it out.

Wild Green Salad with Avo Dressing

Dessert was an apple raspberry cobbler warmed and served with macadamia cream. This was probably my fave course of the evening. Crunchy and sweet, and quite a generous serving too!

Berry Cobbler with Macadamia Cream

But the BEST item was the mini chocolate cupcake that I bought to have the next day. It was the closest to a “real” cupcake that I’ve ever tasted! The frosting was just perfect and the cake was lighter than most raw cakes which tend to be dense. I think the small size helped keep it from being weighed down and compacted. This was such a yum chocolate morsel. 

Best Raw Cupcake

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I love natural hot springs. Ever since I went to Eden Hot Springs in Arizona, I’ve been hooked! I seek them out wherever I go. So I was really looking forward to hitting some hot springs in Australia.

First one I went to was in Hepburn Springs, the “Australian Spa Capital.” Hepburn Springs is a really cute little town. The “old bathhouse” turned out to be quite mod. Very spacious, minimalist design with lots of glass windows. A day pass was AU$15 – not bad. Unfortunately, I wasn’t too crazy about the place. The water wasn’t nearly hot enough for me and everything just seemed sooooo, I don’t know, sterile I guess.

The town also had several pumps around town so people can collect fresh spring water for drinking. I filled up two containers with mineral soda water, but after two days, the water had a yellow-orange cast that didn’t look very appetising, so I ended up dumping them. Oh well… I’m too crazy about soda water, but I couldn’t find a still water pump, so no great loss.

Hepburn Spring Water Pump

Next day I went to the Peninsula Hot Springs, south of Melbourne. Ooooo…much better! The pools were outdoors in nature and hotter! Niiice! There was even a cold plunge pool – love it. The changing area, showers and amenities weren’t as posh as Hepburn Springs and it costs more, but I much preferred the atmosphere of Peninsula Springs to Hepburn.

So far, Eden in Arizona is still my fave. The buildings and grounds surrounding it are in total disrepair and dilapidated (part of its “charm”) but the spring water is awesome and super hot! Not to mention the yummy hot mud sludge to glop all over your body. Love it!

Next, I’m going to visit some springs west of Byron Bay. Fingers crossed for something steamy and HOT!

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