“As pessoas não fazem viagens, as viagens fazem pessoas.” 

“Viajar é colecionar memórias pelo mundo.”

I have called Australia home for the last 38 years after immigrating from Portugal. I will always be Portuguese at heart, but I do love the life that my parents, my brother and I have built for ourselves here in Melbourne. I remember when my dad first told us we were moving to a new country, I was so excited and was looking forward to this new adventure that awaited us all.  I did not speak one word of English but that really did not bother me, I was happy to learn this new and interesting language. Well, many years have now passed and here I am, married and the mother of three beautiful boys.

Australia is so multicultural; we are so fortunate to have so many people living here that have come from all over the world. Because of this we get to eat the most amazing food such as Chinese, Italian, Greek, Indian and so many more. I have to say that there are no Portuguese restaurants in Melbourne except for Nando’s and O Porto which are fast food eateries. Lucky for us, mum is an amazing cook and we get to eat traditional Portuguese food often. When I do think of what a true Australian meal is a few things come to mind. Aussies love eating a good old fashioned meet pie and of course you need to add lots and lots of tomato sauce on top. Fish and chips are also a favourite. When it comes to dessert then you cannot go past a slice of pavlova or maybe a lamington with your cup of tea.

Australia is so big that it is hard to pick just a few places that you should visit when you come down under, here are some of my favourite. In summer people love to travel up to Queensland, the weather is fantastic and it is just a beautiful place to relax. The Great Barrier Reef would be the top place to visit there, I have been to Queensland a few times but I am yet to go and visit The Great Barrier Reef. Sydney is another great place to visit, there are many things to do but a must is to visit the Sydney Opera House. OK, let me think about Melbourne. There are so many wonderful places to visit but a few do stand out. You cannot come to Melbourne without driving along the Great Ocean Road, the views are magical as you drive along the coast for what seems to be an endless journey. My next spot is somewhere very close to where I live in Werribee South, there is a beautiful mansion which was built in the 1870’s by a Scottish family. It has been restored and it is just stunning to look at, you get to see how people lived back in those days. It is surrounded by beautiful manicured gardens.

Well, I could go on and on but I would recommend you come down under for a visit and see just how beautiful this big country is. The photos below were taken last weekend at Arielle’s  (my cousin Diogo Figueiredo’s daughter) First Communion.