Submitted by Lauren Hollmann on the 2018 winter session program in Australia sponsored by the Department of Hospitality Business Management…
This week was definitely one of the best weeks in Australia so far. We had many free afternoons so we were able to go the beach often, but what has to be one of my favorite parts yet, was seeing the sunrise. We woke up around 4:45 am and met in the lobby of our school at 5:15 am and headed over to Shelley Beach. We climbed through a few trees and got to this cliff that gave us the most amazing view of the sunrise. We got there just in time when it was still dark, but all the vibrant colors were present. We were there until about 6:30 am when the sun was fully out and headed back to get ready for class. After going to class, we spent the day at Manly Beach and it was the perfect beach day. We had to head back to Shelley Beach around 5:00 pm to have a paella dinner with Chef Felix, one of the Chefs from our host institution. We were making a traditional paella in a massive pan and a pineapple flambé for dessert. Shelley Beach is full of turkeys and island dragons so we spent the time while we were cooking shooing them away from our bags because the turkeys literally poke through them or take them in attempts to find food. Dinner was so awesome and it was such a great experience, people all around us were taking pictures in awe. We actually ended up offering the rest of the paella to a bunch of people around us just because we made so much of it. I have never had flambé and I have to say it is one of my new favorite desserts. Overall, a great day and great week in Manly.
