palm beach + the best gluten-free sandwich i ever ate.

soooo let's just take a second to ignore the fact that i have completely neglected this little blog here for the past month or so (read: entire summer) and that i really, really meant to post this at some time much closer to july 12th. 

but you know my favorite mantra... better late than never, right? so we're just going to pretend for a second that it's july 12th, and i am wishing my darling cousin josie and her kind husband jeremy the happiest of first anniversaries! remember they're beautiful summer wedding photos i took in mesa, arizona last summer?

in honor of their anniversary, i though i'd share one of my favorite memories from our trip to australia to visit them earlier this year!

josie + jeremy were the perfect aussie-american tour guide duo and really showed us the best what sydney had to offer. one of our most picturesque australian adventures took place my second morning there (let's talk about jet lag, for a sec! the germany to australia time difference was a doozy). 

josie and jeremy took us on a hike to visit the lighthouse at palm beach in new south wales, and it was gorgeous. 

there was the most unique scenery combination at palm beach, with an almost-tropical vibe and plenty of unique vegetation. i loved the color of the water and how much prettier the views got, the higher we climbed. it was so cool to see where the waters nearly touched, too! 

we finished off our morning adventure by stopping at nourished. (in the local beach town of avalon) for an early lunch. we noshed with the (likely, according to my in-the-know australian sources) next prime minister of australia, which was the coolest. and by "noshed with the next prime minister," i really mean creepily eyed him from a few tables over, as he had also stopped in avalon for brunch while on his bike ride. but really, what's the difference? 

the food was to die for, and i was so excited for all of the gluten-free options! in fact, eating gluten-free in sydney was actually not too terribly difficult. in avalon, i ate the best gluten-free sandwich of my life... grilled cajun chicken on toasted gf bread. and jeremy even ate gluten-free... their blueberry compote pancakes were beautiful and so tasty. 

it was a perfect morning. i mean really, is there anything more ideal than family, good food, a nice hike, and the beach? oh yeah, and australia! perfect. 

a rainy afternoon at the sydney opera house.

i think by now you all know how much i adore my mother {and her individuality and strength and kindness and sacrifices and a list that never really ends.} so to celebrate mother's day, i'll tell you a little about one of my most recent {and forever favorite} memories with the lady that has had the greatest impact on my life.

i'll start out by further explaining how awesome my mom really is. she works for an airline one day a week so we get all of the flight benefits, and so we end up traveling constantly {talk about my dream, i know!}

because of this, she's met up with me in crazy places like germany and peru, and when she found out last month that i was going to be exploring australia more or less alone, she saved the day again.

talk about the best e-mail a girl can receive before boarding a trans-continental flight: "i think i'm going to meet up with you in sydney!" 

best mom ever.

better than a dream.

sometimes, you wake up 8,325 miles from home snuggling with kangaroos and smooching wallabies

and realize your life isn't actually a dream.

i'm loving life down under and can't wait to share more of my adventures with you all!

but i am currently jet lagged beyond belief and in some serious need of some zzzs...

so until later, i'll hold you over with a glimpse of my aussie boyfriend!

xo,

anna