Life Down Under

I can't believe that we've almost been in Australia for 18 months! What a difference a year makes. I am amazed how much has changed...for the better! I am in such a better place than last May. We are enjoying ourselves & this post is just acknowledging the little things. We began May celebrating Cinco de Mayo at a Mexican fresh mex fast food joint just outside the city near St. Kilda. It's called Mad Mex, similar to Chipotle back home, but not quite as good. They do however have cool decor inside that reminded us of one of our favourite movies, Nacho Libre. When we just have to get our Mexican food on we head over to Hawthorne for High Tech Burrito hightechburrito.com.au. It's good & really rivals the fresh Mex back home. I just wish it were closer.

We also hit another Footy match with our friends, The Grant's, but this time we went to an evening game. I prefer an evening game, it just makes things feel like football season. We bundled up & brought in our dinner (it was cold), hot dogs, hot chocolate, drinks, etc. It's fun to go to a game with the family because it's affordable! You are allowed to bring in your own food if you wish & tickets for our whole family were $45.00. I love that we can go & watch a game, which is something we didn't do very much back in America because games were always on a Sunday, plus tickets are $85.00 and up. Melbournians are passionate about their footy (Australian Rules Football). There are tons of teams, just in Melbourne alone. It's not like back home where San Diego has one team like the Chargers. So often families are divided by the teams that they support. Also, you sit in the same seating area with the opposing team's fans. The enemy can be sitting right next to you! We "go for" (Aussie way of saying root for) Hawthorne. Our next sporting event should be a Rugby match or a Cricket game. And if you know of any great Mexican food around the Melbourne area, let me know!

Mitchell Grant

Hannah & Katie

Well we did it...we finally got outta Melbourne! We decided to spend part of our Easter break in Sydney. We drove (about 9 to 13 hours) there & back to see Australia of course!

We went the coastal route to Sydney then through Albury on the way home, which is faster. We broke the drive into 2 days on the way there, staying in Merimbula for the first night. The drive was beautiful, with lots and lots of trees & very green, then we'd see beautiful coves & beaches & had to stop for some exploring.

Eden

Me & Dan

Eden Beach

Unfortunately we stayed in a yucky motel in Merimbula, where I stayed in a fetal position most of the night, affraid to touch anything, but we slept well & were off early the next morning for Sydney. The second day of driving there was less forests & more little towns, lots of bridges, in fact I think I counted over 15 bridges or so during our trip. We also counted unusual animal crossing signs:

A little town along the way

Kaima Beach

Kaima

Ben on top of the rock

Kaima Beach

Fish & Chips at the beach...yummm

Kaima Beach

We rolled into Sydney about 5:00pm & had to drive over the bridge. We found our hotel (motel really) which was 15 minutes out of the city. So early the next day we walked a few blocks to catch the train that would take us into the city. The train drove us over the Sydney Harbour Bridge (I had no idea that we'd get to do that!). Then there was the opera house & I couldn't believe we were here. I get corny & a bit emotional when I think how blessed we are that we are able to see these beautiful places. I am overwhelmed with gratitude.

Lindfield Station

We began at The Rocks, a historic part of Sydney where the first European settlers & British convicts immigrated & claimed the land. They built camp atop the sandstone cliffs. This area became known as The Rocks and has a colorful history of rough gangs & gritty characters.

This was helpful as we crossed the roads!

Glimpse of the bridge at The Rocks

Cool drinking fountain

Shackles on Hannah

Shackles on Ben

Statues honoring early settlers of The Rocks

Sydney Harbour Bridge with my babies!

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Sydney Opera House

After seeing the Bridge & The Opera House we hopped on a ferry to Manly Beach. It's cool here, you can catch a ferry to the other side of the Harbour, or go to the zoo, or Luna Park all by ferry. It's very tourist friendly & easy!

Ken Done The Rocks

On the ferry to Manly

Sydney Opera House

Manly Beach

I didn't take a photo, but just on the other side of our towel a woman was sunbathing topless! Really, just right there for the whole world to see! It was funny to watch what the kids would do once they discovered this bizarre behaviour. We decided not to bring attention to the whole thing, in hopes that they might be oblivious...there were a lot of families on the beach. But, poor Ben he noticed right away while walking to our towel from the surf! Thank goodness she eventually put her top back on!

More pics at The Rocks

Our second day in Sydney was spent at Darling Harbour where there are lots of things to do for kids. There is a huge playground area, a carousel, musicians playing, water fountains, The Sydney Aquarium, Museums, an Imax theater, etc. We chose to hang around to play, then had lunch & listened to a trumpet player & a double bassist for a while on the grass under the sunshine. We wandered around the Harbour on a blustery day & had a blast. We even rode on a monorail for the first time around the city. Again we grabbed another ferry, this time going under the Sydney Harbour Bridge, hit The Rocks for the second time to try & find a print or poster as a reminder of our trip. We ended up eating dinner on the wharf watching the evening lights appear & illuminate the whole city.