Home!

We made it! Lindsay's phone did not! We remember seeing it last in Sydney... oh well. The good news is that she had insurance and so a replacement phone was sent overnight. The bad news is that the online contact backup service wasn't working so.... no contacts. That's what facebook is for, right?

We decided that it is much better to begin the trip between the US and AUS at midnight -- not noon. When we left the states, the long flight began at midnight so it was pretty easy to sleep our way through a good part of it. For the return, we left at noon, and pretty much didn't sleep at all. Lindsay reports watching 5 movies. I think I watched 4. Even a sleeping pill didn't help.

As expected the customs process in LA was a nasty series of lines and waiting, but we made it through and made our last flight to Denver. By that time, we were pretty tired, but not too tired to stop at Efrain's for the best Mexican food ever. Then Lindsay and I ran around dealing with the phone and looking for a replacement suitcase (one was trashed on the trip from Knoxville to Denver) and trying to stay awake so we could go to bed at a "normal" hour... like 7:30. We actually made it til about 9, but then had a bad night of waking up every couple of hours. Lindsay even had nightmares!

Now we are doing laundry and telling everyone about the details of the trip. Oh, and working on another birthday celebration for Lindsay! Cake and candles tonight with the grandparents!

Lindsay is off to Chicago tomorrow morning... I think it will be something like her 10th flight of this trip.

G'day, mate. We had a great time.

23. Last day in Melbourne

Without the expert guides (Amanda, Henry, Eleanor, Brigitte) we were on our own today, but with a plan! The plan was to ride the tram to the city and accomplish the following: Queen Victoria Market, Ian Potter Museum, souvenirs, river front area, casino. Did it, and then some.

We found our way to the free city circle tram that would take us around the perimeter of central Melbourne... so we got a little tour along with our transportation. We exited the tram a few blocks from the Queen Victoria Market and when we found the market... wow. Stall after stall after stall of clothes, shoes, boots, souvenirs, t shirts, jewelry, art ... wow. Lindsay did a lot of looking, but only bought one thing (very cute.) We did find the highly-recommended doughnut vendor! They were really good, and provided necessary sustenance as we wandered the giant market.

After we both felt we'd had enough, we wandered back towards the center of town and decided to hop back on that shuttle rather than walk the entire way. We jumped off again at the Ian Potter Museum, where we spent some time in the "Frock-ology" exhibit of Australian-designer dresses from the last hundred-plus years. We browsed through more Australian art, then decided to look for some lunch.

We walked along the river for a while, and headed to the Southgate area, where we found many riverboat tours, restaurants, and shops.

We had a very, very nice lunch outside in the shade along the river. We took our time and enjoyed the people-watching... street performers, dog walkers, tourists.



Lindsay did a little more shopping along the river (successfully!) and then it was time to head back up to the main street so that we could get those last couple of souvenirs. We looked in a couple of shops, then finally found what we were looking for in the very last one. Whew! Now we could go have some fun.



Off to the casino! Back to the riverfront, over the bridge with the cool sculptures, to the Crown casino. Lindsay had to prove her age (not me, he could see the gray hairs...) but then we were free to wander around. There were many slot machines and table games, much like the US. Lindsay learned how quickly you can win a lot, and then lose a lot! In the end, we quit when we were down a total of $15 between us. Not bad for a couple of hours of entertainment!


Back to the tram and back to Sth. Yarra. We stopped for dinner at the Italian place across the street and had a lovely time.

Now we're packing. We will have to use the extra suitcase from the train so we're not over the weight limit on our bags. Lindsay can't find her phone -- it's been packed away since we arrived in AUS -- but if that's the worst thing we've lost, well, we're in good shape. It could have been her passport!

We leave here at 9 am, with a flight at about noon. We will arrive in LA at about 7:30 am on the 5th, then on to Denver. I think it will seem much longer on the way back!

We've had a wonderful visit here, but it's time to go home.

22. National Gallery of Victoria

Today is Monday, and the trip is almost over! We are sad.

Amanda came by at about 9:30 so we could go back to Chapel Street (shopping heaven) and search for Ugg boots for Lindsay and stop at Swish, the party-dress store. The Ugg boots turned out not to "speak" to Lindsay so we will keep looking. Party dresses were very cute, but again, not speaking.

Back to the apartment to meet up with Henry and the girls, have a quick lunch, and head off to the NGV - National Gallery of Victoria. We hopped on a tram, which seems to be free today since it is the official holiday for new year's (since it fell on a Saturday.)

At the NGV, we saw -- and touched -- the famous water wall. We spent some time in the wonderful sculpture garden. We spent some time on our backs, looking up at the stained glass ceiling.


The we made our way to the Lace in Fashion and modern furniture exhibits. Very cool. We hung out by the giant bunny.


We had tea in the members lounge and browsed in the museum shop. A great day.

Oh, and we hit one more Ugg shop for Lindsay -- still not speaking to her. We'll keep looking tomorrow.

We ran -- literally -- for the number 8 tram to Toorak and were soon back at the apartment. Time to say goodbye -- the family is off to the beach and Lindsay and I will be on our own. A few tears, many thanks for a great time, and we parted ways.

Lindsay and I are trying to figure out how to get all our stuff into the original 2 suitcases... not going to happen. We will use the very tacky plastic suitcase-bag they gave us at the train station for all the extras. It will be a little hard to manage in LA, but otherwise we will be fine.

Now that we're pretty packed up (weighed and everything), we will head off for dinner at a Chinese place on Chapel street that Amanda pointed out. Then it's early to bed so we can head back to the city in the morning to be real tourists! We'll go to the Queen Victoria Market, a couple of museums, walking along the waterfront, and maybe even a stop at the casino!

We'll make the most of our last day in Australia!

21. Happy Birthday to Lindsay!

Well, I think it was a pretty good day. At 9:00 we met our driver for the big tour of the Yarra Valley -- the Australian Napa Valley? The plan was to head to the valley, stop for coffee, have a barrel tasting at a winery, go to a dairy to taste cheese, then head to the cattle farm/vineyard for lunch and more.

We had a beautiful drive to the county... and Rob took us on a little detour to a place he thought might have kangaroos in the wild. We saw some very pretty scenery, but we didn't see any roos!

Rob took us to a very cool coffee/wine/cheese shop for morning tea. We browsed a bit, had a coffee, then headed off to our wine tasting.

The winery was in a very pretty setting, with tables on the lawn and a petanque game area. Inside, we were taken into the back, where the barrels are stored, for our private tasting (we got a few looks from the other tourists gathered for the public tastings...) We tasted two whites, a rose, a shiraz and a merlot. For the merlot, we tasted the young wine from two different barrels -- and were able to taste the differences in the two, probably from the difference in the wood of the barrels. Finally, we tasted the "finished" version of that wine, noting that it was much like a blend of the two younger wines. We learned a lot about wine making, grapes, and Australian wines in particular.
A little woozy, the next stop was the Yarra Valley Dairy were we tasted a number of goat cheeses. We really liked all but one! We browsed through the shop, trying to decide if we could get the cheese home to the US... decided it wouldn't work, so bought jam and an apron instead.

At about one pm, we pulled into the beautiful Tibooburra farm. We met Jo, one of the family members, and Billy the dog.

We started with a little wine and nuts and a stretch after our long ride. Jo provided a wonderful lunch of cheese, bread, quiche, salad and wine. After lunch, we headed off in the "farm truck" (a Mercedes SUV) to tour the farm. We saw what seemed like miles of vineyard, lots of cattle, lots of hay, waterfalls, ponds, and the homestead. It was all beautiful and very peaceful. It's impossible to capture the stunning views in photos. After the tour, we gathered around a table outside, tasted the Merlot, and talked about the workings of the farm and the vineyard, the wines, world events, fire and flood... until it was time to head back to town. Jo gave Lindsay the bouquet of roses from the table (grown on the farm) and a bottle of Chardonnay. It was a really nice afternoon.


Back to the city by 5:30! Dinner with Henry and Amanda and the girls at 6:30 at a very interesting new restaurant. The food was wonderful -- Lindsay had the steak of her life! -- and it was a great way to wrap up the birthday. We walked all the way back to the apartment, or rather Lindsay and Brigitte skipped all the way back! They were both pretty tired at the end.



So that makes two birthday celebrations down (Dinner at Movida and all day today) and only three more to go -- Colorado, Illinois, Tennessee. If she plays this right, I think Lindsay can stretch this birthday nearly all the way to the next one!

Happy 21, Lindsay!

20. Photo catch-up for 18 and 19

New Year's Eve... the chocolate shoe, Henry at the Barbie, Lindsay and Eleanor hanging out






At St Kilda... the girls at lunch, fairy penguin in the rocks, cakes!


Check out all the pics using the kodakgallery links at the right!

19. St Kilda New Year's Day

A quick update on New Year's Eve... we were still up at midnight, so were able to watch the fireworks in Sydney on TV. What a show! 12 minutes seems like it should not be that big a deal but it was outrageous. The whole thing was totally over the top. We mostly watched because we wanted to see the fireworks that had been set up when we did our Bridge Climb -- the image of a hand, meaning "make your mark" that has native roots. We did see it featured in the second part of the fireworks show. Pretty cool.

So we slept in a bit, since we were all up so late. I had a very nice swim in the pool here at the condos. It's salt water, as are most of the pools here. I wonder if we can convert our pool to salt water? Hmmmm.

Manda and the girls picked us up at noon, and we made our way to the very funky, Boulder-like town of St. Kilda. It's known for its cakes, cafes, and odd characters. Henry rode his bike so we would have room in the car... we met up with him in front of their favorite record (yes, vinyl!) shop, unfortunately closed for the holiday.We had a wonderful, lazy lunch at a great Italian cafe, and then walked and walked along the beach. We also walked out onto the pier, where Brigitte and Eleanor did a good job spotting fairy penguins in the rocks. We got some good pics, but we'll wait to upload those until another time.

After our long walk, we stopped at Le Bon, one of the fabulous cake shops owned by parents of the girls' friends, and loaded up on cake. Really yummy!

After all that eating, all any of us could do was think about naps... so nap we did. Later, Lindsay and I decided to go to a movie. We wondered if it would be different, and found it was mostly the same. The real difference is that when you buy a ticket, you get an assigned seat, as you would in a live-performance theater. Otherwise, the same long series of movie previews and advertisements, followed by a silly movie. Oh, and it's expensive. Pretty much the same as home!

After the movie, we found that most restaurants and cafes were closed for the holiday, so we picked up veggie burgers to go from the place on the corner and had a nice quiet dinner at "home."

Lindsay is showering, I'm doing laundry, and we're planning an early night. The van picks us up at 9 am tomorrow for the "Yarra Valley with a Difference" private tour. Here is a link to the info about the tour, sounds great! Yarra Valley with a Difference

I think it will be a fun way to learn about the area, and for Lindsay to have a few more new experiences on her 21st birthday!

More pictures later!

18. New Year's Eve Day and Eve

Melbourne is not like Sydney in that it really doesn't have any big landmarks. What really defines Melbourne is the people, the culture, the way of life. To help us understand that, Amanda arranged for a "Lanes and Arcades" walking tour of the center of Melbourne. during this 4-hour tour, we saw amazing street art painted on the walls of the various lanes. In those lanes were shops, cafes, bars and lots of activity.



We also saw several arcades -- shopping areas -- in cool, historic buildings. The shops were interesting and fun. Some were cute and funky, some snobby and expensive... all were very interesting.

We stopped for morning tea at a chocolate and coffee shop were we sampled hazelnut chocolate truffles and had a mocha hot chocolate. Yum. It was nice and cool in there, which was especially welcome since the temperature had started to climb to it's eventual high of 104. (This is the only really hot day in the forecast, which makes me very happy.) After the choco-fest, we saw more art, more shopping, more cool buildings. We ended the tour with a delightful lunch in a cafe in one of the lanes... so nice.

After the tour, we took the tram back to Sth. Yarra to get ready for the evening's festivities. Finally, we would get to see Amanda's house! What a place... it looks like a feature from Dwell magazine. I can see why they really love it. It's so comfortable and efficient and has great spaces. We hung out for a while, while Henry whipped up some fabulous quadruple-chocolate shortbread with gold flakes on top. Then Henry fired up the barbie to grill the veggies.

He and Manda really put together a feast of grilled veggies (including corn!), cheeses, dips, flatbreads... wonderful. Even though we were stuffed, we hit the chocolate! The girls helped us eat some of Lindsay's chocolate shoe, and of course we feasted on that chocolate shortbread. I'll

In a chocolate haze, we settled in to watch The Sound of Music. The girls (and we adults) managed to stay awake for the entire movie, but none of us would make it to midnight. We wished each other a happy new year and headed to bed. I will post the photos tomorrow -- too tired now!

Happy New Year to all!

17. (Early) Birthday Dinner in Melbourne

Lindsay and Denis (Amanda's father) share a birthday - Jan 2 - and so we had much to celebrate! We took the tram into downtown Melbourne -- a great way to get an overview of much of the area and the landmarks (thanks, Denis!)

Lindsay and I posed in front of the famous station, and then we headed off to the restaurant.

The restaurant was down a narrow side lane, where the lane walls were covered in "street art" and I swear we would never have found this place if Amanda hadn't guided us there. Once inside, what a great place! At Movido, a very popular, award-winning Spanish tapas restaurant, we were treated to plate after plate of small tastes, each more wonderful than the one before. They even had a separate set of tapas for the dreaded vegetarian ;-) ... and Lindsay tried some very unusual foods. At the end, we just couldn't eat any more.

We had cosmos, wine, lots of yummy food, and lively conversation... a perfect evening! And we stayed up very late... Dinner was at 8:30, and I have to confess that Lindsay and I have been turning in early most nights -- not much later than that!

I think Lindsay enjoyed her fancy birthday dinner. I know I did!

16. Melbourne!

We just want to say that getting from Sydney to Melbourne was such a pleasant experience... unlike air travel in the US. We arrived at the airport to find no crowds, no commotion. It's not that no one was traveling, it was that the travel was so efficient and organized. In the center of the terminal are kiosks where you can weigh your bags -- a very, very important thing for us!-- so you don't have to wait until you are checking in with the airline employee to find out one bag is over weight and then start opening bags and moving things around while other people wait in line behind you! So, we weighed our bags (all ok) and then moved to the kiosk to check in and print the baggage tags and boarding passes. We then attached the tags to our bags and moved to another area where we scanned the boarding pass and sent the bags through. Done! Easy! No problems!

Even better was the security line. No ID check, no baggie for liquids, no shoes removed, no frisking, no full-body x-ray. Only computers and aerosol cans needed to be out when they x-ray the carry-on bags. A quick walk through and we were done. While the process was stress-free and easy, we did think it odd that no one -- ever -- checked an ID.

Amanda and Eleanor met us at the baggage claim area and then whisked us through Melbourne to Barbara's and Denis' apartment. Wow, what a place! Very close to the city, a tall building with all the amenities either in the fancy mall attached to the apartment building, or just around the corner on the main street. There is a pool and spa and workout area, and of course great walking options in the neighborhood. As we strolled around after our wonderful Japanese dinner, Lindsay was sizing up the shopping options. Clothes! Shoes! Chocolate! French bakery! More shoes! We spent the evening visiting and planning the rest of our stay. What a great way to start our holiday in Melbourne!

Barbara and Denis are so generously allowing us to stay in their beautiful home while they are away at the beach. We can't thank them enough. And Henry and Amanda and the girls have delayed their trip to the beach to play tour guide for us. Again, we are so grateful.

Not surprisingly, Lindsay is sleeping in a bit and I'm enjoying this beautiful morning. Amanda will be by soon and we will be off to explore in Melbourne. We have a late, fancy dinner planned to celebrate all the birthdays, so we'll have to get in a nap this afternoon. Lots to do!

15. Last evening in Sydney

After a quick nap, we boarded the Captian Cook for a "Coffee Cruise" in Sydney Harbor. It was nice to see it all from this perspective. It was a long trip, and the way back was not interesting enough to keep Miss Lindsay awake! I have to admit I was pretty drowsy, too. We saw the expected landmarks, and many many beautiful (expensive, up to 80 MILLION) homes along the water. It was a nice, easy way to wrap things up in Sydney.

After the cruise, we stopped back at the hotel. Our room was just being cleaned (5pm!?!) so we were forced to head to the lobby bar with the laptop and cell phone. Lindsay used the computer to catch up on everything and I had a nice chat with Amanda, planning things for our arrival in Melbourne!

After a nice dinner at the wharf, we took our last stroll along Circular Quay and said our goodbyes to Sydney. Back to the room to pack! If we do most of it tonight, we can sleep in tomorrow morning! I'm mostly done, of course, but Lindsay is watching the Discovery Channel through her eyelids!

14. Opera House and Botanic Gardens

The sun was shining early as we started our day, but it soon turned cloudy and cool. Not so bad, but we'll have to get warmer clothes before the harbor cruise this afternoon!


We took an insider tour of the Sydney Opera House this morning. It goes without saying that this in an architectural wonder. We learned on the tour that the design was chosen even though they weren't sure how they would actually build it! But after all that trouble, cost, political drama, and the firing of the original architect, it is truly amazing. Up close, and inside, it is much grander and stunning that from the postcard pictures. We were allowed to snap a few photos, but it's hard to capture the details of the concrete, steel, native wood, and tiles. It's something you just have to see for yourself. It would be really something to attend a performance here.

At the end of the tour, we were allowed to enter the gallery dedicated to the architect, who was eventually honored for his vision and design... and rehired to help support the evolution of the building over time. His son is also working full-time on the structure. The gallery includes a stunning tapestry designed by the architect.

Check out all the photos at kodakgallery by clicking on this link: http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=542892283408:1789422967&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharee

Since it was a late night and an early morning, we grabbed a cafe latte before we went for a stroll through the Royal Botanic Gardens. It's a huge place, so we decided to spend our time mostly in the herb gardens. Everything is really beautiful. It was nice to just walk along and enjoy the lush green gardens and interesting plants.

Now Lindsay is napping and we're soon off to lunch and our harbor cruise. It's our last day in Sydney! We are sad to leave but can't wait to see our friends in Melbourne! Tomorrow is mostly travel, with our flight arriving approximately 4 pm. We'll spend a little time this evening trying to get the luggage under control, then have a nice dinner and a last walk along the Circular Quay!

13. Just hanging out in Sydney

A rainy day in Sydney, so what to do? Go shopping!!! We slept in, hoping the rain would quit (it didn't) and then dressed for the cool, rainy day. We hopped on the big red bus to take us down to the shopping area on George Street.


Wow. There is one fabulous, multi-story mall after another, for blocks and blocks along George and Market Streets -- and more after that, we just didn't have the energy. Lindsay found some cute outfits, we checked out the "largest needlework store in Sydney" and even went to a golf store. We had considered going to the top of the Sydney Tower but decided that we had really seen those views from the top of the bridge and so decided to pass. We walked up George street back to The Rocks area and returned to our hotel for a post-shopping rest.

We had plans to meet Kevin at the highly-recommeded bar in the Shangri-la Hotel nearby. This is the bar on the 36th floor with the fabulous views. So we dressed up a bit, picked up Kevin in the lobby, and made our way to the hotel. It's true, that bar and restraurant have wonderful views of the harbor. We were able to look down on the bridge and show Kevin where we had been the day before!

After finishing the most expensive drinks of my life, I was going back to the hotel to relax and get organized a bit -- and Lindsay and Kevin were headed out on the town. On the way to dinner at the Argyle in The Rocks, they saw a vending machine that sells simple, flat shoes for girls whose feet hurt from their high heels! I guess you put in your money, press the buttons for color and size, and out pop the shoes! Dinner was good, now time to have some fun.

Kevin knew of a place in Darling Harbor where they could go bowling -- yes, bowling. Lindsay says it's a very cool place, like a nightclub with bowling lanes! Lindsay lost the match, but had a lot of fun. They walked around the harbor and finally called it a night when everything closed!

Kevin lives on the other side of town, near Bondi Beach, but was able to catch a bus and save the taxi fare!

A late night for everyone -- it will be hard to get going in the morning!

12. BridgeClimb

This is Lindsay. We started out this morning at the Annie Leibovitz exhibit at the Contemporary Art Museum. It was cool to see all the pictures she has taken over the years. Here is a link to information about the exhibit: http://www.mca.com.au/default.asp?page_id=10&content_id=7400

We ate some of the leftover picnic for lunch and the skies cleared. Then we hopped on the big red double-decker bus for a tour of Sydney. We rode the bus for a while, and got a nice overview and history of Sydney. As we were riding, we saw what looked like people walking on the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Mom quick looked in her Sydney guidebook papers and saw that you could get a tour called the BridgeClimb. So on a spur of the moment decision, we hopped off the bus at the bridge area, and decided to check it out. We walked around a bit and found the bridge climb office where we got the information and decided to do the climb leaving in 30 minutes.


Here's what it said about the BridgeClimb:

The Bridge Climb is a 3 ½ hour guided journey to the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It takes you along the outer arch of the Bridge on catwalks and ladders all the way to the summit, 134 metres above Sydney Harbour.

In Climb groups of up to 14 people, you’ll be led by one of BridgeClimb’s professional Climb Leaders on an adventure of the world’s most recognisable Bridge. The steady incline to the summit leaves you free to focus your attention on your Sydney experience, with opportunities to witness 360 degree views of Sydney, including east to the Sydney Opera House, west to the Blue Mountains and the Harbour city surrounds.

When you reach the top you will have a sense of achievement that you will remember forever - you've conquered an Australian icon recognised the world over!


We geared up with a special jumpsuit (we were advised to strip to underwear because it would be hot in the suit), hat, handkercheifs, headphones to hear the climb guide, a waist harness that would tether us to the bridge at all times. Everything, including sunglasses, had to be tethered to us -- and we could not carry anything onto the bridge (cameras, chapstick, etc.) All our stuff went into lockers. We even used their shoes!

We climbed to the top of the bridge, 1400 stair steps, through catwalks, ladders, over/under steel structures -- over 1.5 km total. There were great views along the way, as well as at the top. It was very cool to be up that high and see a long way in all directions. Seeing things from the top made the things we saw on the bus tour make more sense. It was quite the experience and I'm very glad we did it.

After we made our way down, we received a certificate and group picture -- proving we did the climb!

Along the tour, we met Paul, who has recently moved to Perth from the UK and was visiting friends in Sydney. He was so nice and took us to meet his friends at the Australia Hotel, where he treated us to beer and pizza -- australian style -- with alligator and kangaroo toppings! Thanks, Paul!

The skies opened and the storm began and we made a mad dash for the hotel.

It was a great day! Who knew when we started that we'd be climbing the Sydney Harbor Bridge?!?!

Off to bed, we're wet and tired. Another big day tomorrow... who knows what we'll do?!?

11. Christmas Day at Bondi Beach!

It's an absolutely perfect, beautiful day! After all that rain, we have a clear, sunny Christmas Day. Temps in the 70's, light breeze, it's wonderful. I picked up the picnic lunch the hotel chef had prepared, and it was way, way too much food! We will be enjoying the three bricks of cheese, salads, sandwiches, deserts, drinks throughout our stay in Sydney. Thank goodness the room has a fridge! They even included suncreen, lotion, and bug spray!

We packed up a couple of the sandwiches, a greek salad and a very substantial fruit salad, some cookies and brownies, and a couple of diet sodas and fizzy waters for our beach picnic. We included the sunscreen and bug spray, our hats, our multi-purpose beach sarongs (they've been blankets on the planes and trains -- they'll be beach towels today!), and paperbacks and headed out! We took a city bus round trip - what a great deal, convenient and cheap.

We arrived at the beach at about 10:30 -- it was busy, but not overly crowded. We had been advised by many, many people to go early! and that worked just fine. We picked a nice spot near the center of the beach and settled in for the day.

Kevin Mallen, Lindsay's friend from high school, has been living and studying in Sydney for most of the last year. He met us at the beach and tried to teach Lindsay to surf! Ha!

Later, the surfing santas came by... many people were wearing santa hats and other holiday gear on the beach. Great people-watching!

We stayed until we had had enough sun. The beach had really filled up -- it seems to be the place to be on Christmas in Sydney!

A quick bus ride back to the hotel... we picked up a few pops and breakfast items and headed back to our room. We were so happy to get a shower and to have a cocktail and some cheese to toast the holiday!

Kevin will be by later to give us a little tour of the downtown area and have dinner.

A wonderful Christmas in Sydney!

10. Christmas Eve Day

It's Chrismas Eve! We rolled out of bed very early (the sun is already up here at 5:15!), threw ourselves together and headed for the train station for a 6:30 departure.

This was our first "glitch" in the trip -- and a minor one. The Brisbane train station is very large, and included areas for both local and long distance trains. I called the night before to confirm the area for our train so that we wouldn't end up in the wrong spot and spend the early morning dragging all our luggage around the station. Of course, it turned out the plans had changed, we did end up dragging our bags around, and we almost didn't have time to get them checked... but in the end it all turned out fine. Everyone has been so helpful and nice. Other than working up a real sweat in the humid early morning, it really wasn't much of a problem.

We settled into our seats on the train, where we spent the morning napping and taking in the scenery. There is a "Buffet Car" where we purchase meals and drinks, and we're able to get up and walk around. Lindsay and I slept again after lunch. Seems we needed to do some catching up on our rest! During the afternoon, the sun came out and we continued to take in the sights, read, knit, and chat. And I listened to Lindsay's Ipod... while the earbugs were in her ears! I think that must be too loud, but she only rolls her eyes...I'm such a mom. The train was early to one stop, so we were encouraged to get off the train and walk around outside for a bit -- that was nice. Sunshine and fresh air!

Along the way, we saw Mountains (more like Tennesse than Colorado, green and rolling) and forests and rivers and finally harbors near Sydney. It's all so green, with fields and pastures and cattle. It's a beautiful place.


We arrived at Syndey Central Station at about 9 pm. After a short cab ride with a very agressive driver (yikes!), we arrived at the beautiful Sydney Harbour Marriott. We have a lovely room with a view of the harbor and the opera house. After checking email and unpacking, we fell into bed.

Christmas day is forecast to be sunny and warm! We will pick up our picnic lunch and head for Bondi Beach in the morning.

Merry Christmas!

9. Australia Zoo

We have soooo many pictures of kangaroos and koalas! What a great place. Steve Irwin (the late Crocodile Hunter) said that if he could get people close to the animals, they would love them... and that people want to save what they love...

We were allowed to be up close and personal with many of the animals -- not the crocs! -- and it was very special. The day flew by... we saw snakes and crawly things and roos and koalas and crocs and alligators and dingos and it goes on and on. And got to pet most!

Lindsay and I fed the elephants!

Lindsay got to hold a Koala!

Great fun -- worth the trip. Where else would we be able to be this close to these animals?

We had another great evening in Brisbane -- Shopping and dinner on the Queen Street Mall.

Off to bed now for a few hours -- leaving 5:15 AM for the early train to Sydney!