Australia

We're back!

I've been putting off blogging a little bit because I have not been able to figure out how to chronicle our trip. It was only a week long, yet we did so many things that I want to remember - I feel like I could probably write for hours and not get it all in. And besides, nobody would want to read all of that.

So, I think I'll just start from the beginning and summarize. It's gonna be long either way - I don't blame you if you skip around. ;-)

As written previously, our trip to Australia was more than stressful. It was awful. All I can say is that I'm really glad I overpacked Abby's diapers and formula or we wouldn't have had enough for the trip. We did eventually get there, after 60 hours of traveling and a day later than we had planned.

There was this one really low point - we were all exhausted, about 20 hours after we left our apartment and we were still only in New York. Awful. I mean, it's like 3 hours from our house. Anyway, I needed to make Abby a bottle, but we had run out of water. Since we had left security, there were no stores still open. I asked somebody where I could get water, and they told me there was a vending machine downstairs. Well, I only had aussie cash at this point. Kyle, luckily, had 2 dollars. So off I went to get water. I find the machine, and sure enough, it costs 2 dollars for a bottle of water. The whole top shelf of the vending machine is water, so I insert my money and push "D9" and what happens? Out come a bottle of black tea. But I didn't need tea - I needed water for my baby's bottle. And now I was out of money. Sigh. Y'know that point when you're just done? That was my point. Since there was nobody else in the hallway, I just sat down and cried and cried. Awful. Next thing I know, I hear a flight crew coming down the hall, so I hop up and head to the elevators. I couldn't beat them, so we end up in the elevator together. Of course, they notice that I'm not well. They all make a big fuss over asking me what's wrong. All I could get out was "I needed water for my baby and I got tea by mistake and it was my last 2 dollars" Looking back - I'm sure they thought I was insane. Turns out, one of the flight guys had a small 5 oz bottle of water with him and he happily let me have it. He then pointed to his little wings pin and said "see? I must be your guardian angel today!" Maybe he was.

In the end, we all got to Sydney and to Melbourne. As I wrote earlier, Kelsay and Ernie were just the nicest people ever. I'm so sorry that we hadn't met before now, but I look forward to seeing them again someday. They were simply amazing. We had a great time with them in Melbourne. We did some sightseeing and shopping. Kyle was brave enough to order a Kangaroo steak (yeah, I know. I told Kyle that the worst thing that could possibly happen is that it would be good, and it was) We went to a wildlife park and saw the koalas and the dingos and the Tasmanian devils (turns out that the loony toons "Taz" is not so well known down under and all our impressions were somewhat loss on the Aussies). Our time with Kels and Ern was all too short. Next thing we know, we're back at the airport and headed to Sydney.

Sydney was great. It's such a city, and in a lot of ways, we felt right at home. I mean, Boston and Sydney were kinda settled by the same folks so lots of street names and such had the same names. The first thing we did, of course, was walk from our hotel to the opera house. That's when you really feel like you're "there" I mean, it's so iconic. We took some pictures, but my camera died shortly after getting there. Kyle and I ended up going back the last day and got some better pictures at that point. :)

Of course, the Aussies have their own words and phrases for things. We all enjoyed hearing those. I'm thinking about adopting a few of my favorites. Instead of stroller, it's "the pusher" Said with an accent, more like, "pusha' " Instead of liquor stores, they're "bottle shops" Now, doesn't that sound nicer? Carseats are capsules. Diapers are Nappies (or napkins - which can lead to much confusion at a restaurant) I think hearing the lingo was part of what I enjoyed most.

Anyway, The next day we all hit up the Sydney Aquarium. It was really cool - definitely the best one I've been to. They had several different tunnel rooms and lots of cool animals. Sharks are always cool, and stingrays. Abby seemed to be pretty taken with the surroundings - lots to see.

Later that night, Kyra and Tony babysat so Kyle and I could have a date. We went out and found a nice restuarant on the water. We had a view of the Sydney bridge and the opera house at sunset. We ate outside and it was lovely. I had the best steak of my life and we spluged on a bottle of aussie wine with dinner that was also nice. Afterwards, we caught the bus back to our hotel and was glad to find that Abby hadn't made a peep for her sitters. Of course, that didn't last long and she was up several times the rest of the night.

kyle showing off our aussie wine

On that note - I couldn't have asked for a better baby. Abby did so so so well with the terribly difficult time changes. Most nights, she woke up a few times but went down easily. I usually brought her to bed with us - which is something I've never allowed here at home - but it seemed to work for most of the night. She thought her day should start at around 5am. once she was up, she was great the whole day though. She was great on the flights too. She only really melted twice - both on the last legs of the trip both ways. I couldn't blame her a bit.

Back to Sydney. The third day we took a ferry out to Manly Beach. We spent the day browsing shops, pubs, and beach views. At some point in the day, I reached in my pocket to grab my phone and it wasn't there. We looked and looked, and no luck. I sent the phone a message in case anybody found it, but after a day, we cancelled the service and wiped the phone clean. So, now I'm phoneless. Weird. I think we'll end up reactivating one of our old iphones since we'd have to pay top dollar to buy a new one now. No fun. But - Manly beach was great. Very pretty.

The last day we split from Kyra and Tony most of the day. Kyle and I had a nice breakfast and hit up several markets around town. We went back to the opera house for more pictures and headed back to pack for the trip home.

I have so many pictures. I can't even begin to figure out how to share them. I've tried to pick a few of the better ones, but I have so many that I'll never get them all on here. Nevertheless, here are a few from our adventure. I'll post more in another blog. Abby's crying again - poor thing. It's hard readjusting! I'll write later.

Melbourne


Ernie & Abs


Abby with Kilo the Koala (Kels & Ernie completely spoiled Abby with gifts the whole time!)


bottoms up!


Kyle and his kangaroo steak


at the wildlife park


"mom, can I keep him?"


me and my baby


Abby loves having giant lizards behind her


Ernie & Kelsay (Kelsay had about 20 plans for stealing Abby before we left, lol)


"another airport???"


abbyfuzz!


looking at the fish at the aquarium


Manly Beach


Apple Store in Sydney (Abby had ruined her other outfit, so all we had to put her in was this jazzercise ensemble)


world traveler baby!


Sydney


the opera house


Kyra & Tony


Kels & Abs