Down Undah - The Melbourne Chapter (Two)

By our third day in Melbourne, we pretty much felt like locals (and secretly, really wanted to be. If we run away in the next few months, I'll give you a hint... we probably went back to Melbourne.) so Noah took the wheel. Literally. On the right side of the car on the opposite side of the street. He mastered the art of opposite day driving by the time we got to the end of the driveway and we made our way to the southern stretch of the continent for a drive along the Great Ocean Road.

This drive along the Great Ocean Road was, for lack of more creative description, great. The drive afforded views and access to beaches, forested areas, farmland, cliffs - it really was breathtaking.

We had several wild koala sightings on the drive - but none that made us as proud as the one we spotted with only the aid of our own eyeballs (other times, the groups of Euro tourists pulled over on the side of the road were a dead giveaway).

The most famous destination along the GOR is the (are the...?) Twelve Apostles. A bit of a misnomer these days as 3-4 let the ocean get the best of them. But awe-inspiring, nonetheless.

While we were there, we took a picture for a family visiting from Germany. They asked where we were from and when we responded, they said, "oh! New York! That's where we started our trip two months ago."

So now I'm also running away to Germany. Check both places.

Our last few stops along the GOR were for these views at the Loch Ard Gorge.

Down Undah - The Melbourne Chapter (One)

Ahhh... we are so glad Ben and Natalie's plans allowed for the trip to Melbourne. So many of the trip's highlights were from the jaunt down south.

It was about this point where Melbourne secured a spot on our list of favorite cities.

And this was the point where I realized my feet tan better than my ankles and shins. That's special.

Natalie introduced us to Bread Top in Chinatown after I ate (and enjoyed! how 'bout that, Dad?!) kimchi.

The next day we swung by the beach before making our way to Phillip Island to hang out with 'roos, wallabies and emus. Those terrifying, terrifying giant birds.

Did I mention the terrifying giant birds?

Is this why we're not allowed in their cages in the U.S.?

Ah, poor Gabe. I understand. I amost cried.

That evening, we also saw the Penguin Parade at Phillip Island. I'll be honest, after the rave reviews, I was expecting penguins by the thousands to take over the beach. I guess there are a few thousand, but they come in approximately 7 at a time every 10 minutes. Thousands in sporadic groups of 7 are dramatically less, well, dramatic. But pretty cool to see nonetheless. You'll have to take my word for it, no photos allowed here.

The Girl in the 15" Box!

How could I forget?

We watched this whole act just so I could blog about it.

Okay, NOW the Sydney recap is complete.

Down Undah - The Sydney Chapter

Australia, you have a few things figured out.

a) Who can resist licorice?
b) Who can resist chocolate? (except for you, Lyndsey, you know who you are...)

Simple syllogism, you see where this is going - who can resist chocolate covered licorice? It's a good thing I didn't try these until the flight home or I would have been shipped back to the States in a sugar coma.

Isn't that just typical Allison fashion? Visit our wonderful family on a beautiful continent and start the recap dwelling on the confectionary goodness of the place? If you knew the way my brain was wired, it's either that or public restrooms - so pick your poison.

Our bodies are confused beyond reason with the drastic flip flop in time zones and the chilly northern hemisphere hit us like a brick wall when we exited JFK International before sunrise yesterday morning. But Noah's sunburnt nose and our licorice hangovers are fresh reminders of our adventure down under with the Ben and Natalie Riley fam. And what an adventure.

The Aussie Rileys are in the midst of a move, so we were able to split our time between Sydney + surrounding area and Melbourne + surrounding area. So though it didn't happen in this order exactly, here is the Sydney portion of the trip. You, dear reader(s), might not give a rip one way or the other, but telling a trip out of chronological order is a very bold move for my linear brain.

A little brekky then swimming at Bondi Beach - we'd just arrived, hence the jeans and sweaters in Sydney's record-breaking temps. We would learn quickly...

Home by way of Opera House views for a dip in the pool and Natalie's gourmet cooking (not an overstatement) then it was off to catch a glimpse of 'roos in the wild. And win their love with Blueberry Morning.
Yes! Bondi Beach, Aussie mohawkmullets, the Opera House and wild kangaroos in ONE day. We could have flown home satisfied.

On Sydney Day Two (ah, sheesh - see? I'm craving order here.) Noah and I caught the ferry from Parramatta and spent the day at Manly and Shelly beaches. The lack of snorkel gear in close proximity dashed our hopes of some underwater adventuring, but we enjoyed the clear water, warm sun and picturesque surroundings regardless.

We took the ferry, with its evening mix of sandy beach-goers and little black dresses, back to Darling Harbour and strolled the boardwalks looking slightly out of place - the only beach-goers that didn't part ways with the little black dresses upon arrival.

Sydney Day Three was more Darling Harbour by day and a stroll through Chinatown and Paddy's Market.

That evening, we towed the line between eww-bats-are-creepy and wow-bats-are-strangely-captivating when we watched clouds of bats emerge from the trees at the botanical gardens. HUGE bats.
We followed up with a delicious dinner at Italian Village in an awesome old building with this view of the Opera House.

Blurry Rileys, blurry Opera House. Behold the unpredictability of the night vision setting.

The best thing about vacations is that you can't gain weight while you're on one. So chocolate pancakes with strawberries and chocolate ice cream at Pancakes on the Rocks for breakfast is totally fair game.

We recovered from our a.m. gluttony with a walk across the Harbour Bridge, through the Rocks and around the Botanical Gardens for more gorgeous Sydney views.

And last, but not least, the big hair contest at the Sydney LDS Temple. I won by a landslide.

Like A Virgin

En route to Australia.

We ended up flying Virgin/V Australia.

And so far it meets my expectations to a t - more tight black shirts (top buttons unbuttoned), heavy eyeliner and fedoras than I can count; four dudes rockin' their aviators in the dimly lit cabin; and I just heard a befuddled passenger attribute our 45 min early arrival to daylight savings time?

Here's to the next leg of the trip and many more greasy rockstar coifs.