This morning, we headed out to St. Kilda. We took a stroll along the pier and Geoffrey enjoyed throwing rocks into the ocean. We walked along the boardwalk and found a playground, where Geoffrey enjoyed playing. Luna Park, the amusement park, was closed, but we got a peak inside. We had lunch outside at one of the restaurants before heading back into the city.
We found a grocery store and got some snacks and some more milk for Geoffrey. Geoffrey took a loooong nap, and we actually had to wake him to get to dinner on time (Gary and Blake had tickets to an Australian Rules football game). He had napped for two and a half hours so he needed to get up anyway - but boy, was he fussy! He finally started to mellow out an hour and a half later - yikes!!! Luckily, we had just gotten seated when he started to calm down so he wasn't too bad in the restaurant.
Also, shortly after we ordered, there was a frieworks disply on the water just outside the restaurant. We went out to watch it - it was really good! That passed the time, and our food arrived just as the fireworks were ending. WE ate quickly and left so that Gary and Blake could make their game.
On our way back to the hotel, Geoff, Grant and I had a small adventure - the tram three in front of ours got hit by a car which effectively stopped tram traffic on our line for a while. We had to leave our tram and find another way of getting there. A few blocks away we found a bus that took us directly to our stop - sweet. We stopped at the grocery store again and got some ice cream and a candy bar (Cadbury fruit and nut bar - yummers!) before making it back to our hotel for the night!!!
Friday, July 29, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
City Walk - Thursday
Today we took a walk through some of Melbourne's gardens/parks. We walked from Federation Square (stopping to take a peek in St. Paul's cathedral) down the Yarra river and into Treasury Gardens and Fitzroy Gardens. We saw Cook's cottage, the mini Tudor village, the fairy tree, and Geoff had some playground time.
Next we took the trolley to the Queen Victoria Market, where we ate lunch and bought some produce.
After a rest back at the hotel, we headed out to dinner on Little Bourke street, a little Chinatown of sorts - but not CHinese - a variety of Asian restaurants - Korean, Mongolian, Chinese, Japanese... we had Japanese, with Blake and Grant sharing sushi, Gary getting Katsu, and Geoff and I sharing beef and noodles sukiyaki. Delicious!
After dinner, Gery and Geoffrey headed back for a fun filled evening of trains and CHuggington in the hotel while Grant, Blake, and I went to the theater to see "Love Never Dies," AKA Phantom #2. It was... interesting, to say the least. The sets and costumes were amazing, the music was pretty good, but the story left something to be desired. Grant described it as "Phantom of the Opera" meets "Days of Our Lives."
Next we took the trolley to the Queen Victoria Market, where we ate lunch and bought some produce.
After a rest back at the hotel, we headed out to dinner on Little Bourke street, a little Chinatown of sorts - but not CHinese - a variety of Asian restaurants - Korean, Mongolian, Chinese, Japanese... we had Japanese, with Blake and Grant sharing sushi, Gary getting Katsu, and Geoff and I sharing beef and noodles sukiyaki. Delicious!
After dinner, Gery and Geoffrey headed back for a fun filled evening of trains and CHuggington in the hotel while Grant, Blake, and I went to the theater to see "Love Never Dies," AKA Phantom #2. It was... interesting, to say the least. The sets and costumes were amazing, the music was pretty good, but the story left something to be desired. Grant described it as "Phantom of the Opera" meets "Days of Our Lives."
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Puffing Billy Steam Train
On Wednesday, we decided to ride the puffing Billy steam train. After grabbing breakfast at McDonalds (THe Mates Brekkie box - included two breakfast sandwiches, two hash browns and two drinks) we hopped on the metro for our one hour ride out of the city. It was very cool to watch the city give way to the suburbs, and eventually the more rural homes at the base of the Dandedong mountains.
Upon arrival we had about an hour before our train left. The engineer invited us right up into the engine and showed Geoffrey how he shoveled coal into the hot fire box (cool and a bit scary!) He and Gary talked steam trains and that was fun. We also enjoyed the signs in the bathrooms illustrating the appropriate and inappropriate ways to use western toilets. (I took a picture of the sign in the bathroom because I thought it amusing, and then Blake came out to show me the picture he took in his bathroom - um, his sign was way cooler and more in depth. Guess guys need more instruction...
The Puffing Billy was neat - you could sit on the window if you want with your arms and legs hanging out. So cool. Geoffrey fell asleep about 10 minutes after the train left, and took his nap all the way up - from about 12:45 - 1:45. The scenery through the mountains was beautiful!
We had about 45 minutes at the top before heading back down. The conductor told us to wait a moment and he came out with sunflower seeds so that Grant could feed the parrots that were right there at the station. One came out and was super tame and landed right on Grant's hand!
We grabbed a quick lunch at the lakeside cafe and then took the train back down. Geoffrey was awake this time and enjoyed sitting with Grandpa and looking at the scenery. We saw Kookaburras!
Back on the metro, we were back at our hotel by around 5:30.
We headed out for dinner around 7:00, taking the trolley to a fish and chips shop. Geoff fell asleep on the warm trolley and didn't wake back up.
Apparently, they use shark in their fish and chips, which we didn't know until we were about half way done eating - not that it matters, it was very tasty, but shark is high in mercury so it is on the avoid list for preggos like me - so, good to know that I should not eat fish and chips too much here!!!
Drinks are so expensive!!! $3.50 - $4.00 for a soda or a bottle of water!!! yikes!!! Everywhere! 6 packs of soda are 12$ in the grocery store!
(Geoff slept until 5:00. At 5:45 he gave up trying to wake us up (I had also given him his milk at 5:15) and fell asleep for another 45 minutes or so...) sigh...
Upon arrival we had about an hour before our train left. The engineer invited us right up into the engine and showed Geoffrey how he shoveled coal into the hot fire box (cool and a bit scary!) He and Gary talked steam trains and that was fun. We also enjoyed the signs in the bathrooms illustrating the appropriate and inappropriate ways to use western toilets. (I took a picture of the sign in the bathroom because I thought it amusing, and then Blake came out to show me the picture he took in his bathroom - um, his sign was way cooler and more in depth. Guess guys need more instruction...
The Puffing Billy was neat - you could sit on the window if you want with your arms and legs hanging out. So cool. Geoffrey fell asleep about 10 minutes after the train left, and took his nap all the way up - from about 12:45 - 1:45. The scenery through the mountains was beautiful!
We had about 45 minutes at the top before heading back down. The conductor told us to wait a moment and he came out with sunflower seeds so that Grant could feed the parrots that were right there at the station. One came out and was super tame and landed right on Grant's hand!
We grabbed a quick lunch at the lakeside cafe and then took the train back down. Geoffrey was awake this time and enjoyed sitting with Grandpa and looking at the scenery. We saw Kookaburras!
Back on the metro, we were back at our hotel by around 5:30.
We headed out for dinner around 7:00, taking the trolley to a fish and chips shop. Geoff fell asleep on the warm trolley and didn't wake back up.
Apparently, they use shark in their fish and chips, which we didn't know until we were about half way done eating - not that it matters, it was very tasty, but shark is high in mercury so it is on the avoid list for preggos like me - so, good to know that I should not eat fish and chips too much here!!!
Drinks are so expensive!!! $3.50 - $4.00 for a soda or a bottle of water!!! yikes!!! Everywhere! 6 packs of soda are 12$ in the grocery store!
(Geoff slept until 5:00. At 5:45 he gave up trying to wake us up (I had also given him his milk at 5:15) and fell asleep for another 45 minutes or so...) sigh...
Australia! - Arrival in Melbourne
Grant, Geoffrey, Gary, Blake, and I are in Australia!
Of course, a journey this epic must begin with a long... looooong flight - 15 hours of flying time plus a an hour and a half delay taking off - sigh. Flight was due to depart at 11:30. Poor Geoff was so tired by the time it did that he fell asleep just after take off and didn't eat dinner. He slept for about 9 hours or so - Grant and I off and on during that time. The flight was pretty full so we didn't get to spread out at all. Once he woke up, he watched some TV (yet wasn't as fixated by it as he is at home, sigh) We ate breakfast, and actually the only present we opened was a coloring book - he did really well, all things considering!
We arrived in Melbourne at 9:00 Tuesday morning, and we were all checked in to our Marriott by 10:30. We settled in, and then took a walk around the Central Business Districy - we got Sim cards for the phones - I can use my iphone to connect to the internet just like at home which means I can make skype calls. My phone is also a wifi hot spot that Blake and Grant can connect to.
We ate lunch at a Thai restaurant located in a narrow arcade that was packed with locals. The food was delicious! We also stopped at the visitors center to pick up some brochures and such.
We came back to the hotel to rest - hoping that Geoff would nap - not so much. After an hour and a half, we gave up and decided the best thing to do to combat jet lag was to get back out in the sun light. There is a park close by, so we walked there and Geoff had a blast playing for an hour.
Unfortunately, it being winter here, the sun set at 6:00, and Geoff fell asleep shortly after! We walked from the park to a little Italian place where Geoff fell asleep just as they brought our pizza. The waiter had a blast chatting it up with Gary and Blake - he was a 49's fan and was thrilled to discuss American rules football with us.
We all fell asleep pretty early, me at 8:30 and Grant at 9:00. Geoff slept until 6:00 - Huzzah! - and so we all got a pretty good night's sleep.
Of course, a journey this epic must begin with a long... looooong flight - 15 hours of flying time plus a an hour and a half delay taking off - sigh. Flight was due to depart at 11:30. Poor Geoff was so tired by the time it did that he fell asleep just after take off and didn't eat dinner. He slept for about 9 hours or so - Grant and I off and on during that time. The flight was pretty full so we didn't get to spread out at all. Once he woke up, he watched some TV (yet wasn't as fixated by it as he is at home, sigh) We ate breakfast, and actually the only present we opened was a coloring book - he did really well, all things considering!
We arrived in Melbourne at 9:00 Tuesday morning, and we were all checked in to our Marriott by 10:30. We settled in, and then took a walk around the Central Business Districy - we got Sim cards for the phones - I can use my iphone to connect to the internet just like at home which means I can make skype calls. My phone is also a wifi hot spot that Blake and Grant can connect to.
We ate lunch at a Thai restaurant located in a narrow arcade that was packed with locals. The food was delicious! We also stopped at the visitors center to pick up some brochures and such.
We came back to the hotel to rest - hoping that Geoff would nap - not so much. After an hour and a half, we gave up and decided the best thing to do to combat jet lag was to get back out in the sun light. There is a park close by, so we walked there and Geoff had a blast playing for an hour.
Unfortunately, it being winter here, the sun set at 6:00, and Geoff fell asleep shortly after! We walked from the park to a little Italian place where Geoff fell asleep just as they brought our pizza. The waiter had a blast chatting it up with Gary and Blake - he was a 49's fan and was thrilled to discuss American rules football with us.
We all fell asleep pretty early, me at 8:30 and Grant at 9:00. Geoff slept until 6:00 - Huzzah! - and so we all got a pretty good night's sleep.
Saturday, July 02, 2011
Vegas - Excalibur
We just got back from a week in Las Vegas. We stayed at the Excalibur with Angie, Andrew, and Cori. We rented a mini van and drove up on Sunday, with no traffic. We dd buffets every day (The Fiesta, Mandalay Bay, The Mirage... very enjoyable. The kids loved the pool - one pool had a nice bg ledge that was a foot deep - and another one had waterfalls and a water slide that this kids loved.
Grant and I saw Viva Elvis - it is labeled as a Cirque show, but it wasn't really a Cirque-sh, it was like a souped up tribute show. Over all we weren't terribly impressed. I also saw Ka with Angie ad the kids - that show is amazing as always.
We spent some time in the midway and saw some of the hotels. All in all, we had a nice time!
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