More visitors to Melbourne

What a way to spend a Monday night - watching Farmer Wants a Wife (Australian-style) and getting caught up on the blog.  Actually - do they even have Farmer Wants a Wife in the US anymore?  People actually get married on this one though.....maybe its a little less scripted than the US :)

Mom stayed for an extra week after Dad, Cindy, and Tink went back to the US so I had to recruit Rachel to come to Melbourne to entertain her while I was at work.  I'm not sure what all they did while I was at work, but I did hear that Rachel should have been all caught up with sleep after her trip to Melbourne since she napped every afternoon!

Friday after work Mom and Rachel met a few of the EY crowd for some drinks after work and fireworks at Docklands.

Rach and I at dinner at James Squire

Saturday we started the day with brunch at Mart 130 in Middle Park.  This restaurant is located at the tram stop in Middle Park.  I had heard several recommendations about this place so I was excited to try it out.  The corn fritters with bacon, sour cream, and coriander were delicious!  I highly recommend this place to anyone looking for a new brunch spot in Melbourne.

Consistent with the rest of the trip - I think most of the weekend revolved around food too!

Little Cupcakes on DeGraves

Taking a break from eating to look at some graffiti

Macaroons at South Melbourne Market

Popcorn and a movie (it takes two of us to make microwave popcorn)

Not long after saying goodbye to my family, I had two more visitors - Katie and Veronicka from Texas.  I know Katie through my friend Autumn and we became closer friends when we were both at UNI at the same time. 

Katie and Veronicka joined us for Val's birthday dinner at +39 - supposed to be the best piza in Melbourne.   Kelly, Veronicka and I shared the Crema di Zucca pizza (mozzarella, pumpkin, green beans, and parsley) and the Tartufata (truffle, mushrooms, rocket, and parmesans).  I love different pizza toppings!

Katie and I at +39

The following weekend Katie, Veronicka, and I rented a car and drove to Phillip Island - home of the penguin parade.  Sadly no pictures are allowed at the penguin parade so I don't have any pictures of the cute fairy penguins but we did see lots of them!!! 

Veronicka, Katie, and I on the way to Phillip Island

After only 9 months in Melbourne I have been blessed with so many visitors.  My schedule looks pretty wide open for the next 15 months so if anyone wants to come visit just let me know!!!!

The Iowans go to Sydney

Here it is.....the last post about my parents trip down under.  I apologise to everyone for taking so long to write it.  But in my defense, it is busy season.......

After seeing a lot of the sights in and around Melbourne we said goodbye to our rental car and headed for Sydney for some new scenery, and most importantly - to see Rachel!  We arrived in Sydney on Thursday morning to blue skies and lots of sunshine. 

Day 1
We met Rachel at Circular Quay and took the ferry to Manly.  Rachel and I took the group to the Manly Wharf Hotel for some of our favorite nachos.  So much guacamole and sour cream goodness :)
Afterwards we walked around Manly for some shopping.

Rachel!

Mom wanted a jumping picture like the ones that I take everytime I travel.  We tried several times but just couldn't get the picture.  I'm not sure if it was my camera skills or the fact that her air time was less than one second!  Trying to take these pictures was definitely one of the "laugh-til-you-cry" moments of the trip!

The best I could get - she is a little off the ground here at least!!

After Manly Beach we stopped at the Opera Bar for a view of the sunset behind the Harbor Bridge.  Having a drink at the Opera Bar is one of the "must-do's" while in Sydney in my book.  I don't think any of them were impressed - they thought it was cold sitting outside by the heaters and Dad and Tink didn't think they quit fit in with the guys in suits there!

Day 2
Day 2 of our time in Sydney was again a gorgeous day!  I had been hoping for a nice day so I could take them on the Bondi to Coogee coastal walk that I did with the MN crew over Easter.  I knew Mom would love it but I talked my dad into coming along as well.  He made the whole 6km trek - even though every time Rachel and I would stop to let everyone else catch up he thought that we were done and kept saying "I did it" and then I would have to tell him that we still had a ways to go.  He would want me to mention here that he finished 3rd just behind Rachel and I!  He definitely earned the burger, fries, and beer afterwards!  Since I've already blogged about the walk before here are a few pictures!!

Cindy loves Bondi

Where in the world do you read the Prairie City News?

Day 3
For our last day in Sydney we decided to venture out of the city on a day trip to the Blue Mountains.  I visited the Blue Mountains when I travlled around Australia in 2007 but it was good to see them again.  It was pretty cold up in the mountains but at least it was a sunny day and we still got to see the amazing views!  Dad and Tink especially liked the bus drivers commentary on house prices, utility bills, and how the Granny Smith apple got its name.  I'm sure it was much more informative than I was!

Before reaching the Blue Mountains we stopped at Featherdale Wildlife Park for some photos with koalas and kangaroos.  I'm glad we were able to do this since we didn't have very much luck with the wildlife on Great Ocean Road.

Mom with the 3 Sisters

For our last night in Sydney we had dinner at Blackbird Cafe in Darling Harbor - another repeat from the MN crew visit.  It was a little cold (okay really cold) sitting on the open air balcony with only a few tiny space heaters but the food was delicious.  Dad tried crocodile and Tink tried kangaroo.  After dinner we hung around for the fireworks over Darling Harbor.  They were so close and went on for so long.  I can't believe they do that every Saturday night!

Sunday morning we flew back to Melbourne.  This was my last day of playing tour guide because busy season started the next day!  Although it was a little rainy we headed into the city so I could show everyone where I worked.   First Dad, Tink, and I went up to the 88th floor of the Eureka Tower (the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere).  I had free passes to the "Edge" experience.  Basically you stand in a box with opaque windows with a group of about 8-10 other people.  The box then slides out, and you hear noises that sound like windows breaking and the glass suddenly becomes clear and you can see straight down (or out).  Cameras are not allowed in the Edge so there are no pictures of that!

Sporting our Southside shirts outside "Monroe's" bar in St. Kilda

And that pretty much sums up the adventures of the Hopkins and Kane's in Australia!  I could have added so many more pictures but this blog would have been 20 pages long!  These blogs always take longer than I expect so I'll have to save the blog of Rachel's visit to Melbourne for another day.  I should be able to get caught up soon because I have no more visitors in the near future.  Who wants to come visit next?!?





Iowans in Australia, Part 2

After our adventures around Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula, we took off for the Great Ocean Road.  I had been saving the Great Ocean Road for this visit so I was excited for this part of the trip too!
I'd heard from several people that the best way to experience GOR is to just go slow, make lots of stops, and just enjoy this scenery so that is just what we did. 

This part of the trip is best told through all of the great pictures!

Day 1
We set off from Melbourne and drove approx. 3 hours to Warnambool.  I think 2/3 of the conversation on this journey was Dad and Tink commenting on how few trucks (semis) they saw on the road.  They were pretty worried about how goods are transported around Australia.  Maybe the truckies here just take as much time off as my Dad and they had all decided to take the day off (see Dad...you say I never mention you in these blogs - did you like that last comment!) :)

Logan's Beach at Warnambool is known for whale watching in the winter months so I wanted to start here to try to fulfill my mom's lifelong dream of seeing a whale.  Sadly.....we did not spot a whale :(

Logan's Beach - Warnambool

Another fun thing about Warnambol was that everything was named after us!  Hopkins River, Hopkins Bridge, Hopkins Milk Bar, etc.  We had to stop at the Hopkins Milk Bar for a snack (and a chat with the owner)

Hopkins fam

Dad should be glad I didn't post the picture of him wearing Mom's hat to keep warm!  (Sorry Uncle Van - he made me swear I wouldn't post it.  I'll have to keep looking for other embarassing pictures!)

The meeting of the Hopkins River and the Southern Ocean

Day 2
One of my favorite stories of the Great Ocean Road is Tink's new friendship with Edgar.  On the morning we were leaving Warnambool, Tink woke up early and wandered out to get a cup of coffee.  He was gone forever!  We figured he couldn't have gotten too lost as our hotel was on one of the main roads and there were a couple of places to get coffee nearby.  Turns out Tink struck up a conversation with the owner (or worker, I'm not entirely sure) at the gas station (petrol station) and ended up talking to him for about an hour.  The rest of the trip, we were entertained with facts that Tink learned from Edgar!

Day 2 of the trip was the actual start of the Great Ocean Road.  We ventured from Warrnambool to Apollo Bay taking in sites such as Thunder Cave, London Arch, the Grotto, and the Twelve Apostles.

It started raining just when we got to the 12 Apostles.  We ran to the viewing platform just to get a picture.

London Arch (the bridge that connected these collapsed in 1990 with two people stranded on the outer part - can you imagine?)

Even with a few heavy downpours we successfully made it to Apollo Bay.  And the stressful day called for some wine drinking in the hotel that night!  Dad and Tink loved the Yellowtail Chardonnay.  I kept trying to convince them that they needed to try something else (you can buy Yellowtail in the US) but even after the other kinds I made them buy, the Yellowtail was still their favorite.  I preferred the Jacob's Creek :)

By far my favorite day of the trip!  I think a lot of people who are short on time only do the Torquay to Twelve Apostles part of the trip (see Day 3) but the part between the Twelve Apostles and Warrnambool was by far my favorite.  Anyone who has the extra time should definitely do the whole journey!

Day 3 - Apollo Bay to Torquay
The drive today was closer to the coast which provided better views during the drive (not as much fun for me!) but there also weren't as many stopping points.

The first stop of the day was in the cute little town of Lorne for some shopping (I bought the cutest necklace and Mom and Cindy got matching hoodies).  We also drove out to the Erskine Falls and Tink, Mom, and I ventured down to the waterfall.

The drive down to the waterfall was very steep and I wasn't really excited about driving back up to the main road so I made my dad do it......his only driving experience of the whole trip!  He did a great job although I felt like he was a little too close to the edge most of the way!

Continuing along the GOR from Lorne we tried (unsuccessfully) to spot koalas at Kennett River.  By the time we reached Angelsea we still hadn't seen any wildlife but I had read that kangaroos could often be seen at the golf coast.  We stopped at a general store and Mom ran in to ask for directions.  She must not have looked much like a golfer because the lady who gave her directions specifically to where the kangaroos normally congregate.  They were fantastic directions - we spotted tons of kangaroos right away - standing just feet away from the golfers!

We spent the night in Torquay and then headed back to Melbourne with a quick stop in Williamstown for the BEST hot chocolate!

And that pretty much sums up our Great Ocean Road adventure!  Its so hard for me to leave out details/pictures so I will have to save the Sydney part of the trip for another day!