Australia - Three Weeks Coming to a Rapid End

So three weeks has been an absolute WHIRLWIND. I knew it would go by fast, but as I sit thinking about what to write I just realize now how much has happened and that we only have 2 days left before we pack our bags back up and board a plane.

Here are the Cliff Notes:

11/29
Last Saturday we spent the day in Williamstown [a beautiful coastal city where my mom's friend Barbara lives]. We enjoyed the beach and the pier and taking their Irish Wolfhound for a walk.

That evening our cousins Simon and Adel took us out to experience the nightlife in the city [downtown Melbourne]. We started out at the Casino Crown and had so much fun gambling on the Greyhound and horse races and winning that that is where we ended up spending our whole evening.

11/30
Sunday was spent in the city as well - we went up to the tallest building in Melbourne (88 stories) and enjoyed the 360 view from the top of the glass tower. WHAT a view. It was very gratifying to see things from above that we had visited earlier in the week since our arrival.

12/1
My favorite part of Monday was getting dressed up to celebrate Maria's birthday. Maria is a grade school friend of my mom's. Maria treated our family and Franca's family [another grade school friend] to the most magnificent buffet in Victoria at the Conservatory, a part of the Crown Hotel and Casino. WHAT A BUFFET: Pawns, seafood, Kangaroo, pasta, ice cream, chocolate fountain, chicken of all kinds, soups....and all of them wonderful! We eat like Kings and Queens that night.

12/2
Shopping with Auntie Kathy! We went to the Direct Factory Outlets and scored some great deals! Kathy is full of Aussie slang too...we learned "gas bag" for someone who tells everyone's secrets and "sticky beak" for someone who is nosey and wants to know everyone else's business. There's even a store here called Colorado.


12/3
Teresa, my Godmother, had a few families over for dinner. An Italian feast, good conversation and games with the kids.

12/4
We started our adventure to Warnambool - west of Melbourne closer to the coast. After a three hour drive we had arrived to our Great Uncle Sylvio's mini farm where to our surprise he had more animals that my mom remembered including the cutest black kitten and a horse named ARNOLD :-)

12/5
Great Ocean Road was our tour guide on Friday. We went from the Tweleve Apostles to the Grotto to London Bridge to Peterborough to Port Campbell. What a GREAT drive - the wonders of the Ocean are just magnificent! My favorite was London Bridge [above] and just like the song - this London Bridge fell down. January 15 of 1990 a tour bus was from the mainland onto the end of the bridge when the last part of the bridge collapsed as it had been eroded from the water at high tide. The poor group was stuck over on the other end for just some time. And my favorite part of the story was that just a few days prior my family and I [being the youngster that I was] went on that same bridge! Needless to say that was the last tour bus to the end of the bridge.

12/6
Today was the drive back to Melbourne for the last few days of our Australian Adventure. Wish us safe travels home!

Cheers Mate!