Very exciting developments

I would just like to draw your attention to the right side of this page. In the "Come visit us or send us stuff" column, I have added a link to the Quantas website where you will find round trip airfares from San Francisco or Los Angeles to Sydney for a cool $760. Travel between February 1st and September 21st to get this price. See you soon!

Melbourne New Years Trip

Our trip to Melbourne began like any good trip should, with lunch at the local joint. The clever title worked and we partook of the tasty chips with africa sauce (garlic mayo, tomato sauce and sweet onion). Our hotel was perfectly situated to have a view of Federation Square where a lot of happenings were happening, there was also an aptly named bar.
After exploring our immediate neighborhood we took off to see the rest of the city and it's residents. Melbourne has a wonderful network of alleys and little shops that we explored. Melbourne has various forms of transport including horse drawn carriages, light rail and the more traditional buses etc. We found an interesting restaurant that was trying to remind us of someone. What trip would be complete without seeing a protest, this one happened to be protesting the aggressive invasion of Gaza by the Israelis. Leaving that we discovered a beautiful sight of flying chocolates next to the shot tower where lead shot for guns were produced until the 1960s. When we got back to our hotel we took in the view, after which it was time for dinner and looking at the light up buildings. The next day we took the free trolley around the CBD to a park where we quickly took advantage of the playground equipment. The spinning post ride was amazingly simple but effective and could make a person naussause in seconds. The cow in the tree next to the bay caught our attention before KT had a laugh with the locals. Actually the Docklands part of Melbourne, really the whole CBD, are chock full of sculptures and various instalations.
We soon made a startling discovery with several major developments happening soon. On the way to the State library we took a few more photos. The library itself was fantastic, and we even discovered that Batman founded Melbourne, thus explaining Batman Street. There was also Ned Kelly's armor which he and his gang used as bushrangers to fight the colonial police. Finally that evening we went out to a nice Italian restaurant and a great 7 course dinner, before setting out for the New Years festivities including bands and of course fireworks. In the next installment there will be a fireworks compilation and the conclusion to our trip.

Connie and Don 08

In December Connie and Don (KT's parents) came again for a visit. It was great having them here. They went and visited the local wildlife at the animal park with some success. Apparently the Cockatoo had something interesting to say as everyone had a chat. Don and KT took in the pelicans, and after Connie and KT relaxed with the Koala. Don told the baby Emu to go see his moma while the kangaroo was too lazy to even take a treat. KT and Connie ride the ferry while Don takes a break at the beach, making sure not to get a sun burn. Another day we all took a ride on the bus where the next photo was taken.
The last set of photos sees Connie and KT shopping at the markets as Don watches. Then everyone poses and shows how much fun they are having, but inevitably KT ends up behind bars.

Next time: New Years 09 in Melbourne

Happy New Years everybody!