Australia days 1-3

Well, I had thought that I would find free wi-fi in more places, but it didn't turn out that way. Then, when I did make it to a McDonald's with wi-fi to send the first 3 emails I wrote... My "candtony.com" account wouldn't send. The following were sent on days 1-3.

Australia ONE:
Well, I had very low expectations for the flight and I wasn't disappointed. It was a very long day, but it seemed even longer. Wow. I. Need. Sleep. (and I need to start taking pictures!) i'll try to stop complaining about the flight- at least until the flight home.

It is Thursday. We left on Tuesday. We did not get to have a Wednesday, officially. That's just weird.

We didn't see much of Sydney as we only passed through the airport on the way to Melbourne, but it looked very nice from the air. We'll be back.

Melbourne, from the air, flying in looked very different. The trees look like something from Dr Suess-eucalyptus, I think. The landcape really looked different, something I wouldn't say about Sydney.

We spent the first day here trying to keep from falling asleep (seriously- can I just go to bed now?) The neiborhood we're staying in is trendy, and the apartment is very nice (photo). We bought some groceries and took some walks very close to home.

Tomorrow, we'll actually go into downtown and see what there is to see. I'll send some tourist photos!


Australia TWO:
Hopefully I'll add more photos today, but once again I forgot to take many. Perhaps b/c I was carrying Elizabeth most of the time?

We took a tram downtown and visited the Victoria Market. Cat and Elizabeth bout some hats and we also bought some t-shirts. Susie bought Zib somw tiny koalas, too.

On the way home S&S bought some food for dinner. We will go back to the market I am sure. It ranges from fresh meat and veggies to suvenirs and clothing. And, we barely saw much of it.

The day started out way too hot and still, but improved later in the day. It was so hot I insisted that we find ice cream for Elizabeth.(Funny how she cheered up at the mention of ice cream). When we'd had about enough of the market in the heat (and grumpy kids!) we decided to head back. Before we left the wind picked up a bit. Before we could get on the tram to go home THE WIND CLEANED THE STREETS INTO OUR FACES! But, then it was replaced by a nice cool breeze and didn't rain until we were on the tram.

About more than halfway home the tram got stopped behind a broken tram. Well a couple dozen were stck there too. We got out and walked in the improved weather. Even Austin cheered up in the new cool breeze. The walk was longer than expected, but nice.


Australia THREE:
Well, today I finally did take a bunch of photos! But, they're in the camera so I might not get them attached. Cat will probably try to get them up on facebook.

Today we went to a really wonderful wildlife sanctuary. It's a good thing it was nice because it took us 3 hours to get there. We took a tram that we waited on about a block from our room then waited for a train at a downtown station followed by waiting on a bus. There seemed to be far too much waiting and it took us 3 hours to GET TO where we spend the day.

The bus ride was nice though. The countryside is picture-postcard like. There were vineyards and sheep and cows and a large amount of very little. I had read that you don't have to go far from any town in Australia to end up in nowhere. Think west Texas, but pretty.

At the wildlife sanctuary, we met a friend of a friend of Cat's and her husband and 2-year old son. The son and Elizabeth got along very well and we all had a great time together. Imagine missing photos of two small children holding hands and being cute.

We saw all of the typical Australian wildlife that you only find here. Elizabeth was able to pet a kangaroo! We saw duck-billed platapuses and almost everything else you've ever heard of. You know, except for the animals that were hiding. Oh, and a ton of snakes that could kill you.

The birds there were facinating, too. Oddly though, many of the really interedting ones were not part of the displays. There were tiny wrens with bright blue feathers and inquizative ibises. The ibis were interesting almost everywhere except when we were eating. Then they were like gulls at the beach. We saw a "birds of prey" show that featured the response of the birds that just LIVED THERE trying to protect their young. Funny.

On top of the animals, the plantlife was almost enough to make the trip. It all seemed so different.

On the way home we were blessed with good timing and there was less waiting so it was mostly a better ride. We went looking for something to drink after we got off the train and were treated to Elizabeth dancing to a traditional Japanese instrament of some sort. The music was nice and Elizabthe was sweet. However, be the time we got to the tram (the last & shortest part of the journey home) Elizabeth had gone very punchy and Austin wouldn't stop crying. Oh well, it was too much public transport to expect small kids to endure.

I'd like to take out the frustration on the guy two doors down who dares to have an annoying laugh outside on the balcony where I can hear him. Actually, the people here have been very nice. It seems to be a very friendly place everywhere we've been.