A New Roommate

Interrupting my series of posts about Tasmania to show you who showed up at our place on Friday!

Yep, Erik's youngest brother, Max, will be spending a few months with us in Oz. He already has some employment lined up (he started on Saturday!) and is eager to start exploring Melbourne. This isn't the first time that Max has been to Australia (or Melbourne for that matter), as he studied abroad at the University of Wollongong a few years ago. We are happy to have him around to share in some of our adventures!

A Sweet Sydney Ending

The final adventure for our visitors was a trip to Sydney! Their departing flight from Oz was via Sydney, so Erik and I made the trip with them, which served as a great weekend getaway and also gave us the opportunity to say farewell to my parents in person. We departed Melbourne on Saturday morning, which also happened to be Grand Final (aka the Super Bowl for Aussie Rules Football) day. Sydney's team was actually playing in the Grand Final (held in Melbourne at the MCG), so we saw many Sydney Swans supporters arriving at the airport as we were departing. Erik and I were not on the same flight as my parents and our flight was delayed, plus on top of the delay there was an accident on the train lines just minutes before we were boarding the train to get into the CBD, so our arrival was significantly delayed. I put my mom up to the task of finding a good pub for us to watch the Grand Final game and she came through with flying colors! While my parents went off exploring Sydney, Erik and I had great seats for watching the game at a bar called Jackson on George.

Originally we were all staying together in one room for this trip. Sydney CBD hotels come at a very high price on the weekends, and the four of us regularly share our OCMD condo, which is the size of a hotel room. However, my parents surprised us with a room of our own, and the views were absolutely spectacular!! We had a view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and my parents had a view of the Opera House. The Marriott Circular Quay is a beautiful hotel in an awesome location with friendly staff, beautiful views, and an extensive hotel gym!

I could not stop taking pictures from our room!

For dinner, we walked right around the corner to a small Italian restaurant called Alfredo. The location is in a historical building, apparently the oldest commercial building still in use in Australia, and the inside is small but cozy. The food was quite tasty (my mom's gnocchi was cooked to perfection!!), and we enjoyed the sounds of a piano player who befriended my mom when she requested he play some Elvis songs. :)

The view from our room in the morning!

The parentals had a sweet view, too!

On Sunday, we spent some time walking around Circular Quay and the Botanical Gardens. My parents actually took the ride through the gardens and said the 30 minute ride was worth the money.

We caught a glimpse of my parents on their guided tour of the Botanical Gardens.

In the late afternoon we took off on a ferry to head to Manly Beach. The Manly Jazz Festival was on, so we took in a few sights and sounds before heading to meet up with the Schroders.

I grew up in a small neighborhood called Sullivan Heights in Westminster, Maryland. Our bus stop was right next to the Schroder's house, so I am sure that my mother probably met Mrs. Schroder (Sharon) there while waiting for the school bus one day. One of Sharon's sons, Brian, was year older than me in school, and we could often be found on the streets of Sullivan Heights playing "kick the can" or "stickball" with the other neighborhood kids. Brian has lived in Australia with his fabulous wife, Amy, for the past nine years. When Erik received the job offer here, it was Brian who helped answer my logistical questions, and he was also helpful with our moving process. Erik and I got together with Brian and Amy when we visited last year, but this time my parents were in on the visit as well! We enjoyed a few beverages on their gorgeous patio before heading to dinner at a terrific restaurant along the water (which I would name if I could remember, but I had an amazing steak there!). It was such a lovely evening and it was really great to catch up with "old" friends, as obviously that is something that is rare in our lives here, since most of our friendships are relatively new.

Brian was the photographer for this one!

We headed back on the ferry that night, and my parents finished packing so that they would be ready to go in the morning. Saying goodbye was sad, but knowing that they took the opportunity to travel to the other side of the world to see our lives here helped to quell those somber feelings. Even though their trip was short, it was filled with excitement, exploration, and lots of hugs.

Erik and I spent Monday morning hanging out in Circular Quay, followed by a trip to North Sydney via the Harbour Bridge in the afternoon. I had never walked all the way across the bridge, so it was fun to check out the sights on the "other" side of Sydney Harbour.

Sydney has much to offer and I feel fortunate to have had the chance to visit again, this time staying in a fantastic hotel at a prime location in the CBD. We hope to head to Sydney again soon, next time staying with our friends in Manly. :)

Phillip Island

I hope you like koalas, because I took about a hundred pictures of them when my parents were in town!

During mom and dad's visit, we wanted to take one "big" day trip from Melbourne. There are lots of places to see that are within a two to three hour drive of where we live, but after discussing our potential plans with a few locals and with our visitors, we determined that Phillip Island was a good choice. We started the day at the Nobbies Centre, where we learned a little bit about animal and sea life in Australia and also had a look at Seal Rocks, which at any point in time can house over 20,000 seals! Unfortunately you cannot actually see the seals from the Nobbies Centre, but if you pay a few dollars you can get close up views of the seals, as there are video cameras near the rocks that will zoom in, out, and around for you to get a glimpse of the seals. 

It's tough work sleeping 20 hours a day!

Next, we made our way to the Koala Conservation Centre. Here, boardwalks are strategically built around eucalyptus trees to entice koalas to build their homes there. I had read mixed reviews about this place and wasn't sure it would be worth the $11 admission fee, however, it was absolutely worth the trip. We saw several koalas, two with babies (called "joeys", just like baby kangaroos), and also several wallabies. In addition, there were a few birds spotted, including a robin sitting on her eggs.

If you look closely, you can see that the baby is hanging onto the branch and the mom has her arms wrapped around him. SO cute!

This momma has her left arm around her baby.

This wallaby was not getting any attention whatsoever from my mother!

Can you spot the robin? Not the best photo, as she was well-hidden.

This video was taken on my phone and is therefore probably not the best quality, but it is fun to hear our reactions when the koala unexpectedly decided to get out of the tree. I showed my parents so that you can get an idea of how close we were able to get to the koalas. The background noise you hear is actually cars racing on the Grand Prix course, which is a few miles away from the sanctuary. Apparently that noise has sadly driven some of the wildlife away. 

Koala Conservation Centre from Ashley Hanson on Vimeo.

Another wallaby looking for some attention.

Looking at faces like this just does not get old for me!

Our last stop of the evening was the Penguin Parade. Again, this was something that gets mixed reviews from locals and visitors. Some say it is a must-do and others say it is not worth the money. Overall, I thought it was an enjoyable (albeit, cold) experience. Just after sunset, hundreds of "little penguins" (also called fairy penguins) begin to exit the water and come ashore, where they have burrows in the sand dunes. They tend to come out of the water in groups, and it is actually quite amusing to watch as they waddle to shore, trying to avoid being eaten by the seagulls! However, the most entertaining part is actually as you are walking back from the ocean, because the boardwalks have been built so that you can view the penguins going to their burrows. Also, inside the visitor's center, there are little "windows" into a few burrows so that you can look at the penguins that way. One of the penguins I saw through a window was actually sitting on two eggs. There is no lack of penguin viewing on the walk back to the car, and it is even mentioned to visitors to check under their vehicles for the little guys when leaving the area!

This bird was "pecking" at its reflection in the car and it was hilarious to watch!

Waiting on the little penguins. We had decent seats, but I definitely recommend getting there early to get spots in the first few rows, as it will make for much better penguin viewing.

Visitors!!

On September 23rd, our first visitors arrived in Melbourne...my parents!

Their visit was much anticipated by both us and by the traveling party, who took the trip in part to see us and also to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary! Their visit was planned over school holidays so that I would be free to explore with them without the burden of working during the week. Due to the fact that my dad is still working, he could only take two weeks off, which meant about ten days in Oz after you account for travel and also spending a day in LA (where they did a whirlwind tour of Hollywood, drove up the PCH, and got in the audience for a Jay Leno Show taping!). I tried to pick activities that would "highlight" the best of what Melbourne has to offer, since they would spend only seven days here before flying to Sydney for a long weekend. I also did not want to completely exhaust my parents, as after all, it was meant to be a vacation for them!

When they arrived on Saturday morning, we let them get settled into their new surroundings, but then went to Willy for the day to enjoy the sunshine and fresh air. We also ate dinner at a great restaurant within walking distance of our house, which forced them to stay awake even though they would have probably liked to have been asleep! They were troopers though, and managed to avoid going to bed until around 10pm, which helped them get adjusted to our "local" time.

Mom insisted I take this picture to show Erik driving on the "wrong" side of the car!

Strolling on a lovely Saturday in Williamstown with the CBD in view.

Williamstown Beach

On Sunday, we took a day trip to Phillip Island. This was one of the few days that Erik was able to join us for activities, as unfortunately he was (and still is!) quite busy with work. I am going to do a separate post for Phillip Island, since this was our first visit there, but for now I'll leave you with a few pictures from the Koala Sanctuary. We also attended the Penguin Parade, but they do not allow photography (much to my mother's dismay!), so the only pictures I have from that event are of the lovely sunset over the ocean that evening.

One of the koalas that my mother became attached to...she did not want to leave!

There were many wallabies at the koala sanctuary, though Sandy did not have much interest in them!

Watching the water for any sign of penguins

Monday was rather low key due to the fact that I sustained some sort of food poisoning, likely from a Red Rooster (a local fast food chain) rotisserie chicken. Unfortunately I was still feeling sluggish on Monday, but that did mean that we could relax at home and watch the Ravens play Sunday night football. Later on in the afternoon, we took the train from Footscray Station into the city so that we could ride the City Circle Tram. The free tram travels around the city in about an hour, giving a little bit of commentary along the way. It is a good way to get your bearings of the city and it was a nice way to spend a cool afternoon. On the way home, we stopped at Olympic Doughnuts so that my parents could try their famous hot jam donuts. The place looks incredibly dodgy, but luckily the girl in front of my mother explained that she had been coming to get donuts for years from that place (it opened in 1981), so my mom was convinced they were okay to eat. :)

Flinders Street Station

Hanging out at the tram stop

Hot jam donuts at Footscray Station!

On Tuesday, we departed for the Great Ocean Road! The three of us (Erik had to stay home to work...booo!) headed out in the morning and set our sights on reaching Apollo Bay that evening. We would return back to Melbourne on Wednesday night for Erik's birthday dinner. Our trip was absolutely fantastic, and I will do a separate blog post about our trip there as well, because there is just too much to write about in one post. Highlights included surfers at Bells Beach in 3 meter swells, kangaroos at Anglesea golf course, baby koalas on the road to Cape Otway lighthouse, witnessing two koala fights on the same road, stunning views from Teddy's lookout, a tapas dinner in Apollo Bay, and obviously seeing the 12 Apostles.

Wednesday evening we celebrated 34 years of Erik with pizza for dinner and cake for dessert. He even had a few presents to open, some of which traveled all the way from Africa, where Erik's mother spent some time just a few months ago.

Birthday boy!! :)

Rainbow chip cake is the way to this guy's heart!

For Thursday, we planned a trip to Queen Victoria Market. Unfortunately I did not take any pictures of mom and dad at the market, but I think they enjoyed looking at the items the stalls had to offer and they did a good amount of souvenir shopping there as well. I actually drove to the market (which I would never do under other circumstances because I hate driving in the city), and came to a sign where I was supposed to do a hook turn. Well I have never encountered that before and I had absolutely no idea what to do! There were no cars coming in the other direction (though there was a cyclist who probably had to slow down to avoid hitting me), so I just turned right instead of waiting like I was apparently supposed to do. I might need a Melbournian to work with me on this hook turn thing! On Thursday evening, we headed to a local brewery, Matilda Bay, for a beer tasting. I will post additional information about that as well, because I think local readers might be interested in learning more about that adventure. We all had a great time and also met some "friends" during our tasting experience!

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." - Benjamin Franklin

Our friends!

Friday was spent watching the Ravens on Thursday night football and also packing up for the next adventure -- a trip to Sydney! On Friday night we had dinner with some members of our "footy family", who were generous to host us for dinner after just returning from a three week holiday in Europe the day before. My parents enjoyed being able to be inside the home of an Australian family and there was no lack of good food, drink, and conversation! We flew out of Melbourne on Saturday morning on different flights and met up at our hotel, Marriott Circular Quay, later that afternoon. Again, I will do a separate post on Sydney, but here are a few pictures from the trip.

Two iconic sites in one shot. Lots of people out enjoying the lovely Sydney weather!

Family!

My parents flew out of Sydney on Monday at 1pm and arrived back in Baltimore at 8pm on Monday night, over 24 hours after they left Australia. We had a fantastic visit with them, and we are so glad that they were able to make it here to see what our lives are like Down Under. Stay tuned for more detailed reports from their visit! :)