Weekend fun in Sydney!

It was fun playing tour guides in Sydney as we met Kevin & Josephine there on the last leg of their Aussie adventure. Here are some photos from our weekend.

2 Asian girls, 2 American boys, and 1 fast boat to get to dinner!

Mmmm... who can say no to a roo & rump Firday?! I can!! (Not too sure about Whit with that face he's making.) And don't even get me started on the half price schnitzels! It's safe to say that we don't plan to dine at The Pub With No Name.

Kevin "acting" in one of the Opera House's theater; Jo, being his adoring fan/paparazzi

On the ferry back from an afternoon in the Sydney suburb of Balmain. A big reason for going out there (besides the scenic ferry ride), was to try "the best macaroons in the Sydney." We got to the bakery around mid afternoon and it looked like someone came through and bought out the place in fear of a famine approaching. I was then told to come around 8 am the next morning if I wanted some macaroons. No thanks!

Whit, that umbrella is not a golf driver! :)

View of Darling Harbour at sunset from our hotel room

Bay area comes to Aus!

For the past week we've had the pleasure of our good bay area friends, Kevin and Josephine, visiting Melbourne on their Aussie adventure. They soon discovered that while Sydney is considered the "sexy" city to visit, Melbourne can definitely hold its own with shopping and eating.

Are we in Japan or Australia?! :)

The view inside Melbourne Central- you can find virtually anything here- from haircuts to pet shops, supermarkets, cafes, designer boutiques, historical tower museum, to long distance trains. Talk about a 1 stop shop!

Out for Mexican food in Melbourne!

The Barossa Valley

Or simply called "The Barossa," it is one of the top wine regions in Australia. And where there's a top wine region, there's a Whit. So this past weekend we traveled to our 6th state/territory in Australia- South Australia, all for the purposes of 3 R's (rest, relaxation, and red wine).
The Barossa is a 1 1/2 hr. drive from South Australia's capital city of Adelaide. We had a fabulous weekend staying at a B&B in a vineyard very central to some great wineries. The weather was pleasant, we enjoyed delicious local foods, and drank a healthy amount of wine. We love the fact that the Barossa has a strong German heritage (go Keuer's!) and is relaxed without being too sleepy. Cellar door workers are friendly and knowledgeable, happy to show off their wines. We concluded from our weekend there that this is now our favorite wine country, trumping Napa!

The view from our B&B in Gnadenfrei (don't ask how to pronounce the name of the town, we're still figuring it out)

Wait, is that Whit with a glass of white wine?! How unusual!

No, we're not visiting a University, but wouldn't it be cool to take a wine course at this winery? We'd spend our time in between classes drinking wine on the perfectly manicured lawns.

The grapes that hold the beginnings of a great bottle of Barossa Valley cab sauv ... they tasted pretty good too. Harvest time must be just around the corner, we reck'n!

Our church for a Sunday- a quaint country Lutheran church that had the following sign out in front: "A Bible in the hand is worth 2 on the bookcase." The people there made us feel so welcomed!

The Best Summer City

Since our last blog post we have been savoring the summer in what must be the best city to spend it in- Melbourne. Between late nights, outdoor cinemas, festivals galore, nightmarkets and warm (but not too warm) weather, we have come to believe that this city knows how to do summer well. Melbourne really does come (more) alive during its summer months, and though autumn technically started March 1st according to the Aussie calendar, there's been a very nice and slow, if any, transition into fall. Let's hope it stays that way for awhile. :)

Here are some photos of what we've been up to in the last month, visiting places new and old, and just simply continuing to love our time here.

Great Ocean Road day trip

Split Point Lighthouse- we were able to go all the way to the base, but not inside. Whit exclaimed, "This is the first time I'm touching a real lighthouse!" Debbie replied, "Me too!" :)

A visit to Lorne on the Great Ocean Road again... can you spy a Whit?

Queen Victoria Night Market

Picnic at St. Kilda Beach (the nifty free sunshade really helped!)

Beach by day, beer & Scrabble by night- Since bringing back travel Scrabble we've been pretty religious on playing every weekend. So far Debbie holds the high score with 1 single turn scoring 27 points (fox, ex, if) and the highest point value for 1 word (zinc- 15 pts.) We can tell we're getting better each time we play! Perhaps the micro brews help?