Friday July 19th

I am already very behind on posts!  We've been in Australia for a week already and have been to busy to keep the updates posted.  We just arrived in Sydney today and will try to catch up since we are away from the rest of the family.

Friday was a great day.  We had a good nights rest over at Linda and Greg's place on St Helen St in Hawthorne East.  After breakfast we took a cab over to the Melbourne ScienceWorks which is a museum targeted at kids.  It was really fun.  Linda joined us and we met Andrew, Debbie and AJ there.  Luciana dropped off the Clynes and it was the first time I got to me her.

After ScienceWorks we caught a cab back to Hawthorne East with everyone and had lunch at a great Cafe called George on Burke Rd.  The kids had scrambled eggs with bacon (grilled ham over here).  We ordered nachos, fries (chips) and other foods and stuffed our face.  Luciana joined in near the end and had a coffee.  It was nice to relax.

After that we went our separate ways (Clynes were staying at Luciano's place downtown and we were a the O'Connell's) for some rest and to prepare for the first big family event.

Dinner was at a place called the Old English Hotel and there was close to a 100 people there with our party.  We saw Nona for the first time.  And we met a ton of people from the family - Marisa and Pio, Christine and John, Zia Savina (the birthday girl) and her sister, Pia (99 years old)!  Jim and Shirley Gabbo and their daughter Olivia and her husband Andrew. Luciana's daughter Melanie and her husband Nick.  And a host of other people (see pictures).

It was our first full day in Melbourne and Jet Lag was tough.  The kids were hitting rock bottom but they were great and struggled through with flying colors.

Thursday Afternoon

Linda and Greg's house is wonderful.  We are very grateful to be hosted by them while in Melbourne.  After we all were settled into our rooms Linda took us on a walk to to local park that was terrific.  The view of downtown Melbourne was great.  The kids despite not having slept much in 48 hours, managed to put the entire park to good use while we enjoyed the mild weather.  We met a couple at the park with 4 kids - they owned a couple of Cafes in Melbourne, Torch and The Old Barbershop.  We'll try to give them a visit while here.  The weather was great.  It is winter here in Melbourne but we were so comfortable in long sleeve shirts.  Turns out it was the hottest July day EVER as announced in the paper this morning.

After the park we had much needed showers and relaxed around the house.  Linda prepared excellent homemade lasagna (noodles with butter for Gav), salad and wine.  We ate early because everyone was starting to shut down.  The kids were falling asleep on the sofas before and after dinner.  They were in bed asleep by 7pm, and Roberta and I checked out not much later than 8!  Everyone slept in until 7am this morning!  Hopefully jet-lag is now behind us!

Touchdown in Australia

We arrived yesterday at 11:30 AM and were greeted by Linda and Greg O'Connell (our hosts) at the airport.  It was a good trip over.  Probably because we had spent weeks preparing the kids, and ourselves, that the flight was going to be total hell it turned out to be not too bad.  We boarded at 7pm on Tuesday.

3 hours to LA, and then 3 hours relaxing in the Admiral's Club before boarding the Boeing 747 to Brisbane. The Admiral's/Qantas Club would prove to be a huge recovery point during the journey.  In LA we enjoyed the quiet atmosphere, free snacks and drinks.  We gave the kids a surprise in the LA - iPad Minis.  This was as much a gift for Mama and Papa as it was for them.  They were very excited and didn't take long putting them to use.

Bestowing the greatest travel gifts ever.

Addie grabbed this photo of us waiting in the AC.  Our plane was just outside the window.

There is no other way to describe the flight other than an assault on your body's time clock.  Dinner was served 90 minutes into the flight - which was 3am Austin time (6 pm AUS time).  Then it was 13 hours of uncomfortable cat naps, iPads, and in flight movies.  Breakfast was served 2 hours before we landed in Brisbane at 6am.

When de-boarding we asked if the kids could go up to the 2nd floor of the jet to see first class and look around.  The staff was more than accommodating.  The kids checked out the seats, and were invited into the cockpit with the crew.  They each took turns wearing the Captain's hat and sitting in the cockpit, and were given Qantas first class flight kits.  Very cool!

1st Officer Addison

The experience cockpit crew.

Hanging with the crew of Qantas Flight 16 in the cockpit.

Addie and Alex checking out 1st class

We refreshed in in the Qantas club in Brisbane for a couple of hours.  As good as the LA Admiral's Club was this one was better.  Free espresso drinks, hot breakfast, and lots of space.  The 2.5 hr flight to Melbourne was a piece of cake and we hit the ground at 11:30 on Thursday.  Linda and Greg picked us up in 2 cars and 20 minutes later we were at their fantastic home.

With Linda in front of their home.

Travel Starts Today

Countdown

Just a little less than 2 days before departure.  Lots to do before we go.  At least I got the blog set up...