Merry Belated Christmas!

We've been busy living the easy life here in Australia so far - but that's all about to change as we head off tomorrow on our bikes for our first taste of touring OZ.

We had a quiet but great Christmas with E.'s mom still here. Z.'s mom unfortunately had to head home on Christmas Eve due to a booking error on our part early on in trip planning. Susan landed in Seattle welcomed by a blanket of snow, and while she took with her a nasty cold, she did enjoy a white Christmas.

Here we enjoyed a movie and the baking sun down on the wharf on a day that felt not at all like the winter holiday we're used to savoring with close friends and family. We saw Slumdog Millionaire, which we HIGHLY recommend, at a great little theater that served beer and wine in actual glasses (as opposed to plastic dixie cups) and didn't hassle us with tons of ads during the previews. U.S. theaters could take a lesson from these guys...

We've ventured out around the Sydney suburbs and discovered some wonderfully queer neighborhoods boasting lots of secondhand shops, artsy cafes, and even a few decent bike shops. Not too surprisingly these neighborhoods feel lived in, which is something you definitely don't get staying right off Hyde Park in the city center. It still feels as if we could just be somewhere in the U.S. though; there haven't been too many striking differences so far.

Today we packed up the bikes and headed back to budget accommodations for our last night in Sydney. While we can account for a few small items that our mom's graciously tucked into their suitcases for us, we both experienced a large amount of pannier bloat whilst reassembling our rigs in the hotel lobby this morning. We rode away feeling lopsided, unsteady, and with bags clearly packed to their extreme limits. We certainly don't look like the minimalists that we felt like we'd become when we left NZ. This is something we'll have to investigate further...

We have both felt anxious about getting back on the road, it's easy to get complacent and we must cop to having watched an embarrassing amount of television while we've been "resting". We're tough though and we'll get right back into the groove of touring.

We hope everyone at home, and others like us on the road, have had wonderful holidays.

***Sorry to disappoint those of you who just look at the blog for the pictures, we'll post some pictures soon but the camera's buried in the luggage bloat right now!

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Moms Downunder: Sydney, Adelaide, & Melbourne

We have heard the news of the hurricane force storm blowing into the Northwest. Hold onto your hats and stand guard next to your heaters. Approaching Christmas here is surreal, a little bit like someone telling you it is going to snow in July. Christmas around Oceania is marked by the fast approach of summer and heaps of school aged children on summer break. Zach and I were at the beach last Friday trying futilely to boogie-board and we almost thought we were at the a beach themed high school dance with the number of bikini clad teenagers prancing about. I miss the snow. My memories of slipping around snow covered Seattle are some of my favorite. Please be safe those of you driving and cycling in this weather. We wish you all a beautiful quiet snowy Christmas with lots of electrical power.

We are blessed to be spending this time in Australia with our moms. At the present we're calling Melbourne, in the SE state of Victoria, home. Time with our moms has been refreshing. There is nothing like having a little piece of home during the holidays. With over two weeks of travel time with our moms we've traversed the countryside via plane, boat, and tram sightseeing some of southern Australia's key tourist sights. Now in the final leg of "Moms Downunder" we're moving a bit slower - Sleeping in, religiously globing aloe onto our sunburned bodies, and walking just a little bit slower. Here are a few of our travel highlights:

Sydney

Sydney Harbor passenger ferries. From speedy catamaran to sluggish tugboat design these boats are perfect for exploring Sydney and are a mighty fine excuse to put your legs up.

Don't forget the sunscreen:




My mom (Miro) and I took a hiatus from our four person family tour to visit the Coney Island themed amusement park in Sydney.





A leisurely stroll through the Royal Botanical Gardens where we viewed beautiful blossoms, bats, and bamboo. Some years ago a family of fox bats started calling the botanic gardens home. Now literally hundreds, perhaps thousands, call the trees their home.





Adelaide

Sit back and enjoy the ride in Adelaide. That's exactly what we did with our own personal tour guide Pauline, my mom's friendly a Sedona, AZ visiting artist. Our local Aussie friend took the moms around the city and countryside. Visiting beautiful lookouts and sprawling vineyards they had quite a prestigious tour. One of our main destinations was Kangaroo Island, a 150km long island off the coast of Adelaide boasting seal colonies, kangaroos, wallabies, unique rock formations, and perched lighthouses. Unfortunately Zach was feeling down with a stomach bug so he slept our tour hours away in bed.







On the tour bus we relaxed and listened to our tour guide while off the bus our moms and Pauline trekked all over.



Our last two nights in Adelaide were spent on the beach in a luxurious service apartment, boasting our own private balcony. Four stars above our ramshackle hostel room. We immediately went for an ocean swim. Finally we had warm swimming water. Pauline warned us about seasonal shark attacks along the coast and although we swam within watch of lifeguards the thought of meeting a tiger shark still lingered. After jumping around in the waves for an hour I was lucky enough to meet a jellyfish. Wrapping one of its tendrils around my left leg, I was left with quite a burn. Its nearly impossible to see a jellyfish in the churning sea, but they sure let you know they're there.

Hi from Zach:


Melbourne

With a quick two night jaunt through Melbourne we ended up staying in a funky section named Fitzroy. Having broken in their walking shoes, our moms tour the city by foot. Zach and I both feel like we could call Melbourne home. With its eccentric lived in feel, graffiti art lined streets, and visible cycling scene, we love it. Navigating through last minute holiday shoppers we perused through a crafty outdoor market along the Yarra River then onto a great contemporary exhibit at the National Gallery of Victoria.







Tomorrow evening we're flying back to Sydney for the final leg with our moms. I've heard mention of relaxing by Sydney's Manly or Bondi beach.

Much love,

Elise (and Zach)

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Sydney: the sister city to Seattle?

Sydney: the sister city to Seattle?

On our first few days traveling with the moms Sydney really showed us it's wet underbelly. The rain drizzled and then poured. We wet weather veterans donned our jackets and hit the streets for some sightseeing regardless. First stop was, well FIRST we had to get coffee but after that we were off to see the aquarium after the glowing recommendation from Stephanie and Todd who'd recently been in Australia. We LOVED it and E's mom is thinking about going back for a second look. Later that afternoon we hit up a museum and stopped for a snack at a tea shop.



Exhausted we trekked back to the hotel and collapsed onto our beds. We were all asleep by 8, but we blame it on the time change!

Our second day was W.E.T. We endured the drizzle in the morning visiting The Rocks, the first settlement in Sydney, now a market area on the weekends as well as a docking point for gigantic cruise ships and their passengers. We saw the opera joust through a haze of rain and before long Z. And his mom decided to bag the sightseeing and opted for a movie instead. E. and her mom saw the Contemporary Art Museum at The Rocks and a few galleries along the adjacent street before heading to the train to get back to the room. We called it a day around 7 and enjoyed dinner in our little suite.

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Arrival: Sydney

Arrival: Sydney

We have officially left New Zealand and have embarked on our next adventure in Australia. The flight and (surprisingly) security leaving Christchurch were easily navigated and flawless. A 15 minute delay(which doesn't even register for us U.S.ers) was explained and apologized for by the pilot before departure. We also got a full meal, drink service, and an ice cream bar on a 3 hour flight! Made it through customs and agriculture check without a hassle even after declaring that we had been on a farm recently and had TONS of camping gear which we meticulously cleaned and carefully packed. With promises of a Warm Showers host close to the city of Sydney we set out into the muggy late afternoon heat, opting to take the train instead of a taxi. We pulled the backpack straps out of our S&S coupler cases, grabbed our panniers and joined the masses on the crowded rush hour train.

We arrived easily at out destination station and walked the three blocks to our hosts beautiful building. Dave and Nancy were wonderful hosts offering us dinner, the finest of Australia's beers, a super comfy bed, and of course a much needed warm shower! We chatted until late, something that seems easy to do when you pair up cycle tourists. They got out the maps of Australia and we swapped cycle travel stories and talked about the differences between cycling in the U.S. and Oceania. Excited by our hosts stories we brought out and rough sketched our route immediately outside Sydney and about 100k up the coast. The next morning we were up early navigating the trains and streets through morning rush hour. We arrived at our hotel hours before check-in and dropped our bags off for storage and commenced watching the street for any and all taxis that could be ferrying in our moms from the airport. They arrived and tipped the driver before we could explain what we had learned about not tipping in Australia. We all exchanged hugs and stories about airplane flights and bee keepers, sheep farmers and news from home. The birds sang in the palm and plumeria trees overhead and it was so good to have family close. We strolled to the waterfront, then through Kings Cross stopping for a snack and tea. All a bit jet lagged we headed for the hotel and checked in to our apartment, complete with kitchenette and bunk beds! We all headed for bed with visions of sightseeing dancing behind our eyelids.

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