Day 247

Q and G tanning at Manly Beach.  Notice the pine trees in the background.

It seems like we have been here a long time.  Not complaining.  We are in Australia - I wouldn't recommend doing this country on any shorter timeframe than two weeks.  And our trip has been amazing.

But we do miss home.  Simple things like beds and coffees and turkey sandwiches.

A and S playing in the sand.
Notice the millions of people in the water.

Today we slowly made our way down to the Circular Quay (pronounced Key) harbor and picked up a ferry to Manly Beach where we caught some rays and watched the tide slowly force our retreat.  We scored our first Mexican food that we ate on the beach.  Pretty good.  Manly Beach is slightly less chaotic than Bondi and has a less international crowd.  There is a nice walking street there too.  The beach itself is bordered on the street-side by pine trees.  From a distance it looks like northern Minnesota - except for the sand.  And the ocean.  All in all, we like Manly more than Bondi.  Both days have been outrageously perfect.  80 and sunny.  At one point today I told Gillian I would pay her if she could find a cloud in the sky.  She gave up after about 5 minutes.

Ferry ride to Darling.

After Manly, we ferried back, showered at our hotel, and then ferried again to a place called Darling Harbor.  We didn't like Darling much.  Very touristy.  We bolted from there and decided to walk back to our hotel.  Along the way we found a Jamie Oliver restaurant.  After a long wait we had some decent Italian food.

We are tired of eating out, however.  We love Australia but we want to eat on our own terms.

Tomorrow will be interesting and mostly uneventful.  By 10am we plan to be squatting in a park overlooking Sydney Harbor.  We plan to sit there for 14 hours.  Yup.  I have tried to figure out a good way to get out of this reality, but paying $700 per night per person to join some aristocrats on the roof of our hotel is not an option.  Nor is paying $400 per person for priority access near the Opera House.  No, we are going blue collar on this one.  We are going to sit in that park and darn well enjoy ourselves!  Oh, I can only imagine the bickering and fighting.

Anyway, the fireworks will be eventful.  We will celebrate New Years Eve 17 hours before Minnesota does.

And the next morning we fly home.

Looking forward to it.

Walking Sydney

The day started early.  We had a 5:45 date with the Sydney Harbour Bridge to do the Bridgewalk.  This is a tethered walk along the top of one of the most famous bridges in the world.  They don't allow you to take your camera (so no photos - sorry) for two obvious reasons: 1. to sell you pictures that they snap, and 2. to make it harder for criminals to get strategic views of a potential terrorist target.  The whole bridgewalk processes takes quite a while, since you have to gear up in special suits and harnesses and then get trained on walking on the bridge prior to making the trek.  Once you factor in gearing up, followed by almost and hour up and another hour back down, you have been at it for almost 3 hours.  Our tour guide, Mitch, was hilarious and kept us constantly entertained thru a walkie-talkie/radio system.  It was kinda scary walking exposed like that, but we all made it.  After making it back safe and sound, we purchased one good photo which is on a CD up in my room (free wifi in the lobby).  The Bridgewalk was memorable.  It was a crystal clear day and the Sydney Harbour is magnificent from that height.

Coojee has 1 million people on it.

Always time for a family selfie.

We had crepes for breakfast  before stopping by the hotel to get into our beach gear.  We don't have a car here in Sydney.  Just like Melbourne, we are dependent on the public transit system.  We wanted to get farther away from our hotel and the "old town"part of Sydney known as The Rocks, where we have had most of our meals.  So we purchased bus passes to a place called Coogee (pronounced Koo-Jee), which is a part of the Sydney metropolis to the South and East on the Pacific coast.  Coojee has a bustling beach and was to be the launch point for a nice hike.

The whole walk was like this.

Before we got too far into our planning of this trip, we purchased several books to help us out.  Two of them we brought with us to Australia.  And yet the hike we did today - from Coojee beach to Bondi beach - was in none of the literature.  The books on Australia have not impressed us, to be honest.  This hike, however, was the number one rated activity in Sydney according to TripAdvisor.  We have tried to leverage everything we can to maximize this trip and, so far, the apps and social media universe has outshined the paperback universe.  Too bad Rick Steves doesn't have a book for Australia…

The Pacific coast near Sydney is like a warm version of Monterey.  The big difference being that the Aussies have very neatly balanced the concepts of conservation and utilization for the beautiful land they have.  The same is true of the Sydney Harbor, I might add - the blend of parks, commercial, residential, natural and man-made is near perfect.

See, if you can, all the people laying on the rocks.
We probably saw 6 coves like this.

Half a dozen beaches just like this on this walk.

Even a cemetery is integrated into the coastline and the walking path.

A and G messing around.

This little walking path we took was integrated into the beautiful coastal views and leveraged roads and neighborhoods while winding you down to a dozen or so beaches/swimming coves.  It was close to 4 miles when all was said and done, and with several stops in order to enjoy God's beauty, we covered it in well over 3 hours.

Bondi pool.
Yup, those are ocean waves.

By the time we settled in at the famous Bondi Beach, which is a total madhouse, the sun was no longer at it's lab-rat-level-UV-index levels.  And with a stiff breeze off the ocean, it felt sublime.

We stayed on Bondi Beach until about 5:30 before we explored a bit around that area.  Not our favorite.  The Bondi area is world famous and, thusly, attracts the world.  I rarely heard English spoken.  And with so many non-Aussies in one place, you start to feel like you are no longer in Australia.  Bondi felt like a Mediterranean town to me (even tho I have never been to a town on the Mediterranean).  The people were a little more rowdy, a little louder, and seemed less happy.  Remember, the Aussie happy-thing is addicting, so we wanted out of Bondi after just a few blocks of exploration.

Furthermore, we decided we had had enough of eating out so we found a nice grocery store, purchased some salami and turkey (YES!), along with enough fruits and veggies to round out a healthy meal, and bussed our way back to the hotel for our first "home cooked" meal in a long while - sandwiches.  We pounded down some tasty food and looked for our beds.  A great, but long, day.

12 days is a long time.  Not complaining, that is for sure.  But we are looking forward to some of our comforts-of-home.  Not the least of which is Janna's home cooking.

The Bondi Beach madhouse.  

Little Shelby tuckered out.

Getting our Bearings in Sydney

   Looking at the bridge from the Opera  House. 

Today we wandered all over Sydney on this overcast day and oriented ourselves with wide eyes. 

We walked the length of the Harbour Bridge and then back again as we looked for the ticket office to make a reservation for the bridge climb experience (tomorrow at sunrise). There is so much to take in that none of us minded retracing our steps. 

We even saw a brightly colored bird squawking in a tree one that normally we would only see on the Tropics Trail at the zoo in MN. but, there it was just off the staircase to the bridge living it's free and easy life. 

See the bird hiding in there?  Beauty!

After exploring the bridge well we walked back over toward the Circular Quay (pronounced key) and mounted the grand steps to the Opera House. We all snapped a billion photos. Shelby kept saying what we've all been thinking this whole trip, "We can't believe we are here."  All the pinching in the world still makes it seem like a dream, but here we are. 

We were all a little tuckered out after all our morning walking (plus we hit another Sunday market and met some artists and looked at all the trinkets, soaps, paintings and jewelry...bought nothing but a feast for the eyes).  So we all came back to the hotel around three and just swam and relaxed a few hours. It felt lovely. 

Dinner late and to bed right away so we can make our tee time at the bridge. We made the girls lay out their clothes and commanded Gillian to put her contacts in extra quick in the morn early. We are prepped and a little tiny bit nervous. It's a long way up and back down. 

More excitement tomorrow. 

Not Leaving

Well, we wish it were an option but I suppose we have to go home sometime even though it doesn't seem right at all to leave now that this place has captured our hearts. 

The Harbor Bridge in the background. 

I don't have much to report tonight. We arrived in Sydney at around 7:30 pm after strolling around Noosa one more morning. It truly was hard to drive away from that little paradise. Who knows when we will be blessed enough to return?  

Jeff drove us all back to the Brisbane airport where we flew through security and settled in for our flight. 

We took the beautiful modern train from the airport and got off two blocks from our hotel on the Circular Quay right near Sydney Harbor. As we stepped from the train, there it was, the Bridge, the Opera House. Too good too amazing that we are here.  

It's not just the breath-taking sights but it's the people here, too. They are this country's best asset which is saying a lot since the sights--they are spectacular.  Warmth, friendliness, humor:  these are the standards amongst the people down to each and every one.  I guess we've hammered this impression pretty well by now on this blog. But it's true. 

We are in Sydney now as I said. It is nearly midnight. The city is humming and getting ready for New Year's Eve. 

We walked around the area called The Rocks and stumbled upon a German Restaurant up a street that looked as if it were in Disney World (the only thing missing besides Mickey was the fake rocks with music playing out of their hidden speakers). The Lowenbrau Munchen restaurant was delicious but even more fun. Music and singing and yodeling all for our entertainment. Quinn couldn't wipe the smile off her face. 

The table behind us were other tourists from Texas and we exchanged quick notes with them on our mutual travels. We all have caught the happy bug from this place. It is a good disease to have, I think. 

More tomorrow but in the meantime lets all put our heads together and think of a way we can all come back to this enchanted place. Everyone's invited. 

Why are Australians so happy?

A nice little tourist-town to walk.  A lot of fun shops and bistros.

Today we did more of the same: coffee and breakfast at a bistro, sit by the beach, takeout lunch from a bistro, sit by the pool, dinner at a pizza bistro, gelato for dessert, stroll Noosa Heads.  Each of us is sunburn in at least one vulnerable area.  Each of us is loving life.

So the question has come up, by you and by us, just why are the Australians so happy?  And let me try to effectively reiterate, we have not met a single Australian who is anything but happy.  That is their outward presentation, anyway.  More than that, and this is even more shocking, I have yet to find a single Aussie who is the least bit annoyed.  Imagine that for a minute.  We have encountered probably 100 people who are dealing on a daily basis with idiots like me.  It is probably not hard to imagine how annoying the Northrup clan can be on vacation.  Whether it is the littlest one talking to the waitress with a mouse-quiet voice, or a party of 6 constantly trying to squeeze into restaurants that are better suited for 2, or Jeff and Janna both forgetting our wallets at the 7-11.  Heck, even I have gotten annoyed.  Tonight at the gelato shop I was, in full Yankee arrogance, trying to get close to glass to get a look at the flavors when a nice, well meaning Aussie mom said to me helpfully, "Oh, the line staats back hea."  I quipped back immediately, "Yeah, I know, I was just trying to get a look at the flavors.  Is that okay."  She was, unsurprisingly, unfazed.  "Oh, yeah.  No worries!"

I could be a scrooge and say how much I hate how happy everyone here is, but that is ridiculous.  The happiness here is contagious.  It is bordering on joy.

But why?  Why are Aussies like this.

Let me start by saying what everyone already knows.  I am not a sociologist.  Nor am I a psychologist.  I am not overly well familiar with cultures and I have not read much about this phenomenon (apart what was readily available in a google search this morning).  I am not qualified to really know why Aussies are happy.  And I doubt that my thoughts will be even remotely profound.

Furthermore, I won't try to address all the millions of things that could be attributing to this happiness.  Things like religion (or lack of religion), the awesome weather, the beautiful beaches, economics, political environment, personal well being, or education.

What is past is prologue.  Shakespeare wrote that hundreds of years ago.  It is from the play the Tempest.  The phrase suggests that all that has happened up until this time has lead to the current reality and what is to come.  In the play, Antonio uses is to justify that he and Sebatian will be committing murder - the past has set the stage for their next act.

Happiness is a choice on an individual level.  But when all individuals are similarly happy, it is cultural.  And this culture is happy, to a certain degree, because of it's past, or lack-there-of.

Again, I am only guessing here.  But tying Aussie's happiness to their benign past is probably not too far fetched.  Check out this simple timeline of major Australian historical milestones and consider the American equivalents:

• 1606 - first European sighting of Australia
• 1770 - James Cook maps the East coast of Australia
• 1788 - penal colony established as first European settlement
• 1851 - Gold discovered near Melbourne and spawned a massive gold rush
• 1907 - The Commonwealth of Australia established
• 1914 - Australians fought in WWI (ANZAC Day is a huge deal for Aussies)
• 1942 - Australia adopts severing constitutional links with the UK and leverages the US as its new military ally and protector.
• 1973 - the last of the White Australia policies were abolished
• 1986 - final constitutional ties between Australia and UK (Australia Act)

It isn't hard to see how different their past is relative to basically every other civilization on the planet.  Even when compared to the US, Australians never had to fight for their own independence, they have never had to fight themselves in a civil war, they have never had their national security threatened (Pearl Harbor or 9-11), they had others do the leg work for them in regards to women's right and civil rights.  Heck, the whole world has seemingly snow-plowed a path for them.  I mean no disrespect.  On the contrary, there are several countries that have never been able to learn from others mistakes or learn vicariously (South Africa with apartheid or Cuba or Brazil).  It is as if the Australians have been learning form other peoples mistakes while keeping a generally low profile.  It doesn't hurt that the British sort of got smart after losing the United States to Independence.  But, again, it was the US's dirty work that set the stage for Britain's better relations around the globe.

Would Australians be less happy if they had had to fight for their freedom or were the world leaders in civil rights?  It sounds like a crazy question, but maybe.  Australia has a very short  and bland history.  Maybe they would need some seasoning in order to be less happy.

The reality is, there are probably dozens of major reasons why the Aussies have this awesome demeanor.  Selfishly, I hope no one ever figures it out and that it never changes.  Because I like being here with these happy people.  And I will relish the opportunity to come back some day.  I hope it stays the same.  

My hostess at dinner last night, when she learned I was from the US, said her friend had just traveled across the United States for a full month and "loved it!"  I said that there were a lot of similarities between our two countries, except that Australians are much happier.  She replied back immediately with a smile, "Well you just gaat to roll with it then!"

I don't even know what that means or how it applies.  But she was super happy when she said it. 

Having Ourselves a Merry Little Christmas

It goes without saying that for most of our lives Christmas and snowfall go hand in hand.  I hear that there is no snow back home this year, though, so perhaps you all back that way feel a little like us Northrups...it doesn't feel much like Christmas here in Queensland, Australia.

But, to ease our sorrow over missing a white Christmas, we planted ourselves in the sand on the beach and gazed at the surf, the mountains in the distance and the blue, blue sky and water.  The girls caught waves and body surfed most of the day.  Shelby got sucked under a couple of waves until she finally figured out that she needed to dive into the waves and let them wash over her, Aubrey and she kept at it the longest.  Quinn and Gillian were in and out of the water, feeling torn between fun and sun.

The waves are smallish, but there are plenty of people on boards and enjoying the waves.  It was great fun to watch.  There were lots and lots of young children being taught by parents to surf, so I suppose that this beach we are on is a good one for training future surfers.

We also, most of us, have sunburns as a result of our Christmas day activities.  As noted numerous times on this blog, Australia has the highest incidence of skin cancer in the world.  There is a depletion of ozone that sits right over this piece of land and the result is incredibly powerful sunbeams.  Quinn saw that the UV levels were "10" today...highest they can be.

We are slathering on copious amounts of SPF 30 sunscreen...normally at home, Quinn turns her nose up at 30 and goes more for like SPF 8, and doesn't burn.  Today I witnessed her putting sunscreen on no less than five times, and her arms and back are burned.  Shelby is the worst.  Jeff and I were putting sunscreen on her, so we probably should be fired.  Let me just say that Northrup sunburns are pretty mild compared to some of the poor British skinned folk we saw on the beach today.  For that, we are thankful for us and cringing sympathetically for them.  We have decided tomorrow to sit in the shade during peak sun hours (10am-2pm) to keep the burns under control.

Later in the afternoon, Jeff and I went on a little walk and made our way to a 7-11 (fancy that) about a mile from our hotel.  We were hot and went in to get some drinks.  Jeff opened his lime juice concoction and started guzzling it in the store and I grabbed a sparkling water and made my way to the counter.  I opened my little purse to realize that I had no money at all, and there was Jeff chugging his drink in one of the aisles of the little convenience store.  "Uh...Jeff," I said and I looked over at the man behind the cash register, "Do you have any money?"  Jeff stopped mid-swallow, put his hand on his pocket of his swim trunks and shook his head.

I only felt like throwing up just a little, I imagined hiking all the way back to the hotel, leaving Jeff at the store as collateral and trying to make it back to collect him and get my own drink all without dying of thirst and in less than 20 minutes.

I told the man at the counter my plan.  Jeff looked helpless and guilty with half a bottle of stolen lime drink now churning in his belly.

But, nice guy that our new best friend at the 7-11 was, he told us to take both drinks and just bring the money back later.  Whew!!  We hoofed it back to the hotel (did I mention that it was up and down a steep steep hill?) and got the car and some cash and drove back to the shop.  Thank goodness we also remembered in our haste that people still drive on the left side of the road here, that would have been a total bummer to get in an accident and be wanted for stealing drinks at the local 7-11.  How would we explain it all to the kids?

It all turned out well, though and we came back, had a lovely sweet dinner all of us together and just talked and got to be together.  These memories we are making are such a treasure.  Quinn tried new foods tonight (all seafood:  oysters, raw ahi tuna, scallops, and shrimp) and was just as proud of herself as I was of her, what a fun time.  The others were less adventurous, but we had a nice Christmas dinner together, not traditional, but so lovely all the same.

We really do wish all our friends and family were here with us, of course, you all are in our thoughts and part of our conversations.  We feel incredibly blessed, what a wonderful Christmas it has been.

XOXO from us all.

Getting to Noosa Heads

Brisbane by the river.

Well, we probably made our first tactical error of the trip - we mis-timed our departure from Brisbane and, hence, delayed our time in Noosa Heads.  Let me explain.

Banyan fig trees are cool.  

This morning we woke up to hot sunshine in Brisbane so we walked to a river-side bistro and had a tidy little breakfast.  Breakfasts have been, far and away, the best meals we have had in this country.  I had read prior to coming that Australians like their breakfast.  I had expected a super sized version of American breakfasts, but, instead, what I have found is a more elegant version.  Lots of poached eggs.  Lots of yogurts.  Lots of berries.  And the eggs here have never had even the hint of a sulfur taste to them.  The granola is always unique to each restaurant/bistro/cafe and always fresh.  The fruit is fresh too.  There is always something unique on the menu that will catch your eye too - some kind of pancake or muffin or egg bake.  Breakfast has yet to disappoint.

We strolled down the river farther until we felt it was time to head back to the hotel.  For some reason we felt like we needed to kill some time in Brisbane due to a 2pm check-in in Noosa Heads.  Brisbane has a different vibe then Melbourne.  If Melbourne is San Francisco, then Brisbane is Epcot.  It seems fake - almost like it is too well planned or was created instead of evolved.  As you walk down the city streets one building will look like it belongs in the New Orleans Square at Disneyland while the next building is Tomorrowland.  Even the trees seem too perfectly grown and tidy to be anything but part of a manufactured, fake place.  It is not fake, of course, but it just has that feel.  I am not complaining, just making an observation.  It is a nice, clean city - it just lacks charm.

Surely this must be the inspiration for the "Go Dog Go" party tree.

Finally got Aubrey to interact with the animals.

Anyway we hopped in our rental car and headed South - the opposite direction of Noosa - to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary to hold Koalas.  By the way, driving is kinda crazy here.  Left side of the road, obviously.  But the hardest part has more to do with where in the lane one places their car while driving.  You see, with years of driving on the right side of the street while in the left side of my car, I tend to hug the left side of the lane (probably because I see better and can gage the left side of the lane better).  I assume most Americans do the same.  What has got me all out of whack down here is not the driving on the opposite side of the street (while sitting on the opposite side of the car), but that, even tho I am sitting on the right side of the car, my brain still favors the left side of the lane.  What this means is that the car is often over the lane on the left.  Whoa.  Not good when you are up against a guard rail or something.

Anyway, the Sanctuary was nice, but somewhat similar to what we had done previously on Philip Island, with one big benefit - holding Koalas.  We snapped some good photos, enjoyed the animals and the warm sun, and headed North to Noosa Heads.

Traffic was terrible.  Not sure why, maybe everyone leaving on Christmas Eve (remember, we are a day ahead)?

Anyway, we didn't get into Noosa until 3:30, even tho we left the Koala park around 12:30.  And now that we are here in Noosa Heads, we kinda wish we had just bailed on the Koala joint and headed up here right away - this place is beautiful.

I plan on learning more about this place tomorrow, but it has a Maui feel to it.  And the sand is as fine as I have every seen or felt.  Somewhere between sugar and powdered sugar.  It is so fine that it squeaks when you walk on it.

We decided to quickly slip into more of a typical beach-vacation mode.  We put on our trunks, went to the pool, walked the little town, ate takeout (delicious, by the way), scored some gelato, walked the beach, and looked up at the stars once the sky darkened.

It's Christmas Eve.  Tomorrow is Christmas here.  It doesn't feel like it.  In Minnesota, as evening approaches, the radios slowly change over to almost all Christmas music with little-to-no interruptions.  The streets empty.  It gets quiet.  Peacefully quiet.

Here it is hot.  There are some Christmas lights, but not many.  The radios have little but their normal menu to offer.  Some stores closed early tonight and a couple restaurants had closed their doors.  But what was open was packed.  People were out and about - eating, laughing, playing on the beach.  It felt like any other night out there.

It probably doesn't help that I am watching "The Godfather".

But I sure do miss Minnesota Christmases - they are special.

Merry Jesusmas, everyone!

Australian Lessons

Goodbye, Melbourne

Shelby the convict.

Yesterday (Tuesday) was our last day in Melbourne and while we are excited to see what else Australia has to offer (and at that, we know we are only getting a glimpse), we will miss this city.  The cool Euro vibe is addictive and I could hang out any of the café’s that line so many streets without ever getting tired. 

Here’s what I have learned about while in Australia so far:

We spent yesterday morning
at the Melbourne Gaol (Jail).
Very "Shawshank."

Our friend at the St. Kilda café taught me how to order coffee appropriately here in Aussie country. He told me that if I wanted my coffee with milk,  I should ask for it “flat white”  and if I wanted my coffee black, it would be a “long black.”  I have been going for the flat white and haven’t looked back. 

Still on the coffee theme: I have yet to have a bad cup of coffee.  No kidding, the Melbournians take their coffee very, very seriously. Not bitter, smooth, perfectly delicious.  I’m crossing my fingers that the coffee will be as good in other parts of this country.  It might be too much to hope for.

Australia only became a country 113 years ago.  That’s 1901 when the separate states of Australia decided to join together…New Zealand was almost in, but then changed it’s mind. 

The Gold Rush in Australia made the Gold Rush in California look like child’s play.

Quick…what is the capital of Australia?  No way you know, even maybe if you have been here.  It is Canberra.  Betcha’ didn’t know it.

They drive on the left side of the road here, and people walk on the left side of the sidewalk, too.  I wish I could explain how they make right hand turns in Melbourne.  If you see me on the street at home, ask me to draw a diagram, no way to explain it in words, and it makes almost no sense to me.

Alexander was right, if you’re having a no good terrible awful horrible day, it makes perfect sense to move to Australia.  No one is having a bad day here.  As a matter of fact, I have heard the phrase, “No worries!”  more than almost anything else.  Because that is the theme of the whole country…no worries.  Life is good.

Typical sidewalk-style 7-11.

There are a million 7-11’s here.  They are not attached to gas stations.  They sell bicycle helmets and Krispy Kremes, among other sundries.  There are more 7-11's here than there are coffee shops in an American downtown.  Nearly on every corner. 

In our hundreds of miles walked, I’ve only seen TWO Starbucks.  One in Melbourne and one this morning in Brisbane.  Hudsons Coffee looks like the ubiquitous chain here.  Haven’t tried it, though, too many other coffee shops to choose from.

There is a lot of graffiti here.  Almost every wall has graffiti on it, whether it is in the city or in the country.  Stranger yet, there is really no obvious "slums" or ghetto, so the graffiti does not fit the typical urban theme, despite the fact that it has the typical artistic look to it.

Orion is upside down.  The southern hemisphere presents a whole new array of constellations, including the elusive "Southern Cross (see CSN).  However you can still see Orion.  And, it he is upside down from how we see him normally.  Weird.

This is the only country I have been to in which Jeff has no one to talk soccer/football with.  Don’t get me wrong, the people here are crazy about sports, just soccer isn’t one of them.  But, get them started on Cricket, Australian Rules Football and they are passionate.  Apparently, they love Basketball, too.  Some of them.  On tv the other day, I found Jeff and Shelby watching a heated game of darts (woah) and then, the night before we left Melbourne, I asked Jeff what he was watching and he told me it was something called “Net Ball”  a women’s sport in which women run around holding a ball and then throw it up into a basket with no backboard, instant tranquilizer for me, I was out in two seconds.  Today, Jeff was sucked in to a TV station dedicated to "Footy" (AFL, or, Australian-rules football).  He said he loved it because it reminded him of the politically incorrectly named playground game referred to as "smear the queer" growing up.  The player with the ball is hunted, tackled, hit, kicked, scratched.  And you can throw or kick the ball in any direction.  Why this game hasn't caught on in the US, is beyond me.  

We are in Brisbane now.  We will head to Noosa Heads this afternoon after visiting with some Koala Bears.  There will be more to share for sure tonight.  Merry Christmas Eve!

Puffing Billy

On about 5-7 hours of sleep, we all got up and raced out of the hotel so that we could make our 7:45am bus to a rainforest a mere hour East of Melbourne.  The Dandenong Ranges are temperate and qualify for rainforest status based on rainfall per year and a beautiful canopy of Mountain Ash trees.

Driving up to these hills feel like a mix of Napa Valley, Thousand Oaks, and the Blue Ridge Mountains. And once inside the curvy hill-country roads, it is almost the spitting image of the Blue Ridge towns that boarder Tennessee and North Carolina.  The towns in this area have been drawing in tourists for over 100 years and have developed into storybook villages with tiny shops that sell anything from chocolates to jewelry to tea to candles to soaps.  And, of course, no Melbourne-area neighborhood would be worth it's weight if it didn't have several cafes.

But before we made our way to a village, we were dropped off at a little nature area where we could partake in a Devonshire tea with scones, feed the Cockatoos, and hike into the tropical rain forest.

The tea and scones were great, but we wanted to get outside since we could sense that the crowds had not hit just yet.  You see, the tour companies all run the same basic packages at the same exact time.  At any given time, there might be between 3 and 5 buses providing the same basic tour agenda involving the same stops.  In fact, the tour buses all leave from the same area of Melbourne - Federation Square, not far from our hotel.  Travel times and quick pit stops might put one of the buses ahead of the others.  We were that bus.

So we hustled outside to feed the Cockatoos.

Gillian feeding the Cockatoos.  Three is heavy!

What a riot.  The wild Cockatoos come flying from all around the high canopy of trees in the forest to get their beaks around some free bird seed.  Aubrey is not a big fan of feeding animals, but the rest of us all had Cockatoos eating out of our hands.  As you can imagine, they have very powerful beaks.  And their claws are very sharp.  At one point my thumb was pinched and pried out of the way by the powerful jaws of one of these brilliantly white creatures.  My arm is all scratched up from their sharp claws.  But it was fun.  Once again, and just like the penguins from yesterday, the animals of Australia are bringers of joy as we were all smiling and laughing. 

These Mountain Ash (Eucalyptus) trees are big, tall and straight.
Ideal for the tall masts of large sailing ships.  

After that we hiked into the woods down some paths.  And while at first this place has the look and feel of North Carolina, once in the forest, you see just how different the plants and trees really are.  The Mountain Ash trees are upwards of 350 feet high.  That is really high.  Really, really high.  I could not get over how tall the trees were.  Most of the rest of the plants were completely foreign too.  And it sounded like a jungle - like something straight out of the movies.

Seriously, where is the Compliance Department?  Oh, yeah, that is a US thing.

Back on the bus and a quick ride to the Puffing Billy train.  Another brilliantly executed tourist trap, the Puffing Billy train used to be used by locals to get from the valley up to the higher villages.  It was restored about 50 years ago and now is run just for tourists.  It runs slowly up the mountain while passengers sit with their feet hanging out the windows.  Apparently, lawyers haven't caught up to this little endeavor yet.  Can you imagine riding on a train anywhere in America where you could even think of being this reckless?  But this fits perfectly well with the Australian culture.  People here are so friendly and somewhat laid back.  It is like being in a country entirely inhabited by surfer dudes.  Even while on the train, a local woman walking her dog took the time away from her earbuds to wave at every single car on that train.  She has probably seen that train 3 thousand times.  She has had to put up with flecks of coal soot landing in her yard.  And yet she had a big smile on her face as she waved at me.

Coal burning train.  

The ride was a mere 25 minutes.  Our bus driver had moved the coach bus up to the new village in order to pick us up.

From there we hit a village that I mentioned earlier before driving an hour back to Federation Square.

Yeah, we like fast food too!

We opted for a late lunch/dinner after doing some swimming back at the hotel indoor pool.  A little place called Rocket Burger seemed like a good option.  We got it "take-away" and ran it back to our hotel.

Outside our hotel window there are kids playing cricket.  I must say I have never seen that in the Twin Cities.

Another day in the books.  Tomorrow we take in Melbourne for the last time before a 5pm flight to Brisbane.  Not sure I want to leave this town.  How can this foreign but familiar country improve on Melbourne?  The cafes, the friendly people, the appreciation of good food, the weather, and the balance of city with nature.  I just might need to come back here…or live here.

St. Kilda and Philip Island

Lifeguards using a Minnesota product.  Polaris!

Today is Monday morning, 6:30 am nearly.  You are reading this on Sunday (I assume you are reading it on Sunday, I guess it's possible you are reading this on Monday but then it would be Tuesday here...woah!).  So, what I am trying to tell you back home, friends, is that I am a voice from the future, a prophet, if you will.

I like my new found (and short lived) vocation.  I've always wanted to be the voice of reason from the future who says, "Calm down, I know you are panicking about tomorrow, but really, it will be okay."  So, I will function in that manner from now on.  Calm down, Christmas is coming, you are freaking out because there is still so much to do, but I'm telling you, it is FINE, the 22nd of December is looking good.  Days ahead are even better.

There, now don't we all feel better?

Yesterday (Sunday), we arose early and hopped on a tram to the lovely kitschy suburb of St. Kilda.  Our goal was the beach, but first breakfast at a little spot Jeff found.  Miss Jackson's was the name.  The breakfast was yummy and photogenic and we ate it all up.  I think I had the best thing:  cured salmon and poached eggs with "potted" avocado.  Crazy good.

But, the best part wasn't the food, even though it was amazing.  The best part was the man who co-owned the restaurant and was our server.  I don't know his name, why we didn't ask, I'll never know.  But he was an example of nearly every person we have encountered here so far.  He was kind, happy, funny, interested, talkative, warm...he was typical Australian.

Jeff and I have spent countless conversation minutes pondering over this one unique thing:  so far, we have yet to bump into a grouchy person.  It is nearly Christmas and back home, people are scowling because they can't find a parking spot, or short-tempered because they still have so much to do, or just curmudgeonly because they like it that way.

We wonder:  is it the sun?  is it the fact that they live in a beautiful location with animals that are loved the world over?  Are they free of the kind of fear we have experienced since 9/11?  is there something in the water?

The general joy is rubbing off on all of us.  The girls are getting along well, no one is really complaining even though we are pulling long days of walking or sightseeing.

I don't know why...but I'll take it.

After breakfast with our kind host (who gave us a guide to cafe's around Melbourne, his Christmas present to us, he said) we walked up to the beach and planted ourselves in the blazing sun.  (Australia has the highest rates of skin-cancer in the world due to the thinning of the ozone here, so we were properly sun-blocked up).  The beach was a typical public beach and is famous for the colorful bathhouses that line it (although we didn't get that far up the beach, so happy were we just to plop in a spot).  We saw maybe 100 jellyfish in the water and on the sand, so we didn't swim, even though a woman told me that the big jellyfish weren't the ones to watch for, only the small ones.  I had no way of knowing what qualified as big or small, so we avoided all of them (most poisonous animals in the world here, remember).  Shelby and Aubrey played in the sand, Jeff and I walked a little and Quinn and Gillian lounged.  Blissful.

Hand feeding a kangaroo

In the afternoon, we signed up for a tour to a place called Phillips Island about 120 km outside of Melbourne.  After grabbing some street vendor food, we loaded up on a bus for an eleven hour excursion to watch a Penguin Parade.  Yes, hold the phone, we got to watch penguins march up a beach with about three hundred other observers and it was great, but more on that in a second.

Roger our friendly guide took us to lovely spots along the way to Phillips Island were we saw beautiful rocky cliffs along the coast and watched surfers (met some chaps from the lifesaving club, a handy institution), met some Wallabys and Kangaroos and fed them a snack as well as looked at Koalas, chatty parrots and hungry emus.  We stopped for dinner in a little town on the beach and then made our way to the main event.

Philip Island is beautiful.  High cliffs.

It was the longest day of the year here in Australia yesterday.  On Phillips Island every day penguins march up the beach at dusk and make their way back to their little homes to feed their baby penguins and rest from long days of fishing and feeding in the ocean.  These tuxedoed creatures, are the smallest of the penguins in the world.  They were called Fairy Penguins until recently, but now are just called Little Penguins.  They are blue and white and adorable.

We made our way to the viewing stands en masse and waited.  There are no cameras allowed here, and they police that adamantly.  The penguins are known for being hesitant to make the journey across the sand, due to predators.  So, at dusk (a little after 9pm) a few brave penguins made their way to shore, waddled up the wet sand, stopped, tottered a little and then in what looked like a serious case of stage fright, ran off back into the ocean with their arms outstretched.  The crowds responded by giggling, it was a totally entertaining sight.  They carried on like this for probably fifteen minutes; running up the shore and then one would turn and hightail it back into the water.  Eventually, one brave penguin would totter a further step onto the dry sand and even the most hesitant would follow and begin their trek to their respective "cottages" that were all over the island.  They live in little dug out burrows or boxes made especially for them and these are really every where.

The penguins will hide under cars.  Careful!

Lots of fun.  People from all over the world were there and they had all been thoroughly entertained by these little creatures.  Everyone left there with a smile on their face.

We didn't get back to the hotel until midnight.  Another good day.

Saturday in Melbourne

 When Jeff and I first married he told me that he hated to travel.  He hated the time in the airport, the packing and unpacking and the being tired, waiting, all of it.  He didn't see himself as someone who wanted to spend a lot of time traveling, he told me, in our future.

He was the one who pulled hardest for this trip across the world.  It started a few years ago, when he told me that for Christmas we should go to Australia.  I drug my feet, I hemmed and hawed.  I LOVE to travel, I had whet my appetite for travel when I was in tenth grade on a family trip to Germany, I always knew I wanted more...but, Australia:  it was too far, too hard to do with children, too expensive, and--it turned out after I read some travel books--too hot in December.

I told him, "Let's wait a few years and go after the kids leave."  I imagined a month of wandering with packs on our backs and leisurely dinners.

"No," he said, "let's go now."

We have been in Melbourne now going on our third day (it is morning on Sunday here, by the way. If you are wondering how Sunday will be all you who are still stuck on Saturday, it's pretty good so far) and I am publicly announcing that Jeff was right.

This is an awesome place to visit, maybe in my top three of all time, and even better, an awesome place to bring children.

We got up yesterday and while Jeff blogged I ran gleefully around the hotel room and found a Nespresso maker (!) and a washing machine (!!!) in our room (which it turns out is not that uncommon, many hotels have standard small kitchens (ours does) and amenities for long visits).  So hooray for those things.

Meanwhile, Shelby looked on Urban Spoon on my phone and announced from her perch on her pull-out bed (the other three girls are in the room next door) that she had found a spot for breakfast for us all.

"Uh huh," I told her and stood at the sink and stirred my second cup of Nespresso.  I can see the city from our room and saw the modern architecture that dominates the skyline, so clean looking and modern.  The sky was brilliant blue yesterday (and is still this morning); the sun was up by 5:45 am.

Gilly Rocks the Go Pro

We got ready and headed out the door by 8:15 am.  We stopped at the front desk to ask how far away Shelby's breakfast spot find was and they said it was pretty far, but we could walk.  At that point, we were losing some kids, they weren't sure they wanted to walk so far but we all rallied and commenced our journey.  Gillian and I did run back quickly to the room to grab her new Go Pro (a camera that you wear strapped to your chest--it takes both video and still photos, mostly it is used for action shots--Gillian had saved up for it) and met up with our gang on a bridge just outside our hotel that spans the Yarra River and is loaded with locks like the bridge in Paris (can't remember the name)  it is pretty and is decorated with a huge mistletoe that hangs from the apex of the bridge.

And then we walked and walked and walked all the way to South Melbourne, really nearly a suburb of the CBD (central business district)  and by the time we got to the restaurant, just up a little street in a cute neighborhood that almost looked like downtown Edina, we weren't sure if it would be worth it.

But, Shelby actually found the best restaurant of the day.

Breakfast

Called St. Ali, it was a ramped up version of The Good Earth, wholesome superfood breakfast offerings that were almost works of art to look at.  Aubrey ordered the coconut yogurt with apricots and some kind of grain, Gillian and Shelby got some pancakes that looked almost like english muffins with macerated berries and chia seeds, and it went on like that.  Delicious food and healthy, too.

We decided to stay down in the area and walk it over and eventually land in a open air market to sample some dim sum for lunch which our hotel front desk had recommended.

We walked and all the girls hit 10,000 steps on their little fitbits (given by their grandma for Christmas) by 10 am.

We wandered over past adorable row houses, many with ironwork facades that looked almost colonial British, even like being in Charleston, SC.  We hit a park called the Albert Park Lake and Reserve and just laid on the grass and soaked up some sun until we got restless again and then walked over to the Melbourne Sport and Aquatic Center:  a huge complex with pools and squash, tennis, basketball courts.

Black Swan??

Then, we made our way over to the outdoor South Melbourne Market but stopped at a couple of shops while Jeff waited outside on a bench with his new friend, Carol.  Carol was in her sixties and chatted with Jeff about a half hour updating him on the area and some history.  Jeff can talk up a storm with anyone, and it turns out, Carol could, too.  She said that in January and February, Melbourne is unbearably hot.  Best time to visit is in the fall (March through May)...good to know for the next time we will surely be coming back.

Melbourne for the most part has been clean, busy and friendly.  There are lots of streets that are packed with people, especially near our hotel in the CBD, but it is a jovial friendly place, people are smiling and warm and ready to talk and ask questions.  Many people asked us where we were from (we said just south of Canada and when they prodded more, told them Minnesota...they pretended to know where that was, so kind, they were).

One thing I have noticed is the plethora of tshirts that advertise a United States sports team or city...probably 60% of the shirts I saw yesterday were sporting US logos of some kind.  The gal at one of the shops told us that everyone watched so much US television, and that is why she had heard of Minnesota (from what?  the polar vortex coverage from last year?--we didn't ask).

Shrine of Rememberence

We grabbed some pretty good street food from the Melbourne market and then headed up to the Royal Botanical gardens by way of the Shrine of Rememberence.  Mind you, Gillian was videoing much of our journeys by Go Pro and people were pointing and talking a lot about the kids who was walking around with the camera strapped to her, but we will have some rocking videos when we get home.

The Shrine of Rememberence is a memorial to the slain (69,000) from World War I who were New Zealanders or Aussies.  It is a lovely place and has a beautiful view from the balcony...which is where I noticed that we didn't have Shelby with us.  No one had to announce our name over a PA system, though, because I ran back down the stairs from the balcony and found her crying on the bottom stair and tried to cheer her up by joking with her that she is the only kid who has been lost in two hemispheres and continents.  Lucky girl.

We entered the Royal Botanical Gardens and took in the beauty there.  The plants are beautiful and most unrecognizable...I read in a book that Lisa Lindborg recommended to me by Bill Bryson...that 80% of the plants and animals in Australia exist nowhere else.  We have seen vibrant green birds fly by and ducks, swans and all of them never seen before in the wild by us...plus the plants in the gardens.  It was beautiful there.  We had probably walked ten miles by then, so we took it slow and sat down on a grassy hill with other groups of Aussies and watched the world go by.

Australians love parties so far it seems, there are big groups everywhere gathering having picnics, at the pubs that line the streets and generally having a good time.  It lends to an atmosphere that is distinctly un-Minnesotan...everyone is your friend, no one a stranger.

After our long walk, we went back to the hotel to rest a half hour and then we decided to walk more to get dinner.  Only ten more blocks, we said to the kids, and they didn't complain...there is so much to look at, musicians in the streets, shops to gaze in through the window and interesting architecture and people...I'm proud of them.  Quinn and Aubrey walked nearly the whole night arm in arm.  The best.

We had a mediocre dinner in a tourist trap, and we were all a little bummed about it but rallied and found a gelato place near the hotel and ended the day on a sweet note.  We walked about fifteen miles by fitbit calculation yesterday.  Our feet were sore but we'd do it all again.

Today we head to see some penguins and a beach...more to come.

Janna's notes on getting to Australia

Melbourne:  Janna's notes.

Jeff is writing now a great blog for this beginning of our trip, but I wanted to put in a cent or two while he is trying to upload his pictures.

First of all, we are here, it is summer, the days are long and while in Melbourne I wouldn't say it is hot, it is not cold.  The sun is shining, oh joy.  OH JOY!

Catching some rays in Federation Square Melbourne.  Vitamin D never felt so good!

The flight over didn't live up to the horrific expectations we had.  It was actually pleasant and I am considering offering myself up for marketing a product I've stumbled across called No Jet Lag.  I found it at AAA after I heard someone who travels overseas a lot recommended it.

This stuff works.  We were a little tired after 25 hours of travel yesterday but managed to explore the city and eat a late late lunch and then walk some more (Jeff will fill in the details about our adventures)...I did fall asleep at 7:00 pm Melbourne time, but we all woke up at 6 am this morning, Melbourne time.  Voilà.

We can't believe we are in Australia.  To travel all this way and get off a plane and see landscape that is familiar (so far) and hear our own language is a little confusing.  I mean, we just spent a lot of time in a plane to get to a place that feels like Florida...weird.

We are here now and excited to tackle this new continent.  We are so blessed.

Planes, Trams, and Automobile

28.5 hours.  31, if you count from the time we left our house in Edina - that's how long it took to get to Melbourne, Australia.

This is Jeff.  It's 5am Saturday morning - which means two things: 1. It's Noon yesterday in Minneapolis (still don't really understand that), and 2. Team Northrup has done a pretty good job of getting on Aussie time already.

Janna has been adamant about us taking these little pills she got at AAA called No Jet Lag.  I am impressed.  Every two hours since we got on the first plane, she placed a pill in the palm of our hand and we chewed them until they dissolved.  I have no idea what is in them.  Maybe Janna is a drug dealer and has gotten us all addicted to some kind of narcotic?  I don't know.  But I never really felt all-nighter tired like I have on other overseas trips.

So here is the Edina to Melbourne trip in spark-notes style: SUV to MSP (Thanks Stu), Plane to LAX, Shuttle to different terminal, shuttle to plane, Plane to Sydney, Customs, Shuttle to different terminal, Plane to Melbourne, Bus to transfer station, Bus to Quay West hotel.

We left Minneapolis at 5:15pm and arrived in Melbourne at 11:45am.  Apparently, and even tho I we didn't see a sunrise and sunset during that time, we lost an entire day of our life.  We fought, we cried, we ran, we slept, we hugged, we laughed.  A normal Northrup day.

Once at the hotel, we did one of the most glorious things a human being can do: bathe.  Janna drew a hot bath.  I showered.  I am telling you, when you have lost an entire day of your life over the Pacific Ocean, a hot shower never felt so good.

But enough about that - Melbourne.

Sandridge Bridge

Our hotel is close to the center or Melbourne.  Like most cities in the world, it is on a river that quickly leads to the ocean.  We haven't seen the ocean yet, but the river is nice.  The city has a modern, European feel to it.  Kind of like some of the Swiss cites we visited - but without the cathedrals or centuries-old architecture/hot spots.  More like Toronto.

We started walking the city as soon as we were cleaned up.  And knowing full well that our sleep cycles were likely still thinking it was 7 hours later in a (the) day, we wanted to get out an walk the city - in 70 degree sunshine.  Friday afternoon in Melbourne has a cool vibe to it.  Not sure it is always like this here, but it feels European.  The people are less fat than in the US.  There are a lot of Asians here and fewer blacks.  The white people are mostly fit.  The men were predominantly sporting Euro-cut suits with no ties, black wing-tips, and and nice dress shirt with two buttons undone.  The women often wearing little dresses that, if you asked me - a guy - appeared to be dinner party casual, but I think most of the women we saw were working.  There are more people smoking than in the US, but not quite as much as Paris.

+39 Pizzeria

There seem to be an oddly high percentage of restaurants here.  Maybe we just walked the perfect storm of places to eat, but maybe Aussies in Melbourne are like Parisians - they appreciate food and prefer to have someone else make it for them?  Not sure, but we saw hundreds of clubs, cafes, diners, restaurants, pubs, bars.  The sharp looking, business professionals all taking in beer or wine.  Long lunches.  Late lunches.  People were eating inside, outside on the sidewalk, upstairs on roof-tops or mezzanines, open air cafe's, basement walk-down restaurants.  I mean, it just seems like everywhere you turn there is a restaurant.



We found a Punch-style pizza place with real Italians working the floor.  Everything was delicious.  We  love food, and Janna's simple rule has never failed us - find a place where lots of other people are eating.  It seemed like weeks since we had had something that tasted like it was real - not packaged or cooked up in a plane microwave.  Yum.

Federation Square

We walked a good percentage of the river near our hotel, the City Centre, and Chinatown before we ended up on some lawn chairs that were set up in a modern-archticture place called Federation Square.  Weird but kinda cool, the chairs were set up on the brick ground all facing a stage with a huge jumbo-tron screen above it that had trippy lava-lamp-style images flowing thru it while a red-bearded, Euro-suited, could-date-my-sister-looking hipster was spinning vinyl records.  The images on the screen were run by a woman seated at a table next to the DJ with three Mac laptops and a big monitor facing her.  I can only guess that she is some kind of "artist" and that is her medium.  Quinn and I were mesmerized.  The music was like jazz, soul, nina-simone, deep-track-ray-charles, smooth rap, lounge, mo-town, all wrapped up into a soothing, psychedelic, sound bath that washed over us while we sat in these chairs that faced the sun and the stage.  I don't have any idea why someone would stop and sit in those chairs, but we did.  I don't know what kind of visual and sound art they were offering, but we were all locked in.

I knew we had to leave when I started to feel tired - sitting there in lava-lamp heaven listening to vinyls that are sold in only the hippest of retro music shops.

We went back to the hotel.  Aubrey, Shelby and Gillian wanted to swim in the hotel's indoor pool.  I brought my kindle, but found myself dozing off.  The clock said 6:30pm.  No dinner for us tonight due to the late lunch.  My sleep-fighting got worse.  I tried to text Janna back at the room, but got no response.  She was a victim for sure.  Quinn was up there too - a goner.  I was so envious - my body wanted to sleep.  I sat there following a simple patter: watch girls in the pool, thoughts drift off, head bobs up, watch girls in the pool, etc.

Finally at 7, I told them we should go.

By 8 we were all asleep.  Day 1 (or is it Day 2?) in the books.