Marathon Travelers!

The city hopping has come to a close and my time in Australia is winding down :(  I have 12 more days here and then who knows! But that is not the point of this entry.  The end of my time here post will come later :)  Now I want to comment on what an amazing time I had with my mom and sis (and Todd) when they spent 4 weeks down under.  

They started in New Zealand for a week which I was unfortunately not apart of and so you will have to ask them about that portion of their trip :) They started their Australian adventure on July 3rd and we had non stop fun.  The trip started with a one night camping experience at the foot of Mt. Warning.  I have already talked about this but to recap: camped at the foot of Mt. Warning, boom fire, jaffles, bags, climbed Mt. Warning  and then celebrated that night with some tasty burgers in Coolangata and then collapsed into bed happy, sore, and ready to start puddle jumping!  

Melbourne was first and what a BEAUTIFUL city it was.  What everyone says is true.  The architecture is unique and the skyline is breathtaking.  Mom had to stop on every corner to take a picture of one of the dozens of public art sculptures scattered throughout the city.  Throughout our trip we used Lonely Planet to help guide us in the direction of scrumptious food.  Lonely planet never let us down and one day we went to this place called Pellegrini's, which was a small place right out of Italy (not that I have been there :) ).  Structurally it was long and small with a kitchen in the back and a strong wooden bar running the length of the restaurant.  It was quite clearly a family owned restaurant and the sons shouted food and drink order back at their mother cooking in the kitchen.  It was delicious food and a wonderful step into a different world.  

The highlight of the Melbourne trip for me was the Tim Burton exhibit at the ACMI.  The exhibition is on loan from the New York Met and it was a wonderful collection of his movies, sketches, notes and childhood school papers that gave us a glimpse into the mind behind movies such as Edward Scissorhands, Alice in Wonderland (2010), and my personal favorite: Big Fish.  In the next gallery over there was an exhibit that embodied my thesis.  It showed the history of American and Australian film.  Although I felt a bit chagrined at first, I soon put my mind at ease because the exhibit was not as detailed or interesting as my paper (if I do say so myself :) ).  

Our time in Melbourne finished with a bang as mom and I ate fish and chips and beer after watching fireworks over the Melbourne Docklands.  Jan was feeling a bit sick and tired so she did not join us but mom and I had a marvelous last night out before heading the next morning to Tassie.  

I apologize for my lack of pics in this section.  I did not have a camera with me and Jan has yet to upload facebook pictures for me to steal so you will just have to wait! :)  More of our adventure to come! 

G'day Mate!

The first few months of my relationship with Todd included lots of blank stares and "umm... what?"s.... Americans may think they have slang but Australians practically invented strange slang.  Some of it makes sense and some... is just plain nonsensical :) Here is a list provided by my dear friend Becky.  This is small in comparison to Todd's dialect and "slang dictionaries" you can find online but these are the words of note she wrote down during her visit in April.  Thanks Becks!!!

Australian	American
bloke	guy
speed humps	speed bumps
dinner	lunch
tea	dinner
footpath	sidewalk
heaps	lots
breaky	breakfast
trolley	cart
Maca's	McDonald's
keen	interested
stuffed	screwed
sorted	figured out
pissed	drunk
ey?	what?
buggered	exhausted
chemist	pharmacy
spewed	vomited
duner(?)	comforter
eski	cooler/ice chest
tighty	hot/cool
pudding	dessert
torch	flashlight
trading hours	hours of operation?
corriander	cilantro
crisps	chips
chips	fries
prawns	shrimp
sunnies	sunglasses
stubby holder	beer sleeve
how you going?	how are you?
arvo dacks mate	afternoon trousers friend
thongs	flip flops
sandshoes	sneakers
no wuckas (from "no wuckin furries")	no worries
bushwalking	hiking
in the bush	in the wilderness
I've been really slack	I've been slacking off
tomato sauce	ketchup
try	goal (like at a sporting event)
light globes	light bulbs
cuddle	hug
rubbish	trash
way out	exit
toilet	restroom/bathroom

"Fostering" Gold Coast Adventures

For the last week I have had the pleasure of entertaining (and being entertained by) Todd’s family (whose last name is Foster, fyi…:) ).  Val and Tony (parents), Jodie (sis), Lara and Blake (Jodie’s adorable children) and his Auntie Trini flew in last Sunday and were with us until Monday.  Lots of shopping, eating, swimming in the pool and gabbing ensued and I really enjoyed getting to know them all better. 

I love my friends’ families.  I love my family too! (don’t worry!) I just mean that I love meeting other people’s families because it reveals something new about my friends.  Todd has a lovely family.  They are kind, loving and really have each others’ backs.  It is clear why Todd has turned into such an incredible person himself (he had loads of help ;) ). 

Todd’s niece and nephew (Lara and Blake) are 5 and 3 (respectively) and the cutest little kids.  Of course any children with an accent become instantly cuter especially when they give “cuddles” (the Australian word for “hug”).  Todd clearly adores them but hanging around children for a week has made him decide to wait till 50 to have them (ha ha).  Being around them for a week reaffirmed that they are hard work but definitely something I look forward to tackling (don’t worry, not yet!). 

Mom and Jan are here now and we spent the weekend introducing them to Australia by dragging them on a camping trip and then climbing Mt. Warning.  It was a much longer hike than I remember but we all survived with a smile on our face, but the spring in our step was left at the top… ;)  We had amazing luck camping because although we shared the space with more people than we anticipated, we snagged a little wall-less hut with a fireplace.  We made our typical “boom” fire and taught mom and Jan how to play “bags” (a Foster family card game).  We Americanized the Jaffle sandwich by making some with peanut butter, honey and banana and played badminton on a court that Todd marked out with his blue surveying paint.  It was nice to get away from the city for a bit and have some good ‘ol, no electricity required fun! 

Mom, Jan and I leave in a few hours for Melbourne and then Tassie is next finished off by Sydney.  I will not have much time to write but I promise to take good notes!!! 

Picture Time: 

Lara, Blake and I :) 

Todd being a great uncle and playing airplane

Todd, Roman and I on the top of Mt Warning 

Jan and I on the top of Warning (she is still taller, shucks :) )