Heidi flew from Colorado Springs to Sydney on June 7th and stayed here in Australia until she flew out last Tuesday, July 2nd. We tried to fit everything you could into her first visit and give her an overall picture of mid-north east Australia and Dan and I's life here.
A little bonus for her (bonus is in the eye of the beholder), is we moved from Redland Bay into the city (an area called Cannon Hill) during her first week so she got the opportunity (opportunity is also in the eye of the beholder) to help Dan and I move. And trust me- we couldn't have done it without her.
So here we go.. a photo and one-two line journey through Heidi's month in Australia.
I flew to Sydney to meet Heidi when she first got in so she could have the experience of seeing the Opera house right when she got here.
Seeing the Opera House is pretty sureal because I feel that to us it's something you always see on TV but it seems SO far away and then to actually see it is a really cool feeling. Heidi felt the same.
We got a hotel downtown in the city so we could wander around and be central to everything. So the first day after checking our bags into the hotel we went wandering around and had breakfast by the harbor. After breakfast we went back to the hotel and got ready for the day and then took the Ferry from Circular Quay (pronounced "key") to Manly.
Harbour Bridge in the background
It was a nice day. Not too cold and not raining which was nice. A bit windy though which made our numerous "selfies" tricky.
Selfie in front of the Opera House on the ferry to Manly
A view from the ferry of the Sydney skyline
Heidi and I in Manly
After Heidi and I felt we had checked out all Manly had to offer to us that day, we took the ferry back to the city to get ready to meet up with Gina for a dinner surprise for Heidi.
Every year Sydney does a light festival called Vivid Sydney and they put up light displays everywhere and the coolest part about it is they do an amazing light/art show on the sails of the Opera House.
Gina and I had found a deal on a dinner cruise on a Pirate Ship and surprised Heidi with a dinner cruise that goes around all the major lights of Vivid Sydney. I won't link the company name on here for the dinner cruise, because it wasn't very good. Emphasis on the cruise, no real emphasis on the dinner. We all ate afterwards. But we did get to see some really cool lights on the Opera House, Harbour Bridge and in Darling Harbour.
Saturday we had a nice breakfast and then did some shopping and then met up with Gina to head over to Bondi Beach.
Bondi Beach is probably the most famous beach in Sydney (correct me if I'm wrong anyone that may know if that's correct or not). It's a cool beach with a ton of restaurants, shops and a beautiful beach. It's also home of the "hit" TV show Bondi Rescue. It's such a "hit" that it's played in the US as well. Good 'ol Reality TV.
Gina and I took Heidi to the Bondi RSL where you can get an amazing view of Bondi as well as cheap food and drinks.
I've been to Bondi a few times before and the last time I was there I noticed a sticker of my Aunt Violet in one of her Coca Cola model shots from way back when. (our great Aunt was a Coca Cola model back when Coca Cola was doing the pin up photos as their campaigns. She did two shots- a diving board shot and an air hostess shot and we make it our life goal to collect every piece we see her in). So as I was saying I was at this burger place (Moo Burger in Bondi) with some friends and noticed the sticker. I told the group I was with about that being my great aunt, but they didn't believe me or they probably didn't care... so when Heidi was in town we made it a point to go back there so she could see it, because she'd care! I also took the time to take a creepy photo while the staff questioned who these girls were that came into the shop took a photo of a sticker on the mirror and left.
Fun Fact- I posted this photo on Instagram and tagged Moo Burger. Someone at Moo Burger wrote me on Instagram and asked what the meaning of the photo was and I told them and they thought it was pretty cool. So all you marketing people out there, make sure you interact with your social audience-- they could end up writing about you on their blog no one reads.
After the day at Bondi we went back to the hotel and got ready to go to dinner at King's Cross. King's Cross is one of the sketchiest areas in Sydney (I don't think anyone will correct me for being wrong on that one), so we wanted Heidi to see it. She got a good eye full of the Cross during the short hours we were there, so mission accomplished. No photos on this one. We didn't actually take any, but I'll spin it to make you think "it's far too crazy for photos!"
For our final day in Sydney we met up again with Gina and her sister Immacolata to The Grounds of Alexandria which is this awesome warehouse/garden/craft zone. You can get food inside or out. You can get the most amazing looking flowers or lemonade or bracelets. There's a pig. There's a petting zoo. There's everything! It's awesome.
It was a great way to spend our final day in Sydney and later that night we'd make our way back to Brisbane. Little did we know Heidi and I would end up on different flights making our way back to Brisbane, but we made it in the so that's all that matters.
The day after we got back to Brisbane, it was raining but we took Heidi to a park called Daisy Hill to see some Koalas! You can see them in the wild at times, but there also is a reserve there where they have some enclosed before re-rehabilitated and released back into the wild. Due to the rain, we were unlucky in finding any in the wild but we got to see the ones in the reserve area.
The next two weeks Heidi spent in Brisbane. She helped us move during one week and then took the train into the city the next week to roam around. We tried to do as much as we could on the weekends to see the sites.
The first weekend in Brisbane our friend Alicia had a birthday party in a park, so it was awesome to spend the day outside and celebrate her!
The park is right on the river and we live south of the river, so we took the ferry across to the other side.
That next day we wanted to show Heidi one of our new favorite restaurants, the Yard Bird Ale House. I found this place when I was looking for places for Dan's birthday, and it has good beer and really good hot wings!
We invited Musa and Alicia to meet up with us here so they could see Heidi again and so we could introduce them to the place. Dan and I had been a few times previously and have always gotten their normal hot wings, but they also have these "Death Sentence" wings that we were interested in trying so we thought if we went with more people, maybe we could try some.
so we did.
bad idea.
i have NEVER tasted anything so hot. I thought I was going to die. Seriously. I ran to the bathroom to cry or throw up or scream. not sure. Musa went and got me milk that's how bad it was and that milk was the BEST milk I've ever tasted. Never will I try anything with the word "Death" in it again.
Here's some photos before I almost died.
Dinner was courtesy of my mom who had told us she wanted to treat us to a dinner while Heidi was there. We took this photo to show her, then the tears came! The death ones are on the plate on the right, bottom. Ugh. Don't remind me.
After I got my life back and was able to eat a little more (not the death ones), we then went to a little city lookout spot so Heidi could see the main part of the city before heading to church.
We had a really nice time in Bundy. We took Heidi to see kangaroos in the wild. We had a nice BBQ on the beach in Bargara with friends and family and had a nice family get together Sunday night.
Heidi and Jackson's first time seeing kangaroos in the wild. There was a Joey there as well that we saw get in and out of the mom's pouch (thanks to Jackson barking and scaring the little Joey. #JacksonandJoeydontmix)
Heidi, Melissa, and Melissa's daughter Charlie at the BBQ
Dan made sure to take Heidi to the main Bundy "Lookout" spot. It's the massive hill in Bundy. and by massive I mean not massive and by not massive I mean the opposite of massive. Still a nice lookout though
After we left Bundy we went up to Gladstone which is about 2 hours north of Bundy to visit Bruce, Anna, Chris, Sonia, Tim, Jenna, and Indy.
It was the first time I had been to Gladstone and it was so nice to see where they all live.
We had an amazing Italian dinner that Anna made and had such a nice time catching up. Sorry I don't have any photos. I was too busy talking :)
After the night in Gladstone we got on the road for the 6 hour drive home! it was long...
Some of us have an easier time sleeping in the car than others (Heidi knew I was taking the photo..)
We got back in Brisbane Tuesday night and the following night we had the AWESOME opportunity to go to a State of Origin game. State of Origin is a rugby game of Queensland vs New South Wales. It's a 3 game series and basically like our Superbowl. I'd fill you in on the details, but we may or may not be having a separate post about the night by a guest editor :) ooohh... i can feel the suspense building...
I went back to work for the rest of the week and Dan took Heidi around on her final days to show her anything she hadn't seen yet and eat gross things that I wouldn't be a part of like pies and sausage rolls (gross to me, loved by many).
For Heidi's final weekend we took her down to the Gold Coast. Unfortunately it was a rainy weekend but we were still able to get some photos, and for Heidi to eat some legit Australian seafood.
Heidi in front of the countdown to the Common Wealth games in Surfer's Paradise
Surfer's Paradise
Heidi said she wanted to try seafood.. so we got her the platter! Bugs, Prawns, Fish, Oysters...
She did a great job on trying everything and got some help finishing the platter. Not from me- ew gross.
Snapper Rocks- location of the Quiksilver Pro for all your ASP fans. Such an amazing beach.
Heidi standing at the beach that divides Queensland and New South Wales
Well that pretty much sums it up (and my hand is tired from typing). We had a great visit with Heidi and are so thankful she came to check out the country and where we're living. There's plenty left on her list for next time as well!
Now we all just need to sleep for the next 4 weeks to catch up from all the running around we did!
This guy is getting a head start...
