Home from Down Under

Here are a few more things I learned on our trip down under.

• I developed a new appreciation for the vastness of this country. Many of the people we met have traveled to other countries but haven't been to Perth on the west coast. It takes 9 hours to drive from Melbourne to Sydney and 10 1/2 hours to drive from Sydney to Brisbane.

• There is a strong competition between the people in Sydney and the people in Melbourne. In fact, that is why the capital is in Canberra. (They compromised.) This rivalry was spoken of a lot. I am only speaking of my first impressions, but though I thought Sydney was stunning I felt more comfortable in Melbourne.
• People are proud of their convict ancestors. It's amazing that Australia started as a penal colony and now they have a much lower rate of violence than the U.S.
• Australia is the sports capital of the world. They follow cricket, rugby, football (soccer), Australian rules football, basketball, horse racing, netball, baseball, and more. And they are passionate fans!
• I was surprised to see how diverse the population is in Australia. They have immigrants from 200 different countries.
• There is great diversity with the plants and animals as well, and a huge proportion are unique to Australia. I was so happy to see kangaroos in the wild and many varieties of eucalyptus trees, but I didn't get to see a kookaburra. That means I will have to go back someday. :)

• Australians use a lot of slang. For example, they call English people Poms, which is an acronym for Prisoners of Mother England. Sometimes they use different words than we do as in green and red peppers, which they call capsicums. It was helpful that we had hosts who could interpret for us. 
• Gelato must be a favorite dessert in Australia if the number of gelato shops is any indication. On second thought, perhaps it just seemed like there were a lot because Duff wanted to stop at all of them.
• The Internet service in Australia isn't very good and it was frustrating, but I'm told they are working on improving it.
• There is the city of Yarra, the beautiful Yarra trams that John is responsible for, and the Yarra River that runs through Melbourne. Doug and John joked about it being my river. Now I just need to convince everyone that Yarra is misspelled and  mispronounced.

Yarra River

• They have two foods that are hard to find anywhere else: Vegemite, the yeasty spread that most Americans hate (I thought it was good.) and Tim Tams, a seriously addictive cookie. We brought a bag of these cookies home to our family and friends.

Some of my favorite authors live in Australia and sometimes I have to wait months for their books to be published in the U.S. so I was excited that I might be able to get this book early:

Then I saw the price of books in Australia. How can anyone afford to buy any? And this book was published in softcover, as most of them are.

This is what was waiting for us when we got home. So sweet! It was wonderful to leave Ben and Micaela at home knowing that they would be where they need to be and that our home would be well cared for in our absence. We also felt very grateful for family members who watched out for them by inviting them over and spending time with them.

This is what was waiting for me when I returned to work. Yikes!

John mentioned to me in one of our last conversations that it's surprising how quickly the details of a trip leave you. I think that's true, but as I told John, we will never forget how their generosity and hospitality made us feel.

Australia, we will never forget you!

Duff Down Under--Melbourne

Our final destination was Melbourne and we spent the most time there because that is where our hosts live and, boy, did they roll out the red carpet! They thought of so many details to make our trip more comfortable and enjoyable. For instance, they brought us light coats for Brisbane and heavier coats for Melbourne. Because we went from the top of Australia where it was warm to the bottom where it was quite cold they didn't want us to worry about bringing all the extra layers we would need. We were also their guests at the airport lounge. Who knew how luxurious flying could be? Both of them are retired from very successful careers in engineering and business and they have both traveled the world. At the end of the trip I told them that I had never been treated with such great hospitality before and that I hadn't even known it existed. They explained that they had been shown that level of kindness during their travels and they were paying it forward. So now the bar has been set!

They told us to look out the window on the way to Melbourne so that we could see the snow, which is just one of many surprising things I learned about Australia while we were there.

Melbourne--Day 1: Ballarat
We took a day trip in Doug's luxury car to Sovereign Hill, an open air museum of the gold rush days of Ballarat. It's north of Melbourne about 1 1/2 hours.

Australia had a gold rush in the 1850s just like the U.S. did. Just another little tidbit I didn't know before.

There were dozens of schoolchildren there, many in period dress. Here they are panning for gold.

We went down into a mine and saw an impressive re-enactment of the discovery of the second largest gold nugget in the world, the Welcome Nugget.

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It was a great place, enjoyable for kids and adults. John insisted that we try the meat pies at a little cafe and I am so glad we did. They were delicious! I would love to go back for one of those.

We walked through all the stores on Main Street and I bought some soap from the candle shop. (I'm a sucker for soap.) Doug, John and I tried to convince Duff to get an Akubra hat--it looked so good on him-- but he refused. He would've been fine if I had wanted one, but it's hard for him to spend money on himself.

Traveling with Doug and John had so many advantages. They showed us much more than we would have seen if we had been left to our own devices. They shared the history, culture and customs of Australia. And much to my delight, they answered hundreds of my questions that popped up everywhere we went. :)

Melbourne--Day 2: Great Ocean Road
On our second day we got up early and headed west to travel the Great Ocean Road, once again in Doug's luxury car. What a lovely, lovely day. We saw such different terrain along the way--farmland, coastline, rolling hills, rain forest--all of it beautiful.

John at Cape Patton

When we reached The Twelve Apostles we decided to splurge and take a helicopter ride. I'm so glad we did. It was truly spectacular!

These limestone stacks are made by erosion and, though there used to be twelve, there are only eight left. More "apostles" will be formed in the future.

Once again, our hosts knew just where to get excellent fish and chips in Apollo Bay. We actually had Flake, which is shark, and it was surprisingly good since I am not a huge fan of seafood.

By this time on the trip, we had spent a lot of time with Doug and John and we had become very fond of them. They are smart, kind and thoughtful, and they banter back and forth like Abbott and Costello. They gave us a good taste of Aussie humor.

Melbourne--Day 3
John spent the morning showing us around the city of Melbourne. There is a terrific tram system that we used to get us everywhere we wanted to go. We visited some cathedrals and churches, which I think mystified John, but we enjoy visiting churches everywhere we go.

Federation Square is in the center of the city and it's a great place for people to congregate, with  big screen TVs where people can gather to watch games or concerts. We went to the Centre for the Moving Image where we saw an exhibit detailing the very fascinating history of moving images.

We saw a lot of interesting architecture and design. For instance, Melbourne turned their public transportation hub into a huge shopping center with 300 shops.

Melbourne Central Shopping Centre.

One of the highlights was a special tour of the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). We were joined by a group of people who belong to John and Doug's genealogy group. What a beautiful stadium! They couldn't adequately describe the game of cricket to me, but one thing was made abundantly clear: they love their sport.

And not just Cricket. This view from the top of the MCG shows arenas for tennis, basketball, swimming, etc.

I was moved by their Shrine of Remembrance, which honors those Victorians who served in the wars, and those who supported them at home, since World War I.

We heard a lot about Anzac Day while we there. It originated to honor the Australians and New Zealanders who fought in Gallipoli during World War I. They lost 60,000 troops in World War I when their population was less than five million and it had a huge impact on them. They were surprised when I told them that we don't talk much about World War I in the U.S., but that we know a lot more about World War II.

The flags were flying half staff to honor the 38 Australians who were killed when Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down in Ukraine on July 17.

This is a famous statue honoring the men who fought from Melbourne. It was great to see how much the Australians honor those who sacrificed for their country.

Inside the shrine, there is a stone with "Greater Love Hath No Man" engraved on it. It symbolizes a gravestone for all those who were buried overseas, thousands in unmarked graves. They showed us a ceremony that they enact on November 11 at 11 a,m., (They call it Remembrance Day.) In this ceremony, a trumpeter plays "The Last Post" while a ray of light travels across the stone and lands on the word "love.

We were deeply moved.

John had been talking up this big surprise he had planned for us, something that we couldn't do anywhere else. Melbourne is very proud of their trains, and John actually had a lot to do with their success during a phase of his career, so it was appropriate that we have a unique dining experience on a luxury tram car. We were driven all over the city while eating a five-course meal. It's pretty amazing that they could pull off that kind of meal in such a tiny space.

I forgot to take photos while we were dining so here is a glimpse of what it looks like inside the Colonial Tram Restaurant.

Melbourne--Day 4
Duff had his final workshop so I was on my own again. My top priority was to see the Les Miserables exhibit at the State Library of Victoria and I spent a long time there, soaking everything up.

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One of the highlight's was seeing Victor Hugo's original manuscript of Les Miserables. As you can imagine, it was huge!

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The first part of the exhibit was dedicated to Victor Hugo's life and career and the publishing of Les Miserables. The second part was about the musical. I loved the videos interviewing the authors and explaining the changes that were made in the 25th anniversary show.

There were many costumes, props, and sets.

And the video of the 25th anniversary concert was playing, larger than life, in the background. I loved it!

My second priority was shopping for souvenirs for the family and I went to shopping areas that were beautiful but very expensive. Finally, I asked where the locals shopped and I was directed to Queen Victoria Market.

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They had food and groceries and everything else you could imagine.

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I love a cute teapot and teacup but I passed it up.

However, I did spring for some opal jewelry. Australia is famous for opals. The man who sold them to me is from Ukraine and we had a conversation about the scary things that were happening in his country.

I love stopping to listen to the street performers.

After I was done shopping I headed back to the hotel. I was starving and didn't know where to go, and there didn't seem to be anything on the way. However, someone stopped me to give me a coupon for a family-run soup and sandwich place down a side street. I never would've seen it, but it ended up being exactly what I needed. It was such a warm, friendly place. I love those serendipitous moments that seem to happen so often while traveling.

Melbourne--Day 5
The last day we attended an event that was the reason we ended up going to Australia in the first place. John had asked Duff to speak at his genealogical organization's anniversary dinner. A lot more was planned to justify the trip, but this was what started it all.

John picked us up a little early to show us his neighborhood. He grew up close to the beach and has raised his family in the same neighborhood.

We were so warmly welcomed at the dinner. I was amazed by the warmth and friendliness of the people. Duff was whisked away and it could have been awkward for me, but everyone seemed genuinely kind and interested in talking to me. I met some Gilbert & Sullivan fans who were about to go to London for a G&S convention. The man mentioned that he would be performing there and I convinced him to sing a few bars for me. Such fun!

Duff spoke at the end and did a terrific job! He had worked very hard on his presentation and I saw some people in tears. I think Doug and John were very pleased with it, too. We were given a lot of gifts at the end, as if they hadn't already done enough!

The presidents of VicGum. (Doug is the current president.)

We said our goodbyes afterwards and that was hard, because there was no way to adequately express our deep gratitude.

Duff Down Under--Sydney

Our next stop was Sydney. Someone that Duff had corresponded with at work (Larry) heard we were coming and showed up at our hotel, hoping to show us his adopted city. John and Doug already had our visit planned in every particular and it was a bit uncomfortable.

We walked through a beautiful park on our way to the harbor.

Larry (left), John (middle) and Doug (right)

We stopped at the Hyde Park Barracks Museum where we began to learn about the singular history of Australia. This building was built to house convict men and boys but it also became a home to the many single female immigrants in the last half of the 19th century. (Many of these were Irish orphans fleeing the potato famine.) This was a terrific museum and John and Doug were very knowledgeable guides.

My first glimpse of the harbor took my breath away. The Sydney Harbor is absolutely stunning! Just stunning!

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We ate lunch at the Guylian Belgian Chocolate Cafe on the harbor. They put a piece of Belgian chocolate in your mug and then poured hot chocolate over it. Wow!

Then it was time for our tour of the Sydney Opera House. It is one of the most well known landmarks and I loved learning its history. Jorn Utzon was the architect who won the competition and in 1957 it was estimated that it would cost seven million dollars to construct and that the project would be completed in 1963. It actually took an extra ten years and was 14 times over budget. There were so many difficulties that Jorn Utzon resigned from the project in 1966. He returned to Denmark and died without ever seeing it!

It was a bold choice, unlike anything ever built before it. You have to hand it to those visionaries.

It houses seven performance venues and they keep it filled with all kinds of events and performances--3,000 a year
This is the Concert Hall where all kinds of celebrities have performed. Arnold Schwarzenegger won his final Mr.Olympia title here in 1980.

As part our hosts' meticulous plan, we took a ferry to Manly in the late afternoon. We got ice cream cones and walked down to the beach. It was dusk and there were a couple of surfers still out. Then we ate dinner at a little cafe on the wharf before heading back.

We stood out on the deck in the freezing cold and savored every moment of this view.

On the second day in Sydney, Duff had another successful workshop and I went on a hop on/hop off bus tour.

In late afternoon, we walked to the Sydney office and then walked to the Bridge St. Garage with people from the Sydney, London and Dublin offices for dinner. It was delightful to listen to their lovely accents, and they were great conversationalists--very interesting and engaging.

Oh, Sydney, you had us at g'day!