We had a lovely meet up with Kathleen and Cyril at the Sydney Fish Market on the second Monday of our stay. Great catching up with them over the catch of the day – fish and chips and pacific oysters! Kathleen was so kind to bake us a Christmas cake for next year, which I can happily report I successfully got through security at LAX! The guard asked what was in the cake to make it feel so soft and was very surprised to hear that whiskey is the magic ingredient. Angelenos may be eating a whole different type of…

liam asks the first day we’re back in Chicago?  

In my drive to get the blog going, I got some things out of order and I also missed a few pics. Sorry about that! The second day we were here we went to sushi train in maroubra. It’s what it sounds like, check out the video made by Liam: Miles enjoyed his favorite ginger beer, bundaberg    We got very cute little chocolates with our coffee in Coogee     Banners all read Christmas in Coogee   And Rory found out how much fun it is to squeeze Miles’s nose!  

After a Boxing Day / Christmas Day skype with nana and and grandpa, we went for morning coffee with Colette, Colman and Rory on the beach at Coogee. Then while CC&R went back home to watch the cricket, we walked from Coogee to Bondi. From the quick intro we got into the lifestyle of a cricket supporter, it sounds like supporting the team is compatible with a nice afternoon nap! We saw these flowers near Tamarama. Irises? Tamarama beach  Kennymen at a very windy lookout point by Bondi   Bondi beach!   Way out on the horizon, see the yachts? They…

Also on Christmas we visited with Colette and Coleman’s friends Val and John with their kids Shona and Darragh, then opened presents    Had a fantastic Christmas dinner cooked by Colette and Colman  Then after Rory went to bed we had dessert including Christmas pudding, Christmas cake and mince pies. All delicious! Then stuffed but very happy we played a dice game, with Liam edging out Miles for a victory.  All told we give the Aussie Christmas very high marks!

We went to town on Christmas Eve to see the decorations in the queen Victoria building It’s hard to explain and hard to even understand in person but the tree fills a three story high atrium. The tree is covered in Swarovski crystal. Lovely! Santa’s grotto in Sydney is covered in roses. I bet that’s a nice break from the North Pole! Other sites we saw in town: a wall relief that looks like rope but is concrete The monorail is gone but a few stations are still there. Here’s a view near darling harbor And of course we went…

 After a flight that really didn’t feel too bad at all, we arrived in Sydney and were sent by the customs agent to the line marked with a little sign that read K9. Yes! We are still batting 1000 in the ‘getting sniffed by a super cute biosecurity dog upon arrival in Oz’ category. Colman picked us up and we went to maroubra to catch up with Colette, Colman and Rory. Great to see all of them! We all went for a swim at the Maroubra Rock pool while Rory napped and then we went for a bite to eat…

We’ve had a great Christmas so far, and it’s only midday! John and I did some yoga on the beach at Coogee     The trees along the beach are sculpted looking, like they just got haircuts      Colette, Colman and Rory came over to our place in Coogee for breakfast. We made shakshouka with a lot of capsicums. That’s a vegetable sauté with bell peppers and eggs. Yum!    Then we went for a swim at Maroubra rock pool       Merry Christmas!

On Friday we went to Garfield Park in the morning, which was a great escape from what was a very cold and rainy day. We enjoyed the variety of plants, all the greens and the very pleasant humid air. Nice to represent Sydney University while out and about, Liam! There’s an exhibit throughout that highlights different colors, and I think that’s what the temporary ceiling tiles are here. Later on Friday, we went to visit family friends Bruce and Sandy in Evanston. Bruce is recovering from surgery and it was great to see them, glad we got a chance to visit.…

Tuesday we picked up Nana and Grandpa from Union Station after their train arrived early from Kansas City. Liam is a bit perplexed about why his 2.5 hour train journey from Urbana-Champaign is always at least an hour late, when a train coming all the way from Kansas City (with a starting point of LA) can arrive 30 minutes early. Amtrak, if you are reading this, please respond! On Thursday, we took a walk on the 606. Nana’s recently broken foot is recovering very nicely! She had no problem walking the Ashland – Damen – Ashland stretch. I’m realizing a…