Australia, Part Three - Melbourne

Chris and I flew to Melbourne on Monday, September 15, arriving late in the day to our hotel, Rydges, which is downtown, right on the edge of Chinatown.  Melbourne is known to be the city with all four seasons in a single day, but from our 4 days in Melbourne, we can safely say they mean 4 seasons in every single day.  We could start out sunny and bright, need to pull out an umbrella, add layers of jackets, drop the umbrella, peel off the layers, and then start over, all in a single day.  What a crazy temperature, although mostly chilly while we were there.  On Monday night, we met Chris's Australian colleagues for a nice dinner in an Italian restaurant.  Of the five people we met up with, two had been traveling with us in Sydney and Port Douglas.  Dinner was fun, relaxed, and fortunately, not too late.

On Tuesday, September 16, Chris had to go work, as Melbourne is where the FHP Australian office is.  He was gone all day, even though it was my birthday, so I decided to try out the hop-on, hop-off bus for an overall tour of Melbourne.  I picked up the bus directly in front of our hotel and rode to the Federation Square stop, where I transferred to the St. Kilda line and went out to the beach on Port Phillip Bay.  Given the cold, grey skies, and intermittent rain, the beach didn't look to appealing, although I'm sure it's pretty in sunny weather.  There were so few people on the bus when I first got on, I thought I was alone, but there were a few brave souls trying to stick it up on the top deck of the bus, which was cold and wet despite the canvas roof.  I moved back and forth, depending on the intensity of the rain, trying to get some good views and pictures.

Once I made it back to Federation Square, I transferred back onto the city tour.  The tour guide made a big deal of the Melbourne Cricket Ground, but I was more impressed with the looks of Queen Victoria Market and we'd heard from a Melbourne couple on our Daintree tour that the Melbourne Zoo was great.  By the time I'd completed both tours, and stopped at Pie Face (Chris's new favorite fast food chain) for a chicken and mushroom pie, I was tired and cold and made my way back to the hotel.  When Chris got back from working, we headed out for dinner and found a nice little Greek place; apparently there's a small Greek Town just past China Town.

With Chris done with work, we headed out to tour some of Melbourne on Wednesday morning.  We caught a cab to the zoo, which was fantastic.  Not only did it give us a chance to see some Australian animals, but it is well designed and very attractive, as zoos go.  We particularly enjoyed the giant tortoises, the bird aviary, the meerkats, and the enclosure for emus and kangaroos.  After we walked all over the zoo, we caught a cab to "Little Italy," on Lygon Street in the Carlton neighborhood, for a delicious lunch at Toto's Pizzeria.  Even the gelato was delicious!  It wasn't too far to our hotel, so we walked back, through the Carlton Gardens, as it wasn't raining at the moment.  As a birthday present, in addition to going to Australia in the first place, Chris bought tickets to see Les Miserables at Her Majesty's Theatre, which was right across the street from our hotel.  We had a quick bite at a local pub before heading over for the show, which I really enjoyed.

While we were touring Melbourne, I have to say I found it funny how so many words are shortened by Australians, who in fact, call themselves Aussies.  They eat at Mackers (McDonald's) or go to a pub to catch footy on the telly - football on the television.  I can't imagine any American football fan I've every met saying they were going to a sports bar to watch some footy.  I think that the full words are just too long for Australians, who are so relaxed, they don't need the formality. 

Thursday was the day we chose for our big adventure - we hired The Private Tour Guide to take us to Phillip Island for the day, starting at noon.  We took a quick walk to Queen Victoria Market in the morning for some souvenir shopping and to pick up lunch for the ride to Phillip Island, which is about an hour and a half southeast of  Melbourne.  Queen Victoria Market is filled with food vendors, both fresh foods such as produce, meets and cheeses, and prepared sandwiches, bakery treats and sausages.  In addition, there is a large section of vendors selling clothes, shoes, gifts, luggage, and the typical items in any open-air market.  We even bought another suitcase to help carry home all of our Australian treasures.  After shopping, we walked back to the hotel to meet up with Simon, our Private Tour Guide.

Simon drove us to Phillip Island, giving us some commentary along the way as to the spread of Melbourne and the asparagus farmers along the way.  He also asked questions about us and the types of vacations we take, where we've lived, and what we liked to do.  He had lived and traveled in China for quite a while, although originally from Melbourne, so he could talk about many of the places we've visited while here.  When we got to Phillip Island, he took us to the Koala Conservation Centre, where we saw a lot of Koalas and got some great pictures.  He recommended we sign up for the guided ranger tour when we went to the penguin parade that night, which he did for us there.  

After the koala, Simon took us to several beaches and coastal viewing areas along the southern shore of Phillip Island, looking out onto the Southern Ocean and toward Tasmania.  The shoreline was breathtaking, not just because it was so windy it nearly took our breath away.  The raw beauty of the waves crashing onto the black rocks and sandy shores was stunning.  We were so taken with it, he took us to several more spots, including the Nobbies, where were named because there are two large nob-shaped rock formations off the coast.  We saw geese, birds, and wallabies and, somehow, Simon was able to get me good photos of everything.

After dinner at a Thai restaurant in Cowes came the big event - the Penguin Parade.  Every night, thousands of little penguins march ashore on Phillip Island, starting as the sun sets, returning to their same burrows by the same path.  We were lucky enough to be there in mating season, so we saw chicks and adolescent penguins as well.  We chose the penguin plus package, including the guided ranger tour, which is free but requires registration, as space is limited.  The ranger equipped us with headsets, binoculars, and folding stadium seat cushions and we set out for the bleachers.  Thousands of people come nightly to watch the penguin parade, so the ranger tour is great as we get front row seats as well as the ranger's voice in our headsets, explaining what we're seeing.  It is fascinating to see the little penguins run across the beach and quickly climb the rocks and hills back to their burrows.  No photos are allowed, as the flash is dangerous for the penguins, but the Phillip Island Nature Park has an app and a website where we could get photos they provide.  The whole experience was incredible, although it's hard to explain why it is so captivating.  It's definitely something to experience when you're in the Melbourne area and we can highly recommend Simon's services at The Private Tour Guide for an enjoyable day.  We hope to go back someday, maybe with the girls, and would love to take his tour of the Great Ocean Road as well.

While Port Douglas was beautiful and warm, I really enjoyed Melbourne.  The people are more diverse than what we saw in Sydney - the tour guide told us that of the 3.5 million people in Melbourne, 1 million are immigrants and that seemed very realistic.  There are people of all shapes and sized and they are all friendly and relaxed, as was true throughout Australia.  The rough and jagged shoreline of Phillip Island was stunning and I'd love to see more of the natural beauty of Australia.  Simon suggested that we'd love New Zealand, given how much we enjoyed the coastline and natural beauty of Phillip Island. Sounds great to me - maybe next time!

Australia, Part Two - Port Douglas

We arrived in Cairns, Queensland, Australia on Monday, September 8 in a large group of Chris's colleagues (plus one other wife) and took a mini-bus from the Cairns airport to our hotel, the QT Resort in Port Douglas.  The trip, which took a little over an hour, follows a very curving and pretty ocean-front road winding along the northeast coast of Australia.  There was some debate on the bus as to where we'd end up if we jumped in the water and headed due east, but it turned out the real answer is somewhere near Santiago, Chile.

When we arrived at QT, we were a little tired from the travel, but happy to find a pretty and relaxing resort.  The weather in Port Douglas was wonderful - upper 70's to low 80's and sunny.  There was a nice bar area, where we had a late lunch, and then Chris and his colleagues headed off for a meeting while I had a nice relaxing read by the pool.  I ordered a pizza from the bar and took it back to my room for dinner while Chris had a work dinner. We had a lovely 2-room suite, with a kitchen/living room area in addition to a nice-sized bedroom and bath.  This was very comfortable for a week at the resort.

The whole purpose of the Australia trip was a week of business meetings for the Asian Pacific Management team, so Chris was in meetings all day, everyday of the Port Douglas week until Friday afternoon, other than the team snorkel on Wednesday afternoon.  On Tuesday morning, I got up and took the bus to downtown Port Douglas to walk around the main part of the small town and pick up a few things at the local grocery store to keep in our kitchen.  Port Douglas reminded me, more than anything, of the kind of tourist beach towns that we saw while vacationing in the Florida Keys.  The shops were mostly selling beach-wear, dressy clothing, jewelry, souvenirs, and floppy hats and the streets were full of restaurants, pubs, and hotels.  There was a lovey ANZAC (Australian New Zealand Army Corps) park on the beach and beautiful views of the ocean, as well as a thriving harbor, but not a lot more to town.  After picking up some groceries, I took the shuttle bus back to the hotel for a quiet walk on 4-Mile Beach and some quiet reading time before dinner.

That night, I accompanied the management team to dinner and was very glad that I did.  We ate at Sassi Cucina, an incredibly good Italian restaurant with fantastic seafood.  I had an appetizer of fried zucchini, which was lighter and better than I've ever had before, which was followed by the best risotto I've ever eaten - scallop risotto!  Chris and his colleague Raphael shared a seafood platter that was huge and very good, according to them.  It included scallops, oysters, whitetail (which are similar to smelt), and all kids of seafood, including something called bugs, which are somewhere between a crayfish and a langostino in the U.S.

Wednesday was a lot of fun for both Chris and me.  He had a meeting in the morning, followed by a team snorkeling trip to the Low Isles, which is a closer part of the Great Barrier Reed.  The snorkeling was very pretty, according to Chris, as that area is known for colorful soft coral.  While they were busy with their snorkeling, I went on a tour to Kuranda with Christina, the other FHP wife on the trip.  We were part of a group of 12 who went by bus back to Cairns, where we took the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway above the tree-tops of the oldest rainforest in the world.  The curvy ocean-front road got to one of the kids on our tour, so we had to stop twice on the way to Cairns while she was sick.  We eventually made it and it was beautiful - the views from the cable cars were incredible and we really enjoyed walking around the boardwalks at the Red Peak and Barron Falls Stations.  We got off the Cableway at the Kuranda station and our guide picked us up and drove us the short distance to town of Kuranda, again a very tourist-oriented town.  There were lots of restaurants and shops, so we stopped for lunch. I tried the kangaroo steak sandwich, because, after all, when else are you going to eat kangaroo.  For me, never - it wasn't very good; very stringy.  Then we went to the Australian Butterfly Sanctuary and saw more the Ulysseys butterflies we had seen in the rainforest from the cable car.


Our guide picked us up and took us to the Kuranda Scenic Railway for our train trip back to Cairns.  The sights were beautiful and, given that we'd paid for the gold class upgrade, we had comfortable seats and some wine and snacks on our way back down the valley.  After arriving in Cairns, our driver took us to Palm Cove, a small town on the ocean that was really quite pretty.  It was a long day of touring, but very pretty and a lot of fun.  Christina and I had a lot to talk about and both enjoyed taking a lot of great photos.  We had a quiet dinner together in the hotel bar when we got back.

Thursday was a quiet day for me, uploading pictures, reading, and walking by the beach again.  I went with Chris's team for dinner again that night - another wonderful seafood restaurant.  The team only met until about 3 p.m. on Friday, so Chris and I headed into Port Douglas when he was finished for a late lunch at Sassi again, only this time in the bar.  We walked the town a bit and then went back to the hotel for a  quiet night.  Chris's meetings were very stressful all week and he was ready for a weekend of fun and relaxation. 

We started with an all-day snorkeling trip on the Great Barrier Reef first thing on Saturday.  We went on the trip with Christina and her husband, who arranged the trip and is a great scuba-diver.  When we boarded our boat, Poseidon, on Saturday morning, we were all warned to take anti-seasickness pills, as the winds and waves were high that day, 15-20 knots, and we were in for a rough trip.  It was truly rough and, even with Bonine and a seasickness patch, I was best if I sat outside at the back of the boat in the fresh air.  We made 3 stops during the day for snorkeling.  While the fish were incredible, I was a little letdown, as I expected more colorful fish and coral.  We were told that the outer reef is home to hard coral, which is not as colorful as the soft coral of the inner reef. 

The incredibly rough waters made snorkeling a challenge and, although the water was warm (~78), the winds made me feel quite cold when I got out of the water and was still wet.  We also had a lot of cloudiness rolling by, so there was less sunshine in the water to light up the coral and to warm us when we got out of the water.  I snorkeled at the first and third stop, but was just too cold for the second stop, which Chris said was the prettiest of the day.  The hotel had contacted the tour operator on my behalf to let them know about my allergies and they provided me with a spectacular meal of my own, making the food allergies less of an issue for me, which was really nice.  It was a lot of fun and a great experience, although I'd love to snorkel the Low Isles for myself, to see the more colorful coral, and in calmer waters.  We were so tired when we got back to the hotel, we had dinner in the hotel bar and went to bed early.

On Sunday, we were picked up early again for a full-day tour, this time of only 7 people, of the Daintree Rainforest.  Our guide Helen picked us up and drove our group to the Mossman Gorge, giving us information on the rainforest, the trees, and the wildlife as we walked along a walkway through the forest.  From there, we drove to the Daintree River Cruise, where we saw one large and two small crocodiles along the edges of the river, as well as some beautiful birds and lovely mountain views.  When booking this tour, I spoke to the tour company about my allergies, as it was a full-day tour and included lunch and snacks.  While Chris got to enjoy a traditional coconut lamington, the alternative energy bar they sent for me was also full of coconut and seeds, so I skipped it. We drove up to Cape Tribulation and walked the beach.

From the lookout spot above the beach, we could see where two UNESCO World Heritage Areas meet - the Daintree Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef.  The beach was warm and sandy and really lovely - very peaceful.  We stopped for a picnic lunch in a lovely private spot, owned by a friend of the tour operator.  It was basically just a shaded spot deep in his property, which we were able to wander through a bit.  Lunch was a salad of sorts, although the bread they sent for me, instead of everyone else's sesame seed bun, was full of other seeds, so I didn't risk it. After lunch, we stopped at the Daintree Ice Cream Company, where everyone tried the local flavors of the day, which included passion fruit and three others we'd never heard of.  From there, we drove to another private property, switched to a rusted old 4-wheel drive, that started with a screwdriver instead of keys, and headed down a dirt path through a farm (thank heavens I had a Groucho Marx-style horn to move the cows off the road) to an incredible private waterfall and swimming hole.  While they called is Cassowary Falls, we never did see a Cssowary (think mean and aggressive emu), although our guide talked about them and had us looking for them everywhere - even she admitted she hadn't seen one in 7 months.  Anyway, the falls were gorgeous and although the water was cold, it was a beautiful spot.  Helen drove us back to our hotel at about 5:30 p.m., exhausted but happy, where we had dinner in the hotel dining room and collapsed in our bed pretty early, again.

On Monday, September 15, we packed up our summer clothes and headed back down the twisty road to Cairns, for our flight to Melbourne.  Port Douglas is a lovely spot, warm and relaxed and full of beautiful views.  The weather was beautiful every day and the people couldn't have been friendlier.  When they say "no worries," which they say ALL the time, they really mean it.

Australia, Part One - Sydney

When Chris told me he had a business trip to Australia, we thought I might join him as it was scheduled around the Chinese Golden week,which is the first week in October and a good time for expats in China to travel outside of China as so many Chinese are traveling within the country.  Then the date of Chris's trip changed, so I didn't think I was going. But, finally, only a month or so before I returned to Shanghai, Chris decided to give me the trip for my birthday. I had always wanted to visit Australia, and figured if I didn't get there while we're living in Asia, when would I?

We left Shanghai on Thursday, September 4, arriving in Sydney on Friday, September 5. Even from Shanghai, it's a 12-hour flight.  We took a cab to the hotel and then walked through the light spring rain to a local pub for lunch. Given that China Eastern Airlines won't make concessions for food allergies, as is true with most airlines, and a lot of Chinese food contains sesame oil, our travel agent ordered me the fruit meals, which left me pretty hungry.  Back at the hotel, I took a nap while Chris worked.  I never sleep well on a plane, so the overnight flight had worn me out, even with only a 2-hour time change between Shanghai and Sydney.   By late afternoon, after my nap, we were getting hungry and wanted to explore a bit, so we headed out for a walk. I hadn't planned on it being so cold in Sydney, even though September is the start of Spring. Plus, it was raining, which it did on-and-off during two of our three days in Sydney.  In fact, I had packed mostly capris for our Australia trip, which I never wore.  I needed pants in Sydney and Melbourne and shorts in Port Douglas.

We walked down the hill - Sydney is very hilly - the opposite direction of where we walked for lunch and wandered along George street, one of the main streets of downtown Sydney. Lots of workers were heading out into the Friday night rush hour, mostly walking to pubs, but we did notice that Australians, at least in Sydney, seem to be very tall, as a general rule, quite good-looking and very friendly. Although apparently I sound like I'm Canadian to them.  :)  We weren't up for the cold and rain, however, so we quickly decided to stop at a nice, warm Italian place for dinner. We walked back to the hotel and went to sleep early, still catching up from our overnight flight. 

On Saturday morning, most of Chris's colleagues were just arriving, so he had time to take a hop-on, hop-off bus tour of Sydney with me. It's only 90 minutes for a complete loop - downtown Sydney isn't be very big. He hopped off at Circular Quay and I stayed on back to the Sydney Opera House, where I got off for lunch and to take pictures. The best view, the one we've all seen many times, is from the water, or probably actually for the air. But, from any angle the building is impressive. I had lunch on the lower level and people-watched for a while. I tried to get tickets to see The King and I, which was playing in one of the Opera house's theaters, but couldn't. I'd like to catch a show at the Opera House, so maybe next time.  So, I walked up another hill to the Botanical Gardens, which are quite lovely. I'm sure the gardens are a much different walk in November or December, as spring turns to summer, but even with few flowers in bloom and a light, cold rain appearing now and then, it was a lovely spot. 

 

I walked from the Botanical Gardens back to Circular Quay and did some shopping before heading back to the hotel. Chris's meetings turned to a late dinner, so I had room service and watched a little T.V. before falling asleep. My Fitbit likes Australia, as Saturday was just the first day of many that I walked well over the targeted 10,000 steps. 

On Sunday, Chris and some if his colleagues embarked on the Bridge Climb, a 3.5 hour climb of the Harbour Bridge. I decided not to try it, as there is no turning back and you're not allowed to bring anything with you, for fear of it dropping on someone's head below, I guess. I just knew I couldn't climb stairs for 3.5 hours at lunchtime without my blood sugar plummeting and didn't want to be stuck up on the top of a bridge with no snack or other way to raise my blood sugar. Plus, I wouldn't even be able to take any pictures. So, instead, I went to Darling Harbour and went to Wild Life, a small zoo next to Sea Life, the aquarium, on the pier. It was a nice little zoo, where I saw kangaroos and koala bears close up and lots of beautiful birds, as well as far too many snakes and other reptiles, plus a whole room, which I ran through, of mice and rats. Yikes! I will say it was pretty sad to see one mom trying to get her child interested in the animals by wheeling his stroller right up to the glass in front of the kangaroo exhibit, but the child was so busy playing on his iPad that he didn't even look up.

After Wild Life, I walked around Darling Harbour, which is filled with restaurants and shops and then walked back to George Street. I visited a great bookstore and then had lunch in another pub. Pubs are very popular in Australia, usually having gambling on the lower level and a bar and food upstairs. I walked to the George Street open-air market and then back to the hotel. I rested my weary feet in the hotel's hot tub until Chris came back. Later, I went to dinner with all of Chris's colleagues, plus one other wife, at a fancy French restaurant that put nuts in nearly everything. 

Early Monday morning, the whole group flew from Sydney to Cairns and then drove to Port Douglas, where the regional meetings would be taking place.  Overall, Sydney was nice, although more rainy and colder than I expected, but with really beautiful views and lots of exciting things to do.

Back in Shanghai

Well, after more than 3 months, I'm back in Shanghai!  It's a little surreal right now, having just arrived 3 days ago and still being in the jet lag fog.  But, I was so lucky my first day back to have lunch out with good friends, as well as the excitement of seeing the new offices of the Shanghai Community Center - directly across the street from our apartment complex!  How wonderfully convenient for classes and tours.

I walked a little yesterday, in between the rain drops, and got to see some changes in the

neighborhood, including the new City Shop grocery store in the Green Villas complex where Peter & Nickle lived last year.  It's a nice expat store, featuring food from the U.S. as well as Europe and other areas, including a lovely bakery.  It's not inexpensive, but nice to have another option in the area - I even found caffeine-free Diet Coke - Chris will be thrilled!

I was having mixed feelings about coming back to Shanghai this Fall.  I've really enjoyed spending the summer with my girls - I miss them SO much when I'm in China.  Unfortunately, I got to see Elizabeth the least, although I'm really glad she came for the July 4th weekend and was able to work remotely during the following week.  Also, I'm glad she was able to come up for a couple of weekends, including Miranda's birthday, but I wishe I'd had more time to spend with her.  I got to see Samantha a short time for July 4th and then for several weeks after she finished her internship, spent a couple weeks at the lake and then traveled with us before moving Miranda back to Cornell.  I got to see Miranda on and off all summer, as she was working and living at Cornell, but spent a lot of her time off with us at the cottage.  She also traveled with Chris, Samantha and me after we left the lake and drove to Hershey, PA to see Hershey Chocolate World and the theme park.  We had a great time, even though Miranda wasn't feeling well and Samantha and I eventually caught the bug she shared with us.  It was great to be able to spend the night with Peter, Nickle and the kids as well, before putting Chris on the plane back to Chicago and heading off to Newport, RI and Cape Cod.  Although we only had a week, it was a nice mini-vacation and a great chance to see some sights, visit with Pierce & Paula, and spend the night with Paul, Karen & Jeremy.  We are doubly lucky that they took the time to drive to Seneca Lake and spend a 3-day weekend with us there for Miranda's birthday.  All-in-all, my time on the East Coast was really nice and filled with family time.

Once I returned to Elmhurst, even though I only had a week, I was lucky enough to spend a lot of the time with my best friend Jane.  Between a girls day out of shopping and lunch, followed by two dinners together, a game of Mahjong, a movie night, and book club, I just got used to seeing her again when I had to leave.  I really miss her and the time we have together when I'm gone - she is definitely one of the hardest people to leave behind.  I also was lucky to have lunch with my friend and neighbor Lisa, a lunch with my friend and former critique partner Wendy, and, of course, the wonderful fun on book club.  Seeing Harmony, and having her do my hair, is always great, but made me wish I'd be in town for the birth of her third baby at the end of September. 

The biggest hesitations for me in returning to Shanghai are that Chris is not going to be able to spend much time in Shanghai with me before I return in November and that Peter, Nickle & the kids aren't here anymore.  I know I'll have a lot of lonely times, especially in the evenings, although my lady friends here are great fun during the day.  Fortunately, Chris gave me an early birthday gift and bought me an airline ticket to accompany him on his business trip to Australia starting September 4.  We'll be there for 2 weeks and will be visiting Port Douglas (near the Great Barrier Reef), Sydney, and Melbourne.  I'm really excited and hope that I'm well done with my jet lag before we got on the plane for the 14 hours of flying time to Cairns (near Port Douglas).  I can't wait for the incredible sights waiting for us in Australia and have my camera ready and packed to go!

Today, I'm meeting up with Peter's good friend Matt, his wife Julia, and their 3 little girls, who just moved to Shanghai from Frankfurt, Germany.  Peter and Nickle left some boxes of Shanghai surprises for Matt & Julia in our apartment, so they're coming to pick them up today and then we're going out for some lunch together.  I'm happy to have another Watkins Glen native in Shanghai and am looking forward to having some fun with them when I'm in town.

I'm not taking Chinese lessons this fall, mostly because I'll be away for the 2 weeks in Australia and hope to travel with Chris when he goes to Malaysia in October as well, but I've already signed up for a couple of day tours and hope to do some more photo tours.  I've got my new fitbit and hope that I can get out and do some walking (and photography) around Shanghai with my free time.  And, as always, I hope to do some writing.  So, even though Chris will only be spending about 2 weeks worth of days in Shanghai during the 3 months I'm here, I plan to keep busy and enjoy the opportunities of living in Shanghai, meeting new people, and enjoying the culture, until it's time to go back to Elmhurst for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I'm lucky to be able to split my time and travel as much as I do, although I miss my girls when I'm here.