Safe and sound

Just in case you were wondering, we are safe and sound back at home here in Dallas!

We made it in Thursday night and then promptly ate Mexican food - two nights in a row!

We have been very busy since getting back with cleaning, seeing family and doing laundry, but we are really shocked by the cold weather here. It even snowed last night!! A complete 180 from last Sunday when I was laying out on the roof of the hotel in Sydney.

We were most excited by this guy though!

Mom and dad brought him back on Friday! We were very excited and so was he! He ran around all day smelling the house and jumping on everything and everyone.

He needed a nap after!

Well now its back to the real world. We loved our adventure and we will keep you posted if any new adventures come our way!

Cheers!

Heading Home

Well today is our last day in Australia. We leave this afternoon (Thursday Australia time) and will be home Thursday afternoon US time.

We have loved our time here and are really going to miss this place and the people.

See you in the states!

Ash and Jeff

Happy Birthday Graham!

Today in America is my nephew Grahams first birthday!

While we are not home yet to celebrate, I wanted to dedicate a birthday song to him - Aussie style!

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday Cheeky Monkey!

Happy Birthday to you

Here is Graham being a cheeky monkey with his papa! (Sorry its a bit dated of a photo- we've been gone!)

Moving Day

Sunday was our big move into the city. Parramatta is about 45 min west of the city but Jeff has a sales meeting all week, so we moved there. We loved the space we had in Parramatta but now are living the high life!

I cannot help but have the song in my head "Moving on up... to the East side! Haha

This move also helped us get ready for the flight home by packing up EVERYTHING and getting rid of what we didn't need. It is still hard to believe we are leaving.

Check out our view of Hyde Park from our room!

Sunday was another beautiful day! I love seeing the city outside my window.

Once settled in, we grabbed lunch in the park!

I love this little cafe

Then Jeff was off to get ready for the sales meeting and I took my place at the rooftop pool! Check out the view! I could see all the way out to the Gap. It was a bit windy so a perfect day to lay out!

I wish I would have taken more photos because it has been overcast ever since!

Last Saturday in Sydney

After a very rainy week, we woke up Saturday to a beautiful blue sky! I had almost forgotten what a blue sky looked like!

We decided to take the ferry into the CBD for the last time.

I will never get over the view from the ferry ride in!

The bridge is still stunning

Once in the city, we decided to take a look around the Rocks once more. We walked around them our first weekend in town and this was a perfect way to spend our last weekend here.

We grabbed some street food!

And then took a look around the market they have here every weekend! This is another feature from Australia that I will definitely miss. All the little booths lining streets or parks with local artists selling there goods.

Such a great way to support local business!

The Rocks markets are unique because this is the oldest part of the city and the booths wind through the old streets and lane ways!

And you always have a view of the bridge!

With one last self shot in front of the bridge

and one more blue sky shot of the Harbour, we were off back to Parramatta to pack up.

This is one view that we will surely miss once we are gone.

One Week

One week from today, Jeff and I will be home in Dallas.

It's a bitter sweet feeling knowing we are going home. We have missed everyone dearly while we have been here, but we have loved every adventure we have been on.

There is so much to do in Australia and so much more that we could have done that it is sad to leave. We have also met so many wonderful people along the way.

Today was Jeff's last day at the office. Next week, we will be staying in the CBD because Jeff has his sales meeting all week. So to celebrate, I made Jeff breakfast before sending him off for the last day(and I took a photo!).

Now we are off to drinks and dinner with the coworkers to celebrate our time here!

A long trip home from the airport

On our way home from the airport, our resident Aussie James decided to give us an impromptu tour of a few places we had not seen yet in Sydney.

We were a bit tired from the journey but the detour was totally worth it!

Our first stop was Harry's cafe. It's a tiny little cafe on the waterfront east of the Royal Botanical Gardens. It's a local favorite and a place you would only find with an Aussie to guide you!

Harry's serves only a few things, like meat pies and hot dogs. So we had to try the classic.

This is the Tiger - a mini meat pie, with a flaky crust, covered in mashed potatoes and mashed peas with gravy. Very tasty!

Then we were off to our second stop - the Hermitage Foreshore Walk. Check out the view!

It was a bit cloudy that night but it was still jaw dropping.

You can see all of downtown, the Harbour Bridge, the Opera House and the north shore! Wow! It is a very secluded little beach tucked away in fabulous neighborhood.

I could not get over the view.

Our next stop was one of the historic lighthouse that sits on the coast of the south shore.

Here is the view looking out into the Tasman Sea

Our last stop was the tip of the south shore - Gap Bluff. This is where you can overlook the gap between the north and south shores and where every ship coming onto Sydney harbour enters.

The rocks were gorgeous and powerful as the waves crashed into them

Looking into the gap

On the way down from the viewpoint, the city lights shone bright. What a stunning skyline even with all the cloud cover.