Australia!

We can't believe that it has been almost 3 weeks since we departed Germany for our trip to Australia via Egypt. As they say, time has flown by. We have really enjoyed spending quality time with our family and friends. We spent most of our time in Sydney with a long weekend in Melbourne, to visit Fi's brother, Mario, his wife Gabby and their three gorgeous kids (under the age of 4- the youngest being a 4 week old baby girl.) Mario and Gabby, you guys are amazing! We constantly pray for your sweet family! Aside from catching up with family, the highlight of our trip was driving down to Canberra to visit our dear friends, Danny and Tracy and their adorable kids, Grace and Eli. Zev and I also drove to our old stomping grounds of Glenbrook, in Sydney's Blue Mountains, where we caught up with our old colleagues, Raelene, Janet and Ian, visited our old house and went for a romantic dinner and a movie in the historic Glenbrook cinemas. What an awesome day. Glenbrook is where it "all began"- where Zev and I first met; where I lived as a young Australian Air Force Officer and where we had our wedding reception.

Fi's dad, Mario and his wife, Ceci, picked us up from the airport on the day we arrived. We spent the next day visiting Bondi Beach and Watson's Bay- two of Fi's favorite places in Sydney. The weather was lovely. A little chilly but the sun was shining. 

Dad and Ceci hosted a party for us on Saturday. Dad ordered Uruguayan catering and it was great to catch up with friends and family, especially the kids of our cousins.

Sunday, mum and Howard hosted a party at mum's house and again we caught up with our family and ate some delicious food. Eating has been a major theme during this trip so we are going to go back to some healthy eating when we return home!

On our second week in Oz, we headed 3 hours south of Sydney, down to Canberra, to catch up with Danny and Tracy and their kids and also our dear friend, Brooke, who has just bought a lovely house in Canberra. Little Grace stole my heart, as did my little niece Isabella. I hope God blesses us with a baby girl one day. I do love the color pink!

After we got back from Canberra, we drove up to Glenbrook in the beautiful Blue Mountains to catch up with our old colleagues. RAAF Base Glenbrook still looks as beautiful as ever. It is a shame to think that the military will probably be shutting down this historic base in the near future. We really enjoyed walking down our old driveway and then heading to a favorite "crunchy" restaurant in Glenbrook which was formally called the Blue Tongue Lizard. We then watched an awesome Australian film about WWI called "Beneath Hill 60" in the little Glenbrook Cinemas. The film is based on a true story. If you liked "Gallipolli" you will like "Beneath Hill 60." We highly recommend that film! I feel so proud to have served in the Australian military.

We headed into downtown Sydney the next day and walked around Darling Habour and the Rocks area of Sydney. We even stopped for a pint at the historic Lord Nelson Hotel in the Rocks and grabbed some take out to eat across the harbour from the Opera House. Life was very good on that day! 

The next day we flew with mum and Howard down to Melbourne to visit Mario, Gabby and their two boys and a new baby girl who was Christened that Sunday. Melbourne is a pretty city. We stayed in St Kilda, which is right across from the beach and Luna Park. It was especially fun to play in the park on the Queen's Birthday and to enjoy hanging out with our nieces and nephews. The highlight for me was when my baby niece fell asleep on my chest after I fed her bottle to her!

We got back from Melbourne on Monday night and headed out to dinner with Auntie Ana-Maria on Tuesday night.

We feel so blessed to have spent time with our family and friends and pray that everyone has a great year. We wish we could live closer but are so grateful for this opportunity to see you all! We are admittedly very excited to be heading back home to summer in Europe!!

Hasta la proxima, Until next time, Bis naechstes mal, Australien!

Fifi and Zev xoxoxo