The exciting life of the Löfmans
Finally I have bought a new computer with capabilities to edit movies.
The first one we are publishing is one from our wedding. This is from our wedding ceremony only, the wedding party will be posted later.
Thanks to Peter Johansson and dad for supplying the material.
Well, after a short bus ride we arrived at Hervey Bay around 8pm. Since it was a Sunday and we saw lots and lots of churches and other religious buildings and stuff, and since Hervey Bay is a small town we figured that perhaps shops and restaurants close early so when we saw Subway nearby we went there to get dinner to go.
The hostel was nice and clean and we got a very nice room (even though the air-con didn’t work). We ate our subway and got to bed pretty early.
Rise and shine. Today is Fraser Island day!
The weather was pretty horrible. Warm but grey skies and rain in the air. We drove to ferry and the ferry took us to Fraser Island.
I’ll tell you up front. I’m not all that impressed with Fraser Island. It’s a sand island, yes. it’s got Dingos, yes. It’s got lakes, yes. It’s got rainforest, yes. It’s got miles and miles of beaches, yes. But, what’s it all for when the sand make for one hell of a bumpy ride, and you never see the dingos, and it rains in the rainforest, and you can’t swim at the beach?
But enough of me ranting and being negative. Lake McKenzie was very nice (but it would have been nicer if it hadn’t rained) and it felt good to swim in a lake with crystal clear water (instead of the murky ones in Sweden). The sand was perfectly white and beautiful. I wonder what it would look like when the sun shines on it?
Half an hour after we left Lake McKenzie the sun came out and all clouds disappeared and it turned out to be a truly wonderful day. But hey, that’s life.
We had a so-so lunch and after that drove on the 7 mile long beach, had a walk in a small river, and saw the shipwreck Maheno (got some really nice shots of Chiquita there).
There definitely are some great scenery on Fraser Island, and things to see but nothing really (in my humble opinion) that stands out to make Fraser Island a must see whilst in Australia.
All in all, though, it was a good day and we enjoyed our-selves very much.
It’s my sister Anna(-Karin)’s birthday today. And since Leah’s birthday was three days ago we celebrated them both today! Congratulations! :flowers:
I had bought a Bobby-Car for Leah which she seemed to like very much. She even instantly knew how to work it. Anna got a girt certificate for H&M (yes, it was pretty lazy of me).
I also got a present, sort of, since I’m gonna babysit Leah next Saturday. Anna asked if someone could help her with Leah and I was the fastest to volunteer. So this will be my first sitting for Leah. I’m excited! 😀
Finally we arrived in the greatest city in the world, Sydney!
After a short taxi ride and installment at our hostel in Kings Cross we bought curry, and beers, and wine, and went to a little park overlooking the Sydney Skyline. The weather was nice and warm and the curry tasted just like it did when I was there in 2001, fantastic!
After the little picknick we went down to Woolloomooloo and to Mattias and Fredrik’s old flat on Harmer Street. Took a picture and sent to Mattias. After this we continued to the Botanic Gardens and the Sydney Opera where we stopped for a glas of Sydney Opera Champagne (sparkling). Yum!
On our way home we also went up the Sydney Tower and had a wonderful view of Sydney from above. We were dead tired and for dinner we had a cheese sandwhich in the room and then we fell alsleep.
The next day was Parade Day but we started the day walking from Bondi eack to Coogee Beach. It’s a very nice walk and even though it was very windy it was still nice and warm. Once we arrived in Coogee we found a table in the beergarden of Coogee Bay Hotel and had lunch. Lovely! Chiquita loved it as well and wanted to do the walk again, but time was short and it couldn’t be squeezed in, unfortunately.
Then came the parade. We rented (boght) milk crates to stand on in order to see anything of the parade and we got a really good spot to stand at. The parade was ok, but a little long (for my liking). I also expected it to be more, more like Rio or something with lots of drag queens and stuff but it wasn’t really like that.
After the parade ended (we left 30 minutes prior to the ending in order to get ahead of the crowd) we went to the massive after party arena. We payed loads of money for the tickets and I was just about to get into the mood when Chiquita wanted to go home. When had been at the party for three hours and payed 300 AUS dollars for the tickets. That’s expensive! I missed Agnelli and Nelson thanks to Chiquita wanting to go home early. 🙁
Since we didn’t party all night the day before we were still in pretty good shape so of we went to Darling Harbour and the Sydney Aquarium. I think it is a bit overrated and the only thing interesting is to walk under the water with all the sharks and stuff, but still. We had lunch and a couple of beers at Darling Harbour as well and time flew by. This meant that the whole tour of Paddy’s Market didn’t go so well since it close at five pm and unfortunately we only had 10 minutes to wonder around in there, which isn’t nearly enough. Paddy’s Market is huge, packed with cheap stuff from China and what have you. It also has a food market which, if you come around closing time (as we did) you can get really good bargains since the sell out all the stuff.
On our way home we went to The Establishment but alas, it was closed.
We were really exhausted after a very long day and just bought curry take away and ate in the room.
The next day we went to Blue Mountains and watched the three sisters. We also went down the steepest railway track in the world and took a walk in the rain forest before heading back up again in a cable car.
Before blue mountains though we went to yet another sanctuary (our second) and got to pet kangaroos, see joeys, and crocodiles and other magical creatures of the Aussie wilderness.
The trip also included a visit to a vineyard and a boat trip from Paramatta to Circular Key. A bonus, since we had time to spare, was a tour of the Olympic Park. It was a really good day.
For dinner Chiquita had the best steak of the entire trip. Funnily enough it was at a place just next door to our hostel and the steak for a bargain, only 10 AUS dollars. Amazingly good rumpsteak! After this delicious meal we just wandered around Kings Cross before going to bed.
The last day was spent at Manley Beach. It was a beautiful day and we spent the entire day on the beach. In the evening Chiquita wanted to back to have yet another steak but grumpy me didn’t want that so instead we went to a little more upscale restaurant and had duck. Wow, that was the best duck I have ever had!
We had had five glorious days in Sydney but it was time to leave. I was really mature about it and didn’t cry at all. But inside, my heart wept. Sydney is truly the best place on earth!
Emma picked us up at the airport. It was a very exciting re-union for Chiquita, since it was almost 7 years (!) since she saw Emma last. It was sunny but compared to Bangkok it was pretty cold. On the way to her house in Richmond she took us for a little tour of downtown Melbourne, pointing out interesting things on the way. We also had a quick stop in St. Kilda for lunch and a stroll by the beach, and then went up Melbourne’s tallest residential house, Eureka (80 floors I believe it was).
After installing ourselves in Emma’s room (she slept in her sister’s room during our stay there, thanks Emma!) and freshening up we went for dinner at a lovely restaurant called Cookie and had Thai food (funnily enough) which was delish!
The next day we went on a day trip along The Great Ocean Road. First we went to Bell’s Beach, which is the beach where the end scene in Point Break takes place (supposedly), after that many other beaches and small wonderful beach towns. The main attraction was the Twelve Apostles. We even took a 10 minutes helicopter ride, this went by so fast that I didn’t even understand that were in the air till we went down to land. The day trip also included a little hike in the forest (tempered rain forest I think it is) and searching for koalas in the wild, luckily we saw a couple. It was a great trip and even though it was a long day well worth it. Back at Emma’s we went to the pub for some pints, and I discovered Little Creatues and Beez Neez. :beer:
The next day, after catching up with our laundry we had a late breakfast (I had an Aussie pizza – it’s with egg on it) and went on to do Melbourne. Downtown Melbourne is very nice with Yarra River running through it. I won 27 AUS dollars at the casino and was very happy. Chiquita shopped a little and was happy as well.
In the evening we went for a proper Aussie BBQ at Emma’s brother Steven’s house. They had everything on the BBQ, and I mean everything! It was so yummy! Thanks a lot for that, this was one of the absolut highlights during our visit to Oz!
We did Yarra Valley the next day and sampled many good wines and cheeses. Emma’s mother and father had come down the day before (to the BBQ) and very kindly drove us around all the vineyards. We also made a trip to a zoo to check out the typical Aussie animals. We even got to feed a kangaroo up-close! Very exciting! When we got back Chiquita and I had a pot and a parma each and then I was so full that I couldn’t even finish my pint. The portions of food in Australia really are huge!
The last day in Melbourne we met up with Brad at the airport and had breakfast, after luckily getting transferred to another plane (since ours was cancelled).
It was with tears in our eyes we said goodbye (au revoir) to Emma and our wonderful stay in Mebourne!
