Vanessa & Toni’s Aussie Visit

(Note: We are back in the States and are getting settled into our new place. We will try to keep up on our blog to let you know what’s going on with us. This blog is very late in coming, but we hope you enjoy it.)
Vanessa (Anthony’s Mom) and Toni (Anthony’s cousin and godmother) came to visit us in Melbourne for 11 days at the end of March. We had a great time with them and were so glad they were able to come and visit us. We took this first pic from our balcony just after they arrived.The first afternoon was spent looking around Port Melbourne and shopping in the City. Anthony was able to meet up with them after work for chocolate and some more site seeing.
Vanessa in our courtyard: 
Toni walking along the boardwalk in Port Melbourne:
Shopping  in the “Paris” end of Collins Street in the city:    Vanessa’s $1900 shoes!!!
Koko Black Chocolatier:   More sites around the city:
You can click on the album below to see the pictures from their visit to St Patrick’s Cathedral.

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That evening we took them for drinks at the crown casino and walked around Southbank, which is beautiful at night. We were also able to see the “flame” show in front of the casino, where fire shoots out of towers along the walkway in a synchronized show.  We went to Philip Island for one afternoon and evening. Our first stop was the Koala Conservation Centre. We got to see quite a few koalas up close, which was a neat experience for all of us. We stopped at Cape Woolamai, which is a famous surfing beach. We were able to watch the surfers and the beautiful sunset.
We ended the evening with the “Penguin Parade”. The little penguins come out of the ocean every night after the sun sets and cross the beach to make their way to their burrows. It’s such a unique experience and we were glad that Toni and Vanessa were able to see them. We are not allowed to take pictures because the flash scares the little penguins, so this is the best we could do :)
The one downside to the trip was that Toni got food poisoning from the cafe we ate at in Philip Island. The whole next day wasn’t much fun for her being sick in bed. We all felt bad for her, but she was in really good spirits and didn’t let it ruin her trip.
Once Toni was feeling better, she and Vanessa went shopping for souvenirs at the Queen Victoria Market. It’s quite the experience and you can find some pretty good deals.

That night, we went out to dinner at C’est Bon, a cute French restaurant near our apartment. Thanks for dinner, Toni – it was awesome!
   
We definitely had to take our visitors to the infamous Great Ocean Road. I don’t think a trip to Melbourne would be complete without it. The weather was beautiful and we had a wonderful time. We took a lot of pictures, so click the album below if you’d like to see them.

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On our way back to Melbourne, we spotted some kangaroos, so we had to check them out, of course! We may have trespassed in order to get a closer look, but it was worth it!
 
Here’s our escape route: The next morning, we left to go to Sydney for three days. It was great to be able to get away with them for a mini vacation.
Our friends Ray and Synthia recently moved from Melbourne to Sydney, so we met up with them for lunch at the Sydney Fish Market. It was nice catching up with both of them.   
We had three days full of site-seeing around Sydney. We were pretty worn out by the end of each day, but we had a great time. Here’s a recap of our time there.
Opera House and Harbour Bridge:
 
“The Rocks” district:


  
Manly Beach:
    Hyde Park and St. Mary’s Cathedral:

Watson’s Bay:
Botanical Gardens:

Back in Melbourne, Toni and Vanessa went to the Melbourne Zoo. They got some great pictures you can see in the album below.

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The last full day of their visit, we drove Vanessa and Toni to the Dandenong Ranges. We had tea and scones at Miss Maples’ Tea Room and then drove to Sky High, a beautiful park with gardens and a great look-out over the city. It was a wonderful way to spend our last day together.
        We really enjoyed our visit with you both, Vanessa and Toni. Thank you so much for making the long trip! We love you!