So my wonderful family in Australia rented out a cute little house up in the Blue Mountains for family bonding time. It was in a cute little city called Wentworth Falls (which, of course, reminded me of Prison Break). The picture to the left is one of the views we had from the house. It was a blast! Getting up there, however, was...well...let's say an adventure. Tanya and I had a bit of a late start Friday morning before we made our way up the mountain. This, of course, caused us to be stuck in the most ridiculous traffic of all time. Sam and her family were amazingly luck, and just missed it all. At one point, Tanya just put the car in park, turned off the ignition, and we sat on the road for a good twenty minutes before anything started moving.
What could cause such a delay you ask? Well we were asking ourselves the same question when we came to a group of police cars guiding traffic away from the road and through a residential area that was swarming with more cops. They were going door to door asking neighbors about what I could only assume was a serial killer on the loose. It turned out only to be a gas leak...but I'm still not totally convinced that the leak wasn't just a cover for a brilliantly minded criminal whose weapon of choice is asphyxiation and/or exploding buildings.
Whatever the cause of the delay, we were now sufficiently lost and off the established trail, and thus began Sydney's tenure as Tanya's map reader. For the record: I am a fantastic map reader. Tanya, on the other hand, is a horrible listener. She never believed the map reader. No. She knew best. So after several dead ends and a lot of laughter, we finally found our way to the house. We were the first there, as everyone else who missed the traffic was in Leura eating lunch. We decided to meet them up there after picking our rooms and ate at a cute little cafe, which was aptly named: Luera Cafe. I had a delicious, decidedly HUGE and difficult to eat turkey sandwich, and then Tanya bought us the greatest brownies ever to grace the face of the earth. I'm not even kidding. I took like 15 minutes to eat this little brownie because it made me sad to think that it would be gone soon.
Then it was off to the supermarket to buy supplies for the next morning's breakfast. Which brings me to my next picture. Ever since I was little, my dad has had a can of this stuff in the cupboards. I never really knew what it was until a few years ago when my dad explained "Milo" as being Australia's hot chocolate. Now, that's not exactly what it is, but it's kinda the easiest way to explain it. It is also like the greatest drink on the planet, and Australian's drink it a lot, at least Tanya's family did, which I had no problem with whatsoever. My dad didn't introduce us kids to it until a few years ago, and I know it's because he didn't want to share his stash. They don't really sell it here. You have to hunt for it, and when you've found it, it's just not quite the same.
Turns out, in Australia, they don't just drink it. They eat it. In cereal form, in ice cream form, and in candy bar form. Naturally, I found this to be the most hilarious thing ever, as I grew up around the stuff, and had come to love it, but when I told my dad this, he did not believe it for a second. So I took a picture of an entire rack of the stuff in the Woolie's in Leura. Hence, the picture. Definitely one of my favorite "only in Australia" things. In fact, as I write this I'm drinking a mug of Milo in the style of Mrs. Samantha Bertoni herself for I meticulously watched how she made it. It's probably not as good, but I like to call it real life Australian Milo :)
So after our exciting day in the car, and exploring the shops in Leura, we went back to the house and just kinda hung out as you do with any great family vacation. The boys starting watching "football" (rugby) out in the living room, and the girls retreated to one of the back rooms to listen to music and play board games. We had a splendid time. Janne started playing songs on her laptop and had Tanya and I guess the artist. I'm pretty good at that game except when it comes to Australian artists. (Thank you Mom). Then we went to bed. The girls (Natalie, Eliza, Amelia, Lauren and I) all slept in the same room, and we of course talked for a while before any of us even thought about going to bed, so that was fun. Also, my bed had an electric mattress that was super warm. Then...we were woken up by Kookaburras in the morning...but now I'm getting ahead of myself. On to day 2 in the Blue Mountains.
So after our exciting day in the car, and exploring the shops in Leura, we went back to the house and just kinda hung out as you do with any great family vacation. The boys starting watching "football" (rugby) out in the living room, and the girls retreated to one of the back rooms to listen to music and play board games. We had a splendid time. Janne started playing songs on her laptop and had Tanya and I guess the artist. I'm pretty good at that game except when it comes to Australian artists. (Thank you Mom). Then we went to bed. The girls (Natalie, Eliza, Amelia, Lauren and I) all slept in the same room, and we of course talked for a while before any of us even thought about going to bed, so that was fun. Also, my bed had an electric mattress that was super warm. Then...we were woken up by Kookaburras in the morning...but now I'm getting ahead of myself. On to day 2 in the Blue Mountains.
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