Australia here we come..,

Day1 (Thursday) : We had Air Canada flight in the afternoon at San Francisco airport. Our luggage was all packed and Uber was right on time. Once at the airport the excitement of seeing a new country was all sinking in. While kids were wandering around I was watching the airport hustle some people arriving home some departing to a new land.

Day2 (Friday) : We had 3 hr halt at Vancouver , after that another 16 hrs to Sydney. We all were relishing our in transit time anticipating the vibes of a new place.

Day3(Saturday) : We landed around 9.30 am on Saturday morning and after our immigration and baggage claim we were looking for Sandesh my brother in law. We were going to meet him after a long time. It was fun to just walk to his house , have a nice cup of tea with omelette, bread. We loved Sandesh’s cozy apartment. After resting for a while we went to our hotel to shower and take a quick nap. In the evening we had loads of fun as we hitchhiked through Sydney , watching street shows and settling down for a quiet dinner.

Day4(Sunday): We got up early, all excited to start our tours and had breakfast at a local cafe. Sandesh had already planned the day for us, a visit to the museum of art . It’s a 3 floors building with lot of culture and history. We took our time exploring the different artifacts and preservations. In the evening we went to Ganesh’s friends Jagadish’s house and spent good time with some awesome food . We looked at their backyard and there was every possible vegetable and fruit trees so nicely grown. He seemed to be a real farmer at heart.

Day5( Monday): It was public holiday on Monday so we did more sight seeing of iconic places like the Oprah house and then took a ferry to the Taro ga Sydney zoo. Kids loved to see so many different animals that we don’t get to see in India or the United States . We also ate some yummy Australian burgers and ate Thai food in China town.

Day6 (Tuesday): It was time to fly to Cairns we had a morning flight and reached Cairns around 3pm . The drive to our Air B&B was scenic with lush green scenery all year around . Our little apartment was right in front of the ocean with a sidewalk stretching for miles. It was like a dream location with small town vibes. We absolutely loved it and kids were excited to go to the beach and have dinner in one of the pizzerias.

Day7(Wednesday): We got up early as we had booked a bus and then a trip to Barron Gorge National park. It was a boat trip to the island where my girls were taking scuba diving lessons. There was lunch provided on the beach itself and all around we had deep blue water. We also went to the crocodile show on the island and met 92 yrs old crocodile hunter and art collector. It was such an honor to see the store run by Georges daughter Fiona at the Great Barrier Reef.

Day8 (Thursday): Our second day in Cairns, we had booked sky ride to Kuranda village. It was such a thrilling experience to watch the lush green forest from the gondola like rails running back and forth on wires. We got down at certain points near waterfalls took pictures , soaked in the serenity and freshness of the forest. We reached Kuranda village and we had 3 to 4 hrs before we took the train ride back. In Kuranda we ate local food, visited butterfly garden, looked at the local shops , visited the farmers market and looked at the landscape blooming with tropical flowers and fruits.

Day9(Friday): This was our last day at Cairns and we had an evening flight.We checked out moved our luggage to a storing facility as we wanted to go to the Cairns Aquarium. The girls were excited for the lunch before touring the Aquarium. It was an awesome experience just getting absorbed in the beauty of the marine world, so many varieties of fishes, corals, sea horses and reptiles. After the Aquarium we picked our luggage and headed to the airport and reached Sydney late night The hotel we were staying this time was really a high tech one with motion sensor touch screen devices like the cooking range and other appliances . Also it looked very modern with refrigerator, microwave tucked behind the closets.

Day10 ( Saturday): We went for a walk to bring some breakfast items as we had kitchen in our hotel room. This was other side of Sydney closer to the airport. We woke up the kids , had breakfast and went to meet Sandesh at 11 am. Our plan was to visit Oprah house and take pictures. We were also planning to go to the beach for a board walk. We took a bus to Bondi beach and took the coastal walk around cemetery to Bronte. The views of the ocean were amazing with such deep blue water and luscious frothy waves. We also had lunch at. Beach side cafe.

Day 11(Sunday): Today was our last day at Sydney and we wanted to make the most of it. So we decided to do simple things , we looked at the Sydney Cricket stadium and had lunch with Sandesh. We also saw the beautiful architecture buildings with stained glass windows. Shreeya wanted to buy Pandora bracelet charm which was cheaper as compared to US. We grabbed ice cream and cream cheese cakes from a famous bakery. We also grabbed Indian food and went to Sandesh’s apartment to have tea and quiet dinner. Next day we had a flight back to SFO. We spent a comfortable evening talking , watching TV, taking pictures. Time just flew and it was time to get back to hotel as we had some leftover packing to be done. Our shuttle to airport was 6.15 am in the morning so we wanted to get some good rest.

Our stay in Australia gave each one of us a fresh perspective on life.

To Shreeya it was seeing new places, trying new cuisines, taking insta worthy pictures and observing the cool lifestyle of Aussie girls.

To Arya it was the thrill of the beaches, watching TV at different locations , photography, and enjoying her favorite mango sticky rice.

To Ganesh it was bonding with his brother , spending quality time with family, checking out the Sydney Cricket Ground and buying Australian t-shirts.

To Sandesh it was a pleasant experience , we were his family who visited and actually spent time with him at his apartment.

For me it was the experience of being in a new country and embracing the beauty and traditions of the Aussies.

With family , bonds are nourished, travels are enjoyed, food is savored, stories are shared , magical memories are made.. that’s why they say …family is not a thing it’s everything .