Getting away Down Under

Well, I knew it was going to be tough recalling all our fun in Australia/New Zealand if I waited too long to write about it...hit the nail right on the head there, Kate!

After packing up the Granada apartment and giving away tons of stuff that we'd somehow accumulated, it was very bittersweet to make the last of our many drives to Malaga. Amazingly, despite flying in/out of the city dozens of times, we'd never actually spent any time there. So we enjoyed one afternoon wandering around down at the waterfront before heading back to the airport hotel for the evening. Up super early the next morning for our 6:30am flight, and of course it took two cabs to get us and all our luggage moved up the road. Connected through Paris and got to Minneapolis quite uneventfully, loaded up the rental car (yay for American-sized SUV's!) and made our way to Eden Prairie to stay with friends who were so kind to open their home to us vagabonds for a week :)

It was such a great week to spend in MN and catch up with friends. Coco got to visit Primrose and have a playdate with her little buddies, so she was beyond thrilled. Between getting the storage unit packed into the PODS and sorting out new cell phone plans and medical appointments with Eric's dad and narrowing down AZ home choices, the time definitely flew by and we were soon on the road again. Of course, it wouldn't be the holidays if the Swanson clan wasn't trying to spread illness to everyone in WI, and 2016 was no exception. Thankfully, it seemed like we'd gotten the contagious parts "out of our system" before arriving, though I was a little nervous to go downstairs every morning just in case someone had been struck down overnight... It was a wonderful Thanksgiving, and so nice to celebrate in the new Pewaukee lake house and in Madison, and also 1st birthday party for DJ. But we couldn't get too comfy, because we were off to AZ to (hopefully!) buy a house. It was so strange to leave Coco behind, but she had a very full schedule planned with Grandma and Grandpa and we figured we'd miss her more than she'd miss us.

House hunting in AZ went well, though everything really did start to feel kinda similar after the first 3-4 places. We found one we liked, then decided to bump up the price range and of course found one we liked a bit more. Put the offer in and then hopped a plane to Sydney via LA. Since we'd decided to spring for First Class, the flight was LONG but totally tolerable. Neither of us really slept, so the first day in Sydney was a bit of a struggle, but we took advantage of the lovely early summer weather and walked all over. Explored The Rocks, went out to the Opera House, and took in the harbor views (sorry, I mean 'harbour') while strolling through the Royal Botanic Gardens. Everything had a laid-back vibe and the language made it easy for us, although sometimes between the slang and thick accent it was indecipherable to American ears. The next day we took a ferry out to the "North Shore" and saw Manly Beach, which is world-famous for good reason. Beautiful and easy to walk along with a cutesy little shopping area called The Corso. Took the boat back to the city and Eric joined some fellow adventurers to climb to the top of the Harbour Bridge while I did "house stuff" at the hotel. Note to self, next time you try to buy a house in an area you don't know while unemployed and homeless, don't go to the opposite side of the Earth to relax at the same time. Those two things are hopelessly incompatible!

From Sydney, we flew up to Cairns, which is one of the bigger cities up on the northern peninsula of Queensland that has good access to the Great Barrier Reef. Stayed in a smaller town called Trinity Beach and spent much of our time on the balcony enjoying the beach view or down at the pool (usually with both wine and mortgage paperwork in hand!). Our day-trip on a big catamaran out to the Reef was excellent, Eric got to dive at a few spots while I snorkeled, and miraculously I didn't throw up despite the big waves on the way out. Visibility was pretty good and there were tons of fish and coral and miscellaneous critters. If it's not already on your Bucket List, make an edit now. Our other excursion 'up north' was to Port Douglas and the Mossman  Gorge, which involved a beautiful drive along the coast, a bit of shopping in town (Australia Target, it's like a strange parallel universe set back in time a decade or two!), and some hiking with a quick dip in the river. The weather was rather hot and steamy, but we knew that was about to change as we jumped on another plane and headed out to Auckland, New Zealand.

While it would've been awesome to get to explore South Island and more of New Zealand, we spent our days in and around Auckland, which was kinda like a mini-Sydney. Our Airbnb apartment downtown had a nice view of the city, and it was a short (but hilly) walk down to the harbor or across the street into Albert Park. Weather was very cool and windy and rain blew through a couple times a day usually, so we had to keep the umbrella handy. Christmas decorations were everywhere, which felt a bit more appropriate here than in Australia's summer weather, but I was constantly perplexed about the idea of celebrating Christmas and New Year's in the middle of summer. It's just not natural! We did a bit of museum-ing at the Auckland Museum, which oddly includes war history, national and aboriginal history, and natural history...like 3 for the price of 1. Taking the ferry out to Waiheke Island to tour the wineries was definitely a highlight, we might relive some of the fun tonight since our crate of wine is supposed to be delivered any minute now :) While you've got your Bucket List out, check to make sure it includes sunset dinner at Mudbrick - the view over the water back to the city contrasted with the rolling vineyard hills is pretty magical.

After Auckland it was back to Sydney for a couple final days. Stayed further south next to Hyde Park this time, walking distance to the Queen Victoria Building, Sydney Town Hall, and St. Andrew's Cathedral. Weather was hot hot hot so we spent a day at Bondi Beach - also big and lovely, though I could've handled the water being a bit warmer... By this point, our offer had been accepted on the AZ house and inspections/appraisal were finishing up, so online furniture and appliance shopping were taking up our free time. Flew back to Phoenix and spent a couple days on house stuff, we were feeling confident enough that we told Coco all about her new purple bedroom and swimming pool in the AZ house. She was having tons of fun back in WI with her aunts and uncles and cousin, every picture was full of big smiles and snow and Christmas cookies. Eric and I got one quick sunset hike in before heading back to the cold Midwest. Getting to spend Christmas with the fam was amazing, we got to see nearly everyone in the Wittmann/Albers extended family - the younger generations are definitely starting to outnumber the oldies!

With everything going on, there was hardly any time to stop and reflect on the fact that our year of vagabonding travel was at its end, but I suppose we'll have the rest of our lives to reminisce about it. We try to have lots of "remember the time in _____ when we _____...." conversations with Coco and it's funny to hear her talk about which things she recalls. Besides going back up to WI this summer, we don't really have any family trips on the horizon. For now, getting settled in AZ seems like enough of an adventure!