Melbourne...

Last week we were in the Melbourne area visiting our besties Mike and Christi.  They had just moved to Australia (he's Aussie, she's American) when we got engaged and they turned around 5 months later and flew back to the States to be in our wedding.  (yes, very short engagement!)  We've always felt like we owed them a return favor and had been loosely planning on coming to visit Australia this fall anyway.  Then my work opportunity opened up and we were able to come for free and just had to buy tix from Brisy to Melbourne. 

Trust me, much cheaper!

We had such an amazing time with them.  I would say it was up there with our top 3 best vacations of all time.  Note that I did not say top 3 most restful of all time!  We ran around like crazy, seeing all sorts of things, doing all sorts of things and eating/drinking all sorts of food/drinks.  We spent a few days in Lorne, VIC and drove out to the 12 Apostles which was truly breathtaking.  It made us think of that scene from Flight of the Navigator when he zooms by all sorts of landmarks!

Actually my favorite part of the whole time with our friends was when we were able to pray together on our last night - just about each others' journeys, marriages, next steps in life etc.  It was so full and amazing.  I feel so blessed to have good friends and although we miss them already, I know they are the kind of friends that we can start up right where we left off as if no time has passed!

Here are some of the things we did and saw:

Found this small beach off the beaten path where salt and fresh water make foam!

First time seeing Koalas awake and active in the wild

And I mean really active!

12 Apostles

Brighton Beach in Melbourne

A possible Banksy sighting

Melbourne has a USA Foods store and we stocked up on a few US items

Best food in Australia: MamaBaba in Melbourne



Gorgeous Aboriginal Art at the National Gallery in Melbourne