Visitors

The last month has also been busy with our first guests making their arrival!

Luke’s ATO advisor, Bill, from K State came to Sydney for a week long visit in March so we met up with him a couple of times.  The first day we wanted to show him around the city, it poured on us the whole time.  We managed to make it to a few places and then made our plans for the next day with him. 

We took him to a rugby game to see the Rabbitohs vs. the Bulldogs.  I enjoyed my first official rugby game and started to figure out the rules as the game went on.  I’m sure we’ll see many more!  Then since it was Bill’s birthday, he really wanted lobster for dinner so we found a great restaurant that also had a perfect view of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.  We had a delicious dinner and a good time catching up with him. 

Bill got a birthday song and treat

Chris and Jessica Struzina were our first official visitors.  They have been here for the last 12 days and just headed back to the states this afternoon.  We were so happy that they stayed with us while they were in Sydney and then they went on their own adventures to Cairns, The Great Barrier Reef, and Uluru before heading back to spend their last night with us. 

I loved being their tour guide!  I took them on our coastal walk from Bondi Beach to Coogee so they could stay awake the first day and have some beautiful views.  Luke met up with us in the afternoon and we all did a tour of the Opera House which was amazing!  It was great to finally hear the whole history behind the building of it.  (another blog, another time!)  The next day they went on an all day tour to the Blue Mountains and Featherdale Wildlife.  The following day I got to go with them on their tour to the Hunter Valley which is the big wine country area 2 hours from Sydney.  We rode up in a little van with very comfy seats.  Our guide was very informative and the whole day was flexible and slow paced.  We enjoyed our wine tastings and a delicious lunch.  We all came home with many bottles of wine and I also got a jar of olives and olive oil from a winery that also had an olive vineyard.  I wish Luke could’ve joined us on this adventure.  I can’t wait to go back and take him!  The Struzina’s got to experience our modes of transportation and the craziness that can sometimes create, being caught in the rain without an umbrella, a few of our favorite cafes and restaurants, and a lesson on how to work our shower!  ;)  It was so nice to see familiar faces and catch up in person.  We hope they had as much fun as we did!  I need to get some of the pictures off of their camera when I am home to visit but here are a few from mine. 

Beach Walk

Our favorite background for pictures!

Inside the Opera House

Luke took this.  It turned out really beautiful!

Some wine vineyards

Ben Phillips, a childhood friend of mine from Kearney, has lived in New Zealand for the past year.  He and his girlfriend are traveling around Australia for the next month.  Last week Luke and I met up with Ben for dinner and drinks.  It was fun to catch up and laugh about old high school days! 

So…who wants to visit next????  We’re taking bookings after June!  J