Mom and Dad's trip - The Finale

Down to the last 2 days of Mom and Dad's trip!

I went to work again on Thursday morning and Mom and Dad just hung out and had a lazy morning. We went for the best fish-n-chips I have had here for lunch...just in a little cafe right by me in Kirribilli. Mom and Dad got a kick out of these signs that they have all over here, so we took a picture of them with one right by the cafe...Yield to the Aged, ha ha!















We then went to a few local shops in Kirribilli and then just spent some time walking along the harbour shore and enjoying the scenery.

I also finally found someone who wanted to do something that I have been wanting to do since I got here...my dad and I rode the big ferris wheel at Luna Park, the cute little amusement park right below my apartment! It was fun and was certainly a gorgeous view from up there!

That night, we went to a great Thai restaurant in Kirribilli for dinner. It was my parents' first experience with Thai and I think they really enjoyed it!

I took the whole day off on Friday, since it was their last full day here and we had a great day! We headed back over to The Rocks for our repeat visit to Pancakes at the Rocks...yum! And then our next destination was Bondi Beach! Bondi is such a beautiful beach and is certainly the most famous one here, but it is not quite as easy to get to. No lovely ferry ride to Bondi...instead we had to take 2 trains and 1 bus...but it was worth it! It was kind of a weird weather day...very sunny at times and raining at times. You can see the difference in the sky in some of these pictures. Anyway, we got some beach towels and actually hung out on the sandy beach at Bondi for quite a while. We got sun, watched surfers, got our feet (and legs and thighs) in the water, got rained on, got more sun. We then decided to do a bit of the coastal cliff walk that I had done previously, so that they could see some of the stunning views! I think they enjoyed it as much as I did the first time I did it! Never knew my parents to be such beach people, but I think they really enjoyed both of our beach experiences here!

(Side note: The Australian sun here is VERY strong. You all know that I embrace the sun and love a good tan. Well, I think I do have a bit of my dad in me because I do tend to burn some also. Even though it wasn't completely sunny on our Bondi Beach day, I still managed to get a pretty good burn. It was turning into a lovely tan (even my feet and hands are really tan!), but I think it is going to start peeling now. And, you will be happy to know that I have now purchased some sunscreen in preparation for the several more beach days that I plan to have before my time here ends!)

After some cool showers to cool and clean off from the beach, we headed down to The Rocks for our last dinner. We went to this awesome little Italian restaurant in the heart of The Rocks that has a beautiful mostly outdoor setting. During the summer months, they also have a smaller version of The Rocks Markets on Friday night, so Mom and Dad got to see some of my favorite market after all. We enjoyed sangria and bruschetta in our lovely outdoor setting...and then got rained on, ha! Oh well...they took us to a nice table inside, so we were still able to have a good time! We walked around a bit after dinner and then headed to Circular Quay to take our favorite transportation home...the ferry!

Mom and Dad, thank you so much for making this happen and for coming to experience my world here with me! It was truly one of the best weeks of my life and one that I will never forget!

Now, to my girlfriends and a certain sister...I know that my 6 month assignment here happened to be not very good timing with things that were going on in your lives...babies, school, moves to other countries, bad economy, etc...but someday, I am going to organize a girls trip for all of us to come here, so that we can all experience this amazing place together too!! :-)