This year we visited with Ram's brother in Australia for about 3½ weeks. It was great to see Ananath, Sharee and Shyama again, and of course baby Meera for the first time! On our way to and from Australia from Cincinnati, we stopped in Los Angeles for a couple of days. Given the flight from LA to Melbourne was some 14 hours long, this turned out to be a good idea, especially since we were traveling with small kids.

Melbourne (May 21-24)

We arrived in Melbourne in the morning on Monday, May 21st and spent four days there. While in Melbourne we visited Phillip Island, where after dusk we witnessed the "Penguin Parade" upclose. Here's where from elevated boardwals and viewing stands, people get to watch the world's smallest penguins, the "Little Penguins" emerge from the sea after a day’s fishing and waddle ashore to their sand dune burrows.

Previously we visited the T'Gallant Winery, also located south of Melbourne in the Mornington peninsula. We had a wondeful lunch at the winery's restaurant, La Baracca Trattoria.

Ananth had a professional photogapher come to his house to take pictures of all of us. Matt of Matt Irwin Photography was nice enough to spend a couple of hours with the family taking both candid and staged photographs. Check out the pictures by clicking on the link to the left.

Echuca Moama (May 25-27)

On Friday, May 25th, we drove about 2½ hours north from Melbourne to Echuca Moama, the Paddlesteamer capital of Australia. This is a little town nestled on the banks of the Murray River at the border of Victoria and New South Wales. Sharee's mom and dad (Glenda and Rob) and her grandma joined us on this trip. Sharee's brother Darren, his wife Brooke and their little daughter Rhi also made the trip up there. We stayed here for three nights at the Madison Spa where Ananth spoiled all the adults with massages and other treatments.

While we were here, we did some sightseeing, shopping and took a paddle/steamer cruise down the Murray River. There are several little restaurants and bakeries here that offer some very good food. One night we had an excellent dinner with Sharee's folks and grandma at Oscar W's Wharfside, a fine restaurant situated on the Murray River. The restaurant has a fine selection of mainly Australian wines. The Barramundi is a recommended Australian original.

We also celebrated Shyama's and Rhiannon's 4th and 3rd birthdays respectively with all the family. Check out the pictures.

Back to Melbourne (May 28-29)

We drove back to Melbourne on Monday, May 28. The next day we celebrated Shyama's 4th birthday at her school with her classmates. The next morning we took a 2 hour flight north to the Gold Coast.

Gold Coast (May 30 - June 3)

We stayed in Gold Coast for five days on the beach at Surfer's Paradise. We rented a condo at the world's tallest residential tower, the Q1.

While in Gold Coast we spent time at the beach, shopping and eating out. I went out for the occasional jog on the beach. The kids had a fun time at the pool and at the beach. However, I bet the kids enjoyed the theme parks the best. We spent one day at Dream World and another day at the Australian version of Sea World. This Sea World is not affiliated with the SeaWorld parks in the US.

On Saturday night, June 2nd, Ananth and I drove an hour north to Brisbane to catch a rugby international between Australia and Wales at the Telstra Dome. Despite growing up in Sri Lanka playing a lot of Rugby, this was my very first opportunity to watch two international teams in action in real life. It was a one-sided affair with Australia shutting out Wales 31-0.

Sunshine Coast (June 4 - June 8)

On Monday morning, June 4th, we drove about 3 hours north to the Sunshine Coast to spend the next 5 days at in Noosa. While in Noosa, we rented condo at 129. Unfortunately for us, it rained continuously the first two days we were there. Eastern Australia had been experiencing the worst drought in years, and here we arrive in Noosa and it starts to pour! Later on we were able to do some dining and shopping on Hastings Street, the central street in Noosa lined with shops and restaurants.

We spent one day at the Australia Zoo, less than an hour's drive south of Noosa. This is the home of the Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin. This was a fun trip for the kids, especially Maya and Jay who had never seen any of the native Australian animals in the flesh. Not only did they get to see Kangaroos really close, they also got to pet them! Michele got to hold a Koala Bear as well! Check out the cool pictures.

Melbourne Again (June 9-13)

On Saturday morning on June 9th we flew back to Melbourne. Back in Melbourne, Ananth and I went to a "footy" game (Australian Rules Football League - AFL) with Darren and Rob at the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Club) Stadium. The match was between Collingwood (Ananth's team) and Melbourne. Well, Collingwood lost that day despite having a far superior record than Melbourne's.

While back in Melbourne the adults (Ananth, Sharee, Michele and I) had a couple of opportunities to enjoy some fine dining, thanks to some enthusiastic baby sitters. We had a fabulous meal at the Botanical one night. The second night, Ananth and Sharee's long time friends Greg and Erica (who we had met the first time we were in Australia 7 years ago) joined us for dinner at Circa, the Prince. Both restaurants have an extensive wine selection and the food is innovative, progressive and yum-mee!

On Wednesday morning, June 13th, we boarded a flight back to Los Angeles. It was nice break for us and we ha d a wonderful time visiting with Ananth and Sharee and the kids. Many thanks to Ananth and Sharee for their gracious hospitality!