Australia: Day Two

Today we didn't have a ton planned because we wanted to give ourselves a chance to sleep in because of the jet lag. Weird thing is that it's the kind of jet lag that made me wake up earlier than I normally should. I just read until the Eric and Portia woke up.

We decided to walk the scenic pathway from Bawgolhah Heights to Manly Beach. It was a lovely, wooded walk that stayed close to the bay. The views were gorgeous and Portia was playing Pokemon Go on the way to find the cool Australian Pokemon. And wanted to stop everytime we could get pretty close to the water. But it's nice when you don't really have a schedule or a plan for the day because you can wander wherever you want and do whatever you want to do.

We went to the Manly Aquarium. Our favorite was the shark tunnel, which had some huge sharks in it, some sea turtles and stingrays. It wasn't a very big aquarium so we spent the morning there only.

Next, we went to a gourmet fish & chips place, called Fish Mongers. Portia didn't want fish so she had McDonald's. I had the shrimp. This guy's a beast! I'd already eaten all my delicious chips!

Portia wanted to get over to the waves (it's just not the same on the bay side) so we spent the next hour or so letting her play in the waves. It is winter there, so it's pretty chilly (not exactly swimsuit weather) but she enjoyed getting her feet and legs in the water.  We walked back the scenic walkway to our place.

Tonight, we drove to Sydney to see the Sydney Symphony at the Sydney Opera House! Eric was really excited because the symphony played the live music of Raiders of the Lost Ark while the movie played on a big screen.

It was a really cool experience. I started getting pretty tired though and with the lights turned low, it was hard to stay awake. I may have nodded off a time or two.

Australia: Day One

 Quigleys went "Down Under!" We left on a Monday for Sydney, Australia, skipped Tuesday—somehow during our flight—and spent our Wednesday wandering around the Royal Botanical Gardens, near the Sydney Opera House. We walked around a lot and looked at all the trees, flowers and gardens. One of the first thing we noticed upon stepping into Australia was the loud squawking of the Cockatoos that are all over the place. They're loud, but exotic and very cool. 

We stopped by the New South Wales Public Library nearby because it was beautiful. Then we ate at an outdoor bistro called Piccolo Me for lunch. Portia had a sausage roll and Eric a meat pie and I had a chicken avocado sandwich with some mint hot chocolate. Did I mention Bianca is still at Meadowmount until mid-August and couldn't come on this trip with us. In my defense, I gave her the option for us to go before she left and she acted like she didn't really care. So Portia's an only child for this trip.

We rented a small car (they drive on the left side of the street again so thankfully, Eric is doing all the driving) and drove to the house where we're staying the entire trip at Balgowlah Heights, near Manly Beach. We have a beautiful view of the bay from the huge windows of our 2 bedroom/2 bathroom place. 

And nope, I didn't see one spider inside the house—people kept warning me about the huge spiders that were crawling all over Australia!) Our place is very comfortable. I took a nap and had a difficult time waking up when Eric and Portia were hungry for dinner. We drove all over looking for a quick place to eat but it was more difficult than you'd expect. All I wanted was McDonald's fries and it closed at 6pm!!! Instead we found some Chinese restaurant and brought back some takeaway. Meh! Australia seems a lot like the US. Same types of foods and the streets are big and wide. 

Visiting Home: July 2016

Since Bianca was gone nearly the entire summer, Portia and I went on a trip with Susannah and her kids to St. Louis. They picked us up on the way and we took turns driving all the way to Columbia, Illinois.

We did tons of fun stuff, like eat at Imo's:

visit Grant's Farm:

go to the zoo:

and visit the Magic House:

One day, Portia decided to try to make a bit of change by playing her cello outside the Painted Lady before a summer outdoor concert at the park nearby. She did make a dollar and some change with the help of her cousins.

Yes, that's the girls on the street in front of The Painted Lady

Portia even was teaching Ella cello lessons every day:

Because we were there over the Fourth of July, we got to celebrate with our extended family as well.

Pretty much, we went there to be together and spend time together as a family.

Bianca's off to Meadowmount

Bianca was so excited to get accepted to Meadowmount School of Music for this summer (seven weeks, which is sooo long).

Eric flew out to New York City with Bianca in the middle of June. They spent a couple days exploring New York, then he drove her to upstate New York, near Lake Champlain, where she spent the next 7 weeks.

We missed her a ton, and I think she didn't like being gone for quite that long. She got a little homesick near the middle and asked to come home. But she made it through and had a good experience. For a while, she was sending me a picture a day so that we'd stay in touch.

Portia turned 9!

Portia is obsessed with the Warrior Cat book series. She's read nearly all of them (and I'm pretty sure there are over 20—and they're long)!  So, she was dying to have a Warrior Cats birthday party. Although it was rainy (so they couldn't adventure out in the woods in our backyard as she wanted), Portia was pretty happy with how it all turned out. Portia and Bianca helped make the cat-ear headbands and I had cupcakes custom made with the Warrior Cat clans on them.

Spring Break in California with my Sister!

The girls and I spent spring break with Susannah and her family in California this year. She's truly the best hostess ever and spoiled us with tons of day trips and lots of yummy meals. I'm so lucky she's my sister! And I love when my girls get to spend time with their cousins, although sadly it wasn't their spring break.

We went to Disneyland:

We went paddleboarding on the ocean and saw seals (no sharks, thankfully):

We went to Santa Monica Pier and did some shopping and ate at Steak 'N' Shake:

It was the first day of the opening of Harry Potter world at Universal Studios and was crowded, but we went anyway. We even met some friends from our neighborhood there:

Portia's Reflections Entry is going to State!

Portia wrote a song on her cello (called Hunting Birds) and is going to state for Reflections! So proud of this little composer! Sometimes it's okay when you're messing around on your cello instead of practicing!

England Day Ten: London

We woke up at 3 am and left Anstruther. I couldn't sleep anyway most of the night because the wind was shaking the house, so we drove on to London!

We arrived right before lunch and checked into our hotel, The Town Hall. We're only staying here one night but it's nice and comfortable. Eric dropped off the rental car and we took a taxi (I swear the drive looked exactly like Mr. Bates from Downton Abbey) to The New Globe Theatre. We stopped at TAS Pide for Turkish pides (boat-shaped bread filled with meat and egg). We loved it!

When we got to the Globe Theatre, we almost bought tickets to see Cymbeline in the candle-lit inside theatre, but the only two tickets they had left weren't near each other and we didn't want to split up. So instead, we took a tour of the outdoor theatre. Our tour guide was great and kept directing his comments to Portia, who was the youngest person in the tour.

Afterward, Portia and I took the underground back to our hotel to swim, while Eric and Bianca went shopping at Picadilly Circus.

In the morning, we took a taxi to Gatwick Airport and flew home. We arrived home on New Year's Eve.

Scotland Day Nine: St. Andrews

Today is our last day in Scotland. We have absolutely loved it here and wished we had arranged to spend more time in Scotland. We'll have to come back someday. After breakfast, we went to the water again. The wind had died down a bit and the sun was out. It was gorgeous!

We were going to visit Kellie's Castle but we kept missing the turn—the signs weren't so helpful—on our 10-minute drive to St. Andrew's. Another beautiful city! The waves were crazy, like 20 of them curling to the beach at once, and the ruins overlooked the sea. Portia wanted to stay near the water, so I stayed with her while Eric and Bianca explored the castle. We met back up after we explored the cathedral ruins and the historic harbour. We stopped at a bookstore (of course!) and then headed back to Anstruther for lunch.

We took the girls to our fish & chips place we loved so much. I got the hot smoked salmon & prawn salad with chips & curry sauce. That places is truly amazing!

After lunch, Eric and I walked into town and it turned windy & cold again. The waves were crashing so violently against the stone walls, it was spraying the people on the street. We stopped into a couple gift shops and ended our evening by playing Monopoly, then packing up as we leave again in the morning.

Scotland Day Eight: Anstruther & Edinburgh

We love Anstruther! It's windy—really windy—but so charming and quaint and beautiful! We walked down to the rocky beach first thing after breakfast. Then drove to Cowdenbeath, where Eric's grandma Peggy grew up before she came over to the US when she was 16. We walked around the cemetery looking for family names but didn't really find anything interesting.

Next we drove on the Edinburgh. We were starved by the time we got there, so we had lunch at a restaurant called The Wedgewood. It was so good! I had the potato & leek soup, gnocchi and for dessert: parsnip brulet with thyme ice cream! Sounds weird but tastes divine!

We walked all over Edinburgh—to the royal mile, up to the castle, and then did some shopping.

We went into the most amazing bookshop called Armchair Books!!! And we walked by a Cat Cafe but couldn't go in because it was all booked. Portia thinks we should start a Cat Cafe of our own and call it The Cat & Cocoa Cafe and serve gourmet hot chocolates. Bianca says Edinburgh is here favorite city she's even been to.

When we returned to Anstruther, Eric and I went to a Fish & Chips place near our place, where we walked along the ocean to get there. Still windy, but lovely. I had some salmon & dill fish cakes. What a lovely time we had!

England Day Seven: Warwick, then on to Scotland

This morning, we left Stratford and went to church in Warwick. After sacrament meeting, several people told us we must stop at Warwick Castle before we head out of England. They said it's the best castle in England, so we did! It was still completely furnished and all the ceilings were simply amazing! I'm obsessed with cool ceilings and doors and there were plenty to see!  The library was full of antique books and the whole castle was decorating for Christmas with beautiful trees and lights everywhere. Very beautiful!

Then we began driving to Scotland. There was tons of traffic and it ended up taking a lot longer than we hoped. Ugh! We ate at McDonald's on the way (how is it we always end up at McDonald's while we're in Europe?!?).

We finally arrived in Anstruther, Scotland, around nine o'clock at night. But we LOVE our little place here. The girls each get their own rooms; Eric and I have our own suite in the attic. And it's clean and big and decorated like a beach house. I can hear the ocean out there but haven't yet seen it.

England Day Six: Hay-on-Wye

Today we actually got up early and drove to Wales. On the way, because we were on a lot of backroads, we actually ran right into Elgar's (the famous composer) birthplace. It wasn't open because it's Christmas break (in fact, today is Boxing Day), but we stopped for a bit, then drove on.

When we arrived at Hay-on-Wye (the book capital of the world), the town was congregating to leave for a big hunt. They were in their hunting outfits, sitting on their horses, and all the town was gathered. Someone made a speech about the government trying to take away their right to hunt before they left.  

Sadly, because it was boxing day, many of the bookstores (the reason we traveled there) were closed. There were a few, however, so I did spend a couple hours in a bookstore, then we ate at a pub called The Blue Boar, which was wonderful! So I bought some books, we walked around a bit, then drove back. The early morning took a lot out of me because I slept on the way home. Eric's so good to stay awake and drive on the left side of the road!

Tonight was our last night in Stratford, so we did a little laundry and packed our bags.

England Day Five: Christmas Day

I've definitely never had a Christmas like today. We all slept in until 11. We had no presents to open, but the souvenirs we placed under the tree (to remind us that we were actually getting presents). Instead of buying presents, we gave the girls a set amount of money they're allowed to spend while we're here.

We lit another fire and the girls opened their Christmas Crackers Eric had bought. After they "popped," there were little toys and jokes in each one. We played with the mini cards (that was one of the gifts in the crackers).

We decided at the last minute to drive to the closest beach, which was a two-hour drive to Weston-Suer-Mare. At least the beach can't be closed on Christmas Day! We stopped by some interesting castles on the way, then arrived while it was still light outside. It was rainy and windy, but we walked along the beach anyway and watched the lighthouse blinking from Cardiff.

We drove back to Stratford where we had dinner reservations at Bamboodle (a Thai restaurant) only to find out they had no chef and decided not to open. Lovely. We had nowhere to to go and I was frustrated that we didn't take that last available table they had at The Swan. Thank heavens for Indian restaurants! We ended up at Avon Spice and made the best of our situation. We all love Indian food so it worked out, although that's definitely not a typical Christmas meal. We went back to the park near the Avon River and fed our leftover naan to the swans and geese and ducks.

I don't think we'll ever forget this Christmas!