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Fran Terry 8/7/23 Fran Terry 8/7/23

08.07.23 Brisbane, Australia - Day 1 - Part 3

Walked to the game from the Milton stop along the river. It was about 10-15 minutes. Arrived at the stadium and checked out the store there as well. Hawkinsons, found some more gear. Then we headed to our seats. We were a little early, so we got to soak in all of the pre-game festivities, as well as watch England and Nigeria warm up.

It was a great game, both teams played really well. Nigeria had some of the best chances during the run of play. A 0-0 tie went into extra time and eventually penalty kicks where England prevailed. Almost 50,000 people were at the game. Almost twice as many as the game in Melbourne.

The next adventure was to get back from the stadium to our hotel. Julie and Trevor went in search of a place to watch the Australia v Denmark game while the rest of us worked our way back to the hotel. We wander to a train/bus station near by with thousands of our closest friends. We ended up on a bus back, which once we found the right place to catch it, it was not very full so we had a place to sit. Dean ordered food for us to pick up on the way back. Emily and I took the boys to the hotel, where she checked in finally and the boys grabbed their stuff from our room.

Julie and Trevor arrived back shortly after. Disappointed in their attempt to find a place to watch the second game.

©08.07.23 - Brisbane - This family is all for Millie Bright, England’s center back.

©08.07.23 - Brisbane - Nigeria warming up

©08.07.23 - Brisbane - England warming up

©08.07.23 - Brisbane - getting ready for penalty kicks

Fran Terry 8/7/23 Fran Terry 8/7/23

08.07.23 Brisbane, Australia - Day 1 - Part 2

A quick dash under cover, where we regrouped and looked to see if we could find a place for lunch. Ended up at Grill’d, after trying a brew pub first. Had lunch and by that time the Fan Fest was open, so walked back over to check it out. The Hawkinsons got some gear from the store. Overall, we were all underwhelmed by the Fan Fest offerings. So we didn’t stick around long.

We headed up river, and decided to take the City Cat up a few stops along the river. It was a great way to get on the river as well as get us closer to the stadium for the game.

©08.07.23 - Brisbane - Australian White Ibis

©08.07.23 - Brisbane - Mosaic in the sidewalk

©08.07.23 - Brisbane - City Cat ride on the river

©08.07.23 - Brisbane - City Cat ride on the river - Ginormous construction project underway

Fran Terry 8/7/23 Fran Terry 8/7/23

08.07.23 Brisbane, Australia - Day 1 - Part 1

Hawkinsons arrived today and we attended game 2 of our Women’s World Cup: England vs Nigeria.

Tried to do coffee at Beartown. Ended up at another cafe a few blocks away, while waiting for Hawkinsons to arrive. Once they had arrived and unloaded their bags and got ready to head out for the day and the game, we all went downstairs to the coffee shop for a late morning snack/breakfast.

Then we were off to the train station to head down to the South Bank and the FIFA fan fest. We walked along the river to get there. We got there too early, as the website had a different time listed. So we just walked around the area. Stopped by the “Brisbane” sign and had our picture taken as it started to rain. A quick dash under cover, where we regrouped and looked to see if we could find a place for lunch.

©08.07.23 - Brisbane - “Wallpaper is back!…”

©08.07.23 - Brisbane - sadly it was closed.

©08.07.23 - Brisbane - walkway near river and Fan Fest

©08.07.23 - Brisbane - walk along the river

©08.07.23 - Brisbane - Collin and Andrew at Fan Fest

Fran Terry 8/6/23 Fran Terry 8/6/23

08.06.23 Melbourne to Brisbane - Travel Day

Left for Brisbane this morning. Headed to the airport first thing, grabbed some breakfast and then waited for our flight out. First time in years where we didn’t need to show ID to check our bags, or go thru security. Didn’t even need to show our boarding passes to get thru security. So weird.

Arrived in Brisbane around lunch time. Wanted to watch the Netherlands- South Africa game while we had lunch. We decided to stay at the airport to try to find a tv to watch. Ended up at one of the airport hotel bars. Just our luck, they didn’t have the correct channel to watch the game. Instead they had a replay of the game we had just watched on the plane from the day before. We went ahead and had lunch before heading to our hotel.

Bought a 3 day transit pass at the airport train station. Rode the train to the last stop. Walked about a mile to our hotel from the train. Only to arrive and not be able to check in as their credit card machine was not working. We decided to bag check and walk around while we waited for the call. We got the call about 15 minutes later saying we could check in. Walked back to the hotel to check in and rest for a bit.

For dinner and the USA -Sweden game, we rode the bus to the CBD and a sports bar inside a casino. It was on of the few places we could find where the game was showing. Unfortunately, it was not the US’s night. They lost in a penalty shootout.

©08.06.23 - Melbourne - Ride to the airport

Fran Terry 8/5/23 Fran Terry 8/5/23

08.05.23 Melbourne, Australia - Day 5 - Part 3

After lunch we were back on the Great Ocean Road for our drive to Kennet River. Blink and you might miss it. But we found it was totally worth the stop. The next 1.5 hours was amazing. We slowly took a path back into the forest. At the start of our walk we saw a wallaby on the hillside across the river as well as a variety of birds. We the. Made our way further into the forest with us all looking up I got the trees to see if we could spot a koala. I found the first one. It looked like a bulbous Spey around a branch. Thankfully with the use. Of the binoculars and Trevor’s amazing camera zoom, we confirmed it was a sleeping koala. Trevor spotted the next one. This one was actually moving around a bit. It was mostly turned away from us, but eventually turned its head to face us. It was so cute. I saw it yawn. Trevor found the next one too. And julie the last one. Both were stationary and well camouflaged. But still very cute. It was late afternoon and the light was headed toward dusk in the forest as we headed back to the car. 3 of the 4 koalas had moved and we could no longer see them on our way back. The most amazing thing happened when we were mostly back to the car. I looked up and just ahead around some trees, I saw a couple of kangaroos heading our way. We all stopped off to the side and waited for them to pass us. Thankfully we were ina wider spot on the trail, so they could do it easily. Just when we thought it might be clear a huge group of them came bounding towards us. It was so amazing. Once they had passed, we thought ok, let’s go only to look up and see another group heading our way. It was the coolest part of the whole day. We had just been saying how cool it had been to see the kolalas in the wild, then to have this huge mob of kangaroos come bounding our way. What a way to end our travels along the Great Ocean Road. As soon after we headed back to Melbourne. What a day!

Once we got back, we ate some leftovers and packed our bags for our trip to Brisbane in the morning..

©08.05.23 - The Great Ocean Road - Kennet River

©08.05.23 - The Great Ocean Road - Kennet River - This was a surprise to see

©08.05.23 - The Great Ocean Road - Kennet River - The video above is a little slow to start. We were not expecting the mob to come around the corner. But it was probably the best 2 1/2 minutes of our day.

Fran Terry 8/5/23 Fran Terry 8/5/23

08.05.23 Melbourne, Australia - Day 5 - Part 2

Next up we headed towards Apollo Bay for lunch. Along the way we stopped at Castle Cove. It was our first peak of the ocean again after driving inland a bit on the Great Ocean Road.

Lunch was at the Great Ocean Road Brewhouse in Apollo Bay. The brewery is the furthest south on the Australian continent. I had a tasty hamburger for lunch while Julie had risotto and trevor had a very unsaucy curry. During lunch we discussed our next stop and figured out we didn’t really have time to make it to either the treetop walk or a zip line we were looking at as options. We decided instead to stop in Kennet River to check out a location known for having koalas in the wild,,

©08.05.23 - The Great Ocean Road - Castle Cove

©08.05.23 - The Great Ocean Road - Don’t panic, it’s 80 Kilometers an hour not 80 miles an hour.

©08.05.23 - The Great Ocean Road - Great Ocean Road Brewhouse

©08.05.23 - The Great Ocean Road - Kennet River - Can you spot the koala?

©08.05.23 - The Great Ocean Road - Kennet River - Looking for koalas

Fran Terry 8/5/23 Fran Terry 8/5/23

08.05.23 Melbourne, Australia - Day 5 - Part 1

Drove the Great Ocean Road today. Many stops along the way.

This morning we stopped by the car rental place to add another driver to the car before heading out for a long day of driving.

Our first stop was in Winchelsea to put some gas in the car, change drivers and to get Julie some coffee. Next we drove onto the Twelve Apostles, the farthest point along our route. It was pretty windy out at the ocean when we arrived. The views of the Twelve Apostles was pretty spectacular.

©08.05.23 - The Great Ocean Road - The Twelve Apostles

©08.05.23 - The Great Ocean Road - The Twelve Apostles - I don’t know how they did this, but the effect is pretty great.

Fran Terry 8/4/23 Fran Terry 8/4/23

08.04.23 Melbourne, Australia - Day 4 - Part 3

Next we were off to the Cape Schanck lighthouse. At the lighthouse we took the trail/boardwalk down to the rocky beach. The views were amazing of the southern ocean and the lighthouse from below. Hiked back you the stairs/trail to make our way to the lighthouse for a quick look.

Our last major stop of the day was at the Peninsula Hot Springs where we spent several hours soaking in the waters. Very relaxing and enjoyable.

On our way back to Melbourne we stopped and had a tasty dinner at Zero95 Pizza. I had risotto and T&J had pizza. Then it was back in the car to drive back to Melbourne. Many thanks to Trevor for a long day of driving on the wrong side of the road.

©08.04.23 Mornington Peninsula - Cape Schanck

©08.04.23 Mornington Peninsula - Cape Schanck Lighthouse

Fran Terry 8/4/23 Fran Terry 8/4/23

08.04.23 Melbourne, Australia - Day 4 - Part 2

Our next stop was at Arthurs Seat at the top of the hill with an amazing view of the bay and Melbourne in the distance . It was really windy, so the gondola was not running, we did a quick walking tour around the top of the hill with the various views.

Our next stop was Green Olive winery for lunch and tasting. Everything was delicious.

At the suggestion of the visitor info ladies, we stopped in Flinders to get some chocolate. We all got hot chocolate. It was not as good as yesterday’s, but still tasty.

©08.04.23 Mornington Peninsula - Arthurs Seat

©08.04.23 Mornington Peninsula - Green Olive Winery

©08.04.23 Mornington Peninsula - Chocolaterie

Fran Terry 8/4/23 Fran Terry 8/4/23

08.04.23 Melbourne, Australia - Day 4 - Part 1

Spend the day on the Mornington Peninsula

Breakfast at Babka Bakery.

Walked to pick up rental car in the CBD.

Drove to mornington peninsula. First stop was the visitor information center. 2 kind ladies helped us get a solid plan for the day in place. We had a good idea of what we wanted to do, but they helped us figure out the specifics.

©08.04.23 - Melbourne - Breakfast at Babka Bakery

©08.04.23 - Melbourne - Drive to Mornington Peninsula

©08.04.23 - Mornington Peninsula - Arthurs Seat - Melbourne in the distance

Fran Terry 8/3/23 Fran Terry 8/3/23

08.03.23 Melbourne, Australia - Day 3 - Part 6

Then hopped on a tram to head back to the airbnb. Made a quick turn around to head out to a local restaurant, Laggoto. It was delicious and a pretty laid back experience.

Then back to the airbnb to do a load of laundry before bed.

Fran Terry 8/3/23 Fran Terry 8/3/23

08.03.23 Melbourne, Australia - Day 3 - Part 5

Afterwards we made our way to NVG International to see the giant stained glass ceiling.

Afterwards we got a drink at the river bar and checked out the FIFA Fan Fest set up,in Federation Square.

©08.03.23 Melbourne - NGV International - The Great Hall ceiling, the largest stained-glass ceiling in the world, Leonard French, artist.

©08.03.23 Melbourne - Federation Square - FIFA Fan Fest

Fran Terry 8/3/23 Fran Terry 8/3/23

08.03.23 Melbourne, Australia - Day 3 - Part 4

Fran Terry 8/3/23 Fran Terry 8/3/23

08.03.23 Melbourne, Australia - Day 3 - Part 3

Finished laneways walk and found a bench near where we were getting our Go Boat for our 2hr river cruise.

Picked up the boat and made our way on the river to see the sights. Trevor captained the boat. It was a lovely day to be on the water. We lucked out with the weather.

©08.03.23 Melbourne - laneways - Block Arcade

©08.03.23 Melbourne - laneways - Degraves St

©08.03.23 Melbourne - Yarra River - GoBoat instrucitons

Fran Terry 8/3/23 Fran Terry 8/3/23

08.03.23 Melbourne, Australia - Day 3 - Part 2

Laneways including ac/dc pl, got a snack nearby at kinetic coffee. Then on to check out rest of the laneways. Had some of the most amazing hot chocolate from Koko chocolate.

©08.03.23 Melbourne - laneways - AC/DC Lane

©08.03.23 Melbourne - laneways - Centre Palce

©08.03.23 Melbourne - laneways - Royal Arcade

©08.03.23 Melbourne - laneways - Royal Arcade - Koko Black and the most delicious cup of hot chocolate

Fran Terry 8/3/23 Fran Terry 8/3/23

08.03.23 Melbourne, Australia - Day 3 - Part 1

Breakfast at the airbnb. Walk to 7-11 to get another card for the tram. Walk to Chinatown. Walk thru on our way to the laneways. Walked thru federation square

©08.03.23 - Melbourne - Federation Square

©08.03.23 - Melbourne - Federation Square - FIFA display

Fran Terry 8/2/23 Fran Terry 8/2/23

08.02.23 Melbourne Australia - Day 2 - Part 3

Walk to first Women’s World Cup game: Jamaica vs Brazil. Game ends in 0-0 tie allowing Jamaica to continue on, Brazil is eliminated. Potentially Marta’s final international game.

©08.02.23 Melbourne - Walk to soccer match

©08.02.23 Melbourne - Outside the stadium

©08.02.23 Melbourne - View from my seat, pre-game

©08.02.23 Melbourne - View from my seat, pre-game warmups

©08.02.23 Melbourne - View of Marta taking a corner kick in probably her last international gaame

©08.02.23 Melbourne - View of Marta taking a corner kick

©08.02.23 Melbourne - View of Marta sending the ball in.

Fran Terry 8/2/23 Fran Terry 8/2/23

08.02.23 Melbourne Australia - Day 2 - Part 2

Snack at the convent bakery

Walk back to Airbnb stop by Victoria park to see home of Collingwood Aussie rules football team

Try to track down where missing luggage is, decide to go to airport to get it after Julie and I both got the run around on the phone. Success at the airport

Late lunch/early dinner at Vegie Bar. Delicious.