We're back!!!

We're home...safe and sound.....we have flat bums and I have amazingly arrived with my sanity intact.

We had a really really good time........the drive to Canberra was a breeze....I drove part of the way and quite enjoyed doing 110kph!!! We stayed at the Carotel Canberra in a family cabin....2 bedrooms in really nice surroundings for $155 per night. Had dinner at a buffet place and did a bit of sighseeing the next morning before driving to Sydney. On the way to sydney we bought a box and a half of huge luscious sweet fresh cherries from a road side stall.....and then further along....a box of mangoes. Delish delish!!!

Our Sydney apartment in Parramatta was just gorgeous.....really really beautiful and luxurious!!! Masterbedroom had ensuite & queen sized bed, another bedroom had a QS bed and the last bedroom had 2 single beds. Big living area and gorgeous balcony overlooking the golf course. We did have a hiccup in that the air conditioning didn't work, there was no foxtel (as advertised) and the TV didn't work because the antenna wasn't connected. Consequently...I had bored grumpy teenagers....it was a bit on the warm side for us Melbournians who just had a cold snap....which resulted in the little one's asthma playing up and he also got a massive bloody nose which meant that he moved from the bed he was sharing with his grandma to our bed.

After a few complaints in the morning...we moved to another apartment in the next block ($50 cheaper)....slightly smaller living area (no balcony)...but there was airconditioning and there was foxtel which the kids were rapt about. The lovely lady also refunded us what we paid for our first night's accomodation...so all up I paid $189 for two night's accomodation. What a bargain!!!!

We did lots in Sydney.......highlights:

1. Temasek Restaurant in Paramatta - yummo and the chef made a special meal for Jeromel when he was notified about Jeromel's peanut allergy.

2. Exact change toll booths on the motorway.....love throwing the coins into the basket and watching while it counts then opens up the boom.....we threw coins in one by one.....Joseph said it might even start busking for us. LOL

3. Driving over the Sydney harbour bridge....what a buzz...what an experience.....we did it a couple of times just coz it was so much fun.......nah...we got lost and somehow ended up going over it again.

4. Making a wrong turn into the opera house parking lot meant that we had to pay the $28 parking fee....omg...how exxy???? I ran to the pay booth and explained the problem and the nice man said that he would let us out for free!!! What a nice man!

5. Our last night we drove all around the city and did the harbour bridge again, the opera house, took in the sights of the bustling city lights....most of the christmas decorations are up already....we drove to Kings cross too!

6. StarCity....we went there for dinner thinking it was a big complex like Crown and it is really small...not many places for us to have dinner at...so the boys ended up having subway and playing pool while we went to the noodle place and has some really good asian food....huge servings.....when I say huge...I mean huge....a plate of noodles was big enough to fill two large rectangular take away containers. Parking was a killer though $17 flat rate !!!! We didn't play at the casino....Joseph went upstairs to get his poker chips...he's collecting $1 and $5 poker chips.....we will try and get the ones from all around Australia. Can anyone help? We've got VIC, ACT and NSW and are looking for other states......we will pay of course!!

Photos....yup....got some.......will share later! The 10 hour drive home was a bit of a killer though....Joseph was a hero and drove all the way home....I kept asking if he wanted a break but he insisted he was fine....we did stop every 2 hours for a toilet break and for everyone to stretch their legs.

I will leave you with one of my Arty Pants November projects. I was given quite a few sheets of the Scrapbooking Australia Christmas papers...and again, really not me at all...but a challenge is a challenge and I am never one to back down when issued with a challenge....so I used most of the papers for this decorated gift box and have another layout on the drafting table ready for a photo.What do you think?