Travel Time and Fun with Friends

Time is not the same when you travel across 10 time zones!  We left on Sunday (Jan. 29) from France and arrived in Australia on Tuesday (Jan. 31). We had a Monday somewhere between Dubai and Perth, Australia.  We had meals about every 4 hours, we figure, and and toward the end of our 36+ hour journey, L counted 6 various breakfasts we had either on an airplane (because that’s what was being served) or in an airport (e.g., at 3am in Perth while waiting for our flight to Melbourne).

The kids did remarkably well for not getting a lot of good sleep and for flying for 6 hours, waiting in Dubai, then flying 10 hours, waiting in Perth, and then flying 3 hours to Melbourne.  We watched movies, including “Trolls” for the kids and me and “Manchester by the Sea” and “Me Before You” for me.  G and L both asked why I would choose movies that made me cry! 🙂  (The first was because I’d heard good things about it, which are true!  The latter was because I’d read the book.) I also did a little knitting, the kids played various games on the in-flight tablets, Mike watched a few shows and listened to some podcasts (including Freakonomics), and watched the NHL All-Star game, LIVE!

During our wait at the Lyon airport, I had the opportunity to hold a sweet little baby boy!  His mom was traveling alone with him and was trying to find his food as he was getting more and more fussy. She was digging through her bag and not having much luck finding what she was looking for while also trying to hold him, so I walked over and said, “J’aide toi?” which I told the kids later.  They thought it was funny that I’d essentially said, “I help you.” 🙂  No sooner had I started patting his back and doing the standing mom sway, he quieted down.  While his mom got his food ready, G was doing peek-a-boo with him, and he was making new baby laughing sounds.  He was so sweet!

After arriving in Melbourne, as I mentioned in my previous post, our friend Delia picked us up and brought us to their house (as our apartment wasn’t ready until later in the afternoon).  We hung out, had a bit of lunch, and the kids played with T and M, Delia and Jeff’s son and daughter.  It’s summer in Australia, so it was nice to be outside after all of our travels and get some fresh air and visit and play with friends. While we only see each other every couple of years, we all seem to pick up right where we left off, which is so lovely!  That evening, Delia and Jeff graciously provided a delicious dinner of burgers and sausages on the BBQ, complete with beetroot, (a classic Aussie condiment 🙂 ), before giving us a ride to our apartment, where we quickly got settled and then headed to bed by 9pm! 🙂