Fiji

This is going to be a short post but just want those of you following the blog to know that we had a great time in Fiji! It was super relaxing! Lots of pool and beach time and not much else. Plus after the first day we found a restaurant on property called, "Feast" (which Sean funnily thought was named Feet - not quite as appetizing!) which had huge dinner buffets. So much for losing weight in Australia walking all those hills! I will write more about Fiji once we return to Chicago but since we begin our trek back to Chi-town tomorrow and we will be in radio silence until this weekend, I wanted to leave you with a quick note and a couple pics. Looking forward to being stateside soon! Love you, KK.

Luna Park

Okay, we went to Luna Park last weekend and I am just now getting around to posting it. It is a small ammusement park in Sydney. I learned a few things at Luna Park that i want to share.
1. Brooke seems intrigued in the rides (the scarier they look, the more she smiles!) She was actually trying to shove her head through the bars on the ferris wheel! But she is terrified of characters dressed up in costume. This is not a good sign for a kid going to Disney in October.
2. Cotton candy is called fairy floss here. Kind of like their name better.
3. No matter how bad our parents scarred us, they never a. dressed themselves up like clowns and took us to a public place nor b. made us dress up like clowns and took us to a public place. There was a whole family there - mom, dad and about 4 kids complete with wigs, clown shoes and funny clothes. Pat snapped a pic of a couple of them. Unreal!
If there is free wi-fi in Fiji, I will post more in the next week. If not, i will have to post final pics and thoughts after our return on August 7th. Love you all, KK.

Food Part 2

Here are a few more final things I noticed about food here...
1. Rice Krispees are called Rice Bubbles
2. They have a tendency to have caramel in a LOT of food (which I LOVE!) including a kit kat with caramel and these dreamy creations called caramel squares.
3. There are a lot of things here called, "meat pies". They seem to be served at every corner stand. Pat and my dad both say they are delicious but I don't wantt o try and find out.
4. They have Krispy Kreme donut shops here (which I tried for the first time the other day) and I found out that they serve Krispie Kreme ice cream there. I didn't try it (but may before I leave).
5. They have a sweet chilli thing that they make into jelly and sauces and it is awesome!

Shoplifting

I hate that in some of the souvenier type stores down here, people are on you like white on rice the second you walk in the door. I have never shoplifted anything and am not about to start shoplifting crap from a souvenier store. Trust me, if I am going to risk jail time, I am going to make sure the item is worth it.

Fashion Part 2

Okay, here are a few more things I have noticed...
1. Billabong makes more than just surfer clothes here. I did a double take in church when I saw an older woman wearing a very pretty and not at all surfer-style Billabong sweater the oher day.
2. Esprit is going strong here. Is it even sold back home? Probably is and I have never noticed!
3. Men who are able to dress in "business casual" here only ever wear black, dark grey or navy pants with their button down shirts. Pat found this out the hard way once he packed only khaki pants for his 3 months here.
4. It is my pet peave when people (both women and men) where pants that look like denim but aren't. Either wear jeans or don't but the denim looking pants are ugly.
5. I saw a kid come out of a shoe store with his mom and I noticed him running and jumping all over to text out his new kicks. Guess that is universal. :-)

Australian Phrases (Part 1)

Some Aussie phrases I have noticed...
1. Brekkie (Breakfast) - doesn't it make it sound so cute?
2. Tip (Tag) - as it the children's game. I heard it when Sean was running around playing tag (tip) with a couple other kids in the park.
3. How ya goin? (How ya doin)
4. Oz (Aus) - How they refer to Australia (Oz) or Australians (Ozzies).
5. Sydneysiders (people who live in Sydney)
6. Tinnie (beer)

I also LOVE the accent - can't get enough of it! And I love the fact that their voices go up on the last word of every statement so that it sounds like a question. They also pronounce the words oregano and shallots funny but I'll have to tell you when we get home because I won't be able to do it justice if I try to spell it phonetically.

Snuggie

The Snuggie has just recently hit the Australian shores and boy are people crazy for it! Every radio and tv show is talking about it and mentioning that it was featured on Oprah. They keep mentioning that the US loves the Snuggie. I wonder who in the US they are referring to? The people I know that have one seem sadly disappointed with their purchase.