Australian Beaches and such...

We know that it's starting to get cold in the north, so here are some pictures to warm you up/ make you jealous :)

Last weekend Toby took 3 (!) days of uni, and we went to Mooloolaba, and stayed in a huge apartment  (with a balcony, oh yeah) together with Stine and Grant. Lovely place, could see the ocean from the room as well. Good times!! Had a barbeque on the lawn, and ate a lot of frozen yoghurt. 

Picture time!

A coffee while we're waiting for the bus 

Toby bought a hat, which is more important for some than others
(say no more)

Pizza!

The room came with a glimpse of the ocean 

Mooloolaba beach

This week the Brisbane Festival started, and we've watched a great light show on the river, and free outdoor concerts :)

Yesterday (Saturday) I went back to Stradbroke island, with Stine and Linda. Lovely place! Saw a pack of dolphins swimming by while we ate lunch on cliff, and visited a beach that really made us feel like we were on a desert island. Lovely!!

Not the worst spot to have lunch :)

Frenchman's beach

In 3 days we'll be welcoming Jon and Ia to Brisbane! Save travels folks!

Et lite hei fra oss!

Spring is here :) Watching election campaigns in both Norway and Australia. Have to say, like the Norwegian ones better..

Just handed in two assignments, so now I'm taking the time to write a short update from Brisbane. Spring is here, and we're sweating already.. ;) Still chilly in the evenings, but the temperature is reaching towards the mid 20's most days. Good times! 

Uni is still taking up most of our time, Toby's more than mine. This week is actually Toby's mid-semester break, but still he's at uni all day every day. But guess what?! He's taking the weekend off, and we're renting an apartment a bit further north, in Mooloolaba (destination chosen mostly because of the name). Hoping for 3 relaxing days tanning on the beach :) 

Brisbane by night from "the city hopper"

Actually, we have also had a day trop to Currumbin, about 2 hours by train to the coast. Good times! Toby realised he could do that more often ;)

Funny birds in Australia :) Watch out though, they attack you! crazy...

A couple of weekends ago I went to Byron Bay (NSW) with 4 Norgies. We rented a car, and stayed at a hippie hostel down there. Very relaxed little town :) The best thing: we booked a Toyota Camry (the cheapest one), but ended up driving an SUV instead, for the same price! Oh yeah! And Byron Bay is an amazing spot. Sunday morning we got up at 5, drove down to the beach and walked to the lighthouse and Australia's most eastern point to see the sunrise. A couple of whales and some dolphins joined in :)

BBQ on the beach

Oh what a car :)

Coconuts for sale dude!

Besides this, we're looking forward to a visit from Norway! Jon and Ia are coming in just two weeks! See you soon!

Hverdag i Brisbane...

Vi er jo tilbake i Brisbane og har kommet gått igang med semester 2 på uni. Mye jobb allerede, men vi kosert oss litt inni mellom. Jeg (Ingrid) var på tur til Surfers Paradise forrige helg. 24 grader og soling på stranda. Nydelig! 

Frokost på stranda med mine danske venner :)

Prøvekanin i Torbjørns forskningsprosjekt dette semesteret. Tester ulike ergonomiske datamus.. Exiting!


Jeg har fått meg city cycle, og det er deilig å sykle langs elva. Toby måtte også prøve :)

Siste investering er slow cooker, og i går blei det curry chicken with chick peas til middag. Nam!

MELBOURNE CALLING!

So, it's actually been a while since we returned from Melbourne, and really haven't had the time to tell you about it. Semester start and all... I guess your all dying to here what happened in Melbourne?! Well, the wait's over, folks! Enjoy! :)

Spent over 2 weeks down there, so this is just a summary, won't bore you with the details :)

Sightseeing in Melbourne City

Eureka Sky Deck

Donuts at Victoria Markets

Family time, a high priority, of course. And just have to say thanks again to my fabulous family who took us in and treated us sooooo well! Spoiled us, did you! Toby got to meet a lot of people for the first time, and new to both of us was little Zoe. We also had a hope to meet Maria and Blair's new baby before we left, but she didn't wanna come out in time, so we're going back in November to see her :) And for that, we're actually bringing Mr. and Mrs. Sigmond from Norway! Hurra!

Second day in Melbourne: big family dinner at the local pub,
and celebration of Lachie's 3rd birthday with tante Bente's homemade cake :)

Zoe and Ricky

Driving to see Sven, Cat, Jake and Liam

Having fun learning to play Australian Footy

Jake really knows his footy, and gave us a thorough intro to the rules 

Lachie loves simulating dramatic falls

Indian restaurant in Ascot Vale

Who's got the bigger belly?

The guys (Ricky and Blair) took us to a footy match on the great Melbourne Cricket Ground to see Northern Melbourne vs. Sydney Swans. Blair goes for the swans, so we did to ;) An amazing stadium that can take almost 100.000 people. This game didn't have more than about 30000 spectators, so it was  "glissent", as we say in Grimstad..

Ricky and his nephew, Malik

Toby and Blair

A long way up to the top..

Ricky and Liz took us to Ricky's parent's home in Point Lonsdale for a few days. Had amazing weather, and got to see the coastline of Victoria. We went for a drive on Great Ocean road, had fish&chips by the beach, learned more aussie rules, had a barbecue, went to a winery ++. Perfect days!

Great ocean road

How to kick an AFL ball...

"not sure I get the point of this sport..."

Point Lonsdale, Queenscliff ++

Jack Rabbit Winery and wine tasting in the most beautiful surroundings!

Fantastic view!

And very good food!

Boys+ food= love

 Tante Bente lent us her car for some days, and one of them we drove down to St. Kilda to have a look around

Beach houses! And a lot of them! In all kinds of colours!

All in all: an amazing way to spend the holidays!