Feb. 27th - Sydney's Temple

Sunday we visited the Baha`i Temple in Sydney and met old friends of mine from my days in Pakistan. Bahman, Roya, Farshid, Rohi & their mother Parvaneh khanom, were among those we had the pleasure of meeting. We also met with Kamran's old friend Chris and Freida who promissed to visit us this year on their trip to US. I caught up with my friends over the lunch, at Hungry Jack's that was very similar to the Burger King's. Kids played and we talked for hours. Later on that evening we attended a party in grandma's honor at Kamran's friends' Peyman & Nina. We spent the rest of the night packing up in preparation for our trip back.

Feb. 26th - Canberra

On Saturday, we visited Donna and Michael at their new place in Canberra. Food was excelent and eveyrone enjoyed themselves. We went to the pool with the kids and I had a very nice nap by the pool. Michael brought popcicles for the kids while they were at the pool. Matthew (as well as other kids) enjoyed the chocolate fondue Donna set up for them. We took many fun pictures with Ardeshir and family and left for the Sydney. On the way over, we stopped at the Baha`i centre and had dinner and enjoyed the Ayyami-ha program there.

Feb. 25th - Taronga Zoo

We visited the Taronga Zoo with my cousin Niloofar. There we saw a lawn clock that was about 5 minutes behind and coo cooed every 15 minutes. We also saw a Tasmanian Devil, Pelicans and attended two shows about birds and seals. Matthew had fun at the children's zoo and found new friends when he pretended he was driving a golf car.
Later on that evening, Kamran gave us a ride to uncle Jalal's place and later on his own. On the way over, we stopped at a local beach and enjoyed a beautiful scenery of the beach and city.

More of Blue Mountain

After seeing the three Sisters, Kamran took us to a very nice waterfall and an observetory where we could see all the sorounding areas down below. Later on that evening, Matthew received a Lego StarWars from Kamran and we had dinner with Ardeshir and Pooran (down) at a Persian restaurant. Matthew substituted white rice for dill and had us Awwed by the way he expressed himself.

Feb. 24th - Down Under

We went to the Blue Mountain with uncle Kamran and Grandma and saw three Sisters (down center). We also went on two cable car rides that both were thrilling. The first one had a glass floor in the middle that opened up as the car moved and the second one had a 35 degree drop to the land below that took our breath away. We walked many trails and even saw an old abandoned mine.

Feb. 23rd - Down Under

Uncle Kamran gave us a tour of the city. We left Manly port with a ferry (top right) and visited Sydney's Opera House first. There were two luxury cruise liners docked. We saw Queen Elizabeth departing from the port. Its loud horn caught us by surprise. We also noticed a group of people walking on the top of the bridge (top left).
We then walked to the Sydney Tower and had lunch at the food court near by. The tower had a similar setting as the Sears Tower and uncle described buildings close by the tower along with their history. We also saw placed he lived, worked and studied. Matthew liked giant Lego sculptures at different locations and took pictures with them (lower left). We also visited Wildlife World and the Aquarium near by, where we saw some Australia's most poisonous snakes and spiders. Some of the most exciting sites were walking under neat of pools of water and seeing many sea animals including manatees, shark, and later a mechanic shark.
We ended the day with a ride back with the ferry and saw the sun go down by behind the Opera House. Uncle and Aunt bought us some nice pizza, that was stuffed inside Turkish bread. It was equally interesting and delicious.

Feb. 22 - 3rd Day Down Under

We went to Fairfield with uncle Javad and bought some more souvenirs. Had lunch at a persian restaurant that we all enjoyed the food. Matthew and Linnet went to a library around the corner from where we parked the car and they were able to find a persian section in the children's section. I also took a picture of a public toilet that seems something out of Futurama! We visited with the cousins and family and after the good food auntie Shahnaz made us yesterday, eat good cooking of auntie Jhaleh. We acted silly a bit at the end of the night taking pictures sitting on the couch that made everyone laugh.

Feb 21 - 2nd Day down under

We gave the local mall "Warringah" a visit and bought most of the stores! We also visited uncle Jalal and his family and spent more time with grandma and had fun with the cousins.

Feb. 20th - First Day in Australia

After sitting on a plane for 16 hours that BTW wasn't as bad as I imagined it to be, we arrived to Sydney. Baggage claims and customs took less than 20 minutes, that made me extra happy. We felt the humidity of the air outside as soon as we got off the plane, and boy did it feel right. We were greeeted with uncles Kamran, Javad and Ardeshir, aunty Shahnaz and cousins Anisa & Adib. Cousins took bounch of pictures that I have to remember to ask for before we go back home. We got to Kamran's place, talked to Mom and Dad to make sure the the kids were all right and then Matthew and I, went to visit with Uncle Jalal. On the way back to Kamran's place, Anisa gave us a ride to Coles that really sounds like Kohl's, but really is more of a grocery/general store. That was our first encounter with Auzie malls.
We spent the rest of the day visiting with family friends and taking kitty naps here and there. Matthew played the whole day with his cousins and new friend Deon. We really enjoyed the food and company. Invited lots of new friends to cme to the US and give us a visit.