Endings and Beginnings

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Trip Start Jun 24, 2008 Previous
Entry Trip End Aug 10, 2008

  Chicago, Illinois
Saturday, August 16, 2008

And, just like that, our journey was over.  The trip home was a disaster and a nightmare involving, among other things: a crying child named Oliver who gave the infamous Giovanni a run for his money; United Airlines canceling our flight again (seriously, how does this airline stay in business??), resulting in an 8-hour lay-over instead of a 3-hour lay-over; arriving in Chicago at 1:00 a.m. to be picked up by a taxi with low tires, resulting in a trip to two different gas stations to find a working air pump (which reminds me, how come people have to pay for air? there's something wrong with that), not to mention the fact that our taxi driver is the only one  in Chicago who (a) drives the speed limit and (b) does not have an I-Pass, thereby requiring us to stop for each toll.  Eventually, however, we made it home.  Incidentally, I am sure this entry would be a lot more bitter, but our internet has been down all week, and the irritation has subsided.

Anyway, although happily ensconced in our home and enjoying catching up with friends and families, we find ourselves missing Oz and New Zealand very much.  Seriously, we reminisce a lot, because we still can't sleep.  That 17 hour time difference really messes up your body. It was a fabulous adventure, full of good fun, good food and wonderful people.  Probably the only thing we would have changed is the schedule--w e wish we had spent a little less time in Australia and more time in New Zealand.   As for our favorite parts of the trip:

SHANNON'S TOP 5 EXPERIENCES:           PAUL'S TOP 5 EXPERIENCES
  (in no particular order)    

1. Great Barrier Reef                                             1. Great Barrier Reef
2. Bungee jumping/Zorbing (tie)                           2. Daintree Rainforest Tour
3. Wedding                                                            3. Wedding
4. Australia Zoo                                                    4. Walking through Sydney
5. Hobbit Tour                                                      5.  Driving to Cape Reinga

SHANNON & PAUL'S 10 FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT OZ AND NEW ZEALAND

1.  Tim-Tams
2.  Meat Pies
3.  Screw-top wine bottles
4.  Drive-in liquor stores with express lanes
5.  The beer (Boag's rocks!)
6.  The wine
7.  The accents
8.  Kangaroos and koalas
9.  The people
10. The breath-taking scenery

And there, in a nutshell, is our trip.  We loved you Australia and New Zealand, and hope that we may visit your shores again.  As for those of you who have followed along on our adventures around Australia and New Zealand and our adventure into marriage, we hope that you were entertained and not too bored.  Best wishes to you and yours! 

Shannon & Paul

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