Flashback Fridays: Las Vegas 2005

My parents will be arriving here in Berkeley later this afternoon, but right now they're in quite possibly the tackiest place on earth. That's right... Las Vegas!

So today I thought I'd share some shots from our 2005 trip to that glitzy, neon lit city in the desert.

Flashback Fridays: Los Angeles 2005

In just one week's time my parents will be coming to visit us from Australia. How exciting!

The big girls can't wait for Mama and Papa to arrive. Mathilde has no idea, of course, but I'm so excited that my parents will finally get to meet her.

My parents have already left Australia and are making their way to the Bay Area via Los Angeles, Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon. Right now they're in Los Angeles which got me thinking about our first visit to the City of Angels back in 2005.

Flashback Fridays: Grand Canyon

Back in 2005, well before we ever knew that we'd be one day living here, Kim and I came to America for a three week vacation. With such a limited amount of time we knew that there was only so much we could see and do without having to rush around like crazy. So we chose just a few destinations to focus on: New York, Los Angeles, Disneyland, Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon.

Today let's have a look back at our visit to the Grand Canyon...

Our big trip to America began in Los Angeles where we spent the first few days relaxing and adjusting to the time difference. It's crazy to think that when you fly to the USA from the east coast of Australia you actually arrive in Los Angeles a few hours before your flight left Australia! Of course, on the way back you lose an entire day so it all evens out in the end. Anyway, I'm getting side tracked. As I said, we spent a few days relaxing in Los Angeles before jumping in our rental car and heading across the desert to the south rim of the Grand Canyon. We traveled along the famed Route 66 for as far as possible, keeping our eyes out for run down road side diners and other long disused businesses.

Flashback Fridays: Alcatraz

Today's Flashback Friday isn't going back all that far, or very far away. In fact, we can see it from our apartment building. Today we're going back to our 2012 visit to Alcatraz.

In May 2012 my parents came to visit us for a week. We got out and about and did all of the regular touristy things one does when visiting San Francisco: we rode atop a "hop-on-hop-off" bus trip through the city, crossed the Golden Gate Bridge, spent a day at California Academy of Sciences and Golden Gate Park, ate far too much Ghirardelli chocolate, walked up and down far too many steep hills (to burn off all that chocolate!), visited the sealions at Pier 39, took in the views from Crissy Field and spent half a day visiting Alcatraz.

For some unknown reason I've never actually posted about any of this on Little Hiccups. I guess I was just too busy playing tourist and tour guide! Let's fix that by having a look back at our visit to Alcatraz...

A visit to Alcatraz had been at the top of our to do list when we first moved to the Bay Area. However, we knew that my parents would be coming to visit seven months down the track and that it was at the top of their list as well. So we decided to save Alcatraz for when my parents were in town.

During those seven months Ava would ask repeatedly when we could go to Alcatraz. She was so excited about the idea of visiting the island that we could see from our apartment building and just couldn't wait to go. However, as the day approached she started to get a little scared. She knew that Alcatraz had been a prison and she worried that there were still "bad guys" hiding out there. She also started to worry about the boat ride out to Alcatraz. When the big day finally arrived Ava had worked herself up so much about the boat ride that she could not be tempted to leave the apartment unless we promised to take her life jacket with us. I must have looked like the "bad Mummy" on board the boat: providing my five year old, competent swimmer with a life jacket, but leaving my eighteen month old toddler without! In fact, Ava was the only person aboard the boat wearing a life jacket and she continued to wear it after we arrived on Alcatraz - which I'm sure was at absolutely no risk of sinking!

Flashback Fridays: Flinders Ranges, South Australia

This one's going back a fair way. All the way back to 2003...

Back then Kim and I were living in Adelaide in South Australia. Adelaide is our home city but over the past 14 years we've moved backwards and forwards quite a bit: Adelaide, Zurich, Sydney, Adelaide, Sydney, Adelaide (again!) and now the San Francisco Bay Area. Plus multiple moves within each city. Whew, that's a lot of moving!

After living in Sydney (the first time) with all the hustle and bustle of a big city we were keen to get out and see as much of the countryside as possible while back in Adelaide. Being Australian, and therefore used to incredibly long drives to get anywhere, we found ourselves taking quite a few long distance day trips on weekends. After an impromptu drive five hours north to the southern Flinders Ranges (and back again) one Saturday we decided that a proper visit was in order. So a few weeks later we headed to Wilpena Pound in the spectacular Flinders Ranges for a weekend away.

Flashback Fridays: Singapore Stop Over

Following up from our Indian adventure that I posted last week here's a look at our two day stop over in Singapore on our way home...

Back in October 2009 we traveled with a group of friends from Australia to the south of India for a wedding. Our flights to and from Kochi in India took us via Singapore. On the way to Kochi we only had a few hours in Singapore and just spent our time hanging out in Changi airport, which really isn't such a bad thing as it's an amazing airport - how many other airports boast an enclosed outdoor butterfly house?

On our way back home we were able to take advantage of an amazing promotion that Singapore Airlines were running. For only $1 per person we got one night's accommodation in a four star hotel, free entry passes and discounted passes to a whole range of attractions and meal coupons. $3 for our family to check out the beautiful city of Singapore? Yes, please!

Our flight into Singapore from Kochi arrived early in the morning and our flight back to Australia was scheduled for the following night so we pretty much had almost two full days to explore the city. We were all pretty tired that first day after our overnight flight from India so we took it pretty easy. Plus the humidity in Singapore was pretty stifling. Unlike India though, everywhere in Singapore is air-conditioned so every time the heat and humidity got a little too much we just stepped inside to cool off for a bit.

We started our exploration of Singapore by taking a "bumboat" cruise along the river. Oh, you can bet that Ava thought that name was hilarious and made sure to repeat it over and over! The boat ride took us past many famous sights including the Merlion fountain and the Singapore Opera House which is shaped like a durian, that stinky Asian fruit.

Merlion fountain

Flashback Fridays: Amazing India

Here it is... The first installment of Flashback Fridays, a look back at our past adventures around the world. It's a long one (unlike the trip itself) so make yourself a hot drink and be prepare to look at a tonne of photos - followed by hours of researching Indian vacations online!

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Back in October 2009 we were lucky enough to be able to take the trip of a lifetime to India with a group of friends. A good friend was getting married in Kerala, a tropical paradise in the south of India so we all tagged along for an amazing cultural experience.

Despite the fact that she was only two and a half years old, and that everyone thought we were absolutely crazy, Ava came along for the trip with us. It turned out to be the most wonderful experience for her and more than five years later she still talks about the trip regularly.

Ava in India

Here's a look at our week long adventure in India. Prepare for lots of photos...

Flashback Fridays: A New Series

Travel has always been a great passion of mine and I love sharing our adventures here on Little Hiccups.

But because I only started this blog in 2011 so many of our adventures haven't been chronicled here. I figured it was time I start sharing some of these adventures from the past. We've been to some pretty amazing places over the years: India, Thailand, Singapore, New Zealand, England, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany... Plus, of course, there are lots of exciting places back home in Australia that I'd love to share. Not to mention our previous trips to the US before we moved here.

So beginning next Friday I'll be sharing a past adventure here each week starting with our amazing trip to India back in 2009.

In the meantime, here are a few of my favourite shots from various adventures to whet your appetite...

Sydney Harbour Bridge