the people we've met

We've seen some incredible things on our trip: the greenest greens, the bluest blues, black sand beaches, beautiful mountains, deserted beaches, the great barrier reef, quaint little surf towns, inspiring national parks, glow worm caves, incredible wildlife, the oldest rainforest in the world....the list goes on. But the best thing about the trip has been (by far) the people we've met and learned from on our journey. We've met people from all over the world. Many of them I know we'll keep in touch with. I truly believe that people come in and out of your life to teach you something. I am so grateful for the relationships we've made on our journey. We've learned so much from them and now we have places to stay all over the world! What a gift.

Peter (Australia) was our host at Ironbark Grange. He taught us about permaculture, how to garden, salsa dance, brew beer, make cheese, bread, yogurt and how to cook amazing Asian meals from scratch. He taught us to work hard but play harder. This guy knows how to live life to the fullest.

Rob (originally from Holland, but has lived in Australia for over 20 years) was our host at the Rainforest Hideaway B&B. He's an amazing builder and artist. He taught us how to work with concrete and live in the rainforest. His calm demeanor taught us how to be at peace with our surroundings. He taught us not to be afraid of scary rainforest creatures and to just laugh off the small stuff in life.

Marco (France) and Lisa (Japan) were our flatmates in Cairns. They met in Australia while traveling. She doesn't speak French and he doesn't speak Japanese, so they communicate in English. They are incredibly sweet and we spent a lot of time comparing notes with them about where to go and what to see. They taught us to be open to whatever experiences come our way on the trip.

Pierre (France) was another flatmate of ours in Cairns. He had been traveling for a while and was studying to become a PADI certified dive master. We had some very good conversations with Pierre about politics and life. He was definitely a free spirit.

This is Matteo and his girlfriend, Michela (Italy). Matteo worked at Ironbark Grange with us in Brisbane and Michela met up with him later in Melbourne. They are from Northern Italy near Venice and we can't wait to visit. They're hysterical and fight like crazy. Matteo taught us that it's okay to eat bread with every meal and what it means to be a true friend. Yeah buddy! (or as he would say yeah boddy!)

Peter and Amanda (Vancouver, Canada) were our flatmates in Melbourne. They bought our car about a month ago and started their journey to Perth. We really enjoyed getting to know them. We laughed a lot, had some awesome conversations and they're both really good people.

Yusuf (Mauritius) is one of our flatmates in Melbourne. He is a 21 year old college student and he and Robbie are brothers from another mother. He has taught us how to cook all kinds of wonderful things and has been incredibly generous to us. Before we met Yusuf, we'd never even heard of Mauritius (it's a little island off the coast of Madagascar) but now we can't wait to visit some day. We will always know him and be grateful for the time that we got to know him. Through his generosity, he's taught us that the substance of life is sharing what you can (time, energy, spirit, money, a ride, a listening ear, a smile, whatever...) to other people.

This is Yusuf (right) with Fahad (middle) and Ali (left). Fahad and Ali are originally from Pakistan and moved to Australia to work and study. Fahad cooked us an incredible Pakistani curry dish one day. Ali loves movies and his favorite actor is Al Pacino. His family nicknamed him "Ali Pacino." They've become good friends. Ali is moving to Toronto to study accounting so hopefully, we'll see him states side at some point. They've helped reaffirm our belief that people, regardless of culture or upbringing, are fundamentally more the same than different.

Isabelle (Isa) and Alan are our flatmates from France. They are so silly and have taught us to be more light hearted and playful. They are always laughing, playing and making things into a game for fun. They are so fun to be around and their energy is infectious. We've really enjoyed our time with them and have learned so much from them. We hope to visit them in France someday!

There were many other people we met along the way who we met very briefly or who we just never snapped a picture of. We'll always remember them, recount their stories and be thankful for the lessons they taught us. It's been an incredible journey. I wouldn't change a thing.

he liked it. so, he put a ring on it.

Robbie let me know quite a while ago that he was planning something special for Valentine's day. A week before V-day, he started giving me these love letters. The letters started with a word, then a definition of that word and finally, a letter about how that word has been lived out in our relationship. The words included honesty, loyalty, friendship, comfortable, beautiful, passion and everything. For seven days in a row, he'd leave these letters for me to find along with a chocolate rose (i'm not that crazy about flowers but I'm gaga for chocolate).

On Valentine's day, Robbie took me to a nearby town called Williamstown where we got Thai food to-go, then had a romantic picnic on the beach. Here's me totally oblivious and unassuming enjoying my wine:

Robbie said he was going to give me my last love letter and I had to turn around when I was finished. The word was love. When I turned around he had written, 'lulu, will you marry me?' in the sand and was down on one knee.

Of course, I said yes. It was amazing, smart, clever, sweet and so romantic. We laughed, cried and watched the sun go down on the beach. It was lovely and perfect. I'll never forget it.

Already, we're overwhelmed at the outpouring of love and support we've received from friends and family who've watched our relationship grow over the past five years. We're so grateful to have each other and all the amazing people (you!) to share this wonderful, juicy, whirlwind-of-a-life with.

Matt Nelson Visits Melbourne!

Our good friend and keyboardist, Matt Nelson, was just on tour down under with hiphop sensation Lupe Fiasco for the Big Day Out Festival (the Australia & New Zealand equivalent to Lollapalooza). They had a three-day stop in Melbourne so we got to big kick it! It was so amazing to see a familiar face and to share our adventure with someone from back home. Matt was able to hook it up and get us into two shows and so we got to shake our booties a little bit too. It was a blast!

Yay! Matt's in Australia!

Matt killin' it with Lupe

The crowd at Big Day Out Festival

Matt channeling the karate kid on the beach

The crowd at the second show @ the Palace

I want to thank Matt for spending his off time with us and for getting us tickets to the shows. We had so much fun and will never forget the time we spent with you halfway across the globe!

Australian Open

Robbie and I were able to attend the Australian Open for an evening. We got to watch the two following matches at the Margaret Court Arena:

Men's Singles - 1st Round Robin Soderling(SWE)[4] def. Potito Starace(ITA)	6-4 6-2 6-2
Complete

Not Before:7:00 PM Men's Singles - 1st Round Jo-Wilfried Tsonga(FRA)[13] def. Philipp Petzschner(GER)

4-6 2-6 6-2 6-3 6-4

It was by far the best sporting event I've ever been to. The experience was totally different live than on television. I grew up playing tennis with my dad and brother and I remember my dad watching the grand slam tournaments on TV. I was surprised at how small the court looked in real life. We were amazed at the power and athleticism of the players - something that's easy to take for granted when you're watching on television. The Tsonga vs. Petzschner match lasted for over three hours. Tsonga was the crowd favorite and was able to come back and win in the end after being down two sets. It was very exciting!

Penguins at Phillip Island

Phillip Island is a nature reserve about two and a half hours from Melbourne. The island is famous for it's beautiful landscapes and wildlife. It's home to thousands of of Little Penguins (the world's smallest penguin) who, each night, waddle out of the water to sleep on land. Unfortunately, we couldn't take pictures of the penguin "parade" but we caught two penguins nestled in their burrow during the day:

It was amazing watching all the penguins run up the beach and waddle to their nests! There were several baby penguins and we watched the mama penguins feed their young. They were so cute.

There were some beautiful beaches and great lookout spots along the way. Here's a few photos of the island: