Friday 11 December

The flight from Hong Kong to Rome unfortunately gave me the opportunity to revisit an aspect of our US flights. Zac developed a temperature and spent some of the trip throwing up 😕 Unlike my olden days, the airline doesn’t put sick bags in the seat pockets anymore, so Zac and I had to trek the aisle four times to replace his sick bag.

I was SO organised before we left, collecting medicines for a variety of ailments, accompanied by a doctor’s letter. I have Panadol, Nurofen, Zofran, stemetil, medicine for migraines, croup, an antibiotic etc….I’m ready for illness! Except for the fact it was all stored in the suitcases in the baggage compartment downstairs and Zac was sick upstairs!! Anyway, what’s a Jones holiday without someone being sick…

I had booked a shuttle from the airport to our accommodation in Roma, which was much appreciated when we emerged from baggage collection to see a man holding our name up and driving a Mercedes van! Alessandro took us to the centre of Rome where we met the man who was checking us in. I used booking.com (for the first time ever!) to find this accommodation. Unfortunately we were too early in the morning to be able to use the apartment as the previous tenant was still there, but Federico stored our luggage and said to meet back here at 10am. It was 7 degrees when we arrived, so everyone had the opportunity to try their big jackets and gloves and beanies! 

We decided to explore our immediate surrounds, walked 50m down the road, and discovered the Trevi fountain right in front of us!! We then found a little store that sold coffee and pastries and croissants, so enjoyed our second breakfast for the day. We walked a couple more blocks, bought some supplies at a local supermarket and returned to the room. 

  
The cleaners were still there, so we set out again and walked up to the Spanish steps (fenced off for renovation) and Piazza Di Spagna. We found another shop in our strolls that served spinach and cheese and other pastry varieties, so stopped in for lunch. 

We then returned to our apartment for a mandatory siesta, as Zac still had a high temperature and no one achieved a decent night’s sleep on the plane. Everyone was very sluggish waking up from that! The older three and Ross sourced some pizza for dinner (when in Rome…), and at 7pm we are now all ready to return to bed! 😴 

  
(Garden view from my bedroom)

Thursday 10 December

Today was better weather so we took our free shuttle bus to the harbour front and caught a Star Ferry at the Pier across to Hong Kong Island. We followed to the letter instructions we found online for how to get to Victoria Peak, so the Star ferry ride was followed by a public bus to the Lower Peak Tram station, and then a tram ride up to the Peak. There was still  a lot of fog but we were able to enjoy the views and a long scenic walk.

   
   
It differs from the Blue Mountains Scenic Railway due to extensive shopping and dining available up on the Peak. We chose a restaurant called Hong Kong Day for a late lunch, and everyone chose some local cuisine from the menu. This had varying degrees of success – Tim wasn’t a fan of his shredded pork with Singapore noodles, but I loved my fried rice with shrimp 😉

Speaking of food…Elle, please thank Jeff for the suggestions – we didn’t have enough time to see the Big Buddha (except on Google!), enjoyed the Peak, and didn’t do yum Cha for breakfast, because we had cereal in our room and well…for breakfast?!?!

We returned to our hotel to pack up via a Christmas display at the Hermitage Hotel, and a last visit to the iSquare to pick up some more pastries for a light dinner.

We tried to book taxi/s to take us to the airport, but discovered they do not take credit card and we are low on cash. So the alternative was a taxi (or two) to Kowloon station and then the Airport Express train, which was not much cheaper but allowed us to not run out of cash! I am impressed with the public transport system – the train network is extensive and it is amazing to check in at the airport and then have to catch an underground train to your departure gate!

  
Our flight leaves at 12.30am so we are sitting at our gate, colouring in, reading, and dozing. Goodnight!

Wednesday 9 December

After constructive feedback (ie. Complaints) on previous holidays that I tend to fit too much into one day, I took a new approach today and had a wish list but no schedule of events. The upside? We casually explored Kowloon. The downside? NO, the devastating result of such opposition to an organised schedule? We will miss out on Hong Kong Disneyland!! 😢

Thankfully, only Abi knew of my plan to visit Disneyland while here (well…and Ross andTim and Jarrod….but they don’t count because they weren’t keen to go there). I am glad I hadn’t shared the plan with the little three now I realise we can’t fit it in! We took the opportunity of a sleep in after such a late arrival last night, and went out to explore and seek out food. Our hotel offers a free shuttle bus (which is great but also necessary as it is quite a walk from anywhere). We took the bus in to Tsim Sha Tsui (which I can spell but not pronounce), and as it was sprinkling sought out a shopping centre. The first one that attracted our attention (because we saw a Starbucks sign) was the iSquare. At 10am the shops there weren’t yet open, but a bakery was and we enjoyed pastries for our late breakfast. 

We then wandered around window shopping, down to the harbour front, and towards a couple of tourist attractions we had researched online. However the worsening weather beat us. Below is Sam in the Garden of the Stars, which everyone else viewed from the small shelter near the escalator seeing as the weather wasn’t conducive to exploring the garden.

  
Without wet weather gear, we bought some supplies at a supermarket back at the iSquare and caught our shuttle bus home (it leaves every 15 minutes throughout the day and late into the night). 

After lunch in our room and a rest (see? I give us rest times!), we ventured out again to the Ladies Markets. The kids thought it was funny because I actually caught a train. Ross had researched it in detail, so we managed to buy tickets, get on and off at the right stops, and easily find our way to the market. Our first purchase there? Four umbrellas to share, which were difficult to use walking the market aisles but necessary. The kids spent some of their money on a few souvenirs and we returned to Tsim Sha Tsui station. The train system is very organised and on time, but so busy and squashy!

  
Ross was keen to sample some more local food, but with the rain now pelting down, we acquiesced to McDonalds and caught the shuttle bus home again.  We are hoping tomorrow is better weather to achieve more on my list…I mean, enjoy more sightseeing…

Tuesday 8 December 2015

We were disturbingly organised this morning, so much so that we had an hour to just sit at home with coffee in hand and relax! My OCD is let down though: I washed all the sheets and towels, but the final five towels are still in the dryer as they weren’t finished before we left, so hopefully someone passing by could remove and fold them for me (Polly? Robyn?) 😬

Our flight was so great and so calm that I was not fearful once. Everyone watched movies and entertained themselves, but none could sleep well naturally. As we walked up the aisle to our seats, Zac and Sam were very excited to see business class….and now understand what “cattle class” means…. I took earphones, not headphones, to the US so didn’t watch anything in the flight there. I corrected that this time by watching “The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”,  cried through “Ricki and the Flash”, and watched all but 20 minutes (!) of “Kingsman: The Secret Service”.

The only hairy part of the day was our taxi rides to our hotel. I hoped our learner driver was not observing too closely – we travelled at 100-120km/h despite a speed limit of 80, indicators are optional, as is driving in one lane! Actually a sign along the highway said “get in lane”, so this might be a broader issue than our taxi driver!

We bought some sturdy but inexpensive suitcases to take to the US which we expect will need replacing soon (probably after all our once-in-a-lifetime adventures are done!), and a Samsonite suitcase we bought in the US to carry purchases from there home. Well I struggled to lift the Samsonite one and snapped the top handle! 😕 So a replacement may be on the shopping list at some point unless Ross can macgyver a fix.

We were in our two rooms by 12.15am (which is 3.15am at home), so decided to not make too many extensive plans for tomorrow. We will catch up on a little sleep and then seek out public transport to find breakfast 😉

It was amazing when, in revisiting this blog to set it up for our next trip, I re-read many of the entries from our US travels. So many details I remembered, and others I had totally forgotten! Like how sick the children were towards the end of the trip – it was definitely time to come home!

We always encourage the kids to keep a journal or diary to help preserve the memories. I told my dad only yesterday that one advantage of having six children rather than just one is the fact that there are more people available to remember details 😉

I haven’t started packing yet, so haven’t hassled the kids too much, but Belle is a step ahead of me and started her journal weeks ago. Here is the first page, and the translation (which is sorely needed!) 😂:

“About My Life: this is my journal in Europe. I am packing my bag and I am away for a month”…..we might take some spelling words away with us to practice…

Another question I am asked relates to the blog name. Quite simply, while common perception is that there are usually two or three peas in a pod, I read earlier this year that there are actually usually eight.

When I pictured us all travelling around in a motorhome, together for 24/7, that image seemed appropriate! 😉

Which reminds me, Ross has been wanting me to set a previous blog post straight for a while now: San Francisco was not the first time I had some alone time. I had time to myself in every RV park we stopped at…when I went to do the laundry!!!!!! 😉

We are just so thankful for the opportunity we were given to do this trip, and are looking forward to the next one! 

Well we have now been back for two full weeks, and boy have they been two full weeks!! The kids were straight back into school and extra-curricular activities, extremely happy to see their friends and all very satisfied with the welcome home they received!! They had no problem returning to dance and music lessons and their soccer or netball teams, but have had to be coaxed (ok, sometimes spoken sharply to…) to get their homework done.

Ross had an extra week at home which allowed his leg to heal before he had to return to work. Once back at work, he was asked if he was pregnant (jokingly of course) because he had a glow and a happy peaceful smile! A joke we could enjoy even more knowing we both actually lost a few kgs while away. (Only funny as long as no-one asks ME the same question…)

I had to go back to work the day after the kids went back to school, but have also approached the last two weeks in a serene and carefree manner. To the point where colleagues are telling me it is time to snap out of it and get back to reality!! 😉 I must admit, I did stop to reflect on my feelings. I was afraid the enjoyment of the experience was more due to the escape from reality it allowed us, because – quite frankly – some aspects of reality have been really hard over the last couple of years. But while the time away was an escape from reality of sorts, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, which allowed us to learn, grow, and bond together. And personally, thanks to Ross doing ALL the driving, I had time in the RV I just don’t get at home, to spend in meditation and reflection, read novels, and write a few songs in Garage Band on my iPad (which sound quite good now Jarrod has fixed them up!).

It took me the whole first weekend to catch up on my washing, a few days to unpack everyone’s suitcases, and over a week to catch up on mail and paying bills. It was more fun to sign up to travel websites and examine the travel section of the Sunday newspapers. A common question we are asked is “so where are you going next?”. Don’t worry, it is definitely under consideration!

The next question we are always asked is to name our favourite thing/experience/place during our journey. I did ask the kids during the plane trip home to give this some thought knowing it would be a common question. Surprisingly, everyone has a different “top three” list, which someone suggested to me is a good thing because it means we catered to everyone at their different ages and stages along the way. I wholeheartedly agree!

Thursday 18 July
We set an alarm for 7am this morning, determined to make the most of our LAST day in the USofA! After the free breakfast in the hotel lobby, we set off to Grauman’s Chinese Theater to show the kids the handprints and footprints and more stars on the Walk of Fame. It was such a good move – being there so early in the morning, we did not have to compete with crowds in the area. Hop on hop off tours start there, but not before 9am, so we didn’t have to push through any crowds until we were leaving the area.
The older kids found Hugh Jackman’s star and wanted to take a photo of me with it, but I declined as I left the hotel without shower or makeup this morning! I arranged for us to have a later checkout of 12pm, so we could explore and then return to our room for a shower before we head to the airport. The boys think it is great that we can’t then shower for another 25+ hours…
Next to the Chinese Theater was a souvenir shop called the $10 boutique – and they had a $5 sale! Everything in the $10 shop was $5 if you put it in a blue carry basket, so we did, and picked up some last minute souvenirs. We then drove down to Melrose Avenue to a specific store Ross had been directed to for a certain souvenir for a workmate he wanted to get, and then returned to our room to shower and pack for the final time.
Zac – in true Zac fashion – has now suddenly decided he is finished here and just wants to grab the bags and get straight on a plane! (Side note: we once took him to the zoo because he wanted to see a zebra up close. We made it around to the African animals exhibit about halfway through the day. He got to stand next to and have a photo with a zebra, and his response was “that’s great, lets go home now”…!!!) What is really cute is the way today the kids are suddenly talking about their friends. They have mentioned friends and family they are missing during the trip along the way, but knowing we will be home in mere hours, they are mentioning them a lot more today and working out when they can see them. (Side note 2: is it rude of me to say I also miss friends and family, but the person I really can’t wait to see is our GP!) 😉
Once we checked out of the hotel, we toured Wilshire Boulevard and Rodeo Drive. If we had more time and healthy children, I would have liked to do a sightseeing tour around LA, but it is just something else to add to the next time list! From there we drove to Santa Monica Pier. It is a beautiful day here, so we had pizzas for lunch from a cafe on the beachfront, wandered the length of the Pier, and while Ross and the girls returned to the car, the boys and I went and put our feet in the water. Belle didn’t want to because she wasn’t feeling well, and Abi didn’t want to get sand all over her!?!
Jarrod made an interesting comparison on our walk towards the water. At the Kennedy Space Centre, one of the IMAX movies we saw there interviewed some astronauts before they went on a mission, and they all separately talked about their final days and how nice it was to be able to walk along the secluded beaches near the Space Centre. Accommodation is provided there for the astronauts and their families to give them some quality time before they “lift off”. They all talked about how they appreciated this time and also the chance to spend some reflective time on the beach alone, preparing for what lay ahead and enjoying the feeling of the sand beneath their feet before they left the earth. Jarrod compared this to our opportunity to enjoy Santa Monica Beach before we leave this country, so we also decided it was our quality time and relaxing time together before we head home. Deep, but I loved the analogy!
Ross, the thoughtful man, drove the car to the edge of the sand so we could get back into the car without having to cross any hot paths or roads. From there we drove through Venice Beach, and were aiming for Muscle Beach to show the kids the locals, but the crowds were big being a nice summer’s day, so instead visited another fire station for Ross to chat and swap some shirts. We then stopped at a cafe in Marina Del Rey for afternoon tea before heading to the airport – Starbucks frappucinos and leftover snacks and fruit from Walmart shopping!
By the time we put petrol in the car, returned it to Hertz and were driven to our terminal, it was a little more than three hours before our “lift off” – I guess it is because we have done five flights in the last eight weeks that this goes so smoothly, but it still amazes us every time that there are no hiccups!
We are now more than half way through the flight home. Seeing as we will never see the 19th July 2013 (we left on the 18th and arrive fourteen hours later on the 20th), I thought the 19th would be a perfect date for a postscript summarising everyone’s feelings/experiences/opinions about the trip. As I reflect on this, Abi has just approached me crying saying she feels like vomiting and has a sore throat!!!!! Round 4 begins…
Thankyou for journeying this with me through these posts (sometimes, essays!). I will see everyone once I am sure we are all healthy again! Cue the BlackEyedPeas song: We’re coming home!! Xx

Wednesday 17 July
This morning started with breakfast in the hotel lobby and Tim throwing up in the garden. Yes, despite a good night’s sleep for everyone, Tim was sick this morning and Belle is still burning up. Ross drove all the way to LA without stopping while I held sick bags for Tim (who even had a Zofran pill this morning) and the others played or dozed. At one point I realised we were near Calabasas, and suggested we stop there to see if we could see some Kardashians, but surprisingly no one was keen…
Once we arrived in Hollywood at 12.30pm, we went straight to the hotels in the area to check prices and find accommodation. The ones I spoke to only had one or two rooms left to sell, so I settled on Days Inn on Sunset Boulevard which had a room big enough for us all. Check-in was not available until 3pm, so I asked if there was a doctor nearby. A strong recommendation came for the Hollywood walk-in clinic two blocks away, at a cost of $69, so Ross dropped Tim, Belle and I there and took the healthy children out for lunch.
We saw a fantastic doctor and were not hurried by the clinic at all. The kids were given excellent attention. Tim nearly passed out, so we were moved to a room with a bed for him. He was given another Zofran and told he had a stomach bug. Belle was examined and we learned her virus has turned into pharangytis and severe tonsillitis. Poor baby, no wonder I cannot get her temperature down! She was tested for strep throat and prescribed antibiotics. Ross then picked us up and we drove to a pharmacy to fill the prescription, where I had a Jersey Mike sub for lunch at 3pm (a competitor to Subway). The pharmacy was on the Walk of Fame so we checked out a few stars while we waited for it. Belle had been begging all morning for a milkshake, so we then bought frappucinos at Starbucks – even for Tim who should have been on clear fluids, but was starving and sure he could manage one! (And he did – not a proud parenting moment as I should have given him a clear diet to start with after no eating for 24 hours, but he was happy).
What a way to kill time waiting for check in. We returned to the hotel, and Ross took my washing down to the coin laundry around the corner while I took the kids for a swim in the hotel pool. I was happy to do the washing myself but Ross didn’t feel confident enough about the neighbourhood to let me walk it alone. So chivalrous that husband of mine – remember the injury he sustained last time he tried to do a good deed and look after me? He did say he was approached by a couple of homeless men while walking back to the hotel, so we were both glad I had stayed with the kids.
At 6.30pm once the washing was finished, we drove up to the Hollywood sign, and then around Mullholland Drive to a lookout over the city and the Hollywood Bowl. We could hear an orchestra and loud clapping from the crowd which looked like a full house, I later looked it up and Sergio Mendes was performing there with the LA Philharmonic Orchestra. We were thankful at that point we had looked for accommodation as soon as we arrived rather than do touristy things first as the Hollywood Bowl program over the next few days is probably responsible for the hotels in the area being close to booked out.
Being 9pm by then, we drove back to our hotel and walked across the road to a restaurant called iHop, which we learned stands for International House of Pancakes. Pancakes, bacon and eggs for dinner, and we returned to our room to pack – lamenting all the way that it was our LAST night in the US!!