Kelly's first time driving and meeting the Australians

Our day Friday started with meeting a couple from Australia.  They purchased a second parking spot and said we were parked in their new spot.  The apartment handbook said that your parking spot corresponds with the parking spot and that is where we parked.  I cleared it up with the management and we now are parking in the spot next to the one we were in.  Kelly decided it was time to try driving and had some trouble staying off the curbs but she now seems to have it down.  We ended up turning in the minivan for a 5 door hatchback so it is easier to get around the city and easier to park.  Driving is probably the toughest part of moving here so far because the roads are much narrower and the streets are not on a grid system like most US cities.

Typical side street (we have seen worse)

 When we came back from driving around we ran into the Australian woman again and her 6 year old daughter.  We agreed to have them over for some drinks later that night.  As soon as they came into the apartment Abigale and Maddy started playing and didn't stop until they left.  Chris and Nichole are from Sydney Australia and this is their 3rd expatriate assignment working for an Australian tobacco company.  They are planning to be here in Bristol for about 5 years.  Chris just came back from the Czech republic the night before and lost his passport in between the security checkpoint and the gate.  He was detained for a few hours before he convinced them his passport was in the cafe he ate in.  He found it and made it back to Bristol at 2AM.  We chatted with them for a few hours about the differences between the US, Australia, and England.  Living in Australia seems much closer to the US than England.  We really want to visit Australia someday but the 22 hour flight from England doesn't sound much fun with 2 children.  We are meeting the Australian family Sunday night for dinner at a pub down the street.