We are having a blast in Australia. Our first stop was Cairns (pronounced Cans). After a 14.5 hour flight to Sydney, we settled in for our 3 hour flight to Cairns. All of the flights were on time and uneventful (thankfully!) From the air, Cairns is lovely. There are miles and miles of beaches right up against lush, thick rainforest. Quite an amazing site. When we landed it was warm and a bit rainy. However, the rain cleared up towards the middle of the day. That's about the weather each day - which was very fortunate as it's the wet season there. Our hotel was a quick transfer away. The grounds were very nice - greenery, waterfalls, pools - very posh. Our room was an apartment - full kitchen, laundry, dining room, living room.... very nice. We got our stuff settled and quickly headed out to stretch our legs and walk around the town. Down at the Esplanade there were many shops and restaurants. We walked along the boardwalk where several families had come to eat and celebrate Christmas. There was swimming in a large pool (as the shore didn't accommodate swimmers) and BBQs etc. I was really surprised at the number of families that were there. After quite a bit of walking around, we headed to a local pub Rattle and Hum to get a bite to eat. There we met some charming locals who were decked out with painted faces, antlers and other decorations. I had to ask if it was an Australian custom or... After they finished laughing, they shared they were all friends without local family and had just come from a celebration at the local hotel. We became fast friends and spent hours talking, eating and drinking. Finally it was time to say goodbye, but we exchanged numbers to stay in contact. Getting to know some locals and being able to share stories and customs was a great way to spend Christmas and our first day in Cairns!