We spent the past couple weeks in Australia, including more than a week in Melbourne and about five days in Sydney. We weren't able to post much while we were gone, but we intend to make up for it now. We had a great time, made lots of good memories, and would like to record and share what we did on a daily basis.

We took over 4,000 pictures and 2.5 hours of video, so it will take a lot of time to gradually review it all and pick out the things we'd like to share the most. We hope you enjoy reading, looking at, and watching it all.

In case you're unfamiliar with Australia, here's a few interesting facts:

• The population is 22 million, with approximately 60% concentrated in and around the mainland state capitals of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide.


• Sydney is the most populated city with about 4.4 million people (about the size of the San Francisco metro area), while Melbourne is a close second with a population of about 3.9 million.


• The nation's capital city is Canberra, located in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). Canberra's population is only 345,257.


• Australian cities routinely rank among the world's highest in terms of cultural offerings and quality of life.


• The name Australia is derived from the Latin australis, meaning "southern".


• For some 40,000 years before European settlement commenced in the late 18th century, the Australian mainland and Tasmania were inhabited by around 250 individual nations of indigenous Australians.


• In 1770, James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast of Australia, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Great Britain.


• On 1 January 1901, federation of the colonies was achieved after a decade of planning, consultation, and voting. The Commonwealth of Australia was born and it became a dominion of the British Empire in 1907.


• Melbourne was the temporary seat of government from 1901 to 1927 while Canberra was being constructed.


• Australia has six states—New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia—and two major mainland territories—the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).


• The world's smallest continent and sixth largest country by total area, Australia – owing to its size and isolation – is often dubbed the 'island continent' and variably considered the world's largest island.


• Australia's total area is 2,967,909 square miles, almost the size of the contiguous 48 United States (3,119,885 square miles).


• The Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest coral reef, lies a short distance off the north-east coast and extends for over 1,240 miles.


• By far the largest part of Australia is desert or semi-arid lands commonly known as the outback.


• Australia is the flattest continent, with the oldest and least fertile soils, and is the driest inhabited continent.


• Australia has the greatest number of reptiles of any country, with 755 species.


• Australia hosted the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne and the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, and has ranked among the top six medal-takers since 2000.