All Good Things Must Come to an End

After the red-eye flight to Brisbane from Bali, I was a couch potato the entire next day.  Luckily I had one more full day in Brisbane before I left to return to the US.  That last day was perfect.  Chris was nice enough to take me to the Gold Coast which is such a long, nice beach just outside of Brisbane.  He wanted to show me a spot in a harbour where he and his best mate used to snorkel. 

So we pulled into the nearby parking area covered in sand and got our snorkeling gear out.  The water was colder than I expected, so it took me awhile to get used to it.  The snorkeling didn't last long since the water was super murky.  We didn't see anything cool.  Well, maybe I'm spoiled by the great barrier reef, but still, I only saw a cigarette butt and some kelp.

We got back to the car to drive down to Surfer's Paradise to get some food and spend the day at the beach.  We got into the car and tried to leave, but weren't successful on our own.  Chris' Echo got stuck in the sand.

Two young, strong blokes were driving past and saw our predicament.  They pushed as Chris drove out of the rut.  Problem solved!  The Echo drives on.

So we got a bite to eat and set up shop on the beach.  I was bound and determined to lay in the sun the entire afternoon, and that's just what I did.  It was glorious! 

Believe it or not, it was the only time on the entire trip I laid out on the beach in my "togs."  Yep, that's what they call swimsuits in Australia.  Either that or your "swimming costume." 

After the sun started to go down, Chris and I picked up his girlfriend, Allison, at the train station and went to Chris' dad's house.  His entire family was there for dinner to celebrate Chris' birthday.  His birthday was when we were in Bali, so this was the first time everyone could get together.  It was a blast!  His family is awesome!  His sister and brother-in-law have two adorable and incredibly well-mannered children.  His mom is actually coming to the states for a whirlwind trip around the country in a few months with one of her friends.  His dad is hysterical with all kinds of funny Australian sayings up his sleeve.  It was a great last evening before traveling home.

Saturday Feb. 5 at 10:50am I caught my Air Pacific flight to Fiji.  I got off the plane on the island and turned around to find a rainbow!  It was the second one of the trip.  The first one was in Bali.  Very cool to see.

I was excited to see the Fijian band in their sarongs playing in the airport again upon our arrival saying "Bula!" (Welcome).

During my 6 hr. layover, I learned that the Fiji Islands are made up of 322 islands which are mostly mountainous peaks covered with tropical forests.  Pretty sweet, huh?  I drank a bottle of Fiji water there and loved it.

The next flight was a long one coming in at 10 hrs.  I arrived in LA at noon on Saturday and was picked up by my brother's friends, Mike Hudson and Luke Saylor.  We got some tacos and chilled out for the afternoon before going out that night.  Living through Feb. 5 for 46 hours was taking it's toll on me, so I had to turn in somewhat early. 

The next day was Super Bowl Sunday.  Before the game, I went across the street to the beach and it was gorgeous!  Needless to say, I was a happy girl.  It was unique for me to see one wave come in at a time with crazy stillness of the water in between.

Then we went out for a drive in his '66 Oldsmobile Cutlass convertible for the afternoon since this was my first time since I was 9 to be in California. 

We took a car ferry to Balboa Island before driving down the Pacific Coast Highway to Laguna Beach. 

We had chips with guacamole and margaritas as Las Brisas before heading back to Newport Beach for the big game.

It was so different watching the Super Bowl at 3:30pm.  Around halftime, I ran out to the beach again to get some sunset photos.  I told everyone at our Super Bowl party that they need to watch the sunset every night because it's amazing.  I acutally shed tears about how beautiful it was later that night.  Go figure. 

The cool part about the Super Bowl happening in the afternoon there, is that you can go out afterwards.  That's just what we did to celebrate the Packers victory.  Well, we would've done the same thing had the Steelers won too I guess.  Below is their roommate from Ohio, Hudson, Saylor, and me.  I met the guys' girlfriends and a few other people too.

After a rough night, I went back to LAX for my 1pm flight back to DC.  It was bittersweet getting on that plane - by this point I was so tired of sitting in coach seats, but it was the last one I needed to get me back to regular life.  Of course the big guy on the aisle behind me had the worst snoring problem I, and everyone else in a 5 row radius, have ever heard.  I was so happy to see Rachel pull up outside of baggage claim it was indescribable. 

Over the course of my trip over the international date line and equator for my first time, I've found that I missed some things, not missed others, and had a mix of feelings toward a few things.  Top 3 listed here.

Things I missed:

1.) People I care about.  My special gentleman friend, Josh Barley, comes to mind as well as all of my family, friends, and co-workers I consider friends...even those people that don't live in the DC area I found I missed more than normal.

2.) The ability to contact people at my leisure.  Rather than finding public internet and pay phones all while waiting for the few hours in a day that everyone is awake, now I just pick up my cell phone.

3.) My own bed.  I can't wait for this jet lag to be over so I can sleep a whole night through in it.

Things I didn't miss:

1.) Doing the dishes.

2.) Cooking for myself.

3.) Cold weather.

Things I missed, but didn't at the same time:

1.) Watching the news.

2.) The American population in general.

3.) Laundry.

Over the 3 week and 2 day trip,  I was in the air for a total of 54 hrs. (2 1/4 days!)  Chris knows how obsessive I was about starting and stopping my stopwatch at every takeoff and landing.  This isn't even including boarding and deplaning time.  I'm amazed I came home healthy.

To everyone who followed this - thank you!  It's pretty fun knowing that people were interested in my travels and took the time to read and comment.  I wish I would have started this when I traveled Europe 5 years ago, but I just hope I'll be able to blog again when I conquer Africa and South America in the next 3 1/2 years!  Antarctica can wait until I'm over 30, but I'm determined to touch foot on the other two beforehand. 

To Chris - thank you for teaching me about your culture and looking out for me on the whole trip.  It was a wonderful time, and I hope you keep fantastic memories of it like I will.

Part of the fun of traveling is coming home.  Lucky me, this time I came home to a wonderful guy just in time for Valentines' Day.  :)

Four Continents Down, Two to Go

On my way to the airport in Cairns, Chris and I jumped into a shuttle to find Tadayoshi, the 70 year old Japanese man I met on my dive trip, on the same bus to the airport!  We chatted a bit and shared some laughs.

I’m pretty sure my first 24 hrs. in Bali was the biggest culture shock I’ve experienced so far in my life.  First of all, if you’re going to Indonesia and think it’s better to get your visa in advance – it’s probably not.  Chris got his visa on arrival at the airport and it was a.) cheaper and b.) quicker.  Me being the planner I am, I felt better having it prior to the trip though.  We got through customs at Denpasar, Bali after my stuff got searched and jumped in a cab to Ubud (pronounced Oobud).   I was cracking up nearly the entire hour ride to our hotel.  The roads in Indonesia are such a cluster!  They drive on the left side of the road which I was used to by the time we got there, but in Indonesia no one really cares about the lines on the road.  There are motorbikes EVERYWHERE, and they’re constantly weaving in and out of cars all over the entire width of the road.  We saw some scooters with families of four on them and others carrying the same amount of cargo a minivan can hold.  It was insane!  Plus, there were dogs all over the place just wandering into traffic.  Our cab driver was quite entertained with our reaction to it all.  I also noticed shanties everywhere.  Immediately leaving the airport you can tell this is not a wealthy part of the world.

We got to the Kori Ubud Resort and Spa (totally recommend it!) and were greeted with welcome “fancy juice” which was guava juice with banana juice on top.  Delish!  Our room was stellar with flowers everywhere; it smelled so nice. 

Looking out of our porch door, it was tropical paradise.  We grabbed some dinner and got acquainted with our surroundings.

The next morning at 11 we took the free hotel shuttle to the center of Ubud.  This was after our fantastic three course breakfast included in the price of the room.  We got dropped off by the Ubud palace and our jaws dropped.  There were old stone sculptures everywhere, the sidewalks were treacherous, and none of the people looked like Chris and me.  Not to mention we never knew if a motorbike was going to ramp the curb and take us out.  We froggered our way across the street to the Ubud market, and we quickly realized how aggressive the salespeople are in the market.  We headed toward the Monkey Forest and snapped a gazillion pictures of the offerings with incense on the street, temples, flowers, sculptures, and signs. 

We made it to the Monkey Forest, and seriously, there were monkeys all over the place.  Bananas were being sold at the entrance, and thankfully we didn’t buy any.  The people that carried bananas inside had monkeys climbing all over them and pulling at their clothing to get those delectable treats.

The rest of the day we bought souvenirs and bargained our way to some pretty sweet deals.  Our hotel shuttle was supposed to pick us up at 6:30, but by the time 7 rolled around and no one had shown, we decided to get tickets to the Balinese Legong Dance in the palace.  Now when I say palace, we’re not talking Aladdin style here.  It’s an open air stone and concrete structure with an ornate stage.  The performance was comprised of nine performances totaling an hr. and a half of entertainment.  There’s a Kebyar Ding Instrumental, Gabor/Welcome Dance, Baris/Warrior Dance, Legong Kraton Dance, Kindama Instrumental, Taruna Jaya Dance, Oleg Tambulilingan/Bumblebee Dance, Topeng Tua Mask Dance, and Closing Instrumental Music.  It was interesting to say the least.  The women dance not only with their bodies, but mostly with their hands and eyes.

We got a cab back to the hotel and told the front desk that no one had shown at 6:30 as we had requested from the driver that morning.  They felt so bad!  Their culture is so peaceful and the staff just wanted us to be happy.  It appeared the morning driver hadn’t relayed the message to the evening staff.  We were upset with that particular driver that had dropped us off that morning, but he totally redeemed himself at the end of the trip…

The next morning we hired a driver from the hotel to take us to a few temples and places of interest in Central Bali.  We hired him for 6 hours for $50 US.  Pretty sweet gig, huh?  We went to the Elephant Caves, put sarongs on out of respect, and learned about the Buddhist Temple that used to stand there, the elephant god of knowledge, and nooks in the elephant cave used for meditation for months at a time. 

We saw bamboo, holy water, rice fields, and jack fruit trees.  From there we were going to drive and see the water temple, but I was running low on cash and needed to find an ATM.  We had to go completely out of the way since there are very few ATMs in villages in central Bali.  Thankfully, out-of-the-way included the Lakeview Restaurant where we had a buffet lunch overlooking Mt. Batur and Lake Batur. 

I was thrilled to find out that Mt. Batur doubled as a volcano!  It last erupted in 1994.  By the time we got done with lunch and got some cash, we headed back to the hotel.  Our driver took us on some secret roads that gave us phenomenal views of rice paddies! 

Along the roads we saw people pushing carts, carrying items on their heads, and walking barefoot.  It was like going back in time…to ‘the days of yore’ if you will.  Once it started to rain, we passed numerous people holding a large plant leaf over their heads.

That night we decided to see what the local bars and restaurants had to offer.  We went to a hole in the wall down the street and had some great food for not much money.  The beer menu included
1.) Large Bintang
2.) Small Bintang
3.) Draught Bintang

Hilarious!  We finished eating and went to the only nightclub in a 50 mile radius called Ozigo.  Don’t worry, the Bali bombings happened in a different part of the island that’s touristier with nightclub after nightclub on every street.  We weren’t worried at all seeing that Chris and I were the only 2 people in the place for at least an hour.  There we were - the 90’s R&B music was bumpin’, and the disco ball was in full effect.  Once the live band started, people flocked in the door.  One of those people was an 80 year old Japanese man who danced as if he was teaching tae-kwon-do. 

I don’t know why I keep running into these fit and active older Japanese men, but I love it!  Everyone there danced the night away, and I had so much fun!

Thankfully the only items on the agenda for the next day were to get a massage, pedicure, and catch our 10:50pm flight.  It was a wonderful and relaxing day….until we were on our way to the airport.  You see, it’s the rainy season right now in this part of the world, and it had rained every afternoon we were in Bali.  The day we left, the rain was particularly bad.  The hotel driver that hadn’t relayed our pick up message our first day there was driving us to the airport.  It was a quiet ride until we ran into nearly standstill traffic in the pouring down rain.  Traffic was going past us the other way, but our lane was hardly moving.  The driver caught some people’s attention asking what the problem was ahead.  Turns out, the road was flooded.  The traffic going past us was comprised of cars in our lane turning around due to the flooding.  So we turned around and took another route.  The driver kept asking us when our flight was and looking at the clock with a grim look.  Then he would then look at us and smile like everything was ok.  We were hip to his game; we were running late.  So we went a bit further and turned left, just like everyone else.  We gained some ground and then ran into standstill traffic again.  As it turns out, our second option was flooded too.  By this time, our driver is visibly sweating and texting his friends to ask for other routes to take.  He told us he knew only one other route to the airport.  I borrowed his phone to call the airport and airline to see what our options would be if we missed our flight due to the weather.  No one could understand where I was coming from, because there was no flooding near the airport.  Anyway, we turned around and were frantic to maneuver through all of the chaotic traffic.  This was the biggest mess of mayhem on the road I’ve ever seen.  Finally, the road opened up and I glanced over to see the needle on the speedometer cross 90 mph.  Then traffic started to slow again.  Brake lights everywhere.  We were behind a tour bus and a car smaller than ours.  They ended up driving slowly through no less than 1 ft. of rushing water.  If they could do it, we were going to also.  As we were driving through the quickening river forming across the road, we passed a van that had stalled.  I just kept telling the driver he was doing a great job and we were going to get through it.  All of this was happening as I was clutching my prayer necklace around my neck having visions of vehicles being swept away in floods.  Sure enough, we made it through.  We all looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief just before we were off to the races again.  We made it to the airport in time and thanked him for getting us there safely.  He was so appreciative of the Australian $10 tip we gave him.  We just hope he made it home ok!  So the hour and a half trip to the airport turned into 3 hrs. and 15 minutes.  When we arrived, I joked that we were there early! 

Thankfully we had time to scour our belongings and lock our suitcases before checking in.  After the four intimidating and thorough levels of security at the Denpasar airport, we were able to relax and gear up for our redeye flying adventure back to Brisbane. 

No Cyclone's Gonna Hold Me Back

I've made it safely back to Brisbane despite the category 5 cyclone (hurricane) that hit northern Queensland, and I was fortunate enough to spend the afternoon catching some rays at the Gold Coast today.  I leave for Fiji in T-minus 10 hrs.  After a 6 hr. layover there I'm off to LA to spend 2 days in Newport Beach before my flight to DC.  Not much time to write now since I should be sleeping, but I'm ready to start my journey home.  This trip has been absolutely monumental, but I'm ready to do some laundry and sleep in my own bed.  I've ditched quite a few of my belongings in order to make room for souvenirs, so let's hope my luggage isn't too heavy!

Bali was unbelievable without any problems!  More to come as time permits...

Scuba Dive the Great Barrier Reef....check.

Oh man, life is good!  I just got back from being on a boat overnight without seeing land in the Pacific Ocean over the Great Barrier Reef. 

I was with a group of about 10 other divers/snorkelers, and I did a total of 7 dives, one of which was a night dive. 

Chris wasn't feeling well enough to dive, so he didn't make the trip.  As it turns out, instead he went 4-wheeling with an American tour guide named Randy through the Hinterland, a.k.a. mountains with forest on them in Cairns as I was suiting up to dive.  

When I listened to our first briefing on the ship, I thought I would need a guide for all 7 dives.  I was nervous.  The first dive in, nearly everyone used the guide to get acquainted with our surroundings.  We saw some gorgeous coral, and we even saw a shark!  It nearly bit my nose off!  Haha, just kidding.  The shark was probably 5 meters away.  As it turns out, I only used a divemaster twice.  Don't worry, when you dive you have to have a buddy, so I wasn't completely alone roaming around the deep blue sea.  At first, I was buddies with a girl from Spain named Rocio.  She was really cool, and our dive was her first time to go without a guide too.  The visibility was about 15 meters, so it was nearly impossible to lose each other.  It was a blast, and we saw some incredible fish and coral!    

After that dive, we transferred to the boat we slept on.  Rocio was my roommate in our tiny room with 2 twin beds a bathroom. 

The communal areas of the ship were quite nice, and the food was delicious and healthy!



Once we got onto that ship and changed locations, Rocio decided to complete an advanced diving course while on this trip.  From then on, she was doing separate coursework so I became the third in a buddy pair of 2 Israeli guys - Jonathan and Yuval.  They were awesome.  We went  as a buddy team of 3 without a divemaster every dive from then on except for the night dive.  This is a photo of team international - a 70 year old Japanese man named Tadayoshi who got his scuba certification when he was 63, Jonathan, me, and Yuval.

The first dive with Jonathan and Yuval was a bit rough because we weren't warned of the strong current before getting into the water.  We went under and swam around in the deep blue water seeing nothing but each other for about 5-7 minutes.  We decided to surface to get our bearings, and as it turns out the current had been pushing us toward New Zealand, away from the ship.  We could still see the ship, but decided to go back underwater to avoid the waves at the surface and try and find our way toward the coral again.  This is one of the maps we got briefed on before our dive at the Playground of Norman Reef. 

After surfacing a bit closer to the ship one more time before seeing any coral or fish, we were tired and frustrated.  We finally made our way to a bit of coral, but by the time we got there, we were almost out of air and had to find our way back.  Even still, once we surfaced at the end of the dive, the smaller motor boat was on its way to give us a lift back to the ship.  We were underwater looking at cool stuff for about 15 minutes, but we were in the water for 2 hours total.  I hope that's the worst dive I ever have.  

After that, the dives got progressively better.  The night dive was pretty awesome.  We each had a torch (flashlight), and we all went with a guide.  At the front and back of the ship near the lights, there were lots of gray reef sharks and other fish swimming near the surface.  You better believe we were in the mix on our dive.  I'll admit, I was nervous and my breathing was shallower than it should have been, but what an experience!  At one point, a gray reef shark about 3 ft long was 2 ft. away from me.  It was similar to what I would imagine diving in an aquarium would be like. 

This morning, we got our wakeup call at 5:45 and we were diving again by 6:30.  After that, we had breakfast and then went down for two more dives before lunch.  The last dive was one of my favorites.  The ship supervisor took us out on the small motor boat and dropped us off right on top of a nice, shallow portion of the reef since the current was so strong.  We rolled off the boat backwards into the water.  I did a back flip underwater while breathing in all of my scuba gear.  What a cool sensation.  Jonathan, Yuval, and I saw more fish than we had on any of our dives before.  We also stayed underwater for a longer period of time since we were staying in fairly shallow water (~10-12 meters).  The only downfall was that I got cut by some coral.  I was swimming backwards watching a fish and my left calf got scraped up on some fire coral.  I came out of the salty ocean water bleeding and the dive supervisor got me all fixed up.  Thankfully the great whites weren't on to me.  

The visibility for our last 5 dives was only 5-10 meters.  Typically on the reef, visibility is about 30 meters.  As far as this time of year goes though, I picked a good week to dive.  Right now Cairns is between two cyclones.  One was last week, the next one is expected to hit as early as tomorrow.  Usually the difference between tides in this area is ~20cm.  Right now, the difference between tides is over 2 meters because of the weather.  This makes the currents stronger and the water murkier.  This water was significantly clearer than the rock quarry water I got scuba certified in, but when I come back to the reef next time, I’ll avoid the rainy season in the tropical north of Australia to get the better views. 

Now we’re hoping our flight to Bali tomorrow is still on schedule due to the volcanic ash over the islands at the moment.  Fingers crossed and lots of prayers that the Southeastern Asia leg of the trip goes smoothly!

Happy Australia Day!

It’s my last day in Sydney, and everyone is celebrating Captain Cook’s landing on Sydney Harbour in 1788.  It’s Australia Day, and there’s so much happening!  There are 10 stages with 7 bands each on the Rocks today.  There are street vendors, markets, and plenty of lively bars and restaurants in which to celebrate.  Sydney is so much more than a typical city with the harbor and beaches just ferry rides away.  I’ve enjoyed every single moment here. 

On Sunday, after taking a much needed 3 hr. nap once I got into the hotel room at the Mercure Sydney (which I recommend for it's concierge and location to rail and bus), I was off to explore Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.  Around noon I caught the bus to Circular Quay (pronounced Circular Key).  This is the wharf where ferries are always coming and going.  This is also where you catch your first views of the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge.  After I parted ways from the Kiwi (aka someone from New Zealand) I met on the bus, I experienced another one of those on-the-verge-of-tears moments.  There it was.  The Sydney Harbour Bridge.  I’ve had a picture of that bridge on the back of my bedroom door for the past two and half years, and here I was seeing it with my own two eyes.  I chuckled to myself and realized how far from home I really am.  As I walked towards the bridge to take some photos, I glanced to my right after I passed some ferry boats, and felt the same sensation again.  I was across the harbour from the iconic Sydney Opera House.  It was a hot and sunny day that I’ll never forget.  This picture is from a ferry ride showing the bridge and opera house from a distance.

I decided to walk into the Rocks area and look around at all the restaurants on my way to walk over the bridge.  I stumbled upon an outdoor wedding.  It was a windy setting, but still beautiful.  It took me quite a long time to figure out how to get up onto the bridge, but once I found it I walked up into the lookout pylon to take in the view.  After that I continued across the long bridge into Milson’s Point.  It was a quaint, quiet town atmosphere that I was pleasantly surprised to find.  I ate the best fish I’ve ever tasted at a small restaurant right when you get off the bridge called Fisherman’s Cove.  I’d never even heard of Barramundi fish, but the gentleman behind the counter recommended it.  It was a meaty white fish, not flaky.  If you ever get the chance – eat it!

I took the metro back across the bridge into Sydney.  The metro here puts every single metro I’ve ever been on to shame!  They’re double-decker trains like DC/Maryland/Virginia have for commuters outside of the city, but these trains travel the entire Sydney rail system.  I went over the harbour bridge along with the bike lane, pedestrian lane, and 8 lanes of cars.  After a bite to eat, I was ready for bed.

On Monday, Chris and I were together for the morning when we took a tour of the Sydney Opera House.  It was some of the best $28 I’ve spent.  We went into the various theaters and concert halls.  The night before, Jimmy Buffet performed so they were doing some massive cleanup in one area.   Before I left on this trip, my dad told me that when he was in Sydney in 1970 on rest and relaxation from Vietnam, the Opera House was being built.  Sure enough, the opera house opened in 1973, sixteen years after it was begun.  Three years after Steve Brooks laid eyes on it.  It was an extremely controversial design at the time, and the original Dutch architect actually never saw the completed project in person.  Because of the controversy as a result of the change in government during construction, he resigned and never returned to Sydney.  On a lighter note, there are over a million Swedish tiles that cover the 4 acres of roof area of the opera house that aren't even white.  There's a cool pattern to them actually that you'd never see in typical pictures.

I went surfing after the tour!  Chris and I parted ways as I took a ferry to Manly Beach.  The waves were intimidating at first, but I actually stood up a few times!  The instructors told us the conditions were challenging due to the high tide and rip currents, but I actually got the hang of it!  Crikey!  Word of advice though, if your swimsuit bottoms aren’t skin tight, opt in for the wetsuit no matter how hot it is.  Just sayin’.  Oh, and if you ever go to Manly Beach you must eat or at least have a drink at Sugar Lounge.  It’s a restaurant with an open-air-front across the street from the beach with comfy chairs.

Tuesday, Chris and I went to the Taronga Zoo across the harbour.  I saw my first koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, Tasmanian devils, kookaburras, and freshwater crocs!  Impressive zoo for sure! 

After that I took off to the Sydney Olympic Park.  I took a ferry there and fell asleep on the way.  I’m starting to get sore and pretty worn out.  The Olympic Park was fairly desolate as expected, but it wasn’t as bad as the Munich Olympic Park in Germany.  I went into the Aquatic Centre to look around, and it’s now a community aquatic centre.  One whole section is water slides and toys for kids.  The place was packed with swimmers.  I caught the metro back into the city after walking forever, and I caught a snooze on the train too.  I got back to the hotel around 7, sat on the bed and felt so relieved to rest.  But wouldn’t ya know it, I went back out to get some nighttime photos.  I took the ferry to Manly and back again to take some pictures from the harbour.  I’d tinkered with the settings on my camera the night before and finally figured out how to take a killer night photograph.  I didn’t get home until after midnight.

Today I slept in, and then we went on the Oz Jetboat Adventure.  There are companies that have speed boat rides around the harbour, and they make it a point to get you wet with spins and tricks in the water.  Today being Australia Day, the harbour was nearly bumper to bumper with boats.  We had to get through the traffic into some open water to do the tricks.  It was awesome!  We went out so far that we passed a nude beach.  There were plenty of people standing on the sand dancing and waving to us in all their glory.  It was a stitch!  I did a bit of shopping once arriving drenched back to shore, and then I went to Darling Harbour to meet Chris for the fireworks.  He wasn’t feeling well and came back to the room while I enjoyed a Barramundi fish dinner and glass of Australian white wine.  I saw the fireworks and guess what?  I nearly cried.  The grand finale was unbelievable!  They launched the fireworks off of 10-15 platforms set up in the water and also off of the three tallest buildings nearby.  Everything was synchronized to music perfectly.  I’m not even from Australia and I felt patriotic with the Aussies.  Australia Day was an absolute fantastic final day to be here.

The next leg of the trip begins in 9 hours.  We fly out for Cairns at 8:45am tomorrow morning.  I’m sad to see Sydney go, but absolutely stoked to see the Great Barrier Reef!    

Kangaroo Tastes Pretty Great

Chris and I are in the Avalon Airport about an hour outside of Melbourne waiting to board our flight to Sydney.  It's 5:30am and we haven't had a bed to sleep in since 8am yesterday morning.  We decided to wing it as far as staying up and getting a cab out here to this airport.  Word of advice, pay the extra money to fly into Melbourne.  The 2:45am cab ride alone was outrageous, and we're going into Sydney on very little sleep.  I had kangaroo for lunch today which was just like steak.  Delicious! 

Didn't get to see the penguin parade, and didn't go to the horse track, but I did make some lovely purchases at the markets!  I saw sailboat racing at the Docklands in Melbourne. 

Now my flight is boarding, so I'll be in touch in Sydney!

Haven't Seen Any Dingoes Yet

Pop quiz: where are you when you wake up and it's 369 degrees, 246% humidity, with absolutely zero breeze?  Chris Taylor's apt. in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. I was shocked to find out that it's not typical to have A/C (they call it "air con" here) where Chris lives.  Newer houses less than 15 yrs old or so come with it standard, but for everyone else it's open windows, ice baths, and fans in the tropical climate.  My first morning there was the hottest morning of the summer so far, and of course it came after a long night of enjoying Toohey's Extra Dry and Great Northern beers.  Tuesday in Brisbane included lunch at the famous Queen Street mall and a walk around the city.  I bought a new pair of "sunnies" since I'm pretty sure I left mine at LAX.  I was happy to get them since I was squinting in the sun all morning.  I was shocked that I didn't see any flooding in Brisbane at all.  Nothing even looked like it had been flooded, even though some of it had been the week prior.  There are heartbreaking ads on TV showing flood victims.  I heard there was a "queue" a mile long of volunteers turning up for the cleanup efforts.  Some of the top names at the Australian Open (including Andy Roddick) played in a tennis event called "Rally for Relief" to help raise money.

Chris and I left for the airport around 4:15pm to jet set off to Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.  Never before have I experienced such pleasant, outgoing people working at an airport.  We got upgraded to an exit row at no charge, and the ladies working security were ultra friendly!  I didn't have to get out my liquids from my carry-on, just aerosols which surprised me.  Security in the US is outrageous compared to Australia.  Once we landed, we got dropped off at the Melbourne Central Sky Lounge Apartment Hotel by the Sica bus and went straight to sleep.

Wednesday was a day of exploration in Melbourne.  The city has a free tram that we took to the Carlton Gardens...

Exhibition Centre...

Melbourne Museum...

Melbourne Park (where the Aussie Open is happening)...

Melbourne Cricket Grounds...

and the Eureka Sky Deck. 

We ate at the World Bar and Grill by the Sky Deck where we enjoyed some food and James Boag's draught beer.  The Sky Deck was 88 stories high.  On the clear and sunny day we had, we could see the South Pacific Ocean.

Walking back to the hotel we stopped at Aldi (yep, they have Aldi here) to pick up some bacon and eggs to make in our room for "brekkie" the next morning.  We needed a good meal to get us going for the Australian Open on Thursday!

We went to Rod Laver Arena within Melbourne Park around 10am the next morning and savored the atmosphere.  This was my first tennis Grand Slam event (but certainly not my last!).  We saw #3 seed Kim Clijsters from Belguim win...

and first ranked in the world, Rafael Nadal, beat American, Ryan Sweeting. 

If you watch that match, you will probably hear me rooting for Ryan when the rest of the crowd was silent just before a serve.  You'll also appreciate, if you've been following the Open, the fact that I was there when the commentator asked Kim Clijsters if she was pregnant after her match .  It was hysterical!  We were also there for the night matches to see Australian, Samantha Stosur, and Marco Baghdatis from Cypress win.  Marco's fan section was huge and loud.  By the end of the match I was tired of hearing Greek chants for sure.  It felt like a soccer game, the way they were cheering!  The fastest serve I saw was 213km/hr (132mi/hr), and it came off of Marco Baghdatis' racket.  On the day though, I was most impressed with Nadal's consistency and hustle.  No wonder he's number one in the world.

As for future plans, I'm about to go to Victoria Market in Melbourne to shop a bit.  Meanwhile, Chris is doing his own thing. Tomorrow we're going to the horse races in Melbourne, and then Sunday morning at 6am we're flying to Sydney.  (That'll be about 2pm EST on Saturday.)  I'm having so, so, so much fun, and I'm learning so much!  The weather has been terrific so far, so fingers crossed and lots of prayers it stays that way!