Just a few observations..

1. When it is raining, why do people walk under the awnings when they have umbrellas thus forcing the people without umbrellas into the rain and hitting the few people still trying to walk under the awning with their stupid umbrella. 

2. Living in the CBD gives you instant 2nd hand smoke. I have lost 3 years of my life just from living 3 months in the CBD! (and they dont even at least smoke the good smelling cigarettes. If I am going to die from 2nd hand smoke I would appreciate some good smelling smoke at the very least!)

3. Taxi drivers, bus drivers, and anyone driving a vehicle in this city are crazy people. Why accelerate towards me when I am crossing the road and MY light is green?! Zombies.

4. Why do all the asian girls and boys walk arm-in-arm down the sidewalk at a pace slower than a dead snail so that all the other people with lives that have places to be cannot get by!!!!!!!?

5. Pick up your trash. 

6. People that live in the CBD don't know how to walk!!! They are like lost kids in a square room. They just need to learn to get out of my way. Please.

7.Why do people ask so many questions? For example: If you and I walk into a room and there is a show on the television, don't ask me 'what show is this? what is going on? who is that girl on the screen? What year was this filmed?' I DON"T KNOW! We are seeing this at the same time so I would know just as much as you don't.

8. Why are general health practitioners more interested in my tan than my health? I paid $66.50 to have a conversation about where I got my tan. Cool.

These are some of the questions I ask myself on a daily basis. I guess it just comes with the territory of city living. 

Happenings Down Under

I'm alive! I know it has been about a month since I have blogged. It has been on my to do list I promise! I know you are all just dying for me to dish on all the happenings in Australia this past month. So here it goes!

Sydney weather

Conserving water and time by taking a shower in the street on the walk home from work.

Running in dirty puddles

I have come to realize that the weather in Australia is as bipolar as a kid at Christmas. It can't decide what weather forecast it wants to be just like the kid can't decide on which toy it wants to play with first. Solution: pick everything and play with it for a few hours before switching to something new...Shesh. Whether there are thunderstorms, wind storms, dust storms, flash floods, or just the perfect sunny day, I am pleased to experience all types of weather Australia has to offer. Speaking of weather, when it is nice my friends and I try to take advantage of it.

My favorite, Hyde Park

Kim, we are at the Hyde Park Barracks Museum

Kim and I went to the Hyde Park Barracks Museum and wandered around. It was designed by convict architect Francis Greenway between 1818-1819. It was originally built to house convict men and women. Walking around the courtyard I felt like a convict..I admit, I was tempted to take a pebble from the courtyard and not tell anyone about it.

Other exciting news, I went to the Blue Mountains again. Or as my friend Cecile likes to call them, the Blue 'Canyons'. She says they are not real mountains like the ones in Europe. I believe her. We had a shaky start to our trip which was supposed to begin at the train station at 800am to catch the 813 train to Blackheath. However, there was some confusion on the time as Cecile thought that when I said 813am I was saying 830am. This resulted in us sprinting to Central Station at 810 (we both realized that we misunderstood the other). I was telling her to hurry and that we needed to leave to catch the train and was confused as to why she was taking her time while she was confused as to why I was so frantic that we get to the train station immediately. 

Luckily we made it on time and could sleep the rest of the one and a half hour train ride. When we finally reached Blackheath we set off in what we thought was the right direction. I had quickly written the trail directions (or summarized short hand directions) on the back of a paper bag and eyeballed a rough sketch of the trail map since I am an artist and all. We got lost. Luckily we asked a nice park goer for directions and he kindly took us to the trail head. Since my illegible directions were so accurate we got lost but had a good time seeing the sights and climbing a lot of lovely stairs! In the end we came out at a car park about 30minutes drive from Blackheath and a kind woman gave us a ride back to town. It was a fun adventure to say the least!

Sleepy train ride

Cecile loves to rock climb!

I can say I have walked through the Australian Grand Canyon!

Sure, I'll walk through the dark cave first. Thanks Cecile! Boy was I glad that I didn't bring a flashlight.

Tree climbing!

More Exciting news! Thanksgiving that's what! Yes I had Thanksgiving dinner here in Australia. Kim and I cooked a ton of food for our friends. We had mashed potatoes, garlic grilled green beans, sugared carrots, bread rolls, baked yam with marshmallows, sausage hot dogs as opposed to the overpriced turkey, corn on the cob, and yummy wine! For dessert we made baked apples with brown sugar and cinnamon. Not all typical Thanksgiving items but we tried to at least stay with "American" themed dishes. We basically ate ourselves into a food coma and we lazed around the rest of the night just talking. 

Kim was hungry for mashed potatoes. She wanted them asap!

Cecile, Kim and I

Food!!!!!

Everyone except for Laura

All that food made us pretty tired so the next day Kim, Cecile and I decided that relaxing on the beach is the perfect cure for a food coma. We traveled an hour and a half to Palm Beach (one of the Northern beaches) to find some privacy and quiet for a nice day at the beach. The waves were pretty strong there but the atmosphere up North was relaxed. We walked along the beach and found some jelly fish larger than our heads! 

I am having a great time in Australia so far and cannot believe that I will be home in a months time! Some random notes about living in Australia. Lines are called queues, the term 'far out' is used all the time, vegemite is gross, McDonalds is referred to as Mackers, and all the television shows are old reruns of American shows. I hope all is well back in the States! I miss everyone <3

...Blue Bottles...

I just got back from one of the best days I have had since being here in Australia. I went to Maroubra beach with three of my friends with the intention of learning to surf. Unfortunately the waves today were around 5 feet and a bit too large for us newbies. So instead we played some soccer, passed the ball volleyball style, and swam in the big waves even with blue bottle jellyfish all over the shore and in the ocean. I don't have much to say for this blog post today other than I am so grateful to have met such a great bunch of people that I feel like I have been friends with all my life. Laying on the beach today was so relaxed, easy, and crazy fun. I am really going to miss the day that we must all part ways and continue in our travels but I know that I have made some lifelong friends and that is a great feeling.

Here are some pictures of the jellyfish that were all over the beach. The colors of the jellyfish were beautiful.

November is here already!

Sydney in the morning. This is probably one of my favorite times in the city because sunrises are amazing to watch and the walk to work is not overcrowded. People are just waking up and shops are busy opening for business. It is quiet and peaceful and you actually have some time to hear you thoughts as you walk past so many landmarks in the city.

Something that you will only see early in the morning (it was about 6:30am) are seagulls on their way to work, but first they must stop to get some grub for the road...

Although my internship keeps me very busy, I do have the weekends free to escape to the mountains or the beach. Most recently I have been visiting Coogee beach, the famous Bondi beach, and Manly beach. Coogee beach is a great place to relax or read a book as well as take a swim in the light blue water! When I was at Bondi beach there were jellyfish spotted in the water from some Irish tourists that were next to me on the beach. That didn't stop us from taking a swim in the water and playing in the waves off the shore! The water here is cold at first but once you are all the way in it feels amazing on a hot day. One thing that I learned, the ozone is very thin over Australia and sunscreen is a MUST! I will never go without again...

(Reading on Coogee Beach)

(Coogee Beach)

Here in Australia sports are a big deal. Especially Rugby. Last month the Rugby World Cup was played in New Zealand. Each game leading up to the finals was a big deal and people get off work early to make their way to the local pub to watch the game. My friends and I went the watch the RWC at Darling Harbor where hundreds of others gathered to cheer on New Zealand as they played versus France. 

After New Zealand won, there was a firework show from the water. Even though Australia lost to New Zealand in the semi-finals, the Aussies still cheer on their rivals (New Zealand) against other countries. Most recently was the Melbourne Cup (yesterday). Not only is it a no-work holiday in Victoria, here in New South Wales schools and businesses take off one hour to go to a pub and watch the race!!! Unheard of! I stayed at work and watched it from there but we did a "just for fun" who would you bet to win the race and I flip flopped between a few but said Dunaden would win because he was predicted third, had a good name, and his jockey switched at the last minute so his odds went down even more! ... He won. I should have put money on him (the betting place was only downstairs from my workplace). Gahhhhh! Oh well, I shall stay poor and not support gambling. 

For Halloween my friends and I went on a cruise boat and I got to see the Opera house at night. It is very beautiful at night, more so than the daytime, that is my personal opinion. 

One of my Italian friends showed us how to make gnocchi and that was a fun experience! The food was yummy and I was very full afterwards! I have been having a lot of fun and will soon be doing a snorkel/dive in the ocean with a DPV (diver propulsion vehicle) on the 13th of November. Hopefully you all are enjoying the holidays in the states! Till next time! :)

When the Boats Rockin'...

G'day! 

What have I been up to lately? So glad you asked!

Recently I went with my roommates to the Food Festival in Hyde Park. Tons of tents line the park and each week for a month a different region features their traditional cuisine. Last week was Australasia and the food and drink is apparently so good that they have strategically positioned ambulance vehicles for those that overdose on food! The prices are pretty outrageous which is understandable because people come to mingle after a long day at the office rather than worry about how much a small plate of rice is so the local businesses can get away with it.

This past weekend I went whale watching! We left from the Opera House harbor and took this boat out across Farm Cove to the Tasman Sea. It was a beautiful sunny day but the water was a little choppy once we were out near the Sea. 

These friendly creatures were EVERYWHERE near the surface in Farm Cove. Not sure what species of jelly fish they were but the wharf was called the Man O' Wharf...I wonder if there is a correlation. Aside from discovering that I get sea sick, and spending the remainder of the trip with my eyes closed and head down, the whales were pretty amazing and close to the boat. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the 'tourists' scream and run, pushing and shoving across the boat to get a better view when a whale was spotted. Tourists.. 

 

Back in the city I am beginning to feel like a local resident. I know my way around the city pretty well and even know where some shortcuts are. I have a regular route that I take to and from work, uni, and home but try to change it up now and then to keep things interesting. It was a beautiful day out yesterday and I decided to go to Hyde Park, a relaxing escape withing the city, and read a book and listen to the sounds of the city. There is a beautiful fountain in the center of the park and a large cathedral bordering the area. Live music is even provided by local musicians looking to make an extra buck or two while keeping the atmosphere in a busy city light and relaxing.

 

Work has been interesting too. I can always hear the Channel 7 news going on two floors down since there is an open area that allows me to see down into the news room. Recently they had a male dance/singing group perform (you can see them on the right) and "Breaking News" was reported (on the left). It is pretty fun to watch.

What have I been eating you ask? Well let me tell you! Or rather show you so you can marvel at my cooking skills :)

YUMM! Say it with me, Y-U-M-M. It is better to say it aloud because then you may actually believe that this fine dining dish made of Ramen noodles with peas, carrots, corn, and egg garnished with sweet chili hot sauce is as good as it looks! It is a travelers first class meal and actually very tasty!

Things in Australia are going great so far, homesickness comes and goes, my money comes and goes, and goes, and doesn't come back...but then there are the beaches to help me relax and remind me that I'M IN AUSTRALIA!!!

Next on my list of adventures that I hope to do: sea kayaking, hiking in the outback, surfing, run into a famous person.

Stay tuned to see which one I check off my list next!

Till then, I'll try to avoid being eaten by giant plants :)

First comes thunder, then comes a flood!!!

The Blue Mountains National Park = Big, Blue, Beautiful.

Last weekend (8th and 9th of October) I made my way by train to the Blue Mountains National Park with my friends. The train ride was approximately 2 hours long so I plugged in my ipod, stared out the window, and watched as the city turned into suburbs which turned into the the bush. Once we arrived at the Katoomba train station we left to find Katoomba Mountain Backpackers Lodge. The town was very small and had a lot of charming little cafes and bakeries where I helped myself to one...okay three pastries! Yumm

The weather forecast for Saturday was rain rain rain but so far it was overcast and comfortable with no rain so we began our bush-walking trip.

Although this picture looks cold, we were hiking down to the rainforest below and so it was rather humid.

The hike was long and involved the Golden Staircase (1000 steps), climbing rocks, walking through mud, and cool jungle like paths.

Dennis, Michele, and I thought that it would be cool to hike the extra 2hrs off our planned route to go see the castle ruins which were close by. When we got to the trail head the sign said experienced hikers only. We looked down at our tennis shoes and said "why not" and it was an uphill climb in mud to the top. Out of breath and so close to the castle ruins ...(okay I was the only one out of breath) we suddenly heard loud thunder that was really close. It probably sounded louder since we were hiking along a peak. We didn't think too much of the thunder and continued on to the rocks indicating we were almost there! Then all of a sudden the rain came. A lot of rain. Luckily I had bought a cheap rain coat that was guaranteed to keep you dry!...For 10 seconds that is. So now we were hiking in a rocky area in a rainstorm before the trail was covered with water as a mini flash flood swept water over our feet traveling downhill. Good thing our water proof running shoes kept our feet dry!

So we couldn't make it to see all of the Castle Ruins because the heavy rain made it too slippery and dangerous to keep going so we turned around and headed back down the newly made mud slip-n-slide! Fun! It was an experience to say the least but luckily the rest of the weekend and other parts of the hike were more enjoyable.

Above the three sisters rock formation

Kim, Michele, and I

I love the rainforest!

It was a bid step down. Good thing i was tall enough!

This was a big step up!

Line hiking.

After the weekend in the Blue Mountains our legs were worked out and we had a lot of good memories! No snakes this time but a lot of birds instead. The next hike I would like to attempt would be in the desert! Till then...