Oz

Monday was our first day to explore Sydney. Aaron showed us how to use the bus system, and we took the bus from their street to Circular Quay, about a half hour ride. We walked along the water to the Opera House, and explored that a bit. Both Jord and I have been to Sydney before, but it was fun to see the beautiful sights again, and explore it together this time. After checking out the Opera House, we went to the Sydney Museum, which had all sorts of information on the founding and history of Sydney, which was interesting. Also they had a couple really cool art exhibits going on, which were probably my favorite part! After the museum we wandered over to the Botanical Gardens. The Gardens are situated on rolling hills sitting above the Harbor, and are amazing to walk through. Not only are the plants interesting to look at, but there are some pretty funny animals that have made the Gardens their home. The Flying Foxes, which are huge ugly bats, live in many of the trees, and are quite a sight! Also, huge white cockatoos and brightly colored parrots, and other crazy looking or sounding birds just wander around on the grass or in the trees! We ate our picnic in the Garden, and then went down for a long walk that runs between the Garden and the Harbor wall, with great views of the Opera House and the Bridge.

We then decided we would walk to Darling Harbor, and took the longest and ugliest route possible. We FINALLY got there, and by that time the sun was in full force and we were sweaty and grumpy. We got 50 cent ice cream cones from McDonalds and walked around the pretty harbor, with it's fountains and Christmas trees. By the time we caught the bus and rode it back to Aaron and Melissa's, it was almost dinner time! Melissa was cooking up something, and meanwhile Aaron challenged us to some tennis. We walked to a park near their house that has courts, and Jordi started to feel sick again. Aaron and I had a rowelling game of tennis, in which I barely beat him and we had about 10 deuces. So fun!!! Melissa made another amazing meal, and we watched our nightly movie (Movies in English were still a novelty for us, so we watched at least one a day ;) )

Aaron and Melissa highly recommended a great walk that starts at Coogee Beach and runs along the cliffs and ocean all the way to Bondi Beach. So Tuesday morning we hopped on the bus that took us straight to Coogee. It's a great little beach town, smaller and less touristy than Bondi or Manly, but very pretty and fun. We started the walk, and it took us over an hour to reach Bondi. The entire time we were mesmerized by the views, and all the little beaches and towns we came across on the way. Australians have this amazing ingenious idea where they build walls in the ocean to make a free swimming pool...it's the coolest thing ever, I wish they had them in California!

Some views from the walk...

A very pretty cemetery on the cliff

Lawn Bowling...

Coming into Bondi!

When we got to Bondi, we swam in the ocean and hung out at the beach for awhile. I hunted out the shops and restaurants I went to 4 years ago, and then we caught the bus back home. Jordi was still not feeling well, and we had a mellow night of Melissa's amazing cooking, Tim Tams, and Movies.

Wednesday, Jordi still wasn't feeling well. He didn't feel like going anywhere or doing anything, except laying on the couch or taking naps in the bedroom. By the afternoon however, I was done hanging out at home, although Jordi was still not feeling well. I got on the bus by myself and went to Queen Victoria Mall, an old market building that has been renovated into a fancy mall! There is a huge gorgeous Christmas tree in the middle, reaching through the three marble floors to the ceiling above, winding stairways on the ends, high end stores and exquisite coffee shops and bakeries competing for the attention of your senses. It's quite an experience, and so fun to walk around during Christmas season.

I continued walking down George Street, and found to my astonishment that clothes in Sydney are European style expensive! All my thoughts of Christmas shopping flew out the window - a pair of Quicksilver boardshorts cost no less than $80, and there are rarely sales, and no existing Nordstrom Rack! But it was fun to go in all the shops, and make my way back down to Circular Quay. Once there I walked around the Harbor, listening to the crazy guys on their didgeridoos and meandering the shops by the Harbor. It was actually really fun to have a day of shopping and wandering by myself, since I know Jord doesn't thrive on that, and I didn't feel rushed. I ended up getting some good deals on few things, and eventually made my way by bus back to the house. When I got there, Aaron and Melissa had just gotten home. I went for a run (there is a great run from their house to a park on the Harbor water!) and we ordered take out from the most amazing pizza place I've ever experienced (Crust Gourmet Pizza in Annandale). We watched movies and ate pizza and had a great relaxing night!

The next day Jordi was feeling slightly better, so I dragged him out of the house, and we went for a long walk to another town called Newtown. It's a pretty funky town, with Berkley vibes and crazy characters. We went into some of the fun little shops, and by that time Jord was ready to trek back (I wasn't!) We relaxed in the afternoon until I got restless again and decided to go into the city. Jord felt like he was well enough to join me, so that was fun. We stopped at the Queen Victoria mall again, so I could show him how awesome it is. We walked to the Opera House, and went to the classy Opera Bar down on the water. Tons of people were having their Christmas Parties there, so it was very festive and crowded, which I love :)

We took the bus home, and had a nice evening with Aaron and Melissa. Melissa made us dinner again, and we hung out chatting, and laughing at Ewok's crazy antics! Later we watched The Castle, a classic Australian movie, that is absolutely hilarious.