1/30/03

Pics!
I promise to post soon about what all I've been up to. But in the meantime, here are very few of the many pics I've taken. I need to learn how to reduce pic size so it doesn't take so damn long. And now I realize I actually haven't taken any pictures of Manly itself or Sydney from the ferry. I'll do that next week.

1/16/04

Rainy Days
Its pouring rain outside. I think I'm being punished for going to the movies yesterday when it was absolutely gorgeous outside. But I needed an excuse to get away from Chad and I felt I should still take it easy since I'd been sick. But I did go out after. I met D and her school friends for happy hour in Sydney. We went to a bar called Wildfire thats in the Circular Quay so it overlooks the Opera House and harbour. So I did still get to enjoy the weather.

So where did I leave off? My 2nd day here? So the 3rd day, D took us to Sydney so we could learn our way around the city. We learned how to take the ferry (I so don't miss driving at all!) which takes you the Circular Quay. From there we took a walk around The Rocks which used to be a bad part of town but was recently redone so now its really nice with shops, cafes, and bars. Pretty touristy but its also where D's school is located so its very conveniant for her and for me if I want to meet her when she gets out. We then went to Cruise Bar which is in the same building as Wildfire and also open air so we had wedges with tomato sauce and sour cream (fries w/ ketchup and sour cream) while checking out the Opera House and the harbour. Everything is designed with the view in mind so there is always something fabulous to look at.

After our snack we walked towards downtown and then to Hyde Park (just like the one in London) and checked out the ANZAC Memorial. Then we hopped on a bus to Paddington which is a neighborhood where a lot of clothing shops are. And of course pubs, bars, and restaurants. It was really hot so we got tired pretty fast and decided to head home. We got home and got dressed to meet some of D&J's friends for dinner. We went to a yummy Thai place called Malaca and then had drinks at The Steyne which has a nice outdoor bar that overlooks Manly Beach. We were home by 10 because D wanted to watch Nip/Tuck and I was pretty tired.

I'm so not myself here. Before I got sick I would get up when Jon left for work. Which is at 8:30am!! But even today I was up by 10am. And the coffee is soooo good here so I get excited about getting up and going to a cafe. I can't get a bad cappuccino anywhere (except in Melbourne). In Austin, the ONLY place that seemed to make a consistently good cappuccino is Dolce Vita. Here, even the airport has great coffee.

Okay, I think there is a break in the rain so I'm going to run and buy stamps.

1/14/04

I'm back!
I think I've done more in the past 2 weeks than I did the entire year before! Which may be why I'm sick now, I just wore myself out. But I'm feeling almost back to normal today so I should be out and about tomorrow if the weather is better.

We had a great trip to Melbourne! We flew in thursday morning and rented a car and headed straight for the Great Ocean Road. Our first stop was Bells Beach and then we just kept on driving at a relaxed pace and stopping whenever we just wanted to take in the view. We spent a few hours in a busy little town called Lorne. We spent an hour on the beach just playing frisbee and then took a quick hike into the forest to check out whats called the Erskine Falls. Its a gorgeous area and I was very excited to get my first glimpse of the rain forests we would explore further the next day.

We then decided to head towards Apollo Bay. The only place we were able to find rooms for the night was at Skenes Creek Lodge just outside Apollo Bay but they had a free shuttle into town. So we checked into our rooms and changed to head into town for dinner. We ended up at a fabulous restaurant called Buffs that had probably the vegetable dish I've ever tried. The service was slow- which seems to be common here- and we barely made it in time to catch the last shuttle back to our room. We were exhausted and I was dead asleep by midnight.

The next day we decided to head into the forests of Otway National Park. The hotel guy recommended we do the rainforest treetop walk. We were concerned it was a tourist trap but decided to give it a try. It was so beautiful!! The Otway Fly is a 600 meter long walkway that takes you 25 meters above the forest floor. Its a steel walkway designed w/ minimal impact on the forest itself. It was an incredible hike and the view at the top was amazing. I hope to get pictures up soon.

The rest of the day we continued on the coast to check out the famous cliffs and formations that make the drive so famous. We ended up spending the evening in Port Campbell and were so tired that we just picked up food to go and spent the evening watching the Wedding Singer and then going to bed. The next morning our service at breakfast was even slower than usual so we didn't head back till noon. We decided to head back to Melbourne on the inland highway which only took a couple of hours.

Melbourne is a very cosmopolitan city and everyone that lives there thinks its so much better than Sydney. It actually reminded me a lot of Austin. We checked into our hotel and decided to spend the evening in St Kilda which is a posh little suburb on the water. We had a great dinner at a greek place called Fringe and then had a beer at a place called the Hotel Esplanade (or Espy) and watched the sunset from tables looking out into the bay. We then decided the best way to check out the nightlife in the area was to to do a pub crawl. So we decided to have one beer at a place and then move on to some place new. Well, 8 beers and 7 bars later it was close to 4am and we caught a cab home. Of the many places we went to, my favorite was a place called Rebar. Chad has the names of all the other places we went to and I'll have to remember to get those soon.

Needless to say, it was hard to get moving the next morning. We were all slow, tired, starving, and in desperate need of caffeine. We decided to head into Chinatown. Some how we ended up at a restaurant called "the Shark Fin Inn" which served food Kim Chi style. We were all unfamiliar with this and its not the best choice if you are hungover or if you are vegetarian. It was very overwhelming and confusing but once we figured it out and got some food in us it was much better.

After, we headed to the Melbourne Museum which is a really cool modern building very representative of Melbourne and its style. The exhibits themselves were all really nice but nothing I was particularly interested in. So then we headed to Brunswick and Fitzroy Streets. These are streets filled with nothing but cafes, and clothing, music, and book shops. So many cool stores! I think these are the streets that South Congress aspires to be and what the Drag used to want be. So we spend the rest of the afternoon there and then headed back to our hotel. After hanging out and realizing that none of us wanted to see a bar again we decided to go to the movies and see Cold Mountain. I guess I liked it okay but the only thing oscar worthy is Jude Law.

The next morning I was officially sick and decided to spend the morning on my own while everyone else dashed off to museums they wanted to check off before we flew back to Sydney that afternoon. So I hung out on Bourke St which was a close walk from our hotel and another shopping area of the city. I spent most of the time in great little book and music stores and then met up with the gang at a vietnamese place for lunch. Then it was time to pack up and head for the airport. The flight was short and uneventful and we came back home and ordered pizza for dinner.

Yesterday I never left the aparment and I unpacked and helped D clean and then read and watched TV. Today has been very cloudy and a little cold so I've spent most of the day here again. I tried to make it to the local theatre but by the time I figured out where it was I had missed too much of Love Actually and didn't want to see anything else. Which is good because I was able to write about Melbourne.

Okay I've promised so many people postcards and have written none so I'm going to start that now!

1/8/04

I can't believe I'm getting on a plane again.
Going to Melbourne! I'll be back on Tuesday!

1/6/04

Hi!
I can't believe its 2004!!! Sometimes I still can't believe I'm in Australia!

Where to begin? I'll start with today. Its cloudy and a little cold so I decided to stay in and do laundry and other little errands. D went back to school today, J is at work, and Chad went to a movie. D&J have a great apartment that overlook Manly wharf which is a 30 min ferry ride to Sydney. Manly is the cutest little suburb!! I just love being a 10 minute walk from the shops, beaches, and the wharf!

Well, my trip here was totally smooth. The first day we just walked around Darling Harbour and had lunch at Wagamama's. Then we came into Manly and bought beer and prawns and fish to cook on the grill. There's a nice picnic area with grills and tables that overlooks Little Manly Beach and the harbour. We ate and watched the sunset. It was a perfect first night.

The next day we walked around Manly and then went to the beach. Its so beautiful! Palm trees, gorgeous water (but cold!), birds I normally see in cages just flying around. That night D&J went to a wedding, so Chad and I were on our own. We went and had pizza at a place called Beaches in Manly and then went to the Manly wharf hotel bar for a couple of beers. I had woken up at 6am so I was ready to go home by 10!

Well I'll try and recap more soon!

Books...

Cool Orgs...

Random......

To the past...