August 31, 2010

We're still seeing the sites here in Sydney and nearby. Sunday we went to the Australian Museum which was a very good museum. I really enjoy museums and I know Gary went just for me because he's not always a museum kind of guy. But he did say he enjoyed it too. They had an impressive indigenous exhibit. Someone also suggested we see St. Mary's Cathedral. It reminded me of Notre Dame in Paris on the outside. Tomorrow is the first day of Spring in this part of the world and flowers are coming up and blooming. It's delightful to see. We also took a ferry ride to Watson's Bay just because we bought a ticket that would allow us on any bus, ferry or train for a week. It was very relaxing. We then walked around a weekend market and went back to our favorite shop to purchase yet more souveniers. We visited one of our favorite restaurants for dinner.

Monday we went by train to Bondi Beach which had been recommended to us by my cousin. It was beautiful! Although we didn't walk in the water, we walked along the boardwalk for a long time and just soaked in the sun, the serenity and the fresh air. It was lovely, as they say here quite a bit.

We are on a time limit for internet use, so I'll have to say good bye before I'm cut off. However,
I just want to say we are on our way home tomorrow and we are so excited. It's been a great experience and we are so grateful!

August 28, 2010

G'day, Mates! We have arrived back in Sydney as of yesterday and we are happy to be back in the sunshine. Our last full day in Auckland it rained but we walked to the Auckland Museum anyway. It contained many native Maori artifacts and they were interesting. However, it made me realize how fortunate we were to have seen the Maori cultural centers first. It all felt much more real while we were with the Maori people. We also went up to the observation decks of the Sky Tower which was very interesting. We could see the whole city in a panoramic view as we walked around the Sky Tower. We stayed up there for quite some time enjoying the view, even in the cloudy, drizzly conditions.

Our travel from Auckland to Sydney was uneventful, just as we like it. The flight attendant even gave me a second Hokey Pokey ice cream treat! Hokey Pokey seems to be a favorite around here. It is yummy vanilla ice cream with little, puffy toffee and caramel treats in it. I'm sure I could eat several of the little cups at a sitting given the opportunity!

We are staying at a Holiday Inn near the airport here in Sydney this time. There isn't much to do within walking distance so we bought an unlimited train, bus, ferry ticket for the few days we'll be here. We went to the Haymarket district where we shopped a little in the market which had all kinds of things to be purchased or eaten. It was so crowded with people doing their Saturday shopping, especially in the produce and fish and meat section. The Haymarket district is very close to Chinatown so we felt a bit like we were in Hong Kong. We decided to eat in Chinatown which was a good experience. The food was delicious. Then we stood in line for and "Emperor's Cream Puff" which is exactly what it is -- an egg custard filled cream puff. They were yummy so we understood why so many people were standing in line for them.

By the way, we've noticed at breakfast that Rice Krispees are called Rice Bubbles and Raisin Bran is called Sultana Bran. I'm getting a kick out of finding words, spellings, and phrases that are different from ours. I guess it's the librarian in me. I've also noticed that books are so much more expensive here than at home, especially kids' books.

Will sign off for now. We're in the last stretch of the trip and we are ready to get home. It has been a wonderful experience and we have a few more days to experience more. We'll let you know what we're up to in the next couple of days.

August 25, 2010

Hi. It's been a week since we've blogged so I'll hit the highlights. We flew to Auckland, New Zealand. Our first snag was a cab driver who had only been in the city for 15 days and barely spoke English. He had trouble getting us to our hotel but did call someone for help. He was very nice but still charged us $84. We don't know if that's fair or not. Anyway, the Best Western which was medium priced was not even medium quality. So we moved to a better hotel at the same price with breakfast included. Much better. It was a suggestion from a travel agent who booked a couple of day tours for us. It has rained a lot since we've been in Auckland. Our first full day here we just wandered around in the rain and our moods matched the weather. It made us appreciate the sun all the more the next afternoon. While it was raining I suggested we each get a tattoo so Gary said he would get one if I did. Well, he called my bluff because you all know I hate needles. Just a bit of sarcastic humor.

We went on an awesome tour on Sunday to several places. First we went to an Agrodome, basically a big farm. We saw ostriches, deer, sheep, alpacas, cows, bulls. One black and white cow had a black heart shape on her side. It was so cute. We saw some Scottish cows that were black except for what looked like a white blanket wrapped all around their middles. They had long fur, about 3 or 4 inches. Our guide let people get off the tractor-pulled vehicle we were riding in to feed some of the animals. Gary did it but I stayed put. Our guide also took us to see a sheep sheared and to feel the wool. Stinky but amazing. We then saw a wool carding machine that was 106 old that had been imported from England. They explained all the processes the wool goes through to make yarn. I kept thinking of all the people I know who knit and would have enjoyed seeing this part of the tour. Then, of course, we ended up in the gift shop where they sold items made with wool, alpaca and possum yarn. NZ has been overrun with possums so they used the fur for yarn and say it makes the wool softer. A pair of possum socks were $43. Crazy!

We traveled on to the Waitomo caves where we went into the cave, saw the beautiful formation of stalagtites and stalagmites and then rode in boats for a short way in the dark where we saw glow worms on the ceiling of the caves. They were like a thousand points of blue lights and were really incredible. I'll spare you the details of the life span, what they eat, etc. unless you really want to know. Now the childrens' song "Shine, little glow worm, glimmer, glimmer" takes on new meaning for me. We arrived at the cathedral part of the cave and were asked to sing to hear the acoustics. I suggested we sing "Twinkle, twinkle little star" and it was really appropriate because the guide then turned out the light and we could see some more glow worms at the pinnacle of the cathedral. Awesome!

We then traveled to Rotorua to see Te Puia Maori concert. Maori are the native people of New Zealand and descend from the Polynesian people from the other South Pacific Islands. In the 1830s the British arrived and the island life changed. We saw a welcoming ceremony by the Maori people and then were invited to enter their meeting house which was incredibly decorated with weaving and tiki carvings, each having special meaning. The Maori then gave a beautiful concert of singing and dancing. I took a special interest in learning about the Maori as I am also interested in the native peoples of our country. A guide told us that all NZ children learn the history of the Maori in school, not just the Maori children.

Yesterday we went on another tour where we saw the meeting house and the area where many Maori chiefs and the British signed a treaty in 1840 to share the resources of the country and live in peace. That is a very shortened version.

We also took an afternoon boat ride where we saw a whale and her baby as well as a pod of dolphins. Some people were prepared to swim with the dolphins but the dolphins kept swimming away from us. It was really fun the watch the whales and dolphins. It was also a beautiful day for which we were very grateful.

August 18, 2010

Today found us at a place for lunch called Aqua Dining. It was a very fancy place that overlooked an olympic-size pool and Sydney Harbour. The food was gourmet which we weren't prepared for, but we stayed. I had an appetizer (which are called entrees here and entrees are called mains) which consisted of fried zucchini flowers filled with a mushroom confit surrounding brussel sprout salad on a soft cheese. The main was barramundi fish on spinach and surrounded by sauteed basil gnocchi and asparagus. Gary had scallop soup and fried prawns. We each had a glass of wine. They did order beef cheek on the menu so imagine this to be a Michael Symon kind of place.

We took the ferry over to the other side of the harbour and went to a jeweler that had been recommended to Gary. I had been to several jewelers and places that just sell opals. I did lots of research on opals and had a peace about the place where we finally went. I had been there last week and found the opal that really made me smile. Gary was very generous in purchasing it after trying negotiating. He did well. I now have a black opal which is the rarest form of opal, followed by a boulder opal and then white opals which are the kind we usually see in the States. Opals are mined in Australia only. Black opals are not really black. They are blue/green opals with lots of brilliance found in black rock. It is gorgeous and will represent my birthday, anniversary, Christmas gifts for the next couple of years! I am so grateful.

Tomorrow we fly to Auckland, New Zealand so you'll be hearing from us next from there.

August 17, 2010

We had a wonderful day today in a very "touristy" way. We started out in a cafe having a muffin and "flat white" which is a fluffy, steamy cup of coffee and milk kind of like a cappuchino. You can't really get a plain cup of coffee. But this is really good. I think maybe Gary described this in a previous post. We went to the incredible Sydney Opera House for a tour which was very interesting and awe-inspiring. This is an awesome feat of engineering. We went into the symphony hall where a few of the musicians were beginning to practice for tomorrow night's symphony which I really wish we could attend. The cost per ticket is over $200. We are going to pass on that. We purchased a set of pictures where they superimposed our images in front of various scenes of the opera house with a CD of pictures of the construction of the opera house. Pretty cool. We then went on to the Botanical Garden which was also beautiful. The day was gorgeous, as have almost all of the days we have been here. Gary said Melbourne was much more rainy and chilly. But we are getting closer to Spring here.

We walked on to the State Library of New South Wales which had a wonderful exhibition of one of the most famous governors of Australia, Lachlan Macquarie. Gary read a book called Fatal Shore: The Epic of Australia's Founding by Robert Hughes so he was interested as well. Okay, end of history lesson. I was very interested and found the library quite amazing. It was a beautiful old building, very "stately" (no pun intended--okay, pun intended).

Signing off to skype with Krista and family...

August 16, 2010

Hi! First you get to see pictures before you read my comments. The first picture is pretty self-explanatory. Don't miss the cute, cuddly koala on the tree branch. We were on an excursion by tour bus yesterday, Sunday, to the Blue Mountains and we were at our first stop which is Featherdale Wildlife Park. It is a preserve for Australian animals and many just roam free. We were walking along when suddenly a small kangaroo came hopping across the trail paying no attention to us at all. The white kangaroos were enclosed but the white peacock was not. That was the first time I had ever seen either a white kangaroo or a white peacock. In the next photo of kangaroos, notice the baby's head peeking out of the mother's pouch. Adorable! The next picture shows one of the rock cliffs of the Blue Mountain Range, although the pictures just don't do it justice. We saw some breathtaking views of the mountains and valleys below. The last picture is of the three outcroppings of rock called the Three Sisters. Wish I had asked the reason they are called that. These last two pictures were taken at a place called Scenic World where we took a cable car ride across Jamison Valley, walked around on a boardwalk in a temperate rainforest, then went back up the very steep incline in a railway car to the top again. It was awesome and somewhat scary. I'm really glad we did it. We had lunch at a golf club called Katoomba Golf Club where Gary went to get a score card. Of course, the distance between the holes is measured in meters, not in yards. Our tour guide showed us many sites on the way to and from the Blue Mountains and gave lots of good facts and stories about Sydney, the Blue Mountains, and Australia in general. It was well worth our time and money.

When we arrived back at our hotel we set out for my favorite place called Guylians for quiche, salad, a sweet roll and hot chocolate. Delicious! We slept well last night!

I told Gary he needs to write the next post for what he did today. I shopped a little, found a bead store and purchased some pretty beads. I also found the opal pendant at a jewelry store that I'd like to have. We are thinking about it. Tonight we were invited out to dinner by the woman Gary was working for while here in Sydney. She was very nice and we enjoyed ourselves very much. She took us to a wonderful fish/seafood place.

Friday, August 13

Tuesday was a rainy, chilly, windy day so I spent a good bit of the day in the room just enjoying reading, writing, emailing and napping. I did venture out to lunch at the nearby church coffee shop. I was introduced to another American woman who lives in downtown Chicago. Her husband works for IBM and is training people just like Gary is doing for his company. She has relatives in Parma, Cleveland Heights and other parts of the greater Cleveland area. It's a small world after all. My plan was to go to the Museum of Contemporary Art but I wasn't going to get soaked. Our highlight of the evening was skyping Krista and the boys. We really miss them. Rob is off in Arizona with his guy friends and will arrive home Friday night.



Wednesday was a beautiful day so I walked quite a ways to the David Jones store (kind of like a Nordstrom). I found a lovely blouse for only $645. Luckily my better judgement prevailed and I passed it up. On the bottom floor they have what they call a foodhall where they sell delicacies of all kinds. It was like a huge food court so I had lunch (spinach and tomato pizza) while I sat next to two ladies enjoying sushi. I couldn't look. Then I hit the bakery for some cookies.

Thursday I went out for awhile to a nearby park where people were lunching and reading and just enjoying the day. I spent a good part of the afternoon researching different parts of New Zealand for our trip there next week. We were planning on going to Queenstown on the South Island which was recommended to Gary until I learned that it is peak ski season and air fares were around $912 per person. And it's cold and not much to do unless you like to ski. So we are going to Auckland on the North Island which is close to places for day trips. It's about a 3 hour plane ride to Auckland but about half the air fare that it would have been to Queenstown. The weather is milder, like it is here. It's been sunny and chilly and breezy, but we are comfortable in the jackets we brought. We're loving the sun! We've only had 2 days of rain since I've been here.

Last night we went to Guylian Chocolate store that serves lunch and supper. We had quiche and salad which was delicious and then, of course, hot chocolate. They gave Gary a chocolate shake which he had not ordered but went ahead and drank anyway because he didn't want to complain. Then they brought his "super hot chocolate" with lots of whipped cream and he finished that off too. I had a yummy berry muffin with my hot chocolate. I mentioned to him that it is a good thing we are walking so much to work off all the extra goodies we are enjoying. He makes fun of me talking about food in the blog, but food is interesting to me, especially in another country. So I'll keep writing about it.

Today I had lunch at my favorite coffee shop at the church down the street. I invited a delightful elderly lady who sat alone at a table too to have lunch with me. She has always lived in Sydney. We had a lively conversation about many things. She wondered if I had climbed the bridge. No way. No way. No way. She said she never did it either because of her fear of heights. She gave me more ideas of places to go. There is lots to do in Sydney. I spent part of the afternoon going to opal stores which are everywhere since opals are mined in Australia. We are thinking of buying a necklace and earrings, but I don't think we are getting any deals just by buying them here. I am learning a lot about opals which I've always loved. I wanted an opal engagement ring but we were told they are not very strong stones and wouldn't hold up well in an engagement ring. We shall see.

Bye for now. We are going to skype Krista now.