Melbourne Day 2

Waking up and not having to share a bathroom or wait a really long time for one to open up is really a luxury. I really like staying with Rory and Jenny.

Today is Queen's Day, God save the Queen. Where Australia celebrates the birthday of the queen. God save the Queen. And it is a national holiday, God save the Queen. And you have to say God save the Queen after everything, God save the Queen. The funny thing is no one really knows why they do this holiday and even if it is her real birthday and nobody says God save the Queen. So basically it is a holiday that everyone loves because it makes for a long weekend.



We took the morning to have pancakes and got ready for a cold rainy day. Our plan was to make the footy pilgrimage to the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground). This is a fantastic stadium that holds 100,000 people and today Melbourne was playing Collingwood. We arrived just in time for the first bounce and the game was on. If you don't know anything about Australian Rules Football (Footy) then here are a few things to know. Basically the game is on a huge oval playing field (pitch) and there is a goal for each team. The game consists of each team working the footy (football shaped ball that is not as pointy on the ends) to their goal and kicking it through the middle part of the goal. You can pass the ball with a volleyball type bump or by kicking it and if you catch it off a kick that is called a "mark" where you receive a free kick or you can run with it. This game is full contact, which makes it rather rough. So in the end it is a combination of Ultimate Frisbee, soccer and hockey.



The game was not close. Collingwood smashed Melbourne who has not won a game this season. The rain fell hard and we were very thankful that we were under cover. We stuck it out for the whole match and had a great time rooting for everything! A great time was had.

After the game we headed down to the river and had a BBQ. The city has gas grills set up in the parks that are free so we took full advantage of the grill and cooked some fantastic food including veggies and kangaroo meat. It was all good! The meat was not as "gamey" as I thought it would be. It was actually very close to beef in consistency so I enjoyed it a lot.



It was then off to the Melbourne Center for the Moving Picture, which is a nationally and internationally known museum for movies, right up our alley. The museum was closed but we were there for something else, Fanboys! Rory, Heather and I are huge Star Wars fans so we thought it would be awesome to see it together. It was great and the ultimate Star Wars geek movie.

We spent the rest of the night walking around Melbourne seeing the sights and stopping in cafe's for some great coffee. We also saw the Crown casino, a huge casino that makes a lot of money for the city and is very lavish. They even have this fireball display in front that shoots huge balls of fire into the air. It was pretty cool.



The end of the night came when we arrived at home and warmed up with coffee and scones. It was a great day and we had a blast seeing and being "normal" Ausies for a day.

Tomorrow we drive in Australia up to Canberra...pray we don't forget to drive on the correct side of the road.

dain

Melbourne

For the second leg of our trip we headed to Melbourne to visit our friends Rory and Jenny. We got up crazy early (4:00 am) so we could catch the Sydney shuttle at 5. We were out and ready to go at 10 till and we waited and waited and waited till we started to get a little worried. There were plenty of taxis passing by the hostel but no shuttle. We were relieved when the shuttle rounded the corner and we climbed in with the other passengers. Turns out because of the holiday weekend everyone was out for the night and since Kings Cross is the "place to be" for dance clubs and strip joints and since the clubs were beginning to close, well that made for really bad traffic and a lot of drunk people. We eventually made it to the airport in plenty of time and had a great flight to Melbourne on Quants.

Once we arrived we were greeted with open arms by Rory who took us back to his flat in Ivanhoe. We spent the morning relaxing and catching up until the four of us headed out for the afternoon of touring Melbourne. We headed downtown to the markets and stores that were quite numerous. We tasted all kinds of fun food and almost bought lots of stuff...but didn't. We stopped at a cafe' and had some great coffee, something that Melbourne is know for.

Later that evening we headed to church with Rory and Jenny. We had dinner at a house nearby with some friends of theirs. The church service was quite good and fun to see a group of young adults worshiping together. Rory and Jenny really like this group and I can see why. After hanging around for a while after the service we went to the favorite pizza place, which was very active because of the long weekend. The pizza was great! I had a capsicum or red pepper pizza, Heather had mushroom, Rory had a salmon pizza, and Jenny an olive version. They were all good. I tried a local beer too, very nice. It was hard to carry on conversation because of the noise so we were homeward bound. Another hour of chatting and having fun and it was time for bed after a very long day.

It is great to see good friends. Tomorrow footy game and Fanboys!

dain

Sydney Day 4

A truly fantastic day! I think we have finally had the good weather Australia is known for. It was beautiful, warm cloudless and a slight breeze from the ocean.

We started out the day heading over to the Harbour Bridge so we could climb one of the pylons that hold up this massive structure. Inside was a museum of the construction and history of how long it took just to get the thing built. In the end it is not the longest steel arch bridge (it missed it by 38 cm) but it is considered the biggest because of the sheer size and weight. It was build during the depression (yes the depression was not just in the US) and it was considered the thing that got Sydney if not Australia through it. It is truly an amazing structure. We climbed to the top of the pylon and got some amazing views of the Harbour, downtown and the Opera House. The number of sail and motor boats in the water was beautiful.



We finished the climb and headed to The Rocks, a quaint part of old Sydney just by the bridge where an outdoor market was taking place. We found all kinds of great stuff including some great food. And apparently there is a scent and a tree called the Daintree, who knew? Answer: the crafty people that made some awesome smelling potpourri.






After that it was off to the Paddy Market (the one I mentioned in an earlier post) for a time of souvenir shopping. I think we found something for almost everyone, and for those who we didn't find something for, it's not for lack of shops. We successfully saw every store and had fun listening to people barter and try and sell there wares. (with Lebanese accent) "I guarantee these carrots will last two weeks in the refrigerator if not you find me and I will give you $200!" That is a good selling point if you ask me.

Finally we had to get on a train for the Hills so we could go to church at Hillsong. We caught the train then hopped on the Hillsong bus and with some friendly people onboard we took the 20 minute trip from the train station to the church. We eve got a snack on the bus! We arrived to a parking lot full of cars and entered one of the buildings. We were not in the main "convention center" which was fine, because it was a smaller service.



The evening was great, we felt very welcome and met a few other people from the states. The music was good and the message was fun to listen to. The atmosphere was very laid back so it was just good to be there. Afterwards I met with Nick for a few minutes, he is the Youth Pastor for Senior High. I am looking forward to talking to him some more in the future.

In the end, it was a short visit, but a good one. We took the bus back to the station with another snack and arrived back at the hostel where we were greeted by a hoard of people in the kitchen/eating area. Tomorrow it is off to Melbourne to see our friends Rory and Jennie.

Blessings,

dain

Sydney Day 3

If we thought we had walked far before, day three proved every day before to be nothing in comparison! We began the day where we left off - back at Darling Harbour and the Wildlife World. But on the way there we decided to actually walk through the Royal Botanical Gardens rather than just around it. We were not disappointed. It was amazing. There were plants from all over the world and in such huge form too. I can't believe some of the things we saw. The cactus and tropical plants. The sheer number of different types of Rhododendrons was crazy. Some of the plants were in bloom but because it is "winter" most of the plants were not in bloom. But I could only imagine what it would look like. We even stopped to smell the roses. They all smelled different. Who knew? Answer: a rose connoisseur.



Next we walked to the Wildlife World where we saw some of the most amazing and dangerous animals on the face of the earth. The animals were all native to Australia. Some interesting facts. There are more dangerous animals than non-dangerous animals in Australia and 65% of the animal activity in this country happens at night. The highlight of the day was when we got to see Koala's being fed so they were awake and very cute! We even got to pet one. Very awesome. We continued seeing huge spiders, yikes and a number of Kangaroos. It was a great time.



When we finished at the Wildlife World we headed over to Chinatown for dinner and some needed rest. We found a food court in a "mall" and started looking at all the pictures of the food, thank God for pictures. I found my favorite (sweet and sour pork) and Heather found hers (Wonton Soup). Both portions were amazing and we didn't finish the soup because it was "the combination" with shrimp, squid, wontons, vegetables, beef, pork and a heap of noodles in this wash basin of a bowl. Truly well worth the money. "It was the best Wonton soup in the world" - Heather

Next was the walking tour but along the way we ran into an indoor flea market that put all markets to shame. It was quite the place with tons of booths and cool stuff. We hardly had time to look before it closed down. We are going to go back on Saturday.

So the walking tour was next. Sydney is putting on a night time walking tour called VIVID that shows off some of the great places in Sydney by lighting them in really cool ways and then having modern light art between locations. We started by getting lost and going the long way to the observatory but ended up finding some awesome views once we made it to the start of the tour. All in all we ended up at 25 different "exhibits" of smart lighting that were all very fun. The culmination was the Sydney Opera house lit up...well....like a huge work of modern art or a lizard. It was amazing to look at.





We finally decided that the day should be done and we should get home because of our extreme tiredness. We still had a few miles to walk to get home to the hostel but we toughed it out and despite sore feet, knees, calves, and bodies we made it and crashed. Hence the reason I am posting this blog a day late.

What a day and we got tons of more pictures that will slowly load over the next few days. Check out my Flickr page for more pics.

Blessings and Blue Mountains tomorrow,

dain

Sydney Day 2

There really is nothing like a full nights rest! And that is what we got last night. Comfy bed and not too much noise outside helped as well. Breakfast in the Hostel and then it was off in the rain to the Opera house and whatever else we wanted to do today.

The path we took, as recommended by Joe was fantastic. There were all kinds of paths and walkways that were right on the water. We walked by Woolloomooloo wharf were we had to dodge the rain quite a bit. I also had a first today, aside from the fact that everything is a first since I've never been to Australia, but I was standing on the side of the road, well actually it was the middle of the road on a median and I was splashed by a truck that drove by. It soaked my already soaked pants and, well, I laughed.



Next we continued down the path along the wharf and came around the corner to one of the most amazing views of the harbor, opera house and harbor bridge. It was beautiful. We took lots of pictures and waited out the rain that came back. It's a good thing we brought our rain coats.

Next it was through the Royal Botanical Gardens and past tons of people jogging. It seemed strange to me that there were so many people out jogging in the middle of the day and in the rain. Don't they have jobs, but maybe not. Maybe it was a early lunch break of something? We eventually got to the Opera House itself and looked around at the amazing building that it was. Very Cool!



The walking tour wasn't done yet. We went to the Rocks, Circular Quay, Darling Harbour, downtown Sydney and the world famous Aquarium. They were all awesome, but I love the Aquarium the best. The animals and fish and shark and rays that were all twice the size of me astounded me. We got to go underwater to see them. The tunnels led us into a land that few get to see. A great tour. Plus on top of all the cool stuff we got to see Nemo, Dory, Marlin, Crush, Bubbles, Gill and the whole crew from Finding Nemo. It was a star studded day!


Heather taking a nap with Crush!

Finally, it was back to the hostel and make dinner together. We made a chicken stir fry and it was tasty.

Looking back on the day I realized that I finally felt like I was in Australia when I came around the corner and saw the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. Strange that the accents and constant reminders that I am in Australia didn't do it for me. But the moment I saw the iconic locations I had finally arrived. Seeing it up close was amazing and changed my perception on what the building is and that it in fact three buildings. Also, it's not white. It's actually a cream and grey combination. All in all a beautiful and amazing piece of architecture.

Have a great day, I am looking froward to tomorrow and maybe some more sun.

Once again you can check out more pictures on my Flickr page: Click Here

Peace,

dain

Sydney Day 1

What a wonderful first day in Australia! Really, I couldn't think of a better way of doing it. Arrive at 6:30 in the morning and then have the rest of the day to bum around and get our bearings. Throw in a shower in the morning and a nap in the afternoon and whaaapowww...you've got yourself a first day.

Heather and I started our adventure with breakfast at Joe's. Turns out, Australians can make a great French Toast and bacon. The eggs, tea and chai were also fantastic. Joe also gave us a map and some great ideas for tomorrow as we are planning on seeing the Opera house and some other places on the harbor.

After breakfast we walked around Kings Cross and saw the sights. Fantastic and lots of things to see. Turns out we are in Backpackers heaven because not only are there tons of places to stay, but also lots of "adult clubs" if you know what I mean. I am already glad that Heather and I are staying a little off the beaten track.



Next, because we are staying at a hostel we want to cook some of our own food. So we went on the look for a grocery store. What we found was Woolworths, a very fine establishment and all underground. A bit different than we are used to but a great variety. We got our breakfast fixings and have our spot in the fridge where we are staying.


The rest of the day we devoted to Hyde Park and Downtown Sydney. It was awesome, a beautiful city and pretty easy to get around. Here are a few shots of Hyde Park:



But I did learn a few things about traffic in Australia. First, look right. Traffic is coming from a different direction than I am used to and I almost got hit a few times. Talk about looking like a tourist straight away. (Straight away is Australian for immediately). They even have help because apparently I am not the only person that has no clue.



The way you know to cross is signaled by a Green walking guy rather than white, and a laser -beam sound coming from the button I just pushed. So to sum up: look down so you remember to look right, and wait for the laser.

Finally, dusk came and I got some awesome pictures of a huge Catholic Church and the down town area. The panoramic pictures are from the roof of Eva's where we are staying.



Now it is off to bed to try and get some real sleep, meaning laying down and not in an airplane.

You can check out more pictures of our trip on my flickr page: www.flickr.com/photos/dmswanso

Blessings and good night,

dain

Made it Safe!

Well, our first day is Australia is here and we are ready to go. After a shower and getting used to the hostel we are staying in I think we will head out on foot and see what we can see. We already had a bit of a Mr. Toad's wild ride on the way here. Straight through downtown Sydney and stopping at all the other Hostels in the area (we had a few riders in our shuttle) and then it was off to Kings Cross where we are staying at Eva's Backpackers Hostel. Not a bad place. Nice and quaint I think. We have our own room and a nice view of the city out our window. We are planning on heading out on foot after we get our feet under us again.

More to come soon,

dain