Mozzies Attack!

Mozzy is another Aussie abbreviation for mosquito, and let me just say that these suckers are vicious here!  Of course, I am pretty sensitive to most insect bites, but these mossies leave gigantic welts on my when they bite with a sting that lasts for some days.  Nothing cortaid won't fix over time, but the mark it leaves lasts for months.  

So, I laid down last night to fall into that exhausted sleep after a long week of hard work, and I woke up this morning to a burning and itchy face.  In the haze of waking up, I thought, "This isn't right.  Why is my face on fire?"  As I stumbled into the bathroom to look in the mirror, I got a shocking surprise of 6 bites on my FACE!!!  The bastard bit my right ear then twice on my right cheek.  He thought my chin was tasty as well as my upper lip, and he left his final mark in an inch-wide bite on my left cheek!  Now, any mosquito bite is hard not to scratch, but imagine 6 on your face.  Ohhhhh the agony!

And just to be a royal pain in my bum, he decided to bite me once more, as I sat down to write this blog, on the barely visible part of my backside where the edge of your shirt meets the top of your pjs!  This guy has some serious nerve!  I immediately flipped on the light and went on a rampage of scouring the room trying to kill him, but he managed to evade me 2 times.  The final time was fatal as he hovered across my computer screen.  So long sucker!

Now that the menace is out of the picture, it's time for me to try for a little more sleep.  It's only 6:15am on Saturday morning here, and I need more beauty sleep.  Truly, I do now that I have these welts on my face.  

Yawn, yawn...  Good night for now, and TGIF to the States!

Tis the Silly Season

Australia has now entered their "silly season," which from what I can gather basically means the holiday season. They call it silly because of all the parties to attend before Christmas. Since there is no Thanksgiving, some of the parties started as early as the last weekend of November. My company took us on a dinner cruise around the Sydney Harbour. Although the weather did not cooperate, it was still a lovely view. And I must admit that the food was quite lovely.

The holiday season here has been a little strange for me so far, only in that it's quite warm and sunny here right now. The weather doesn't feel much like Christmas to me. Really, the one place you notice Christmas is happening is at the malls. The department store windows in the downtown (CBD) area are dressed with Christmas scenes and fake snow. The music indicates that Christmas is approaching as well, but it doesn't feel like it.

I had to laugh when I heard Let It Snow over the PA system because there is no way it's snowing here anytime soon. It's still entertaining though. They play most of the songs we know. Although, I haven't heard "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" yet. I am pretty sure this one is only an American thing. Not sure we would want to share that one... I did hear an Aussie toon one day on the Today show. It was called "Six White Boomers." Since Oz doesn't have reindeer here, Santa has to use kangaroos to pull his sleigh. And I guess another word for roo is boomer. I was able to find it on the Aussie You Tube site. Have a listen when you get some free time. (Link to Six White Boomers) I got a good laugh out of it.

Quick economical note: I think Australia is burying its head in the sand about a recession or possible depression. Strangely, everyone is out in droves right now doing their shopping. If I didn't know the world economy was in a bad state, I certainly would not be able to tell from the amount people are spending. The government here is very aware and trying to take measures to help things, but the people themselves seem to act as thought all is well with the world. In some ways, I guess this is good since consumer spending helps us. I just hope they have a little saved up for a rainy day.

Bula, Fiji!

Happy Thanksgiving over there in the US!!  I can't say that there is any turkey or stuffing here to enjoy...(Sniff, sniff)  I could have bought a chicken or something, but I was too lazy.  ; )

On to Fiji...  Where do I start?  When we arrived in Nadi (pronounced Nan-di), we "hired" a car and found our way to the Coral Coast where we stayed at the Pearl South Pacific.  There is basically one main road all the way around the main island of Viti Levu.  One way around is Queens Road, and the other way around is Kings Road.  Along the way, we saw a number of locals walking along the main roads to the next village, school, resorts or just waiting for the open-air buses.  We noticed the local farm animals also, except there's no fence to keep them in.  So, you might see a cow or boar up closer than you might like.  It's amazing at how different the towns and villages are in comparison to the resorts.  (Link to PicasaWeb)

And I must say that stopping here was a great idea as a place to get over my jet lag.  The people are very friendly and all about enjoying Fiji time.  In addition to the local Fijians, there is a rather large Indian population there.  Actually, I work with a number of Fijians of Indian decent that have left Fiji for better work opportunities in Australia.  There has been some unrest in Fiji now and then when the governments change over.  We actually experienced how serious things are when we accidentally ended up in front of the Presidents house in the capital of Suva.  We needed directions and were promptly motioned to move our car by a militant guard armed with a machine gun.  Needless to say, we got out of there pretty quickly.  I guess it is no different than if someone approached the White House unannounced.  I certainly wouldn't make that mistake again though.

Back to the beauty that is the Pearl, there was a great view of the ocean and the Beqa Island (pronounced Benga).  I thought it was pronounced the Becca Island until someone burst my bubble and said the name.  The hotel had boats to take you there for snorkeling, but we weren't able to go as the winds made the water unsafe.  Then, we decided that we'd take a river cruise that takes you to a local village for a lunch and the local tribal dancing, but it rained that day.  And that's when we decided to drive an hour into Suva for some sight-seeing in the capital.  The last day, we drove back towards Nadi and the airport, and we stopped in Denarau Island to see some of the other resorts.  Denarau was a completely different world.  It was a gated community of resorts with a Hard Rock Cafe and everything!  After a final island drink at the Hilton, we headed back to the airport for our final plane (there were 8 over 3 wks) back to Sydney.

Vegas, Baby!

While we were in the US, Travis and I stopped through Vegas for a few days to visit with his family and friends.  There are a few pictures at his parents' house with everyone there.  Most of the shots are of us lounging around, since that's when everyone was there.

The second round of pictures is the big rivalry game, UNLV playing UNR (Univ NV, Reno) at football.  (UNR is where Travis went to college.)  UNR won the game, Go Wolfpack!

(Link to PicasaWeb)

Palm Beach & Sydney Chinese Garden

Here are a few pictures from recent activities with friends before leaving for the US.  We met up with Rutger and Nadine to check out new areas and decided to drive up the coast then take a ferry to Ettalong, which is just past the mouth of the Hawkesbury River.  There wasn't much in Ettalong, but the ferry ride was nice.

Then, we met up with Travis's friend Mehdi and his wife Sarah for the tail end of the Moon Festival at the Chinese Garden of Friendship here in Sydney.  We took a few pictures and got tea in the garden, which I found a bit comical.  I was expecting this nice Asian tea only to find they charged an arm and a leg for Lipton!  Anyway, enjoy the photos...

(Link to PicasaWeb)

Election Day!

Wow, I can't believe that it has been 21 months of campaigning to lead us here!  I must admit that it's been interesting hearing the view point of the Aussies regarding US politics, and surprisingly I would say the opinions were rather mixed as to who would be best to run our country and will support Australia better.

And considering I am American working in an Oz company, the people I work with have been very forthcoming with questions about our electoral system.  Voters here are required to vote.  Otherwise, they get fined.  They don't have the choice of voting, and they vote in the party not the person.  Although the parliment has a Senate and a House, there are still big differences between us.

The world is certainly watching the US today!  I hope you all went out today and performed your civic duty.

The Race that Stops a Nation

Melbourne Cup is a huge horse racing event here in Oz, and yesterday the nation truly might have stopped for the minute or so that the race runs.  This is certainly equivalent to the Kentucky Derby with a whole week of "carnival"events.  And with horse racing comes fashion commentary... The morning shows have been keyed up on dresses, menswear and hats galore!

Even though the race is run during the week, my company hosted a barbeque with a crazy shoe contest and of course a round of sweeps to place a little money on the horses.  We had a TV set up for those who wanted to watch.  It was an amazing race to watch with a photo finish.  The winning horse, Viewed won by just the tiniest part of his nose forward.  Amazing to watch!  The trainer for the horse, Bart Cummings has apparently won the Melbourne Cup 12 times now, not consecutively though.  (Link to Melbourne Cup)

It was a nice diversion before the final day of US political coverage...

Lions, Tigers, Bears, and Spiders, Oh My!

Seeing as it's Halloween today in the US, I thought it only appropriate to post a comment or two about scary spiders of Australia.  I think I read in a book that Australia has the most things in a country that can kill you.  If nothing else, they will surely scare the you-know-what right out of ya.

Most notable is the funnel web spider.  And then there is the Redback, which is kind of similar to the Black Widow.  Luckily, I did some research when I first got here to start learning about these little buggers so I wouldn't jump sky high every time I saw movement at night.  It's still a good idea to be cautious and aware and always check your closed-toed shoes before slipping those feet inside them.  This is why I always had shoe boxes... to keep the creepy crawlers outta my shoes!

Plus, i tend to walk in the middle of the neighborhood streets in the evening.  It's easier to see things in trees.  One night, I was walking with Travis to dinner, and I saw something move above us.  I looked up, and casually told him to move left now.  I don't know what the spider was, but he was shimmying right down from his huge web and would have been nearly on top of Travis's head had he walked directly under the spider.

The one I see most often is the Huntsman Spider.  Now, these guys can get big.  The biggest one I've encountered was as big as my hand outstretched!  Plus, they move quickly, and they look a little like a cousin to the tarantula!  And they love to catch me off guard too.  I had the pleasure of finding one on the bathroom wall right by the doorway one morning.  I thought I might be stuck in there all day.  Here's a quick blurb about the Huntsman with a bit of a comic twist.  (Link to Huntsman article)

Another site I found actually explains which ones will kill and which ones are just painful and what to do if one does bite.  This helps, but I still jump!  (Link to more spider info from the Australian Museum)

Hello USA!!

Travis and I have flown back to the US for a visit, and I'm so excited to be back!  I'm so happy to be home.  We are in Vegas for a few days to visit Travis's family and go to  to UNLV v. UNR football game.  Then, I am headed to Richmond for a couple weeks.  I'm looking forward to catching up with everybody.  

You don't realize how much you miss everyone until you're away for awhile...  So, I will write a bit when I get back.  Hope everyone has a good week!

The Toilet Swirls the Other Direction

So, let's see what else is a little backwards from what we are used to in the US.

1. Aussies drive on the left side of the road in right-hand drive cars.  It's like learning to drive all over again!  Plus, I have a manual shift.  The stick, clutch, and gas/break pedals are exactly where they are for us, but you are on the opposite side of the car.  So, 1st gear is away from you.  It's a wonder I have gears left.  Luckily, I rented an automatic for the 1st couple weeks.
   
2. The seasons are opposite to ours.  I am entering Spring now, and the pollen is beginning to fall on the cars.  Let's hope I'm not allergic to the foliage here.  So far so good...
3. Aussies have no clue what Pay-At-The-Pump means.  I'm so spoiled by just swiping my card that I stared at the pump for a couple minutes the first time I had to pump my "petrol" here.  I couldn't remember what to do!  Then I had this duh moment... try walking inside to pay the guy.
4. More often than not, I find that sinks have separate hot and cold water faucets!  Washing dishes can be a touchy business with scalding water ready to burn my delicate fingers.  Plus, there aren't many dishwashers either.  Thus the reason I'm burning my hands to clean dishes.  I should really invest in paper plates!
5. I've noticed that the doors to enter stores and restaurants say PUSH to enter and PULL to exit, which continues to throw me off.  I occasionally smash into the door on the way out of the office.  The receptionist gets a giggle out of it.
6. This one is just a term, but I always laugh when someone says this.  Instead of asking for a hug, the women tend to say "I need a cuddle."  I'm thinking, "What you talkin' 'bout, Willis?"  I don't cuddle with just anyone, now.  Then you realize, it's just a hug.
7. Americans are called Yanks, and they call the US dollar a Greenback.  Of course, I know that term, but I don't normally hear Americans call it that anymore.
8. And yes, the toilets flush the other direction.

Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos

I must admit that Sydney is home to many beautiful birds from the Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos to King Parrots, Magpies, Rainbow Lorikeets, and Kookaburras.  All the birds are very beautiful until they open their beaks.  These are some of the loudest birds I've ever heard.  I could sometimes get cranky when the birds at home woke me up on a lazy Saturday morning, but I had no idea what I was about to face coming here.  There is NO MORE sleeping in on the weekends because these lovely birds will wake you up with their cackling and heckling at ungodly hours.

Take a listen to some of the sounds under the Top 40 Birdsongs.  The kookaburra is the best one.  It sounds like the jungle birds you hear in the movies.  (Link to Aussie Bird site)

Here are some pics of the Cockatoos.  I took these at a friend's house.  She was feeding them bread.  (Link to PicasaWeb)

Here, There, and Yon

Throughout the last few months, I have taken some random photos around town, funny signs or areas we have walked through.  With the harbour as a backdrop, it's hard not to have a great shot wherever you go.  I've tried to put comments or captions on most of the photos to explain some of the randomness instead of blogging about it, especially the outhouse...

(Link to PicasaWeb)

It's the Simple Things in Life

I call this game 'Rocks in a Can.'

I may have mentioned how Sydney is a bit industrial, many warehouses and what not, and usually there are factory workers sitting out for their union-mandated lunch period. As I was walking to get a sandwich today, I heard this clank as if a metal can were dropped on the pavement or something. When I looked over, I noticed a group of guys on their lunch break cheering on another bloke. As it turned out, the lone bloke was standing behind a made up line throwing rocks at a can! (I got a bit of a chuckle out of it.)

Most likely the objective was to get as many rocks in as possible, and no doubt with Oz being a betting culture, there was surely some cash on the game. Anyway, I just started thinking how simply creative people can be and how easily entertained some are. In my normal rush, rush, rush during the week, I have to remember to stop and smell the roses occasionally, or maybe I will just throw a few rocks at a can...

Bondi Beach

Bondi Beach is probably the best known beach in the Sydney area. It is certainly the hip place to be and be seen for the Sydneysiders. I think there is even a naked surf competition there in January. I doubt I will attend, but it is certainly the place of the bodies beautiful most of the time.

Recently, Travis's friend Rutger ran in the City to Surf 14k race that starts in the Sydney CBD and ends at Bondi Beach. So, Travis and I met him there to cheer him in the final few meters and celebrate for lunch and a beer afterwards. There were close to 80,000 people in the race, and this is the first in 11 years that an Aussie won the race. After we finished lunch, there was a big storm rolling in, and I took a couple shots. (Link to PicasaWeb)

Manly to Spit Bridge Walk

I have to admit that it's so easy to do outdoors-y things in and around the city.  Travis and I spent an afternoon enjoying the views along the walk from Manly to the Spit Bridge.  It was a great day to wander because I wasn't able to find a good map.  So, we only had a general idea of where to go, but with the public trasport as well established as it is, you can find your way home easily enough.  (Link to VisitNSW website)

We took a train to Circular Quay.  Then, you can enjoy a leisurely ferry ride to Manly.  When you arrive, just turn left and follow the path along the water.  Apparently, this walk allows some of the best views of the harbour area.  I think these pics turned out ok.  After a couple hours, you come out at this big bridge, and we figured this must be it.  I have yet to uncover why it's called the Spit Bridge though.  Needless to say, there was a bus stop on the bridge that takes you right back into the city.  

My one recommendation for anyone who visits and wants to do the walk, PACK A LUNCH!  We had the lazy thought that there would certainly be food places to stop for a bite.  Au contraire, mon frere!  There is the path, parks and neighborhoods the entire way.  Luckily, we unearthed a great fish shop at the end of the walk.  It was sort of hole in the wall from the outside, but it had a great view and even better food.  All in all, a great way to spend an afternoon.

(Link to PicasaWeb)

Wentworth Falls, Blue Mountains

Here are a couple pics from a quick day trip to Wentworth Falls.  Travis's cousin Coe visited while on business, and we were more than happy to catch up with him when he wanted to get of town for a bit.

By the way, you won't see the actual falls in these pics because there were too many stairs to climb down to them.  We heard the water rushing though.  (I am so out of shape!)

(Link to PicasaWeb)

Neon is back!

Raise your hand if you thought you had seen the last of neon when the 80's ended? Well, I sure did!

Neon is everywhere in Sydney, and I suppose it makes sense if you start to look at why it's used so much.  Sydney is a very labor intensive, manufacturing/industrial city.  So, there are a number of factories and warehouses.  The neon goes to good use there.  All the workers are required to wear neon green, yellow, or orange shirts, vests, fleeces, jackets for safety reasons.  Many of the city workers do the same, from rubbish collectors to street cleaners to motorway workers.  You certainly can't miss them.  It's sort of funny though because you wander into the local sandwich shop at lunch, and you have no idea who is who.  There is only a sea of neon before you.

Melbourne

Here are some pictures from our recent trip to Melbourne.  Melbourne is the capitol of the state of Victoria, and it definitely presents a different city feel than Sydney.  There is a little more of a European feel there, with small laneways and shopping arcades to happen upon.  Melbourne has much more theatre, cafes and cultural events than Sydney as well.

Actually, Travis took me to see the musical Wicked while we were there.  I can't believe I had to travel all the way to Australia to finally get the chance to see the show.  It was good though.  I bought the book, but I could never get into it.  I think the musical version was probably much more my speed.

One of the days, we took the local street cars to St. Kilda to see a little bit of coast line.  Melbourne has the Yarra River running through it, and the coast looking out towards Tasmania is not far at all.

(Link to Fraus Restaurant)  Here is a link to one of the yummy restaurants we ate at while there.   Fraus serves yummy hot chocolate with many flavors to select.

(Link to PicasaWeb)

My Aussie Dictionary - Volume 2

Slowly, I am starting to get the language down, but here are a few more words that are a little different than in America.

Doona - Down Comforter

Knackered - Exhausted, wiped out

Nappies - Baby diapers

Nibblies - Snacks or Hors de heuvres

Plastic Cheese - Kraft Cheese (or American)

Prawns - Shrimp

Rice Bubblies - Rice Krispies

Rock Melon - Canteloupe

Sultana Bran - Raisin Bran

Sunnies - Sunglasses

Tomato Sauce - Ketchup or Katsup, however you choose to spell it

Hamish & Andy

Okay, these guys are definitely the highlight of my evening commute home.  They pull some of the funniest stunts.  Prior to the Olympics, they were working on "the People's Chip."  One night, they had a rep from the major chip company, Smith's, which is pretty much the Australian Lays company.  Anyhoo, the guys started in on all the cool flavors you could have in a chip, which led them to ask if you could just call up Smiths and ask them to make a particular flavor.

Turns out, you can!  So, the guys set out to find the flavor that would truly represent the people of Australia.  Over a period of weeks, they had listeners write in with their wish list of flavors, and at one point, Hamish decided that they should blend multiple flavors.  Much to Andy's disagreement of the combined flavors, Hamish waged on.  So, they did a practice run taste test where Andy mixed a bunch o' stuff in a blender and made Hamish drink it...  The reaction was priceless...  I laughed so hard, I was basically crying!

In the end, Hamish agreed that only one flavor could survive, and from amongst the many suggestions, the gravy chip was born.  Of course after listening to this whole series of shows for so long, I had to try a bag, and they were pleasantly delicious.

If you get some free time, check out their website, and watch their footage about Ghosting. 

(Link to Hamish & Andy website)

Bark in the Park

Here are some pics from the recent dog festival at the park nearby.  Molly wasn't quite sure what to make of it, but it was kind of fun.  They had the Aussie version of the Dog Whisperer and a grooming station.  Kind of funny but a nice afternoon out.

Greatest American Hero

Sydney radio stations are nothing to write home about, but every once in a while, you find that golden nugget that just makes you're day.  

I was on the way home from work tonight after a very tiring week, the last round of traffic for the week.  I start flipping stations for some actual music instead of the replays of the morning shows.  When all of a sudden, I land on the beginning of the theme song for Greatest American Hero!

"Believe it or not, I'm walking on air..."  Come on, you know the words... You know you do!

Needless to say, I turned up the volume and sang as loud as I could. I remember that show as if it were yesterday...  What a blast from the past and a funny way to start the weekend!

Canberra, Australia's Capitol

Over the Queen's Birthday, Travis and I travelled to Canberra to check out Australia's capitol city.  We visited the National Museum of Australia and toured the Old and New Parliament Houses.  I didn't realize that there was a Senate and House of Representatives, just like us.  The town is located almost half way between Sydney and Melbourne in a small mountain town.  You can tell that it was modeled after some of the more modern capitol cities, but it just isn't there yet.  I couldn't believe how quiet it was.  Still fun though...

Oh, and yes you will see a little yellow car in a few pics.  That's my new car!  

(Link to PicasaWeb)  

Manly Beach

We took the ferry from Sydney Harbour to Manly Beach and met up with Travis' friends, Rutger and Nadine, for the Manly Food & Wine Festival.  It was such a chill day on the beach... 

(Link to PicasaWeb)

Coogee Beach, NSW

A few weeks ago, Travis and I took Molly to Coogee Beach.  It was her first time to see the ocean, and she loved it!  Too bad she wasn't allowed on sand though.  We could only take her on the walking trail, but she was able to see the waves from the cliffs above.  I think she was ready to dive in...

(Link to PicasaWeb)

Speeding

So, there is a huge campaign in New South Wales to combat speeding.  There are speed cameras and red light cameras everywhere, and there is a fairly low tolerance as to the miles over the speed limit you can drive.  Anyway, the RTA, which is the equivalent to the DMV, released this commercial, and I thought it was clever.  Hope you enjoy.

(Link to RTA commercial)

State of Origin

Wow, do Aussies love their footy! Actually, footy covers just about all sports here in Australia. Australian Football League is called footy. Rugby Union is called footy. Then, there is National Rugby League, and you guessed it, it's called FOOTY! The NRL is what I've watched the most of. This version of rugby is played by all the local state teams. My local team is the South Sydney Rabbitohs, and it's actually the team that Russell Crowe owns. You might not think that a rabbit could be scary, but the mascot reminds me more of the bunny from Monty Python when they flash him up on the jumbotron screen... "He has fangs like this..." (Link to Rabbitohs site)

Out of Rugby League comes State of Origin games, the most watched rugby games here. Tonight, NSW (the Blues) and Queensland (the Maroons) played against each other in the tie-breaker game. For this game, each state makes a team from the NRL players based on the state in which the team members played on their first senior footy team. So, you have local teemmates playing a pretty huge rivalry against each other, and the games are played mid-season. (Link to State of Origin explained) The Blues took the first win, and Queensland took the second. This game is certainly the most intense game I have seen since I've been here. Apparently, there's a Queensland fan down the street because I can hear him yelling every time the Maroons score or do anything remotely interesting.. It's 80 minutes of serious play. I saw quite a few cuts, bruises, and maybe a significant head injury. THEY DON'T PLAY WITH PADS OR HELMETS! Just full on muscle and grit! What a game... GO THE BLUES!!

Sadly, I must report that Queensland took the series...

My Aussie Dictionary

Who knew English could be so different??? There have certainly been times when I feel like I'm in a country with a completely foreign language.

Australia has certainly maintained much of their British English words, but they definitely have a few slang words of their own. I have only just begun to keep track...

Oh, I forgot that there is no word that can't be shortened. Most people didn't bother to call me Rebecca at work, they went straight to Bec without even knowing that it is my actual nickname. Nothing like making a girl feel at home right?

Biscuit or Bicky – Cookie
Breaky – Breakfast
Capsicum – Green/Red peppers
Chips – Chips can mean french fries or potato chips
Crisps – Potato chips can be crisps or chips
Daggy – Loser; disheveled person
Dodgy – Suspicious
Dummy – Pacifier
Dunny – Toilet or loo; this word was the old name for an outhouse
Fairy Floss – Cotton candy
Good on you – Good for you; Way to go!**
How ya going? – How are you?
Lolly/Lollies - Candy (although a lollipop is still the same)
Mackers – McDonald's
Motorway – Highway, freeway, interstate
Plodding along – Getting by
Queue - Line
Take the piss out of you – Making fun of; joking around with
Serviette – Napkin
Smash – Accident, ex. There is a large smash on the motorway.
Ta – Thank you

**"Good on you" is my personal favorite so far.

Road Trip!

I have finally been able to load some of my pictures online. There are still more to come, but this definitely gives you an idea of the landscape. You will have to excuse me as I am big on taking pictures of scenery. My mom always says, "Where are the people?" There will eventually be more people shots for sure. Since there are a few albums, I should probably explain a little... We have mainly stuck to local spots that are within driving or train distance for weekend trips since the work schedule is fairly intense right now.  (Link to PicasaWeb)

In the first week Travis and I went to the wine country in Hunter Valley, which is about 2 hours north of Sydney. If you ever get the chance to go, I would definitely suggest taking one of the wine tour buses. They drive you around all day to various wineries. No worries about "drink driving" as they call it here.

The next trip was a "bush walk" or hike in the Blue Mountains. I believe the name came from the fact that the Eucalyptus oil in the air reflects a blue glow. This range actually reminds me very much of the Shenandoah Mountains in Virginia, but the foliage is definitely more tropical. Plus, the walk we took was incredibly more steep! We probably walked down 3 km of stairs, which equates to approximately 1.8 miles. My knees hurt enough after the walk down, but some people actually choose to walk up it. Crazy!! The path eventually evens out, and there is a nice tram after Katoomba Falls to take you back to the top. Whew! (Link to Blue Mountains)

After that, we took a brief trip to Newcastle, which is a 3hr train ride from Sydney and not very far from Hunter Valley. It's a much smaller beach area and more family-oriented.

In April, Travis's brothers, Tom and Justin, visited Sydney with a few of their friends, and one stop on the tour was the Red Bull Flugtag event held at the Royal Botanic Gardens, not far from the Opera House. I am not sure if any of you have ever seen this type of event, but people try to make some sort of aircraft that is launched off a big ramp into water. The objective is to have it fly the farthest, I think. I actually had no idea that the event is actually judged and in the end there is a winner! It was pretty silly, but I enjoyed it.

The last one out there is a few pictures of the Grand Pacific Drive. Much like the Pacific Coast Highway in California, New South Wales built a nice, windy road along the Pacific Ocean to meander through the countryside between Sydney and Wollongong. I dare say that the PCH is a bit grander though, but I only saw a portion of it. (Link to Grand Pacific Drive)

That's it for now...

G'day Sydney!

I cannot believe I am actually living in the land down under...  Welcome to Sydney, Australia!

Since I am here, I thought I would try out this whole blogging trend.  Being far away from home can be tough, and this is a great way to share some of my experiences here.  So, we shall see how it goes.  Stay tuned for more from Oz...

Here are some pictures of my new neighborhood.  (Kodak Gallery)