Oz

So I'm wired, not even close to tired, and really wanted to continue my vacation posts on here. 3 jobs this weekend made that rather difficult, soooo... what better time than now?  Oh, and in case anyone (someone, hopefully?) reading this blog wonders... all these vacation pics were taken by yours truly (except the ones I'm in, obviously)... no Google image stock photos here!

My trip to Sydney in April/May 2003 was unforgettable. Let me first say people need to get over this 20-hour flight thing and just go! I promise you'll never get there if you spend your life making excuses about the flight every time the word Australia is mentioned. It's long, it's expensive (mine was $1600 in '03), and it's not a trip that can be done in a week. Plan accordingly and JUST DO IT.

The flight is insane, I'm not gonna lie, especially when you're traveling solo. (Good luck with the jet lag-induced hallucinations when you get back too! Those are a real treat!) I had a connection in San Francisco, and then it was straight over the Pacific for another 12+ hours with NOTHING but ocean under you. So you pray your plane is jammed with enough fuel, and the pilot's not playing sudoku to stave off boredom in the cockpit. Anything goes wrong when you're that far out in the Pacific... you're pretty much doomed! The two things burned in my memory from that flight are:
1) Ordering the vegetarian meal because research told me that was the "freshest" plane food. I can't tell you the utter rage disappointment I felt when people in my row got pancakes and bacon and all I got was a hot container of asparagus and fruit. Never again! Never!
2) Listening to the Jason Mraz song "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)" about 836 times on repeat as the plane's "playlist" wasn't exactly packed with jams. I didn't have an iPod in 2003, so this beggar couldn't be a chooser... but I did choose to put Jason Mraz on repeat 836 times... annnnnnyway...

We spent just under 2 weeks in Sydney. Steve was doing a 5 month study abroad program at Murdoch University in Perth. We cooked up this crazy idea to meet on the east coast in Sydney and cram as much as we could into those 12 days... and we definitely did.

The end of April/beginning of May was the perfect time to visit. Temps were between 60-75 degrees and fall was just ending (southern hemisphere, remember). There was just one short period of rain. Thankfully I've been really lucky on all my trips in avoiding rain and all other weather catastrophes.

Here's a pretty good pic of the Opera House we took from the ferry, which went around the harbor (or harbour, as they put it, fancy fancy).






 We jammed it all in- climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge, visited the Taronga Zoo, went skydiving at the Sydney Skydiving Centre, went south to Bondi Beach, and took a day trip inland to the Blue Mountains. 

Here's me at the top of the bridge. They breathalyze you before you go and deck you out in branded gear head to toe. Nothing says "great picture" like a cement-gray jumpsuit! The climb wasn't too scary, but definitely not for the out of shape or acrophobic types. We were all tethered together, and the side climbing rails are designed for the everyday joe to do this no problem.

Me and an adorable sleeping koala

This sign at the zoo had me laughing the rest of the afternoon. It's speaks the truth though. How would YOU like to be touched by hundreds of people every day? Umm... no thanks! Although, I would like to see what constitutes a koala "panic"....
I did sneak in one quick pet when no one was looking at the zoo.

Here's the 3 Sisters rock formation in the Blue Mountains in Katoomba NSW. There's a pretty cool legend behind it (thank you wiki)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Sisters_(Australia), and the smell of eucalyptus permeates the entire valley of this mountain area. The blue haze over the valley is obvious, and quite spectacular, but incorrectly thought to be light reflecting off the eucalyptus vapors. I'm sure Wiki could also tell you the real cause, as I'm having trouble recalling it almost 8 years later (8?!?! already?!?!)

So there are the Australia highlights... let's see if I'm ambitious enough to tackle Italy tomorrow. That trip is still fresh in my mind, and I have hundreds of pics to choose from. I did these a little out of chronological order, but whatevs... can't lose steam now...this blog's alive again!