Australia Day

First of all I would like to apologise for how ugly the blog has been lately. Unfortunately, I have been using the library computers which only have internet explorer, and blogger doesn't really like internet explorer so it does funny things. Once we get a new laptop (and internet for that matter) I will be back to using an internet browser that was created and updated in the last decade so until then you will have to suffer through the massive gaps, funny indentations, and sometimes lack of photos.

Yesterday was Australia Day. It's sort of like the 4th of July, except for Australians. They, like us, have conveniently placed their national holiday in the middle of summer so as to optimize your love for your country. Luke and I decided to take advantage of all of the free things going on in the city and head down to the harbor. The cloud was a scary shade of grey, but we desperately wanted to get down to the waterfront before the ferrython started. Basically they 'dress up' the Sydney ferries and they race through the harbor. After standing under a tree waiting for the downpour to pass, we were slightly underwhelmed by many of the 'dressed up' boats.

There was free music playing at a few different venues all day and it was surprisingly great. There were all different genres from folk to jazz to alternative pop/rock. It was a great day once the torrential downpour came and went. The sun was beating down on us for the rest of the afternoon. After we'd had enough sun as if on cue the rain was back. We took that opportunity to pop into Hart's Pub, a local brewery in Sydney.

In the evening we were sitting on our balcony umming and ahhing about whether or not to make the 2 minute walk to Darling Harbour to see the fireworks, but we finally decided to take one more walk on our aching feet down the hills to the harbor. I'm so glad we did because the fireworks were incredible. When we first walked down I was reminded so much of heading down to the fireworks at our local harbor on the 4th of July. There were candy stalls everywhere and kids begging their parents to buy them glowstick necklaces. The fireworks display that they harbor put on were some of the most impressive I've ever seen. They had music playing in the background with the fireworks exploding in-sync with the beats. There was a light show in between the fireworks leading you to believe they were over only to send an exploding sizzler up into the air to let you know the show was still going on.

We walked back home buzzing wondering how we could ever have considered not going to see such a great show (and free!)

As usual my attempt to add photos has failed. Sorry!!!

Fourth and Final!

Like most things we've tried to do in Sydney, finding a place to live here has been a struggle. We have seen some absolute dives. Upon our arrival as I mentioned here we stayed with Luke's friend Ross. While we were there we attempted to find a place in the city. We looked at "studios" which apparently mean bedrooms with sinks, mini fridges, lofted beds, and shared bathrooms (just like college!) Some places were filthy, others overcrowded with bunk beds in every room (including the living room), but eventually we settled for a place that was good enough. We would have our own bathroom and bedroom in a house with some other roommates, but at least it was clean. The biggest downside was that it was pretty far out of the city and there was nothing in the town, so we had to take the bus everywhere. We spent a week there and quickly found a gem of a place in one of the inner suburbs called Ultimo. From our very own balcony we could lean over, crane our necks to the right and actually see the city! It was a mere 15 minute walk into the city center from there as well so we were as happy as could be. We only signed on for two weeks though because we knew our friend's Alex and Patrick were looking for a place to live in Sydney as well and were excited to move in with them while we're here.

Our place in Ultimo (#3)

Our Balcony

Leaning over the side of the balcony

and looking into the city!

So yesterday we FINALLY moved into our last place. It is pretty exciting because it is an unfurnished place which is something we haven't experience before while travelling. So we've had to get our own bed and things, but it's so exciting to look into our room and know for once that everything in it is ours.

Our new bathroom!

Kitchen....

And our bedroom already filled with our stuff!

Finding My Love for Sydney

Last week Luke and I decided to take the afternoon off from job searching and reward our lack of job finding with a day at the Botanic Gardens. It was a beautiful day as most days have been this summer so we walked into the city and over to the eastern side of the harbor. It was nice to enjoy seeing and smelling all of the flowers in bloom so when we got to the rose garden we decide to sit down and soak in the sun for a little while. As soon as I sat down I felt a horribly sharp pain in my wrist. It quickly felt itchy, got red and swelled slightly. Obviously, I panicked and scratched and whined about it for about 10 minutes until the pain finally went away and I completely forgot about it.

I always wonder how those tiny little stings can cause so much pain....

After we got up and I stopped being a drama queen (for the moment), we carried on walking through the gardens until we got to the edge of the park overlooking the harbor. This view never ceases to amaze me. It reminds me that although I don't always love Sydney, it is a beautifully magical place. The sun was sparkling off of the water and against the blue skies the arches of the opera house are spectacular. We sat and enjoyed the view for quite a while before walking back through the park and over to the steps of the opera house. It was the first time I have seen it up close and it did not disappoint. It is nearly as incredible 2 feet away as it is 2 miles away. Seems Sydney's not so bad after all.

Happy Holidays

Christmas and New Year have been a complete whirlwind! Is it really 2012? Allow me to give you a recap of the last 2 weeks:

My older brother Dan came to visit for Christmas which was incredibly exciting. So Luke, Dan and I headed down to Nowra to catch up with a long lost friend from when Luke and I were on exchange 3 years ago. It was incredible to catch up and reminisce about our semester in Switzerland and what we've all been up to since. We packed a lot of hikes and beaches into our week while Dan was here. We also packed a lot of turkey, ham, chocolate, beer and wine into our week. So obviously we were full and tired when we finally dropped Dan at the airport on the 27th. It was a quick visit, but so much fun!!

After the Christmas dust settled, we had to quickly recover for our New Years extravaganza. We have been lucky enough to stay with one of Luke's friends that he grew up with, Ross, while we've been in Sydney, so we made some great plans for ringing in the new year out on a boat on Sydney harbor. The fireworks were incredible and we counted them down with out new friends from Atlanta, Georgia. The weather has been amazing as well. We spent the last day of 2011 laying on Bondi Beach getting a sunglass tan and started the new year laying on the couch looking at the sun from behind the sliding glass door. Oh come on, isn't that how everyone starts the year?

our new friends from atlanta

Anyway, we are now off to hunt for apartments today and hopefully move into one tomorrow. It's that easy isn't it?

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and rang in the new year with loved ones! Maybe I'll actually get to see some of you in 2012?

Sydney, But No Sun

Ok, so I missed out on telling you about our last week in Melbourne. We did some tours and then we left for Sydney! We met up with my brother Dan on Tuesday and headed for Nowra to catch up with a friend from my semester abroad in Switzerland and to spend Christmas there. Since we've been here we have done a walk to see the local sights and most importantly, we went to find KANGAROOS yesterday and we found them!! Seeing them was one of the coolest things we've done since being in Australia. Now all we're waiting for is the 4 day cloud over New South Wales to pass and for the sun come out!!

Touring Melbourne

On Monday, Luke and I did a tour of Etihad Stadium. It is a stadium which is mostly used for Australian Rules Football (kind of like rugby), but they also use it for concerts, bit soccer events, and loads of other sporting events. The stadium can change its shape depending on the event, and can seat up to 76,000. The tour was really good. Because they were setting up for an event we weren't allowed to go onto the field or go into the changing rooms, but that allowed us to go to something far more interesting, the executive boxes. Once a company pays their fee for a private box, they are allowed to decorate it however they like, and decorate it they do! We went into some seriously memorabeliazed boxes. One in particular had not only gotten in a marble bar and put their family seal on their seats, but they also had so much movie and sporting memorabelia that we couldn't even capture it all with photos. The tour was only an hour and because it was apparently 'closed off' in some sections it was only $8 instead of $16!

Beach Bums

Last week Luke and I headed out for a lazy beach day at Brighton Beach. It's about a 20 minute train ride from the center of Melbourne, but it feels miles away once you are laying on the boiling hot sand listening to the crashing waves. A simple peak north though reminds you that the city isn't too far away.

One of the reasons we chose Brighton Beach over any other beach is becaue of their historically protected beach huts. They line the beach all painted a really fun bright color more garish than the next.

I still don't have a tan...