Dumplings

Walking around our last afternoon before going off to the Gold Coast we stumbled into a sweet little clothing store. We couldn't find anything that was our style (or probably that we could afford) but the girls in side were really helpful and suggested this Chinese dumpling place in the World Center. There was a 45 minute wait on a Wednesday afternoon so needless to say it had a reputation. It was delicious!

Thank You/No Worries/No Dramas

Our first real night in Sydney was pretty awesome. We decided to follow Filo's excellent advice and go to Mrs. Macquarie's Point. This is a park that sits on a small point that juts out parallel to the Sydney Opera House and gives amazing views of the bridge, city and opera house. With the sunset behind, it really was beautiful. We decided to take beers with us. Without truly thinking of the law, we did not bring cups or buy canned beer so we unfortunately had to drink the beers from paper bags! Kind of disappointing behavior for two girls that got through college smuggling alcohol into various places that it was not allowed.


Lindsey breaking Sydney law


Sydney Harbor Sunset


Jaime and her Christmas Present

Once the sunset was over, we decided to go grab drinks and dinner in the area of Sydney called the Rocks. But, what we had not anticipated, was trying to get a cab from Mrs. Macquarie's Point. We had to walk all the way back out to Hyde Park almost as there were no taxi's driving through. The park we walked through has an interesting history as the sign tells in the picture below. It was also extremely bright for 9 PM as the other picture shows.


9 PM


Park Sign

Once we got to the Rocks we settled in for dinner at a place called the Argyle. It was suggested to us by the couple in line for the zoo. The other place they suggested was outside and only served schnitzels. We sat at a long table to eat and before our dinner was through we had started chatting to a couple of gentlemen. The weasel is a lawyer for a large financial institution and Graham Pat is a chimney sweep/street/sweeper/biscuit designer/police man.

Graham Pat's real name is Pat and he is a police officer but it took us some time to figure that out. He was really funny and told us his original name is Graham and that his original occupation was a street sweeper. Either we were too polite to call him out or we were too naive to know he was lying but either we went along with it and asked him questions of his street sweeping job. He told us he was one of two street sweeping companies left in the city.

The weasels real name is Dave and unlike Graham Pat, he was straight forward with his identity. As I said before he is a lawyer for a large financial institution in Sydney. This is what promptly made me call him a "weasel". I told him that with the current economic status in the US that he was a double whammy of weaseldom. He then promptly called me a "weasel whisperer" for my uncanny ability to see his wiley ways.

Graham Pat and Dave did not know each other and once they began talking Graham Pat told Dave that he was a biscuit designer. This led to explanations of what a biscuit is (for us we were thinking the kind of biscuit you eat with gravy but apparently it is a cookie), biscuit types and biscuit ratios (cookie to filling inside).


Inside the Argyle


Us outside the Argyle


The group outside the Argyle

We hung out there for a bit and then all left for the Ivy. This was an amazing bar and one we are going to go to again once we are back in Sydney. It was the second floor space of a building on George Street and it had a great mid century interior.


Graham Pat


Ivy Bar


Weasel

A Dingo Ate My Baby

This is our trip to the Taronga Zoo. There isn't much explaining that needs to be done as it was a trip to the zoo. However, if anyone reads this and comes to Sydney and wants to go to the Taronga Zoo - DO NOT USE CAPTAIN COOK CRUISES! We waited for and hour and a half to get across the harbor and then there wasn't a ferry when we needed to come back. We ended up riding (and paying extra for) a water taxi.

The zoo overall was awesome though. Beautiful views back to the city and interesting animals. We didn't get to hold a koala but it was still a great visit!


Our first view of the opera house


Circular Quay (Pronounced Key as we found out!)


We have such childish humor!


On the boat to the zoo


Lindsey feeding beer to a big bear


Koala


Lindsey feeding a beer to a small bear


Emu


Jaime with Fox Ears


Kangaroo


Unidentified Animal


Mountain Goat Exhibit


View from zoo back to Sydney Harbor


Fireman Street Show - Angus and Matilda

On A Walkabout

The only good thing about our first night in Sydney is that both of us were up at 7:30 AM the next day. Like the good little Americans we are, we went to Starbucks for a coffee and then walked around Hyde Park. It was gorgeous and reminded me of Balboa Park in San Diego.


Statue at entry of Hyde Park


St. Mary's Cathedral




Hanging out in the grass.


View of the Sydney Tower from Hyde Park


Captian Cook Statue in Hyde Park


ANZAC (Australian New Zealand Army Corps) War Memorial

Zzzzzzzzzz.......

What a full day we had yesterday, but first I need to describe our first night in Sydney. We came back to our hotel room and were excited about dinner and drinks in the Rocks neighborhood only to be violently confronted with jet lag. It was honestly like someone drugged us. We became so tired so quickly that we both decided to order out for dinner and use our first night as a night to catch up. Soon after that Lindsey experienced what she calls her "head melting into the pillow". It was bizarre! Our food came and the delivery man and the receptionist tried, to no avail, for a half hour to wake us up! We finally woke up, ate three bites and promptly went back to sleep. So needless to say our first night was not too exciting.

Pictures to come!

Pictures and more stories to come soon! Internet and computer power plug issues!

Sydney Virgins

Well, our first day has been full of quirks. Lindsey and I decided to meet at baggage claim since we were on different flights. This proved difficult as my unlocked Iphone cannot make out of country calls apparently. But fortunately the international terminal at Kingsford Smith airport is very small and we randomly ran into each other. Lindsey had apparently not had very good experiences with the Australians at this point and her favorite and most kind person was the vendor at the airport McDonalds who offered her a candy cane. Anyway, we grabbed a shuttle to take us to our hotel and realized this was the ride of a lifetime. He was looking at what appeared to be a Australian Thomas Brothers which was scary clue number one. He kept talking in a foreign language that I couldn't identify. Not that we are that traveled but you think we could figure out what language he was speaking. Scary clue number three was that he was driving very fast and taking chances at every move with 12 people packed into what appeared to be a Honda Civic. I rode in the front, vW owes me, and Lindsey rode on the "jump seat". We somehow made it to our hotel and checked in where we learned it was the day the public observes the national holiday of Boxing Day. Soo......in the words of our hotel staff, "nothing is going to be open today". Bummer.

We decided to walk around, even though it was mildly raining, and I will go so far as to say cold. We walked down to Darling Harbor and then back up to what we believe to be the Times Square of Australia. (It is exactly like Times Square in New York but with lots of Asians). We ate a little bit and grabbed some beers. On our way back to the hotel we stopped by a local drugstore to grab some waters and found the most amazing candy: Violet Crumble, Chomp, a Milo and a Bounty. We grabbed the Violent Crumble hoping it to be actually violet. It turned out to be honeycomb covered with milk chocolate - "It's the way it shatters that matters". We have yet to open the other Australian candy but we will keep you posted.



Now we are off to get dinner and drinks in the area known as the Rocks. Pictures to come tomorrow!




Australian Candy!

Lindsey's Trip Over

While Pratt's trek to Australia sounds like sunshine and rainbows, mine did not start out quite as well. I began my journey in Orlando, which as you know, is the place where small children's manners go to die. Especially when you catch them on the way out of Orlando when the Disney World hangover is setting in. Now you are caught up with me as I was boarding my plane to LAX. There were no less than 30 children under the age of five on this flight - no exaggeration. And when we got onto the jetway, it looked like Babies 'R Us as the strollers and car seats began to pile up. Needless to say, it was a LONG five hour flight to LAX. And that was supposed to be the easy leg of my travels...

Important sidenote: upon landing in LAX, I was welcomed by the news that Urban Meyer was resigning as head coach of the Gators. This, in addition to being awake for nearly 20 hours at that point and heading into a 14 hour stretch, was pushing me toward the edge. Luckily, I knew Australia and Pratt would be waiting for me on the other side!

I flew on a 777 to Sydney and have to report that it was quite pleasant. I was in the window seat and by a sheer stroke of luck, the seat next to me was not occupied. This made sleeping on the flight much more comfortable and, I have to admit, I considered snuggling up to the gentleman seated in the aisle seat while I slept. We were perfect strangers, but a part of me was really curious as to how he wold react since he looked like a tough guy. In between contemplating how that cuddling would work out, I slept for about eight hours and watched four movies (The September Issue, Four Christmases, I Love You Man and Funny People). At the end of the day (or was it two days at that point?) it was a fairly painless flight and I ended up n Sydney, about to embark on what I hope will be the trip of a lifetime!

First Post

Welcome! Here is the official start of von Weller and Pratt’s adventure in Oz! I first thought of this idea on the 11-hour flight to Fiji, as I didn’t have much to read with me and the movies on my Air Pacific flight weren’t working. Don’t get me wrong, I know I am not the first to think of a trip blog but to be honest I never thought I would be interested in doing one.

First of all I am not a writer. As my dear friend Brindley would probably articulate every detail with such observant beauty, I will probably just tell you what we do each day. And secondly, this probably isn’t for the reader – sorry! I have been lucky to experience so many things in my life that I really just want a running record of this trip. So here goes…..

LAX, Fiji, Sydney

So the trip started at the train station in Solana Beach. One of the sweetest people in the world, Alice, kindly took me to the train station, after picking me up the night before at the SD airport, so that I could catch the train to LAX. It was cheaper than parking and it offered me some down time. After switching from train to bus, I finally got to LAX to the most tremendous line ever! No online booking with Air Pacific. I met three people in line – Daisy, a Swiss girl living in LA traveling to New Zealand to meet a boy, and two gentlemen, Eric and Travis going to Fiji for a “hedonistic/exotic four day New Year’s Eve Party”. Those are his exact words. I don’t know what it is but when I hear hedonistic exotic party I just think people who like to do drugs, drink and have sex with a bunch of different people. I don’t think I know what hedonism is!

We finally made it on our 747. This is the biggest plane I have ever been on – it has stairs! Thanks to a little medicinal help the 11 hour flight was simple! I watched a little bit of Julie/Julia (when working) and promptly fell asleep, waking up an hour and a half before we landed. Just in time for breakfast!

The Fiji airport was small and simple but looking out the windows made me want to venture out. It is beautiful! I sat and had a cup of coffee with Chris and her brother, two people I met in line boarding the plane, and their trip sounds amazing. Chris, has a yacht, which will arrive in Sydney a month after they arrive. They will then sail up the coast of Australia to all the scuba and fishing spots. Until then, they will be just traveling around Australia, spending time luxury camping here and working on a ranch here and seeing something else amazing there….Oh to be wealthy!

Right now I am sitting on the plane from Nadi to Sydney. I feel what children must feel on Christmas morning or on the ride out to Disneyland. The pure excitement for the people I am going to meet, the things I am going to see, and the time with von Weller is making me anxious to be there. By the way, I am drinking a beer. Fiji Bitter to be exact and it is 8:30 AM. I thought it would help.