Sydney Part 2

Day two started with a bang – Ben and I were on the hunt for the correct public transport to Bondi Beach.  Just a train ride and bus transfer and we were there.  Bondi Beach is a GORGEOUS beach town.  Lots of surfers, fish and chips, runners and ice cream!

Our plan was to do the ~2mi beach walk from Bondi to Coogee.  It was along the cliffs overlooking the ocean.  This turned out to be my favorite part of our trip.  The beaches and water were so tempting!

We didn’t do much but walk so here are some pics –

 

 

 

 

 

Above: If you look closely you can see the yoga class in the back…I’d go everyday if that was the backdrop!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Above: there were quite a few pools just like this – filled with ocean water that flowed over the side and was pumped back into the pool.  Loved these!

 

Yep, that’s a cemetery along the cliffs!  Or as Ben says “Now, that’s life after death!” 🙂

 

Once we made it to Coogee Beach we hopped on another bus back to Bondi for fish and chips and an ice cream cone before heading back to the city.

Back in the city, how could we pass up a little shopping…throw Ben in Lululemon and me in Zara and we were both perked back up in no time! J

We went to dinner downtown at a restaurant that was tucked back in an adorable alley –

It’s hard to see but there were about one hundred bird cages illuminated and hanging over the street! We actually saw this alley on one of our favorite Aussie reality TV shows so weren’t about to leave before eating here!

Then it was time for cocktails on the harbour!  It was one of those moments when you can’t believe you’re actually sitting there!

 

 

 

My new favorite cocktail made with my new favorite fruit: passionfruit!  Passionfruit is everywhere.  My latest obsession is Passionfruit Chobani yogurt. 🙂

 

With one more day to go that was it for the night!

 

Sydney – Part 1

A couple weeks ago, me and Ben took our first domestic flight during our Aussie adventure to SYDNEY to celebrate Ben’s birthday!  We hopped on a Qantas flight sometime on Thursday afternoon (Ben’s actual birthday.)  The first pleasant surprise of the trip was the food and drink on Qantas – cheese, crackers and olives and wine!  American Airlines could probably take some hints… 😉

Just like in Brizzy, by the time we arrived in Sydney, around 8:30pm, everything was closed.  We wanted a casual dinner so within moments of seeing a corner pizzeria, we were sitting down with sharing a bottle of wine, bruschetta and a pie.

We had an early start on Friday morning.  We were signed up to do the Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb at 9:55am.  We wanted to take a little of the city in before the climb so we got up early and took a walk down to the harbour.

After a brief walk around we made our way to the Bridge Climb.  I didn’t realize before starting but the climb is quite an ordeal.  The first hour was all prep.  We had to take a breathalyzer and sign a waiver before doing anything else! After that, we were fitted in our suits, issued a headset (to later hear the guide through the wind) and other goodies to keep you warm (i.e. fleece jackets, hat, gloves, handkerchief, etc) and walked through a bridge climb simulation.  Before we knew it we were heading outside!

Each climber was given a belt and on the belt was a harness that immediately clipped on to cable that ran the length of the climb.  Once you clipped in there was no way out – thank goodness!  It was quite interesting; the guide went through the history of the bridge and surrounding area which was actually really neat!  But once we got on to what we were there to do, we were climbing ladders, shuffling along beams and walking a steady incline over Sydney Harbour!  The view was incredible!  Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take our own pics but here are a few (lo-res) pics that the guide took along the way.

By the time our feet were firmly on the ground, it was about a 3 hour journey and totally worth it!

Ben and I were a little wobbly from holding ourselves up against the 60kph wind and ready for lunch.  Again, Sydney wanted to show us just how cute of a city it is – just a couple blocks away we stumbled on a random market filled with tents for the surrounding restaurants so we picked up a burger (for me) and a chorizo sausage (for Ben) and headed back down to the harbour to eat while staring at the opera house.  SO COOL!

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Needless to say, by the end of day one we were beat!  But we carried on…to a fantastic Malaysian restaurant – Chinta Ria – which vies for one of the best meals I’ve ever had!  They’ve really perfected how to cook their mussels and beef while providing their patrons with a view to remember of Darling Harbour.  I’d definitely go back! 🙂

More on our Sydney adventure soon…

The Ocean, Surfers, Dolphins and More!

Last weekend Ben and I *hired* a car for the first time since arriving Down Under.  At first, my driver was a little uneasy about taking on the open road from the opposite side but after a few turns, turn-arounds and windshield wipers instead of turn signals he became an international ambidextrous driver.

Our first stop off was within the Brisbane City limits at the Brisbane Dive Academy (more to come on this Ozsome Adventure soon.)

After that pit stop, we continued our way down the M1 – headed south.  That’s right; we were on our way down the Eastern coast of Australia!  Our destination:  Byron Bay

(Ben found this article a couple days later…look at #44!)  http://www.cnngo.com/explorations/life/worlds-50-best-beaches-364981?page=0,0

We ended up going on an adventure within an adventure.  We kept passing signs luring us to Surfer’s Paradise so we had no choice but to make a pit stop in the Miami of Queensland on the Gold Coast.  It was amazing.  The waves were huge, there were quite a few surfers and the beach already had heaps of people taking in the rays in the middle of winter!  The high rises against the ocean was an incredible sight!

We walked down the beach and ended up having barramundi (a local fish) and chips for lunch at a sidewalk café.  It was a little breezy so we were on our way out shortly after lunch but I must say, I CAN’T wait until it’s hot out!  At just 30 minutes from the city, I am confident we’ll spend more than a couple of days at this beach! YAY! 🙂

Back on the M1 we were on our way to Byron Bay.  The drive was quite scenic.

There were signs to report any koala sightings so of course I had my koala glasses on the entire time!  I didn’t spot any but the signs were enough to remind us that we were in Australia.

It was about a 1.5 hours from Surfer’s Paradise to Byron but it was totally worth it.  We got a little anxious and pulled off at the first mention of beach access.  Thank goodness we did!

The beach access was through someone’s private land which was beautiful.

We had our first wild kangaroo sighting!  It was a little far away but once it turned around and hopped, it was clear it was a roo!

The beach was filled with locals surfing and watching the surfers.  So cool!

We got a gorgeous view of our final destination – the lighthouse at Byron Bay.

After a brief walk with the Aussie locals we were on our way.  The town of Byron Bay was AMAZING!  So far, it’s my favorite thing we’ve done!  It was a hippie little town, filled with restaurants, coffee shops and surf shops (that actually sold surf boards!)

The beach and water, again, were filled with locals looking to catch some waves.

The last and most impressive part of our adventure was the lighthouse at Byron Bay.  This is actually the most Eastern point of Australia.  At first, I didn’t really care to take the hike up to the lighthouse but like everything else, it was SO worth it.  This was the view, opposite of the Bay.  Incredible!

We couldn’t hang out for long because it was so windy and cold!  No wonder there were no surfers over there!  The waves were huge but it was icy!  So up to the lighthouse we went…

It wasn’t far up to the lighthouse but once we got up to the top we were again enticed by another path down towards the water…this was quite long but after a few minutes we figured we must do it – I mean look at that view!

The waves were HUGE.  I mean, crash against the rocks and make you a little scared even though your 20 feet above the waves HUGE!  It was so neat and an obvious photo op!

It was so neat.  We probably could have stayed there for hours just watching!  Just as we were about to turn around and make the thousand step climb back up the dolphins came!  We weren’t able to do it justice but here is the one measly dolphin we captured in a picture. (You can just see the little fin out of the water)

We guessed there were actually about 50 dolphins out there.  They even put on a show for onlookers by jumping a couple times – causing a few oooohhs and ahhhs from the other tourists enjoying the view.  I’ve never actually seen a dolphin in its natural habitat so this was awesome!

By this time it was approaching 5pm and time for us to make the trip back to the big city.  We made the hike back up to the lighthouse and down to our car and hopped back on the M1 heading north – eyes still peeled for koalas and more wild kangaroos. 🙂

We took so many more pictures so I’ll try to post more to Facebook.

A Run With a View!

I know I already posted this to Facebook, but I can’t get enough!  THIS is what I get to see when I run! 

Just a few blocks from our apartment are the Brisbane Botanical Gardens and just on the opposite end of the gardens is the pedestrian bridge – The Goodwill Bridge.  (I didn’t take the rest of these pics but I want you to see what I’m talking about!)

The bridge is very wide so there is plenty of room for the many runners, bikers, roller bladders, etc.  I really like the bridge and the pedestrian friendliness of the city!

I took a left off of the bridge to run along the Kangaroo Point Cliffs (to the right is South Bank – one of our favorite areas and where we found the great waffles and ice cream, Amber!)  The cliffs have a large outdoor adventure group that offer kayak rentals for the river and rock climbing so while running, not only do you get the enjoyment of the city skyline but you also get to watch rock climbers!

This is just a beautiful night view.  And will give you an idea of what we can see across the river from our balcony while drinking a glass of wine…no biggie 🙂

The next “stop” along my running journey is the Storey Bridge.  Just like the Sydney Harbor Bridge, you can climb the Storey Bridge to get a better view of the city!  I chose to stick to the sidewalk.  🙂

Then, the home stretch – Eagle Street Pier.  It’s not exactly a pier, just a boardwalk but it has immediately made it to the top of my list for dinner and drinks on a Friday night!  This picture is one I actually did take on one of our first days in the city!  On Sundays there is a market on the pier…we have accidently made it a habit to go to breakfast and walk the markets on Sunday morning.  It’s a good habit if you ask me.  🙂

Finally, at the end of what felt like much further than 4.5 miles you’re back to the Botanical Gardens and walking a few short blocks back home.

(This is the front of our building!)

Again, more on “home” to come…

It’s the small things…

It took apartment living for me and Ben to realize that we hardly knew how to cook for ourselves without a BBQ grill!

After much research we found the perfect grill – a Mini Weber Q!

It had to be ordered so after arrival, we immediately went out and bought a propane tank…which turned out to be empty.  A few attempts on Google, one email to our relocation agent and a lift to a gas station outside of the city and we had a full propane tank and grilled salmon.

Phew!

The Ocean!

It has been one month since our arrival Down Under and we finally made it to the ocean!  Our new friend, Amanda, rented a car on Saturday and invited us on a road trip to Bribie Island, about an hour and half north of Brisbane.  First, I have to say, an hour and half of sitting in the back seat while driving down the wrong side of the highway was stressful.  I guess we were technically on the correct side of the road but it was stressful, none the less.  I was convinced that our driver (Amanda) kept looking the wrong way, therefore not seeing the millions of cars that were going to hit us.  I was wrong. She was right. And we made it perfectly safe and sound to Bribie Island. 😉

 

Upon arrival it was absolutely gorgeous!  You could see Moreton Island (which I assume to be the home of the tasty Moreton Bay Bug) just across the ocean.  The water was blue as can be and the sand was white and soft!  All characteristics of what I call “The Perfect Beach”.  Well…what is GOING to be perfect, when the weather warms up about 20 degrees and the wind dies down a bit.  It was quite windy but overall a beautiful day.

 

 

 

We walked quite a way down the beach and could see the Brisbane skyline! (I promise, it’s out there)

 

 

And quite a few beached jellyfish!  **Don’t worry Kim – I didn’t touch it!**

 

After an hour or so of walking we decided to head back.

 

Amanda had visited just a few weeks before so she had another adventure to take us on…to see the Glass Top Mountains!  From what she remembers from her original visit, they are volcanoes that have eroded in to just the shafts which is why they are so narrow.  I think these guys are pretty cool!

 

We finished up our road trip with a stop at a local fruit stand.  They had carrots for $0.06 a kilo!  I still don’t know how much a kilo is but I do know that it is CHEAP! So we loaded up on Strawberries, Avocados, Broccoli…none of which were $0.06/kg but still much lower than what we’re used to paying in the city!

 

Our first adventure to the ocean was fantastic and only makes me more excited for winter to end and move into warmer temps.  70 and sunny is beautiful in the city but definitely does not make for lying out at the beach!

 

Home Sweet Home…almost :)

Our air shipment finally arrived!  After a month of living in the same handful of  clothing, we finally have the rest of our belongings!   We received the boxes on Thursday and noticed on Thursday night that all but one of the boxes arrived…the box with my skirts and shirts!  Oh nooooo they didn’t!

 

Don’t worry – it took just one phone call to find the missing box and it was delivered the next day.  Now we have all of our clothing, towels, an extra blanket, my work computer and countless pictures my Tillybear!  Don’t worry – the Hefty’s and Erdel’s are making numerous appearances around our shoebox of a home.  Not to mention the many pictures of Mace and Owen to fill the place up!

 

 

Cuddle a Koala

We finally took our first real adventure to somewhere outside of the city…the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary!  It was fantastic and we will highly encourage everyone coming to Brisbane to make the trip!  There is a river cruise offered from Brisbane City so obviously that was the way to go.  We got lost finding the infamous Miramar 2 but after making our first local phone call we found the dock, bought our tickets and boarded the boat for the 1 hour and 45 minute boat ride to Lone Pine!

The boat had commentary giving information and details about the neighborhoods we floated through and the famous stories, buildings & people along the way which we found to be very interesting!

Me and Ben on the Miramar 2!

 

Once we got to the sanctuary we were on our own…well, kinda…us and about a million koalas and half a million kangaroos, not to mention the many other animals!

We immediately ran to buy our tickets to cuddle a koala… they actually allow you to hold koalas!

If Tilly had been there it would have been our Christmas card…

Isn’t he cute?!  So, is the koala… 😉

 

The koalas are SO CUTE and soft!  But they are sleepy little guys…they only allow the koalas to stick around for 30 minutes each.  Thank goodness!  They looked like they were about to fall asleep every time they were held.

 

After the koalas we were 100% satisfied but to ensure we brought everyone we know back…they let us play with the ‘roos!  The kangaroos!  And yes, you get right up close to them, touch them, feed them, lay down with them…whatever you want!

 

(and if you’ve seen Ben’s bottle opener this guy proves that those things may be real…ick)

My standoff with an emu – these guys were fearless!

The wombat!

The crocs!

No, no, that’s not a picture of Tilly sent from home – it’s a DINGO!  And they let us pet them…

Despite the floral leash Ben had no interest in petting the wild animal.

Now, that there is a Tasmanian Devil. Ben wouldn’t have gone home happy if we hadn’t seen this little dude.  It was sleeping.

This wasn’t even half of the animals there.  We saw a sheepdog show, a sheep shearing show (which I didn’t enjoy at all!) a platypus, a echidna and a lot of birds!

Overall, we give our first adventure an A+ and if you come, you will be going too! 😉

Footy!

Well – Ben and I ventured out on a Friday night with people other than just ourselves!   Some of Ben’s co-workers asked if we wanted to join them on a Friday night trip to a *footy* match!  Since we’re locals we call it footy…you can continue to call it rugby.

I asked Ben to blog about it (after all he does play the sports reporter role in our relationship) but he wasn’t thrilled about the idea.  Since he wasn’t interested – you’ll get my version of sports commentary 🙂

I introduce you to FOOTY!

we’re here!

As promised, I’ve started a blog…it’s been almost two weeks and there is already so much to share (if I haven’t already done so with you!)  I am definitely what you’d (I’d) call a “fun pusher”…or something like that.  I am guilty of sending as many texts, posting as many pictures and check-ins as I feel appropriate to make sure others are significantly jealous. 😉  Have I succeeded?

Ben and I have had a 2 week whirlwind!  Every time I sit back and think about what we are doing and where we are I literally can’t believe it!  It seems like months ago that we left for our 20-some hour trip Down Under!  For all of you coming to visit, ahem ;), I want you to know that it is not nearly as bad as it seems it would be.  I was enamored by the plane alone – it was huge!

Me and Ben at the airport before leaving…only a few tears

Our plane!  It was a double decker!  (and no, there isn’t a great bar to socialize at or a movie theater up there…it’s just for those important enough to fly First Class…i.e. not me.)

First, let me start by saying this city is *GORGEOUS*. (and I will be using the word ‘gorgeous’ much more often.  The Aussies really know how to make someone feel good or describe a tasty dish…they are all GORGEOUS!)  Every chance we get we are walking around and exploring the city.  The Brisbane River runs right through the middle of it, which makes for beautiful scenery and quite the view out of many of the boardwalk restaurants and coffee shops.

I like to compare the city to Chicago…just on a much smaller scale.  There isn’t the extent of buildings and the downtown precinct isn’t nearly as expansive but the “feel” is very similar.  There really isn’t much of a need to take public transportation unless you’re just sick of walking which we haven’t hit yet.  Although, we did take our first City Cat ride. This is the public water transportation, the stops zig zag across the river.  We did it just for fun…and ended up in no man’s land only to walk another hour back home.  But it was fun!

Almost a week after arriving, a relocation associate that Peabody set Ben up with, picked us up *just on the footpath* outside of our temporary apartment.  We visited 22 potential homes for the next year.  We liked about 4 of them and we loved one!  Pictures of our future apartment are to come but let us just say we are thrilled to be on the 31^st floor of a perfectly located building with a *marvelous* (yep…that’s another common word!) balcony overlooking the river (the corner of the river counts, right?) and Ben’s office is just a few blocks away! YAY!

I must say, though, getting used to city living is going to be an adjustment – let alone getting used to a new city on the other side of the world!

1.  Grocery shopping now requires a *trolley*

2. Buying deli meat was the most stressful thing I’ve had to do yet!  I mean…who knows how to convert lbs to kilos?!?

3. Speaking of meat…

4. The self checkouts have an Aussie accent.  It’s English but it’s oddly hard to understand…I’m sure I’ll get used to it.

5. No one jaywalks. Everyone stands patiently waiting for the walk sign to chirp and let them know it’s time to go…even if a car hasn’t driven by in 3 minutes.

6.  There are NO dogs.  This means that every time we see a dog – whether it be a mastiff or a miniature poodle – I mention Tilly (who I literally can’t wait to Skype with!)

7.  My desk is my computer in my family room…

It’s pretty weird getting used to TV too…It seems that shows start whenever they want.  We are really into Australia’s Master Chef.  The shows are on every night of the week, which is awesome – no need to wait til next week for the next episode but the time it comes on each night varies…Monday it could be on a 7:30 then Tuesday it’s on at 7:14 (literally, I don’t think they start on the hour or half hour all the time!) and Wednesday it might be on at 8:07…and The Price is Right is prime time!  Who doesn’t love that?!

We did stumble upon this on Monday morning at about 7:00am 🙂

What a pleasant surprise!