Thursday, December 23, 2010
Opera House Interior
During our tour of the Opera House, they didn't allow pictures inside the theatre, but it was spectacular so we bought the CD and have downloaded the picture below. There are 5 theatres, but this is the one used for the symphonies.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Home Sweet Home
We had an uneventful return trip to Las Vegas where Greg continued doing well and I'm still on a losing streak. We had difficulty adjusting to the time change and were awake all night our entire time there. We celebrated our return to the States with awesome martinis atop The Hotel at Mix.
Our niece Jena and her kids Brody and J'Lyn surprised us at the airport in Pittsburgh which was a tearful event. When we got home, our niece Betsy had cooked a big meal for all of us. What a great homecoming!
Everyone brought their PJs and spent the night. Brody is obsessed with Wii and J'Lyn with drawing. Home sweet home for a month and then we're off on our next trip.
Merry Christmas to all, which means we have to shop and decorate yet!
Our niece Jena and her kids Brody and J'Lyn surprised us at the airport in Pittsburgh which was a tearful event. When we got home, our niece Betsy had cooked a big meal for all of us. What a great homecoming!
Everyone brought their PJs and spent the night. Brody is obsessed with Wii and J'Lyn with drawing. Home sweet home for a month and then we're off on our next trip.
Merry Christmas to all, which means we have to shop and decorate yet!
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Sydney - End of Trip
We flew back to Sydney with Sonje and KK and then drove 2 hours north to her parents house where she would show KK off to everyone. It was the first time in 6 years that all her siblings were together, and there were also plenty of other relatives. And we thought the BBQ was for us!!! We also got to catch up with Sonje's friend Michelle, who Greg met many years ago on a trip they made to the States. Sonje's parents have a great house on a huge salt water lake, so the setting was wonderful and we had fun with everyone. Sonje took us for a tour of the city, which is where she grew up, and once again, beautiful beaches and a wonderful place.
We left Sonje and KK in Sydney and we spent the last of our time seeing the high spots we wanted to re-visit and find new places that would complete our trip. We spent hours wandering around and then took a ferry out to Manly Beach, which is most know for its surfers. Beautiful beach and not overly crowded.
Here are a few more things of interest that we learned:
1) Aussie's put red beets and fried eggs on many sandwiches (hamburgers, club sandwiches)
2) They offer maple ice cream on pancakes and waffles - very yummy!
3) On sidewalks they walk like they drive, on the opposite side
4) The lifeguards at all the beaches are volunteers
5) There are as many Asians living in Sydney as there are Australians
6) And lastly, there aren't as many hot men as commercials and movies lead you to believe!
Sonje had told us about a revolving bar/restaurant on top of one of the buildings in the Circular Quay (pronounced Key) area. We went there for drinks one night and it was great. We were on the 48th floor and it took approximately an hour to make a full rotation of the City. The sites were beautiful and worth the visit.
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| Sunset from the deck |
We left Sonje and KK in Sydney and we spent the last of our time seeing the high spots we wanted to re-visit and find new places that would complete our trip. We spent hours wandering around and then took a ferry out to Manly Beach, which is most know for its surfers. Beautiful beach and not overly crowded.
Here are a few more things of interest that we learned:
1) Aussie's put red beets and fried eggs on many sandwiches (hamburgers, club sandwiches)
2) They offer maple ice cream on pancakes and waffles - very yummy!
3) On sidewalks they walk like they drive, on the opposite side
4) The lifeguards at all the beaches are volunteers
5) There are as many Asians living in Sydney as there are Australians
6) And lastly, there aren't as many hot men as commercials and movies lead you to believe!
Sonje had told us about a revolving bar/restaurant on top of one of the buildings in the Circular Quay (pronounced Key) area. We went there for drinks one night and it was great. We were on the 48th floor and it took approximately an hour to make a full rotation of the City. The sites were beautiful and worth the visit.
Our last night was spent at a Harborside Cafe, where it was a beautiful night and a wonderful ending to this trip. We leave for Las Vegas where we will spend 4 nights at The Hotel at Mandalay Bay, with the hope we will win enough to pay for this trip!
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| Celebration |
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| Awww! |
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Perth/Freemantle/Margaret River
We arrived in Perth, which is on the westerern coast of Australia and met with Sonje who is one of Greg's former exchange students who he has kept in touch with for the past 20 years. Sonje had visited us in the States 6 years ago and had just then married Kwasi, but he was not able to join her on her visit so this was our first opportunity to spend time with them. They have a 4 month old son named KK and they live in a suburb of Perth called Freemantle.
Sonje and KK took us to the beach for view of a sunset on our first night. We got to watch all the kite surfers which was pretty fascinating. The next day we took a river cruise from Freemantle to Perth, which was really nice. Perth is a fairly large city with 2.5 million residents. Just like all the other larger towns here, there is an esplanade and plenty of parks in the City. Their train system is great and we enjoyed wandering around.
Sonje has been a wonderful host and has spent lots of time showing us all the great sites in Perth and Freemantle. She suggested we head to Margaret River, which is the wine country here so we went for 2 days and loved it. We've been to Napa and Sonoma several times, but this area is more beautiful and the wines were fantastic. We tasted many, maybe too many, but it was great. We finally found one winery that actually ships to a distributor in California, who in turrn could ship to us, so we will have a nice case of Australian wine waiting for us upon return. The wineries had beautiful gardens as seen below.
So here's what we have learned thus far:
1) Aussie's don't know how to make martinis.
2) They aren't friendly and don't want to give you directions when your're lost.
3) The country is beautiful and they truly appreciate what they have.
4) They love to party and also drink plenty of coffee.
5) Their airlines are great
6) No tipping is expected, but for that reason you get fairly poor service everywhere.
We're getting near the end of the trip and in some ways are sad to see it end, but I am getting homesick. Texts are great, but they don't match phone calls and visits. Our 4 month trip next year will prove to be interesting.
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| Sonje & KK |
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| Kwasi and KK |
Sonje and KK took us to the beach for view of a sunset on our first night. We got to watch all the kite surfers which was pretty fascinating. The next day we took a river cruise from Freemantle to Perth, which was really nice. Perth is a fairly large city with 2.5 million residents. Just like all the other larger towns here, there is an esplanade and plenty of parks in the City. Their train system is great and we enjoyed wandering around.
Sonje has been a wonderful host and has spent lots of time showing us all the great sites in Perth and Freemantle. She suggested we head to Margaret River, which is the wine country here so we went for 2 days and loved it. We've been to Napa and Sonoma several times, but this area is more beautiful and the wines were fantastic. We tasted many, maybe too many, but it was great. We finally found one winery that actually ships to a distributor in California, who in turrn could ship to us, so we will have a nice case of Australian wine waiting for us upon return. The wineries had beautiful gardens as seen below.
Down in the Margaret River area there were more great beaches and we got to wade in the Indian Ocean.
1) Aussie's don't know how to make martinis.
2) They aren't friendly and don't want to give you directions when your're lost.
3) The country is beautiful and they truly appreciate what they have.
4) They love to party and also drink plenty of coffee.
5) Their airlines are great
6) No tipping is expected, but for that reason you get fairly poor service everywhere.
We're getting near the end of the trip and in some ways are sad to see it end, but I am getting homesick. Texts are great, but they don't match phone calls and visits. Our 4 month trip next year will prove to be interesting.
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