Emily Down Under

Well well, it's been a jam packed two weeks. The day before I picked Amy up from the airport I toured Sydney's Olympic Park (hosted in 2000) and loved it. So many cool things to do and see, plus I love that it's still totally functioning and didn't just fizzle out after the events. Too bad it POURED the entire day. Oh well, when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade and in my case, jump in giant puddles and get soaked!:D
Amy arrived on a tuesday afternoon and after taking her things back to the hostel, we hoofed it over to Darling Harbour where we went to the Sydney Aquarium and saw many cool fish, turtles, rays, and much more. Walked around the area a little and planned our itinerary for the following day- to the Zoo! On Wednesday we took a Catamaran from Darling Harbour to Taronga Zoo, then back to Circular Quay (Sydney Harbour- right by the Harbour Bridge and Opera House) where we had an excellent dinner on the water. The next morning we picked up the rental car and headed North to Manly Beach- sunny but not warm enough for swimming! Then arrived in Newcastle where we stayed in a hostel for just one night. BUT, we got a free dinner and cheap drinks at a local brewery because all the hostel people go there on Thursday nights and there's trivia and stuff. We lost, but had heaps of fun and met these really funny German boys and Swiss girl, whom we hung out with the rest of the night.
Friday morning we left Newcastle and went to the Hunter Valley YHA where we took a wine tour all day- it was great!! Even better than the wine tour I did in the Yarra Valley outside Melbourne. Our guide was so informative, laid back, and we definitely had our share of "samples"- perhaps a few too many Anyway, we stayed at the YHA that night and went to Port Macquarie the night, but had unintentionally spent the whole day in the Barrington Tops National Park. Sunday morning we went to the Koala Hospital for their 8am feeding and saw injured and recovering koalas...so cute and fun! After that we continued North to Coffs Harbour hoping to catch the end of their Sunday market. Not too amazing at all, but we enjoyed our stroll on the beach, a fish and chips lunch with wine, and a relaxing time the rest of the evening. It was here that we really started hanging out with two Dutch girls that we met in Port Macquarie (we were following the same path north!). We even met up again at Byron Bay, our next stop for 2 nights. In Byron we did a lot of shopping a took a day trip to Nimbin, a "free town" a couple hours out of Byron. Wednesday morning we left for Brisbane, stopping at a tropical fruit farm and buying roasted Cajun Macadamia nuts, Passionfruit, Custard Apple fruit, avocado, and Dragon fruit. Yum yum! Made a couple of stops along the way and arrived in Brisbane around 4pm at Doug and Dorelle's to drop off suitcases. We love them for letting us leave all our stuff (and it's a lot!) with them and housing and feeding us! They fed us Chinese takeout and we drove our rental car to the aiport and returned it before our 9:15pm flight to Cairns.
Yesterday we slept in after our late arrival and made plans for our few days in Northern Queensland. Did a lot of shopping, yet again, and it should be the last for this trip!! Haha. Today we went on Uncle Brian's tour of the tablelands, rainforest, and area waterfalls. Our driver, Cousin Paul, was so funny- he told us stories about the bus named Gus, encouraged us to sing along to songs, and even talked us into swimming in the cold waterfalls, lake, and streams we passed. We had a great day, and will be resting up tonight for our trip tomorrow.
In the morning we'll take a tour of the Daintree forest, Mosman Gorge, and end up in Cape Tribulation where we'll stay the night. Then Sunday we'll take a reef trip and snorkel on the Great Barrier Reef and head south again to stay the night in Port Douglas. Come Monday morning we'll catch a bus to Cairns and get on a plane back to Brisbane for one last night in Australia before leaving for Fiji on Tuesday afternoon. We have a 2 day layover in Fiji and we are most excited for our plans of laying on the beach, only getting up to eat and drink. So I guess the next time you hear from me, I'll be back home in my own bed, but missing Australia already!

Well, I left Melbourne on Sunday with Alex and Justin and we headed for the northern border of Victoria, the mountain/snowfields of Australia. We stayed in a small town called Yackandandah with a family that used to live in Moscow. Anyway, when we arrived a hot dinner of lamb and other veggies was served- I even tried the mint jelly and really liked it! The following day we took a day trip through Ned Kelly country and ended up on Mt. Buffalo, which had just enough snow on the top so that we could rent a tobaggan for a little while- nothing compared to our snow back home, but hey, we went sledding in Australia!! On Tuesday we packed up and left early so that we'd make it through the mountains before dark. We went through Mt. Kosziosku National Park, home to the country's highest peak. Thredbo, the ski town at the top, totally reminded me of Schweitzer.
Tuesday night we rolled into the country's capital of Canberra and stayed with friends of friends from church. Man, we really lucked out having 5 nights of free accommodation (and meals!) with such hospitable and kind people!! In Canberra, we went to QuestaCon (interactive science museum for kids- we are at heart still!), the Parliament Buidling, ANZAC memorial, Australian Institute of Sport, CSIRO (another science place), the Australian Mint, and the public library for free internet:D We were pooped after those 2 days of activities!
On Friday morning we headed to the Blue Mountains (don't get too cold and snowy, are blue cuz of haze from Eucalypt oils) where we went on a 2 hour hike which took us by the Three Sisters rock formations, Echo point, and a ride up the cliffs in the steepest rail car. I was glad I did it- for those of you who know I hate hiking, it was not too bad, but I definitely got my leg work out! That was also our first night in a hostel for the trip and we scored a good deal- a triple room for really cheap, plus free internet! Yesterday (Saturday) we headed into Sydney early to find a hostel and ended up in a grungy, dirty one. We avoided it all day, filling our time with an Opera House tour, gardens, and moving the car between parking zones. However, we did get tickets to the 7pm orchestra last night for only $25 and sat in $100 seats to watch Mahler's 6th Symphony! It was really good and how many people get to say they've seen a show in the Sydney Opera House??! We followed the concert with a few drinks at a nearby bar, celebrating our last night together. Cheers!
This morning we woke up at 6am in order to get Alex to the airport by 7:30 (so sad to say goodbye!) and return the rental car. I also made reservations for a new hostel (much better!) which I'll be in until I leave Sydney on Thursday. It's been raining for the latter part of the day, so Justin and I are just hanging out, trying not to wark too far because we're tired, our legs hurt from walking so much, and we just don't wanna get wet:P Tonight we'll say our goodbyes before he gets on a train to the airport, and then I won't have any I-House people left! BUT, Amy gets into Sydney in just 2 days, so I'm really excited about that!:D I'll try not to run her ragged during her first 2 days, but time is precious and we only have 2 weeks to do the East Coast of Australia!
I hope everyone had a great 4th of July- I'm sad to say that I didn't celebrate or even sport any combo of red, white, and blue. Sorry there aren't any pictures to go along with this one, there probably won't be any until I return home!

Tomorrow I will be leaving the city I call home- Melbourne. Over the last week and a half I've said goodbye to countless people living at I-House, many good friends who I won't see ever again, but a few I will. I've also been making the best of my days without distractions by going into the city every day and checking things off my list of things to do: you know, all those touristy things you never do in your own city.
Last Thursday my room mates and I all got together (finally!) to have a potluck dinner, pooling our remaining food resources to make a great meal. Three of them left Saturday morning, with the mass exodus of others, and the last left yesterday morning. Here's Evie, Kristen, Kelly, me, and Anna.
Monday the remaining people at I-House had "Christmas in June" since it's winter here and 6 months off from the holiday. We all brought a breakfast/brunch dish to share, there were decorations and festive music, and even a tree!
From Tuesday through Friday I went to the city with Alex everyday for at least 8 hours and soaked up Melbourne like a sponge. We shopped, got our haircut, went to Lygon Street for famous Italian food, Melbourne Museum, Yarra River cruise, Melbourne 360 observation deck, Pixar Exhibition, market perusing, St.Kilda and Brunswick street walking, Federation Square activities, and much more using the trams and trains!
Here's a view of Melbourne- you can see the Yarra River, famous Flinders Street train station, and the MCG stadium in the background.

This is me at the Pixar exhibition- so interesting learning about story boards, characters, animators and their movies!

Yesterday I met up with Camille, the girl I met in L.A. when I was stranded. She's living in a suburb here and after 5 months we finally got together for some coffee. It was really nice and refreshing to see her and we had a great time catching up. She's hoping to come to the states sometime in the next year or two, probably Seattle, so I'm hoping she does!

And tonight, in just a couple hours, I will be at the MCG with Justin and Alex watching the New Zealand All Blacks take on the Australia Wallabies for rugby's Bledisloe Cup. All week there have been promotions and things going on in the city for the big game- over 90,000 are expected in attendance. The three of us will be hootin' and hollerin' in support of the All Blacks- go NZ! Here's Alex and I with an All Blacks supporter in Federation Square earlier this week:

I've got to finish packing up and say goodbye to my room in the morning- I'm truly sad to leave this place and city, but I know I'll come back again someday. Tomorrow we head out for Sydney, stopping in Canberra along the way and staying with friends of friends, which will make it a cheap and fun trip!! For the next month I'll be in and out of computer access but I'll try to keep my blogs coming for you all to read! Wish me luck!

From last Thursday to Tuesday I was on the Eastern side of Australia on the Gold Coast. The weather was so nice, sunny, and warm compared to Melbourne's cold, cloudy, and wet weather. I was visiting my friend Lauren who I graduated from High school with- she was attending Griffith University for the semester and will be returning to Idaho in a few days. While there I got to see a comedy show at a casino, walk the sandy beach, soak up some sun, go out on the town in Surfer's Paradise, and meet lots of Lauren's friends. I went to bed and woke up when I pleased and just enjoyed the good company and fine weather.
On Monday morning I was picked up by friends of friends, The Bennetts, and taken to their home in Brisbane. What a view from their apartment on the 12th floor! Every spare chance I'd hang out on the deck or just gaze ut the window at the skyline- this is the view from their flat!
I was spoiled while in Brisbane by having two personal tour guides to show me the city and area via car and CityCAT, the public transport catamaran on the Brisbane River. It was like taking a river cruise but only a fraction of the cost! They told me some great places to visit when Amy and I come through again, fed me well, and saw me off at the airport. Brisbane is a nice city and I'm looking forward to returning in a month!
My trip was very nice and it was good to "thaw my bones" since I was and still am freezing here in Melbourne. There's only 2 assignments left for me to do for my online UI class, then I'm DONE DONE DONE with school! ....till August anyway My friends have started leaving and everyday there are fewer and fewer I-House residents around. My roommates and I are having a roommate dinner tomorrow night in which we'll pool together our food resources and make some fantastic things while using up the odds and ends we have left to eat. We'll finally get a group picture of the 5 of us that I'll be able to post next time! As for the rest of the week/end, I'll be spending time with friends and helping them pack. Next week I'm going to start ticking off things from my list of things to do around the city, sorting through the mess in my room, and packing. What fun awaits me!:D

YAY! The past week I have been preparing for my final 2 essays and final exam....and now, as of 4pm today, I am done with my studies in Australia at Deakin University. Ahh, what a relief. I'm so excited to not worry about school or have the "I should be doing homework right now" feeling every time I watch a movie or go do something fun.
Tomorrow morning I'm catching a plane to the Gold Coast where I'll be staying with my friend Lauren for 4 days before getting picked up and taken to Brisbane for 2 days and 1 night. I'm fortunate to be staying with friends of friends (thanks Foltz's!) while there and will hopefully will get to see Alex and Andre, the two Aussie boys I was stuck in LA with for two nights.
However, as people are wrapping up with finals, it means most are getting ready to leave. Over the next 10 days I will be saying goodbye to some very close friends that I've made during the 5 months that I've been here. I'm sad that everyone will be separating but at the same time excited for them to go back home to their friends and family and I'm looking forward to moving on in my travels. Soon enough my sister will be flying into Sydney and the Pierce gals will be taking the Eastern seaboard by storm!
This is all I have for now...I'm looking forward to an exciting (and WARM!) 5 days on the Gold Coast!