Sydney Tower, Sunday March 20

We decided to go to brunch at the Sydney Tower today after church. It was great! Good food, great views, even though it was cloudy and a little rainy :)

John, Terry, Katy and Dave ready for lunch

John doing "Vogue"

Aaaawwwwwwwwww!

Darling Harbour

Peek-a-boo view of the Opera House

Hyde Park and St. Mary's Cathedral in the rain

Australian War Memorial and Reflecting Pool at the other end of Hyde Park

Whoa!!! Straight down!!!

Macquarrie Point

Freeway into town, Convention Center and Darling Harbor

All in all, a very fun day, even with the rain. As an Oregonian, ya gotta love it, right?

We're still here!!!

Wow, it's been a long time since I have posted! I had one week here all by myself, Dave went to Europe for a week. It was kind of fun, actually. My brother John and daughter Katy arrived on Friday, the 18th. They hit the ground running that day. We went to the market in Chinatown, then down to Circular Quay to see the Opera House, Harbour Bridge and took the tour of the Opera House. Such a spectacular building! Saturday was the first day since we've been here that it has rained all day :(   Poor Katy and John! The weather is about the same today (Sunday, the 20th). Bummer!!! I feel so bad. Of course, Katy and I had no problem shopping yesterday, but we can't do that everyday. Can we??!!!

John had to have a picture with the Australian Burger King (known here as Hungrey Jack) sign, advertising their great breakfast deal. Whoops, I mean "Brekky".

This week in Sydney - Monday & Tuesday, March 7 & 8

Well, my visitors had to go back home, darn it. We had a great time, saw alot, shopped alot, ate and drank alot, too!!! So, Monday  (all by my lonesome)I went to the Art Gallery of New South Wales to see "The First Emporer, China's Entombed Warriors". It is difficult to even describe what these warriors look like. They were commissioned to be made by the first emporer of China, Qin Shihuang, to be a guardian army for his mausoleum. They were only discovered in 1974. The detail in these warriors, horses, chariots, weapons and animals is incredible. In the first pit alone there have been 1900 figures, 22 chariots and 88 chariot horses excavated so far. But it is estimated that the total figures in this pit are about 6000! With 50 total chariots and 200 chariot horses. It is hard to believe but all of the figures have slightly different features! If you ever get a chance to see them, do it!
Today I went back out to Bondi Beach and did the walk to Bronte plus I went a little further. Then back again. Total of 2 hours walking and it was spectacular weather and scenery. I decided today that I feel the same way about these beaches as I feel about the Opera House. They are just so incredible that every time I look at them, I am in total awe. I just can't seem to get enough! Each time I see the Opera House or the beach I feel like it's the first time I'm seeing them. They are just that beautiful.

One more thing in Melbourne

We happened to stumble upon this beautiful church, and it was open to the public. It has great stained glass and a lovely organ.

Melbourne - Great Ocean Road

My Mom, sister and I did the Great Ocean Road tour on Tuesday, March 1. The scenery is so beautiful and amazing that, again, I'm not sure that my pictures can even capture it. This tour was a very long day, we left the hotel at 7:30am and got back at 9:00 pm!!! We were worn out, but it was well worth it. We had only 8  others on the tour with us, so it was very, very easy to get to know them. One family from Connecticut, with a daughter studying here in Brisbane, a couple from Washington DC and a couple from Hong Kong. One of the best things about this trip was getting to know all of them. But the scenery definately took first place!!!

Surfing school in Lorne

The beginning of the Great Ocean Road

Monument to the workers who built the road

The road builders were the soldiers who fought in WW1. When they returned to Australia, they didn't have jobs, so the government had them work on building the Great Ocean Road.

Koalas!!!

Our tour guide, Tim, feeding the parrotts

At The Twelve Apostles. It was very windy!

In the rainforest

"London Bridge"

London Bridge again. We had a fabulous time seeing some amazing scenery on the southern coast of Australia.

Melbourne - Yarra Valley Winery Tour

On Sunday, February 27, we travelled to Melbourne. Dave took a day off on Monday and we all went on a tour to the Yarra Valley to visit some wineries and see some of the country. We visited 4 wineries, one of which, Chardon, is famous for champagne. We met some fun people on the tour, especially 2 couples from New Zealand and a mom and son from New Orleans. The son is studying here in Australia for a semester. The tour guide was Australian and teaches in a local university about wine!! It was a very fun day!!!

Our tour group at lunch

One thing that they do in the wineries in Australia is they plant a rose bush at the end of each row of grapes. The color of the rose indicates the type of grape in that row. I haven't been to the Yamhill Valley very recently, but I don't remember the wineries there doing this. The wine makers look for diseases on the roses as a precourser to diseases on the grapes. Interesting!!!

Bondi Beach, Saturday, Feb 26

We took the train and bus out to Bondi Junction and on to Bondi Beach. It sounds like a long trip, but not really. It is amazing that you can be in the middle of a huge city, jump on the train and the next thing you know, you're at the beach. We actually rode the bus to Bronte Beach, which is just a little south of Bondi. Then we walked along the ocean through Bronte, Tamarama and then Bondi (pronounced Bond-eye).
The water is beautiful! I think it is one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen.

Bronte Beach

 

Dave, Mom, Me and Leslie

Dave's favorite picture-the topless sunbathers

Bronte and Tamarama Beaches

Salt water swimming pool at Bondi Beach

There were a few thousand people at Bondi Beach!

Love the surf board!!!

This was a beautiful day for the beach! We weren't prepared with our bathing suits though. Thank goodness, because everyone there was wearing a bikini. Don't think I will ever wear one of those again!!!