http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/ArielP/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from ArielP en-us Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:14:10 +0000 Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:14:10 +0000 So after a 14 hour flight from Sydney to LA an 8 hour lay over in LAX and a 4 hour flight to Detroit I found myself back at home at 2 am not quite sure which time zone my head body or heart were in. Can we get any more cheesy than that The rest of my Sydney trip was incredible. Most notably I climbed to the top of the Sydney Harbor Bridge and was able to view the Northern and Sou http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Michigan/Ann-Arbor/blog-381974.html I have arrived And what a city to arrive to. It really is as breathtaking and spectacular as everyone says. The harbor just knocks your socks off. From the coathanger Harbor Bridge to the grandeur of the Sydney Opera House it is quite the welcome for the weary traveler. I arrived on Friday and was met by Phil and James two Irishmen that I met in Fiji now in Sydney living with their ot http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Sydney/blog-379767.html Early Saturday morning we started on our journey to the Blue Mountains. We stopped at the store to get some supplies for a picnic lunch these Irish men are quite gourmet let me tell you and then got on the train for the 2 hour journey to Katoomba one of the main stopping points in the mountains. The topography started changing about 1.5 hours into the train ride when the flat was replaced http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Blue-Mountains/blog-380028.html 3 weeks down less than one to go I cannot believe how time has flown. I'm really looking forward to seeing Sydney but I am truly going to miss Melbourne. This is not my last time here I can say that with certainty.So week 3 was very nice and I definitely started to settle into a routine. Work was light surprise surprise but nice. I met a great Orthopaedic Surgery resident Tanya and http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Victoria/Mornington-Peninsula/blog-377952.html I just had to put up a few pics of my trip to the Zoo. The Melbourne Zoo has more than 320 species on view and it is an open range zoo so none of the animals are caged. You are able to walk dirt paths and brush right up against the animals. There is an elephant walk and and orangutan sanctuary. My favorites were the orangutans and the penguins.Enjoy http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Victoria/Melbourne/Zoo/blog-377954.html So my mother told me that everything about my time in Melbourne has sounded perfect and though it may sound corny I'm just going to have to agree. I actually had to stop myself from using the word perfect too much this weekend because I didn't want to cheapen it. But it quickly became our weekend theme and thankfully it lived up to just that.Wednesday night started with another trip to th http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Victoria/Dandenong/blog-375999.html So I touched on the city of Melbourne briefly but I thought I'd take some time to talk about how cool this place actually is and all the things there are to doI live in Fitzroy which is a great area. There is live music just about every night and a ton of cool shops and outdoor cafes just to sit and peoplewatch. Little Italy is just a few blocks away on Lygon street and it is quite authen http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Victoria/Melbourne/blog-374392.html So yesterday I decided that I had worked quite hard for four whole days and deserved the day off to see the Great Ocean Road. Sigh I love international elective rotations... And what a trip it was Louise Natalie and I left our home at 630 am to start our journey which was perhaps a bit easier said than done since we stayed out until 200am the night before at a hostelclub called Base http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Victoria/Great-Ocean-Road/blog-373426.html First things first I've had a lot of people inquire about how close I am to the bush fires. They are at least 30kms from Melbourne though a lot of people living here have family who have been affected. It really is a sad time here. The death toll was 181 on the news last night and they are still fighting the fires. Rumor is that the fires were arsons. The country outreach has been amazing http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Victoria/Melbourne/blog-372449.html Wow this is a glorious city I got in on Thursday night and stayed in quite the lively hostel another story to be told but for another time. Then on Friday I embarked across the city to find my accomodations at St. Vincent's Hospital which is in Fitzoy a suburb on the Northeast corner of the city center.First of all let me tell you how CONFUSING the streets are here First of course yo http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Victoria/Melbourne/St-Kilda/blog-371378.html If Beachcomber Island is the party island then Manta Ray is paradise. A dingy brought us from the main boat to the island where we were greeted by a Fijian band and given frozen papaya juice and a tour of our facilites. The dorms were nicer than Beachcomber and the island was much bigger though the beachfront was probably about the same size. We did get some rain that started around 5pm and http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Fiji/Yasawa-Islands/blog-370603.html Oh my gosh I arrived in paradise I got into Nadi pronounded Nandi on January 30th and realized that it was January 29th still back in the states. So crazy. I stayed in a really nice hostel for 9.00 a night. Unreal. It has a pool and bar and I stayed in a mixed dorm that is a bit cramped but nice. Everything was very clean. The city of Nadi is nothing to speak of... it's really just a http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Fiji/Mamanuca-Islands/blog-370271.html Bula I have arrived safely in Fiji. It is wicked hot here in a fabulous sunny way with some really funny brief mist storms we're talking 45 seconds apiece. Needless to say I've been lazing by the pool all day. My hostel is ridiculously nice especially for ahem 9.00 a night. To see pics httpwww.nomadsskylodge.comppcoffer02googlenomadsskylodge.phpgclidCN67sIOetZgCFRwDagodGQ http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Fiji/Nadi/blog-368547.html Well the backpack is packed to the absolute brim and my room is emptied out for the subletter that's moving in. I can't believe I am actually leaving for this trip that I started planning a year ago. I will arrive in LA around 545pm LA time and my flight to Nadi Fiji doesn't take off until 1030pm. Sigh. I downloaded some movies onto my IPod and have a lot of books so I will hopefully b http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Michigan/Ann-Arbor/blog-368079.html