Elizabeth Stockhorst
One of the best feelings in life is taking that first step, big or small, down a path that leads to the unknown. Discovering a new route home or getting yourself comfortably lost in a foreign environment. It is a strange form of excitement, elation. Lizzy bits
Travel Blog Posts
Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree
Published: March 27th 2012Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Blue Mountains
December 17th 2010
November 1st to December 17th On November 7th I finally made it out of Sydney to visit the Blue Mountains with Simon and two of his co-workers. The Blue Mountains is a part of a protected World Heritage wildlife area. The air above the forest has a blue hue due to mist from the abundant eucalypt vegetation. (The air also smells fabulous because of the Eucalyptus.) Katoomba, the main town we visited was small and surprisingly not as touristy as I expected. We grabbed some coffee/tea at a small café and then headed to Echo Point to get a good look at the famous Three Sisters rock formation and the Jamison Valley. The Three Sisters is an aboriginal tale about three sisters that fell in love with three men from another tribe, but they were forbidden ... read more
October 31st 2010
Australia September/October 2010 This year the weather has been a bit funky in the land of OZ. There has been a surplus of chilly wind and rain even through the months of September and October when it should be heating up a bit. Some days are a sunshiny tease, but for the most part this spring, so far, could still be winter. Despite the weather there have been plenty of events, festivals and fun things to do in Sydney. =D On the 11th of September Simon, Dave and I went to the Anime Convention in Sydney. I’d never been to one of these famous geekfests before. We had some fun, but overall I was a bit disappointed. Entry was a bit steep as was everything else inside. There was good food, but it was expensive, there ... read more
Sydney, My New Harbour Home ^_^
Published: October 27th 2010Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Sydney
August 29th 2010
August 2010 ~ I’ve moved countries again!!! This time I’ve gone down under for a year. Definitely excited to see the Aussie way of life. =D Friday August 6th ~ After 14 hours across the Pacific in an airplane I’ve arrived in Australia a bit jetlagged. Simon showed me our new apartment and we walked past buildings old and new to Circular Quay. Downtown Sydney is a bit reminiscent of London or maybe even New York with its mix of Victorian artifacts and modern skyscrapers. Circular Quay is located between the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House and is where one can catch a Ferry to Taronga Zoo. From the water you can get amazing views of the city, when they said Sydney was best viewed from a ferry they weren’t joking. After disembarking the ... read more
August 29th 2009
Port Festival (July 20th) Summertime is filled with hanabi (firework) festivals in Japan and on July 20th Simon and I geared up in our yukatas and headed out to watch some colorful explosions above the Nagoya Port area. The Hanabi at Nagoya port is supposed to be the biggest fireworks festival of the year in Nagoya. We got there very early to get a good spot and check out the area. Near the aquarium we found a rocking ice cream shop with 32 flavors of ice cream. Some were strange such as edamame (edamame are kind of like peas). When the sun started to go down tons of people crowded along the harbor near the aquarium to watch the display. The show was great and longer than I thought it would be. It was aso really ... read more
August 12th 2009
I took some time for myself over obon and headed to Mie prefecture all by my lonesome to Ise-Shima National Park to see the Ise Grand Shrine, the most sacred Shinto Temple in Japan. However the Grand Shrine isn’t just one shrine, it is divided into two complexes the Outer Shrine and the Inner Shrine. The main Inner shrine is dedicated to Amaterasu, the sun goddess, and is the temple everyone really thinks of when they think of Ise. The main outer shrine is dedicated to Toyouke Oomikami, goddess of lives’ basic needs (i.e. food, clothing, shelter). It’s a bit confusing how they refer to all as if it were one shrine when there are really two separate complexes. Fun Fact: Somewhere in one of the many buildings in the two complexes the Yata no Kagami ... read more
August 9th 2009
1pm on Sunday August 9th and I’m in the quaint, but fortunately comfortable Kawaguchiko station waiting. Almost every muscle in my body aches, I’ve miss placed two people and most of my stuff along with them. Last time I saw them was on Mt.Fuji on the way to the summit. This is a bit of a long story, but I’ll keep it brief. I’m a gaijin (foreigner) living in Japan and like almost every other gaijin I really wanted to climb Mt.Fuji, the tallest mountain in Japan, and watch the sunrise. To do this you walk up ½ way up from the 5th station during day 1 and then rest in a hut until 11pm/12am and walk to the top by 4am to watch the sunrise then walk all the way back down to the 5th ... read more
July 18th 2009
I’ve got a new home town! Nagoya, the 4th largest city in Japan in terms of population, is quite different from Marugame. There are skyscrapers, a library with English books, subway, buses, trains and even its own international airport. So many things to see and do: museums, a castle, shrines, festivals and events! I moved here before heading to China in June, but was sick and couldn’t do much for the one week I was in residence. I just arrived back in the city from Hong Kong on July 17th. What better way to enjoy the new city than attending a Sumo Grand Tournament all day on the 18th? ^_^ There is more to sumo than obese men in diapers hugging each other. First off the wrestlers are pretty flexible and strong. They exercise constantly. Secondly, ... read more
July 17th 2009
Adventures in China (June 29 ~ July 17) June 29th - I’d finished with one job and hadn’t started another yet so I figured that warranted a vacation, right? Fortunately my sister/favorite travel partner, Becky, was willing and able to put her job on hold to join me yet again on an adventure. We started our journey on the 29th of June with both of us heading to the humid city of Hong Kong where life (like the traffic) never slows. Customs in Hong Kong was a breeze and I ended up making it to the hotel earlier than I expected. I made a booking at the YMCA in Kowloon for a room facing the Hong Kong Island. It was quite a view and I had difficulty tearing myself away from the window to head out ... read more
June 15th 2009
On May 24th ~ Naomi agreed to spend the day with me and help me get to Bitchu-Matsuyama-jo (castle) in Okayama prefecture. It is pretty far into the countryside and up a mountain, making it a bit of a pain to get to without a car. So Naomi offered to drive me. ^_^ Bitchu-Matsuyama was built in the 1600s and is one of the 12 original castles, which makes 8 for me! It is also one of the few mountain top castles to have a tenshu, or main keep built and the only original one still around. The castle is also special because it has two floors. Having an even number of floors was considered bad luck, so most castles have had an odd number of floors. Apparently the builders decided to consider the balcony area ... read more
May 17th 2009
May 10th ~ Months ago some friends and I began this journey and we ended it today. We have officially biked across the inland sea between Shikoku and Honshu islands traversing 10 bridges and several small islands. We started the journey this time from Honshu. There were 5 of us going again, but only 3 were original members. We took the bus from Imabari to Onomichi, a small quaint castle town. We rented proper road bicycles at the station that were 100 times better than the granny bikes that were falling apart on our last journey. Our group started out across a short strip of water by ferry to the first small island where we got immediately lost and had to be guided by a little old lady on a bike to the cycling trail (an ... read more
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