I haven’t written in a while because I’ve been working very hard …. well, not exactly but I have worked 3 full weeks in a row! I have been keeping quite busy doing some interesting things…March was a month of balance - culture and outdoor activities. For Steve’s birthday earlier in March we took him to the Opera, at THE Opera House. He really enjoys the opera and I took it as an opportunity to get introduced to it. We saw Carmen which, I’ve been told is a very good show to see as your first time. It was a sunny [View Full Entry]

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The first day of Fall...and it's March already!! Time is just zipping by. February was a month of resting and fun. I took some time to catch up on sleep and get some things done at work but also got out to enjoy some of those activities I came here for. I've also met some people who have shown me that there is an endless amount of things to do here - and all so close to 'home'. I finally got my surf lesson in on a Sunday morning with Julie and Christine. It was a beautiful day (meaning extra sunscreen) [View Full Entry]

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Melbourne and Great Ocean Road (lots of pics in this one!) Sunday, January 27th - Off to Melbourne! It’s sunny - holy crap! So, we grab some coffees and do part of the Manly Scenic Walkway - to Reef Beach for a swim and a rest and then back through the market for some souvenir shopping (prints). Crys got some more pool time with Cath and Julie while I got my errands done and then it was off to Melbourne for 5 days/4nights. Flight, airport bus, check-in to Victoria Hotel (in a great location) all uneventful. Had a carb-filled Italian dinner, [View Full Entry]

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Australia Day - January 26, 2008 Saturday, January 26th - Australia Day!!! We went for a morning walk to Shelly Beach and got coffee at The Bower from the European, surf guy who refuses to put sugar into his 'work of art' lattes. And then, finally, the sun was out and it was a pool day!! We lazed around until about 5pm when we got on the ferry and headed into Sydney for the festivities. There were bands playing in the Rocks (Something for Kate, Evermore were two I remember) and we caught the Darling Harbour fireworks from a distance. A [View Full Entry]

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Friday, January 25th: Blue Mountains Full Day Tour! What a day! The nice thing about these bus tours is that you can pack so much into a day (and I don’t have to worry about getting lost, parking or drinking!). So, on our tour we only scratched the surface of what the Blue Mountains has to offer…I will return. I had no idea there was a whole mountain culture only 2 hours away from here! There’s mountain biking, hiking, canyoning (now on the list), abseiling, even Christmas in July (also now on 'the list'). We got picked up in the Rocks [View Full Entry]

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Hunter Valley Wine Region (Cessnock, Pokolbin, Wollombi) and Newcastle (January 22- 24) I worked a bit in the morning to tie up some loose ends and get myself organized, then it was off to the Hunter Valley (wine country) for 3 days/2 nights - road trip!! We grabbed snacks, the map, filled up the car and off we went. Lucky for me the start of the route was my way to work so we didn’t get lost. Although the Newcastle Freeway is quick, we took the scenic route through - a quiet, tight winding road through valleys and rolling hills. As [View Full Entry]

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Manly, Sydney, Bondi Beach Well, last time I wrote an entry was January 11, 2008 ending with our Christmas Holiday recap… We've been touring around quite a bit since then and I’ve decided to break the last month up into parts to make it a bit easier - and Collin can now look for more places on the globe to see where Auntie Trish is! Last weekend, Cath and I met Julie and Christine for some awesome Indian food and since we weren't quite ready to go home, we headed out on the town….smelling like curry! First to Balmain to some [View Full Entry]

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Well - here we are, 2008 already...I hope you all had a safe and happy Christmas holiday and New Years Eve. I had a great holiday, good times. It has turned into summer with less rain and more sun than we had been getting so with all three of us off work we were finally able to enjoy the pool and beach here together. As I sit out here on the balcony with my coffee (it's Saturday morning, sunny, 20Cish) and watch the ferries and boats and look out over the water to the Sydney skyline, I still can't believe I [View Full Entry]

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Merry Christmas everyone!! They call this time of year the 'Silly Season' here and I think we've lived up to the name. Cath and I have been up to all kinds of trouble! Here in the southern hemisphere, Christmas is the start of summer holidays so many people are winding down work stuff and getting into vacation mode (sort of like our July) and there are lots of parties. The school kids are off from now until the end of January so it's their vacation time of year - and what a way to start - with Christmas and New Years [View Full Entry]

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Well, it's Sunday again already! And I have just finished my first full week of work in over 2 months - whew! It sure doesn't feel like Christmas time here though. So - what's been going on in the last couple of weeks? Lots! I finally got out on my bike - Steve and I biked up to North Head which is a really nice park about 10 min. from here with a terrific view. I did fail some 'biking alone' tests (one way street, froze at the roundabout) but I'm sure I'll be ok. I also had my 3M Christmas [View Full Entry]

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