sorry for the delay...after reading maybe you will understand why it has taken so long...

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Sorry it has been so long since i have updated you all...Been busy having lots of fun...but don't worry I haven't forgotten about you...now this is a long one as it has been over a week and half...

Now.... I don't know where to begin... I think i left you wondering if the weather was going to clear up and change about 50 degrees...well it did!!! pretty unbelievable if you ask me...so i went to my first lilo party....it was pretty interesting as it was sooooooo windy...and when i say windy...it was like category 3 hurricane style...so the lilos were blowing allll over the beach.. it felt like we were being sand blasted by the blowing sand....the best lilo was the bob the builder pool that they put in the ocean and paddled around in....it took the guy about 30 minutes to blow it up with a little step pump...<<>> i had a havainas flip flop lilo...unfortunately someone else had one too!! anyways...met alot of people that day...but it was also hard to understand...i think i was the only foreigner and i am pretty sure that i might look like one too...i get alot of stares?! <<>>> some people also look at me like i am speaking chinese ...i often find friends or whomever i am with at the time translating what i am saying...i don't think i am that confusing...

ok so the next adventure...on the monday after the lilo party...which was a week from this past monday...we went on the road...went about 4 hours north of sydney to a town called port macquarie...it was beautiful!!!! saw the largest pelican i have seen in my life! the best part of this day though was when i went to a koala park!! well i was a little disappointed i didnt get to hold or pet the koalas, however i got to see them!!! i took soooooo many pictures I am going to try to load those after i write this... they were sooooo cute....well the highlight of the koala park was the kangaroos that i got to pet and feed!!!! i now want a baby kangaroo...a small one though...they are the most adorable things i have ever seen!! there were so many of them lots of little ones and a few "medium" sized ones....i am saying medium only because there is one that exists that is massive...<<>>...also fed an albino one...it was kind of freaky looking...the older ones were funny looking too...they really looked like old (like really old) men! haha they had little beards and gray hairs! i even got to see a joey in its moms pouch! she wouldnt let me get close... i did not want to leave but the park was closing...saw so many interesting animals..the emus wanted to attack me...the peacock did as well and so did the cassolowary...if you are wondering what that is...it is an mix of an emu,turkey and some sort of dinosaur....it is this bird thing like an emu or ostrich that has this turkey like chin gobble thing and this dinosaur horn thing...saw an albino peacock...well it was white so i am assuming it was an albino peacock...but it could have just been a white peacock...there were the most gorgeous white snow owls...well i dont think they were snow owls considering we are in australia...but they looked like snow owls...also some adorable big floppy bunny rabbits...i didn't see the crocodiles or the other reptiles but i dont really care too much for them anyways...so that was my visit to the koala park..when i get the pictures up and going you will be able to understand this koala park that didn't just have koalas...

so that was the first day in port macquarie...next day woke up and drove another 1 and half or so north...to this little town called crescent head... <<>>...however even in this little town they had a golfcourse! pretty tiny but almost like a mini pebble beach...well not really but the setting was just pretty close to being as gorgeous...this spot was particularly good for long boarding...and since the weather was finally gorgeous and sunny i finally felt like it was an australian summer day...over the next 4 days i saw some of the most gorgeous beaches and the most blue water and amazing creatures i have ever seen...not to mention some great shopping!!! it is DANGEROUS here...i shouldnt have brought any clothes and should have come with a shopping budget!!...looks like i will be trying to work at the surf camp here...however i will wait till the new year for that..

so this past sunday was the ulitmate sydney tourist day...however it was one of the most memorable days I have had here... it was gorgeous here...this is after a saturday of more rain and cold weather...<<>>
so anyways...woke up and went for a surf....it was the best surf day i have had since i got here! the water was warm the waves were not too big and i was killing it!!! <<< in none surf language...i surfed really well!>>> but i also tandemed with my friend...and for those of you who don't know what that is... <<< and no it is not some crazy "in the bedroom" act!! 😉>>> it is when two people are on one big board and it is almost like dancing on water or ice skating on water <>...and in this case it was a big board as my friend i was trying this with is 6'6"...anyways.. no lifts or aerial moves were attempted but it was definitely a site to see and we also were getting cheers for! maybe being a professional tandem surfer is in my future?! <<>> so that was the beach morning...from there we hopped on the ferry from manly to sydney it is about 30 minutes....a ferry is a ferry.. however turning the point and seeing the harbour bridge AND the opera house and the sydney skyline is something that words cannot explain...it was magnificent...i took pictures but it does not do it justice....the opera house is the most magnificent creation i have ever been in...yes we went in...for $35 you can take a tour of the opera house...it is 1 hour tour and they take you around all the different structures...i didnt know there were 2 buildings?! first you start out on the outside...our tour guide... john was his name...was a very eccentric, very intellegent oriental aussie...he was a great guide..so knowledgable and also passionate about music and the dramatic arts....first he showed us the left side of the building (well left if you are standing looking at the harbor...right if you are in the water looking at it) which is where the most recent renovation has been AND the only renovation to the outside of the building...it is this wall in which they added 9 square windows to...as before it had windows it was just a wall in which you couldnt see the beautiful outside view...and on the otherside of this wall is a cooridor in which patrons mingle in during intermissions....there are many "theatres" within the opera house...there is the theatre which is there are plays and little acts in... i believe there is something like 300 seats?! and the way it was built all the seats are the same price as you can see and hear just as well from the front row as you can in the back...from there john took as backstage...now on the $35 tour you typically dont go backstage...but we were the smallest group he has ever had go through there...there were only 7 of us...so he made it into a mini VIP tour....you can do a backstage tour but it is $150 and there is only one a day and it is at 7am...<<>> i look forward to that...however on our little mini backstage tour he took us through the only part that connects all 4 theatres...it is massive...huge doors that have elevators behind them that move all the sets around...one area is big enough to hold 5 different sets as they have 5 different operas per night per week...unbelievable...so from there we went into the studio...which is where they often have intimate recordings with people like coldplay and micheal buble...only about 100 or so seats in this theatre and it is square shape as they only made it a theatre i believe in the last 8 years or so....before that i was an elevator shaft for people?!!! then from there we went outside which is where he gave us a little history on the tiles of the building...1,308,001 <<>> these tiles were made in denmark and there are 4 different shades and finishes...this is so that from every angle you see something different...the tiles were made with a special gloss so that all it takes is a good rain to clean them..so no one ever has to actually strap themselves to the building and clean it...then we went into the opera hall...it is just beautiful...yet very simple...there is not a detail missed...from the wood on the floor and the wood of the chairs complimenting each other when it comes to acoustics to the walls and ceilings and everything else being black so that when the lights are off all eyes are focused on the stage...this is also the hall that has the big elevator shaft in which the stage hangs push and pull off and on the different sets before each show...quite amazing... so inside there are alot of exposed building elements ie..steel beams and unfinished concrete and this is because the architect wanted guests to see the raw materials that were used to construct the building...we unfortunately didnt get to see the concert hall as a christmas performance was going on it it...hopefully on the backstage tour we will get to see that as well...otherwise i may pay $35 to go see it again...well that is my opera house experience in a nutshell....it definately does not do it justice and unfortunately there are no pictures backstage or in the actual rooms...but i got plenty of the outside and the cooridors...

so that pretty much sums up my last week and half here down under...i felt like i was finally in australia...with the more than perfect weather to the animals and the site seeing... it was all i could ask for...
it is now the eve of christmas eve day...definitely has hit me that i am away from my family for the first time on christmas...but my friend is making the best effort at making me feel at home...well maybe not the best as there is no christmas tree!! haha but everyone has been welcoming me in for christmas eve dinners and parties etc...luckily everyone is just a phone call away and i will get to experience the 2008 christmas before everyone else!!!

again i love and miss you all...sorry for the delay in blogging...it will not happen again!!!

have a merry merry christmas!!! xoxoxo court

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Comments

[anonymous]

sounds amazing, merry christmas court.