G'day!!

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Hi!

After two buses, and a ferry, I am now sitting at Fado’s in Seattle. Had to use my ‘free’ beer coupon up, and Guinness is good for breakfast, right? When in Seattle, do as the Irish do…or, something like that! It is a good place to chill, get out of the cold, listen to good music and drink beer…plus, the bartender is kinda cute.

Still getting my head wrapped around the length of this trip. My Aussie friend said…yeah, ya gotta come for a minimum 6 weeks. So, rebel that I am, I made it for an even seven!

The hardest part so far, was leaving my cat Sushi. She seems to sense the ‘backpack equals leaving’ thing So this morning she was giving me the saddest-stink-eye-ever-face! I won’t lie…I got a little teary eyed. Anytime you leave a little furry buddy is hard! Any buddy for that matter! I will miss my ‘skin’ friends, too. You guys know who you are…and better keep in touch…or else…there will be no roo goo for yoo!

For lunch, I had the world’s worst Schwarma. It consisted of mushy chicken, cold French fries and some kind of indescribable white sauce. Ewwww… now, I have icky Schwarma tummy!

I am wondering why I took a backpack. I miss my Rolly Polly with the cool wheels. I don’t want to carry around my stuff like a snail. Will have to find a way to remedy this!

At Los Angeles airport now…and wouldn’t you know, no Wi-Fi! ‘Sup wid dat?

Looking forward to touching down in Sydney! I am already stinky…uh-oh!

This should be the start of a new blog…but I will just say…..

I have landed safely in Australia! I am officially ‘down under’! It took 13 hours and 45 minutes. Quantas took good care of us…free drinks and actually good food! I even slept. Landed, trained into town, checked in to my hostel, showered…and took off for the rest of the day exploring….beautiful botanical garden, gorgeous old architecture cozying up to newer buildings, healthy fit outdoorsy people (people are running, doing sit ups, push-ups all over the park), inviting outdoor bars and cafes, new birds I have never seen before, and two really big spiders! I can honesly say, I LOVE Sydney!! It reminds me of Vancouver, Victoria, Seattle and Portland all rolled into one beautiful city!! The price of beer in the liquor stores is scary. Thank goodness I found a bottle of Shiraz that is really good and it is only $5.00! I am in happy camper land!

Seeing the Opera house up front and personal was a trip. It is like…okay…this is not just a picture in a travel brochure…this is IT! Wow!

Ate lunch at a legendary place called Harry’s. I had the local’ favorite called the Tiger…meat pie, peas, mash and gravy!

Weather is tropical humid feeling, breezy, and sometimes too hot. But not bad!

Meeting up with friend Betsi in morning!

This day is mind boggling long…jet lag has not really sunk in yet! I have a feeling I am gonna snore my brains out tonight. Oh…my poor roomies (one from Sweden and one from Italy)!

Well...g’day for now!

Thanx for keeping posted!

P.S. I took around 95 photos today! Little trigger happy in happyland!!

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Comments

[Camille]

Sushi will be just fine!
Your Sushi is in good hands with Leland. She'll get lots of love. My Lily was a bit put-out when I got home after being spoiled by Leland for 2 weeks. I'm not sure she ever got over it. I'm excited to follow your adventures. Sounds like they started out just right!

[Amy]

good on ya
so glad you made it, and on the first day you are seeing so much and experiencing so much. keep the blog posts coming, we are all envious of your exciting journey! much love, amy

[john and sue]

go girl go!!
glad you made it safely and were able to sleep on the plane. sounds like you are already having a great time.

[tom]

time zone
so what time zone you in? only 13 hours, i don't know how. took me that long to fly across the atlantic. funny. the sun sure sounds nice. t

[Candace]

wish I was there!
Sounds like you hit the ground running as usual! Wish I was able to give you a proper hug goodbye, still fighting this nasty crud...ughhh; looking forward to your next entry....safe travels!

[Kernie]

get better soon candace!!

[Kernie]

thank you camille. i can always trust your recommendations whether it is for food or cat sitters.

[Norman Conquest]

G'day bak'atcha
Glad you made it! I will live vicariously through you, so go big, then go home! I feel you about the humid, so 3 words-Gold Bond Powder. You Washingtonians are so delicate!! Have Fun!!

[WanderlustTarrants]

G'Day!!
Wow you are here already! I didnt realise it was so soon! I will PM you my mobile number... I leave for SE Asia on Sunday but will be back 4th March.. When do you hit Adelaide?? NOW.... a few little things.. might be a typo but did you know that QANTAS has no U after the Q?? LOL it is the only word I think?! That is because it originally stood for Queensland And Northern Territory Air Service! And when you get to Adelaide we call the Tiger a 'pie floater' - it is actually a legendary meal of Adelaide served from a caravan on the side of the road in the city and the only SANE people that eat them are a)drunk or b) tourists ;-) ... oh and one last thing .. in OZ there are NO good $5 bottles of Shiraz! You ain't tried anything yet.. South Australia has 3 of the worlds best wine regions.. if you get a spare day I will take you to the Baross and show you some real Shiraz (and its all free at the Cellar Door - great for a backpacker!!) .. Stay safe, watch out for the mossies and red backs and I will see you in March xxxx :-)

[Kernie]

thanks reet...have a fantastic time on your trip. catch ya in adelaide! thanks for pointing out my typos. never thought about how qantas got its name. i guess i am so used to putting a 'u' after the 'q'! free good shiraz sounds great!!

[Todd Jensen]

Whoa, K-B...you go, girl!
Hey you, I'm super jealous, well, maybe just a little, that you're away on a 7 week adventure! Pretty cool. You're one lucky pup, eh? They probably don't say "eh" down there, do they? Anyway, I just got back yesterday from my annual ski trip to Canada. It was so fun, and we went to Big White again this year near Kelowna, B.C. The snow was awesome, food and beer great (brought most of it from here), and the hot tub was definitely welcome at the end of each day on the slopes. Have fun, my friend, and I will do my best to keep up with your blogs!