On Monday, Katy’s parents rented a van and we drove Great Ocean Road, a section of highway west of Melbourne that goes along the coast. The weather wasn’t all that great, it was colder and kind of rainy, but the views were still good. For lunch we stopped at a country club that is famous for having golf games interrupted by kangaroos. The restaurant is all windows so we got to watch kangaroos hopping around the golf course while we ate. They’re probably all brain damaged from getting hit in the head with golf balls all day. We only saw about 4 or 5 while we ate, but when we were driving back to the highway, there was a group of about 30 of them on the fairway.
There were plenty of scenic look-outs along the way but we didn’t stop at all of them because of the weather. We did stop along a side street to go find koalas up in the eucalyptus trees. There were quite a few up in the trees and almost all of them were sleeping. They sleep like 19 hours a day or something.
Our last stop for the day was at the Twelve Apostles which are a bunch of rock formations all in a row out on the water. There are actually only about 9 of them left because of erosion…and probably global warming. Its always global warming’s fault. We didn’t stay that long because it was really cold, but they were pretty.
The next day we went on a tree top walk through the rainforest and then out to the Triplett waterfall. The drive back seemed A LOT longer than the drive there.
Katy’s family left early this morning. We got up to say goodbye to them and then stayed in our hotel room every last second we could before we were banished back to the hostel. I have a feeling the next week and half will be verrrrrrry boring. It’s getting pretty cold and I just sent home all my warm clothes with the Daniels (I’m down to just my backpack and small carryon! Yes!) so going outside for any length of time is pretty much out. Melbourne is ok but there really isn’t all that much to see. Soooo yeah, not sure what I’ll be doing the rest of the time here. I’m SO ready to go up north where it’s warm. If anyone wants to pay to me do their busy work or write paper or something, send it over…I have nothing better to do.
Oh but I did get my first nude modeling offer today in an elevator. You get paid $800 flat and they were like “don’t worry, it’s for an American website so no one you know will see it”…Katy and I were like, umm we ARE American. Hopefully I won’t get THAT bored this week.
***no pictures this time because the uploader thing keeps giving me error messages and I don't feel like dealing with it anymore. I will post them as soon as it starts working. UGH
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Daniel Family Vacation...plus me
View from Mt Wellinton in Tasmania
Me with a Wallaby!
Wineglass Bay
The church at Port Arthur
Port Arthur 
Cascade Brewery
Me with all my crap
Breakfast with Scott
On Bondi Beach, pointing to our building
Sydney skylineKaty’s family arrived early morning on the 16th. We went over and met them at their hotel and then walked around The Rocks, Circular Quay and around the Opera House. Then we took the fairy to Watson’s Bay and had fish and chips. We also walked up to The Gap (a big cliff over the water) where you can see the North and South heads.
That night we went to Darling Harbour to have dinner and watch the fireworks show. And I ate kangaroo for the first time! It was really good…kind of tastes like steak but with a little more flavor. Yum! But kind of sad that I ate one before I saw one, oh well.
The next day, Katy’s family came down to Bondi to see where we live and go to the beach. I think they were a little scared of our building and how small our room was but they loved the roof, of course. We hung out at the beach for awhile and walked around the shops on the main street. They went back into town late afternoon but Brooks, Laura and Mark came back later to go out with us and our housemates. We went down to the Beach Road Hotel bar and it was a really good time.
That night we went to Darling Harbour to have dinner and watch the fireworks show. And I ate kangaroo for the first time! It was really good…kind of tastes like steak but with a little more flavor. Yum! But kind of sad that I ate one before I saw one, oh well.
The next day, Katy’s family came down to Bondi to see where we live and go to the beach. I think they were a little scared of our building and how small our room was but they loved the roof, of course. We hung out at the beach for awhile and walked around the shops on the main street. They went back into town late afternoon but Brooks, Laura and Mark came back later to go out with us and our housemates. We went down to the Beach Road Hotel bar and it was a really good time.
On Monday I stayed at the house and let Katy and her family have family time since I’d be the 3rd wheel (or 7th in this case) for the rest of their trip. I had lunch with Scott and Wes and got some packing done. Katy came back later on and we hung out with everyone from the house since it was our last night. Knowing how I felt about moving in there at first, I can’t believe how much I’m going to miss it. Luckily some people will still be living there when we get back to Sydney in August so we’ll get to see them again and hopefully crash at the house before we leave to go home.
Saying goodbye the next day was sad. We had breakfast with Scott but then had to hurry up and clean our room and get all of our stuff together to go to Tasmania. Our flight was early afternoon and we didn’t get there all that late, but it was still already dark when we arrived. And cold!
Katy’s mom booked a bed and breakfast for the first couple nights we were there. Definitely an upgrade from our former living conditions. It's going to suck going back to hostels after staying in nice places. It will be like when all the little kids from Slumdog Millionaire got to go to the Oscars but got sent back right afterwards. But I will enjoy it while it lasts.
Tasmania is a pretty place. A lot more "country" than Sydney, but that goes without saying. The first day we were there we went on a tour of the Cascade Brewery. I should be able to start making my own beer soon with all the brewery tours I've been on this trip. The tour was about the same as the Monteith's one we took in New Zealand but the beer didn't compare. If you ever have a chance to have Monteith's, take it.
As an unofficial stipulation of me tagging along on their family vacation, I have been and will be taking all of their potential Christmas card pictures, which I don't mind at all. It just gets a little awkward when someone walks by, sees me taking a picture of the whole group and then offers to take the picture so I can be in it. "Umm, well I'm not exactly...we're not...I'm not actually....ok, thanks!"...as I uncomfortably join their family picture. That happens at least once at every location. So fingers crossed, I might make the Christmas card if one of those pictures is good enough.
Day two in Tasmania, we went to Port Arthur which was their main prison back in the day. We took a tour of the grounds and walked around all the old buildings. It was pretty much it's own little settlement with a church and school for the guards' kids. It kind of reminded me of New England but the fall leaves might have had something to do with that.
The next day we drove about 2 hours out of Hobart to the national park where Wineglass Bay is. Wineglass Bay is one of the main places Tasmania is famous for and is also one of the most photographed beaches in Australia. It was a pretty long uphill hike to the look out point but worth it. And we finally saw some Wallabies out in the wild!! Yay! They were really cute but I was a little scared of them. That night we went on a Penguin Tour down by the water to see the penguins come in from the ocean. They were SO cute. The tour was less than an hour but that was just fine because it was freezing cold out.
Right now we're in Melbourne. We got here yesterday and have just been walking around the city getting oriented. We went to one of the open air markets this morning but it didn't have much stuff we were interested in. I don't think I need any leggings made to look like jeans or superman belt buckles at the moment.
Ok I think I'm finally caught up, whew. It wasn't as detailed as usual but I'll get my act together and start posting more often like I used to.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Prom!
King and Queen
Me and my date Luke
Katy and I with Scott
Smelling my pretty flowersIt's been so long I don't even know what I'm doing anymore, but from what I remember, the week before "prom" was pretty unenventful. Katy and I just stayed around Bondi going to the beach and hanging out with our housemates.
Prom was SO much fun!! My date was Luke, one of the Irish boys. Everyone seemed pretty happy with who was drawn as their date...there wasn't any drama. In Australia, Burger King is called Hungry Jacks so I picked up a couple crowns from there to use for king and queen. We didn't decorate because the roof is so windy that everything would have blown away. But everyone got dressed up (as much as possible) and even the boys were really into it. And one guy didn't have a tie so he made one out of an old beer box...it turned out really well actually. Very resourceful.
When everyone was ready, the boys told the girls to go wait on the roof because they had a surprise for us. When they finally came up, they all had flowers for their dates! Katy and I definitely got the best flowers, AND I got chocolate too. I don’t think anyone else got chocolate. It was so cute of them to do that for us.
Everyone took a ton of pictures and we hung out on the roof for awhile…even had a couple slow dances to make it a real prom. There might have even been some Toni Braxton “Un-break my Heart” at some point, haha. Then we voted on King and Queen. Wes, one of the Irish boys, and Jackie from Scotland won. We’re supposed to be quiet after 10 and the new house managers are a little anal, so we had to go down the street to the Bondi Hotel bar. Katy and I didn’t stay out all that late because her family was arriving the next day at 6 in the morning.
But I think everyone had a really good time. Some people had never been to prom so they were even more excited. Parties like that are always a lot more fun when everyone is into it and they definitely were so it turned out well.
Everyone took a ton of pictures and we hung out on the roof for awhile…even had a couple slow dances to make it a real prom. There might have even been some Toni Braxton “Un-break my Heart” at some point, haha. Then we voted on King and Queen. Wes, one of the Irish boys, and Jackie from Scotland won. We’re supposed to be quiet after 10 and the new house managers are a little anal, so we had to go down the street to the Bondi Hotel bar. Katy and I didn’t stay out all that late because her family was arriving the next day at 6 in the morning.
But I think everyone had a really good time. Some people had never been to prom so they were even more excited. Parties like that are always a lot more fun when everyone is into it and they definitely were so it turned out well.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Aquarium, Coastal Walk, etc.
Coogee Beach
Coastal Walk Group
Running path along Bondi
Bondi Beach
QVB BuildingTuesday we went to the group interview for the promotions job. It was really laid back and all of us got the job. I think they were just checking that we were capable of showing up to something on time and weren’t horribly disfigured. The only thing is, they don’t send out the email with the shifts in it until Friday. Then you have all weekend to sign up and don’t find out what you’re doing until Monday. So that will give us about 5 days to work and that’s IF we get a shift every day. Oh well!
After the interview, we realized it was Cinco de Mayo so we decided to go to the Mexican restaurant below our building. Yes, we have a Mexican restaurant below our building. It’s actually pretty decent…not the worst Mexican food I’ve ever had, but they have no idea what queso is and they had no idea what we were talking about when we mentioned Cinco de Mayo. We had to explain it to Scott and Lucy too but that was a little more understandable.
The next day we went for a swim in the ocean. We’d been over to the beach a bunch of times but hadn’t been in the water yet. Scott is afraid of the water so I had to hold his hand while we walked in. Katy got yelled at by one of the lifeguards for not swimming between the flags (where it’s safe to swim). I made sure I was always in the flag zone because I’m scared of getting sucked out into the ocean.
Later that afternoon Katy and I went to the Sydney Aquarium at Darling Harbour. I think it’s supposed to be one of the best in the world or something. Maybe I’m just making that up, I don’t really know. But they had a really awesome shark tank that had a tunnel you could walk through where they swim over you and you can see all their teeth. We stayed there a couple hours and then walked through the Queen Victoria Building. It’s just a bunch of shops but the architecture inside is really pretty.
Thursday we ran our usual route in the morning and then laid out at the beach most of the afternoon. Lazy day. That night, a bunch of us were sitting around talking and Ross from Ireland was asking me what proms in America are like. They have something similar in Ireland but I guess it’s not really the same, so he suggested that we have a house prom. Everyone LOVED the idea so we’re having it next Friday. We’re going to pull names out of a hat to choose dates, but since it’s not even and there is an extra boy, Scott got moved over to the girls’ side, haha. Everyone has to get dressed up, as much as possible anyway, and take a picture with their date…but you don’t have to stay with them the whole night. Katy and I are on the prom committee because everyone thinks we automatically know everything about proms because we’re American.
Yesterday Katy and I, Lucy, Scott and a few of the Irish boys did the coastal walk from Bondi to Coogee (another beach). It’s about 5k one way and you pass about 3 or 4 other beaches along the way. When we got to Coogee, Katy, Lucy and the Irish boys found a spot and went snorkeling. Scott and I were cold so we just watched and took pictures for them. We took the bus back to Bondi because it was getting late and everyone was hungry. We stopped at the store on the way home and got food to have a barbeque by the beach. I think everyone is really tired of staying home all the time so we’ve been trying to get out and do more, even if it’s just going across the street. A couple more people joined us and we cooked stuff on the grill and had a few beers, it was really fun.
Today I just laid around…too much fun last night.
After the interview, we realized it was Cinco de Mayo so we decided to go to the Mexican restaurant below our building. Yes, we have a Mexican restaurant below our building. It’s actually pretty decent…not the worst Mexican food I’ve ever had, but they have no idea what queso is and they had no idea what we were talking about when we mentioned Cinco de Mayo. We had to explain it to Scott and Lucy too but that was a little more understandable.
The next day we went for a swim in the ocean. We’d been over to the beach a bunch of times but hadn’t been in the water yet. Scott is afraid of the water so I had to hold his hand while we walked in. Katy got yelled at by one of the lifeguards for not swimming between the flags (where it’s safe to swim). I made sure I was always in the flag zone because I’m scared of getting sucked out into the ocean.
Later that afternoon Katy and I went to the Sydney Aquarium at Darling Harbour. I think it’s supposed to be one of the best in the world or something. Maybe I’m just making that up, I don’t really know. But they had a really awesome shark tank that had a tunnel you could walk through where they swim over you and you can see all their teeth. We stayed there a couple hours and then walked through the Queen Victoria Building. It’s just a bunch of shops but the architecture inside is really pretty.
Thursday we ran our usual route in the morning and then laid out at the beach most of the afternoon. Lazy day. That night, a bunch of us were sitting around talking and Ross from Ireland was asking me what proms in America are like. They have something similar in Ireland but I guess it’s not really the same, so he suggested that we have a house prom. Everyone LOVED the idea so we’re having it next Friday. We’re going to pull names out of a hat to choose dates, but since it’s not even and there is an extra boy, Scott got moved over to the girls’ side, haha. Everyone has to get dressed up, as much as possible anyway, and take a picture with their date…but you don’t have to stay with them the whole night. Katy and I are on the prom committee because everyone thinks we automatically know everything about proms because we’re American.
Yesterday Katy and I, Lucy, Scott and a few of the Irish boys did the coastal walk from Bondi to Coogee (another beach). It’s about 5k one way and you pass about 3 or 4 other beaches along the way. When we got to Coogee, Katy, Lucy and the Irish boys found a spot and went snorkeling. Scott and I were cold so we just watched and took pictures for them. We took the bus back to Bondi because it was getting late and everyone was hungry. We stopped at the store on the way home and got food to have a barbeque by the beach. I think everyone is really tired of staying home all the time so we’ve been trying to get out and do more, even if it’s just going across the street. A couple more people joined us and we cooked stuff on the grill and had a few beers, it was really fun.
Today I just laid around…too much fun last night.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Interesting People
All of my wishes came true. The new house managers came and cleaned the ENTIRE house. It's like a new place. They cleaned the carpets, both bathrooms, the kitchen and fixed a bunch of little stuff around the building. It still smells a little bit like old beer and boys but not nearly as bad. I guess if I were going to be here for a year, I would have done the same thing. And I think they're going to be a lot better about enforcing the cleaning schedule, etc. The property managers fixed the Internet the other day too!
On Friday the weather finally cleared up enough for us to go to the beach. It was a little bit cool but the sun was out and warmed things up. Everyone here acts like it's freezing outside and it's only been in the low 70s, MAYBE the high 60s. Katy and I have been wearing dresses or jeans and a tank top and our friends always say, are you cold?? I can't believe you're not cold! And it's extra weird because we're from Texas and they're all from cold places like England or Scotland. Shouldn't WE be the cold ones??
It actually did turn out to be cold that night so Katy and I bundled up and went out to a bar down the street with a bunch of people from the house. The bar was featuring house music that night and since we hang out with almost all Europeans, they love their techno. Katy has done a really good job of being polite and tolerating it, but I can tell she hates it so much, haha.
Saturday Nina from Germany and Scott from Scotland invited us to "Caesar Saturday." It's not a real thing, they just go down to the Bondi Hotel restaurant on Saturdays and eat Caesar salads. So we went with them, and Nina's friend Reuben was there as well. He used to live in the house but left to go travel up the east coast and just got back. Nice guy but a little bit of a tool. He talked about himself a lot and was one of those people who always has the BEST time. Even if you did the exact same thing, he had a better time. He kept telling us how crazy the house used to be and how everyone used to party on the roof and sometimes there would be over 100 people up there. And we're like, yeah, we know, we live there right now and it's about the same. "No, no, it was just like, I don't even know man, so crazy." Ok, you win, it was crazier when you lived here. It reminded me of that episode of The Office when Ryan comes back from New York and is telling Jim about living in the city and Jim is like, "yeah, I've been to New York, I love it." And then Ryan keeps saying stuff like "yeah but you don't really know until you actually wake up there and feel the energy of the city. You just don't even know"...hahaha. He was a nice guy overall, but WOW.
Reuben has a car so he drove us into the city to get ice cream...even though there's a really good ice cream place right down the street. It was mostly just to get a change of scenery. We met up with his French friend and he kept saying "ehh, Reu-ban, blah blah blah" in his French accent. I waited and waited but he never asked him if he was for scuba.
Yesterday we went over to Dave and Lynette's for a yummy breakfast. Then they took us over to Manly Beach because we hadn't been there yet. It's so nice to have them as tour guides! And the weather cleared up and it turned out to be a beautiful day. Later that day, Katy and I went over to Darling Harbour because there was a festival going on in honor of its 21st Anniversary. There was food and performances and a really great fireworks show at the end of the night. Fun and free!
This morning we went for a run on the beach and then over to the giant shopping center in Bondi Junction to buy clothes for our promotions interview tomorrow. We have to wear black pants and a black button shirt...blah. I hate shopping for stuff that I have to buy or I'm not excited about. Scott is coming to the interview with us because they said we could bring friends. I think it will be end up being more like an orientation. Hopefully I can make a little money before Katy's family comes.
Hmm, I never know what to say at the end of my blogs. I feel like a need some sort of catchphrase. Suggestions welcome.
On Friday the weather finally cleared up enough for us to go to the beach. It was a little bit cool but the sun was out and warmed things up. Everyone here acts like it's freezing outside and it's only been in the low 70s, MAYBE the high 60s. Katy and I have been wearing dresses or jeans and a tank top and our friends always say, are you cold?? I can't believe you're not cold! And it's extra weird because we're from Texas and they're all from cold places like England or Scotland. Shouldn't WE be the cold ones??
It actually did turn out to be cold that night so Katy and I bundled up and went out to a bar down the street with a bunch of people from the house. The bar was featuring house music that night and since we hang out with almost all Europeans, they love their techno. Katy has done a really good job of being polite and tolerating it, but I can tell she hates it so much, haha.
Saturday Nina from Germany and Scott from Scotland invited us to "Caesar Saturday." It's not a real thing, they just go down to the Bondi Hotel restaurant on Saturdays and eat Caesar salads. So we went with them, and Nina's friend Reuben was there as well. He used to live in the house but left to go travel up the east coast and just got back. Nice guy but a little bit of a tool. He talked about himself a lot and was one of those people who always has the BEST time. Even if you did the exact same thing, he had a better time. He kept telling us how crazy the house used to be and how everyone used to party on the roof and sometimes there would be over 100 people up there. And we're like, yeah, we know, we live there right now and it's about the same. "No, no, it was just like, I don't even know man, so crazy." Ok, you win, it was crazier when you lived here. It reminded me of that episode of The Office when Ryan comes back from New York and is telling Jim about living in the city and Jim is like, "yeah, I've been to New York, I love it." And then Ryan keeps saying stuff like "yeah but you don't really know until you actually wake up there and feel the energy of the city. You just don't even know"...hahaha. He was a nice guy overall, but WOW.
Reuben has a car so he drove us into the city to get ice cream...even though there's a really good ice cream place right down the street. It was mostly just to get a change of scenery. We met up with his French friend and he kept saying "ehh, Reu-ban, blah blah blah" in his French accent. I waited and waited but he never asked him if he was for scuba.
Yesterday we went over to Dave and Lynette's for a yummy breakfast. Then they took us over to Manly Beach because we hadn't been there yet. It's so nice to have them as tour guides! And the weather cleared up and it turned out to be a beautiful day. Later that day, Katy and I went over to Darling Harbour because there was a festival going on in honor of its 21st Anniversary. There was food and performances and a really great fireworks show at the end of the night. Fun and free!
This morning we went for a run on the beach and then over to the giant shopping center in Bondi Junction to buy clothes for our promotions interview tomorrow. We have to wear black pants and a black button shirt...blah. I hate shopping for stuff that I have to buy or I'm not excited about. Scott is coming to the interview with us because they said we could bring friends. I think it will be end up being more like an orientation. Hopefully I can make a little money before Katy's family comes.
Hmm, I never know what to say at the end of my blogs. I feel like a need some sort of catchphrase. Suggestions welcome.
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