Mandy and I lived in my cousin’s apartment right in the middle of one of the greatest cities!  We were there 4 days, and had more than our handful of walking a dog, walking around, and shopping.  It was quite an adventure being in a small apartment with over sized furniture and a 6 month old puppy.  It was fun, but definitely a lot of hard work and walking. We had a great time and I really appreciate my cousin letting us stay at his place. It’s an awesome place and he’s got a great dog. It was super fun to be able to walk everywhere and have some really good local food…and pizza! We really had a good time and didn’t do too much site seeing other than go to the famous Apple store and I bought Mandy a Tiffany’s Dragon Fly Pendant.  Also Critchet and his fabulous girlfriend Gina drove up from the D.C. area to hang out and visit with us!  We had one hell of night on the town Thursday Night.

Julia Roberts Intro

Burnin Down the House!

Sledgehammer!

So Damn Lucky!

The first and most common thing is buying a magnet.  This is easy and they are very common.  I usually try to find unique magnets, for example ones where you can put a picture of yourself from that same trip. When I buy a magnet my requirement is it must be a very memorable place, so I don’t go magnet crazy.

The next thing I like to do is buy a shirt from a restaurant I really enjoyed.  This is pretty easy, but my requirement here is the food and service must be good, and the shirt needs to be really unique.

Buying a Calendar for the next year, this has been a recent addition to my souvenirs tradition.  This requirement is the pictures from the calendar are of beautiful scenery that I have seen or want to go back and visit.

My last but favorite travel tradition is buying a small picture of some beautiful scenery or something famous. For example I bought a small 6″ X 8″ picture of Hanauma Bay in Hawaii when I went last year.  This year I bought a fantastic picture of the Sydney Opera House lit up.  I’ll frame these and start a mural of these beautiful places.  I did not find something comparable from my Germany trip or from being in Perth.  This requirement is, it must be a place I have visited and really enjoyed.

I’d love to hear some other souvenir travel traditions you may have!

For example, one of the acts was this Hispanic man doing the bouncing juggling balls, started with 3 and ended with a total 6.  In between adding a new ball he would yell something, and it sounded like “CUBA!” come to think of it I’m gonna pretend he yelled Cuba, just for the hell of it.

Also one act had this girl that was caught by these caveman type people and then some fake dinosaur came and saved her.  The story was she raised this dinosaur from a baby and now it saved her for her to be a princess.  Then she started swinging on these red curtains, the story really didn’t make sense.

There was a magic act in between each act, and of course I’d try to figure out how he was doing it.  One of the acts I figured out;  He basically did the cut a person in half and I figured the person hid to one side, she came out ok, then another person came out (and I then said, oh she was on the other side of the box), THEN another person came out and I was like aight now I want to know how he did it!  Also each time the magician would cover something I would say to myself a big cat is gonna come out, with no such luck.

The last act was hulla-hoop Eva Longoria, or at least that’s what she looked like from a far.  The end of her set had 2 people throwing hoops over her, as she added over 50 hulla-hoops as she was hooping.  It was pretty impressive, but in all the show was mediocre.  I think the show would have been better if I could have made fun of it with some friends, so if you do decide to go to the circus get drunk before hand.

One last thing about the show was all the ladies were wearing thong like bottoms.  I didn’t understand it since the show is a majority of kids!  I’ve realized that Australia doesn’t censor much like in Europe, even in public.

The circus also made me realize once we’re a parent, the shows you go to for your kids!  I remember when my parents took me to the zoo, there were all these animals and it seemed like a huge production!  This was like a cheap Cirque Du Soleil Show.  It at least killed my Saturday afternoon, and one of my new year’s resolutions.

Note: Pictures were taken with an iPhone.

As I head to Margaret River on my 3 1/2 hour voyage, the beautiful country side was like any other with the exception of the Harvey District, known as ‘The Heart of Diary Country’, which I would only assume also it’s steak.  The number of cattle around was incredible, and it wasn’t the plain black and brown cows, it was the black and white spotty ones.  About mid way on my trip is where I stopped at Harvey Moo Shoppe / Visitor Centre, built in the 1800’s.  A quaint little store with a stable for a restroom in the back, and Stirling’s Restaurant Cottaqge situated on the picturesque banks of the Harvey River.  After my rest stop, I continued to my first destination in Margaret River, Cape Lavender for Breakfast.

First, let me describe the Margaret River area.  It has 2 major roads that run north to south on either side of the city.  Each road is surrounded with farm land for cattle, sheep, or grapes.  There are hundreds of wineries around.  It’s like you’re in the middle of no where but in reality you’re in very populated farm country.  The wineries, lodging, and restaurants are anywhere between 7-30 minutes apart.  The roads at night are dark and desolate, you might see a car every 15 minutes, (everyone drives around with their brights on).  There is only one area that’s heavily populated with stores and that’s the shopping centre.  The rest is mildly lit signs on the side of the road for lodging, wineries, and restaurants.

I wanted to arrive for breakfast at Cape Lavender, which is known for making consumables (soap, shampoo, fudge, wine, etc) out of Lavender trees and their breakfast. I had Green Eggs and Bacon with home made Vienna on top of Basil, which was absolutely delicious.  The 17 dollar meal was worth every penny and the lake side view was very peaceful.  After breakfast I went to their gift shoppe where they make EVERYTHING out of Lavender.  While shopping I found out they have 3 Labradors, 2 yellow and 1 chocolate lab and even make their own lavender dog shampoo and well of course…I can’t wait to use it on Hannah and Marle (Big Girl and Bubba)!

From Cape Lavender, I headed south on Caves Rd. to my first cave, Calgardup Cave.  This cave was a self-guided tour which was very exciting!  I walked to the counter to pay the 12 dollar entry fee.  The nice lady instructed that I would be entering the middle of the cave and could navigate left or right, each side was around 100 meters in length.  Then she said I’d be getting a helmet…(great!  I love helmets.. ) and she followed that I’d be getting a torch!  A TORCH!  I WAS PUMPED, I WAS GONNA BE A GOOFY INDIAN JONES WITH A HELMET AND A HUGE FLAMING TORCH!  Well I quickly realized that a torch was just a big flash light (such a disappointment!).  I strapped on and headed onto the boardwalk into the cave (your not allowed to leave the boardwalk and touch the rock because of the acids in your skin).   Quickly I realized that there was ABSOLUTELY no lighting in the cave (that’s why we needed our ‘torch’)!  So the darkness started to freak me out a little, especially since there were only 2 other people in the cave.  I walked the cave completely alone clutching my torch like a baby clutching their teddy bear when the boogy monster is waiting in the closet.  As I entered the cave I asked an older couple leaving, “left or right?”, and they said “to the left was more challenging,” and well honestly I wanted to get that part over with since it was pitch black and all I had was my torch and pocket knife.  As I head east the cave gets darker and darker and I continually wait for some snake type lockness monster to come out of the very shallow stream and choke me to death while I yell for no one to hear me.  Seriously, the cave was incredible with millions of stalactites and stalagmites from the ceiling and the ground respectively.  The different formations were astounding, there were even parts I had to crawl under.  After crawling under some rocks, I get to the end of the boardwalk and read one of two signs mentioning, “This is the end…follow the trail back to go to the other side or to the exit”.  The other sign said,  “A World of Darkness.  Sit down, turn off your lights and experience cave darkness.  This is a world without light and the only sound is the splash of water droplets.” –FUCK THAT!  I was already more than a little freaked out when I would look back at the pitch black following me. I thought twice about turning the light off but was too freaked out, so I just started to speed walk back to the opening of the cave.  After getting back to the middle, I decided to go explore the other side.  It was just as beautiful, the cave was truly peaceful and the different colors, formations and straw like stalactites really spurred your imagination.

From Calgardup Cave I drove half hour to Jewel Cave where it was a guided tour that started at 2:30pm.  Here I purchased my 3 cave pass for $45…….

Side Track:  After buying my 3 day pass, I waited in the car to figure out where my hotel was.   A car pulled up and parked very close and this Asian Bitch, ‘accidentally’ slammed her car door into my car!  I said something to her boyfriend, but that asshole didn’t speak any English!  He’s lucky he didn’t speak any English, that it’s not really ‘my’ car and it’s a company rental.  I tried to take a picture of the bitch, but wasn’t able to get a good picture for everyone to see.

…..Well Jewel cave tour finally started and luckily we didn’t have to wear hard hats or need torches!  The tour was great and the cave was lit up beautifully!  Lots of the formations resembled different things, a budda statue, bacon, trees of a forest, a camel laying down, all sorts of things.  This cave also had a 500 year old fossil of a possum that was starting to form calcium carbonate or calcite.  This cave was much bigger than the first and the reflection from the water was pure mirror.

After Jewel Cave I went to my third cave of the day called Mammoth Cave known for all the animal artifacts that were discovered in this cave.  This cave was another self-guided tour, but luckily it was also lighted and had a very nice audio tour that accompanied the 45 minute walk.  Again just incredible the size, colors and shapes of the rocks.

From here I headed to the All Seasons Margaret River Resort, where I checked in to my simple cozy room.  I showered and got dolled up and ready for my meal at Cape Lodge where I went straight to the bar to do some wine tasting then have my $95, 3 course a la carte meal which ended up being a 6 course meal for $160 (again worth every penny)!

After getting back to the hotel, I finished watching all 2 channels of tv (literally) and passed out.  I woke up and checked out to find a small breakfast meal in the city centre.  I was only 5 minutes away and got some gas and went to get some breaky at Sails.  I ordered a delicious simple croissant sandwich with ham and cheese, I needed nothing elaborate because I knew my lunch was going to be fancy.  After breaky, I went and did some souvenir shopping before quickly heading to Lake Cave and CaveWorks (a place where they talk about the caves without having to go in one).

Lake Cave was my favorite, partly because of the tour guide and the other part because it had a floating island that it’s known for.  It was beautiful and aside from the floating island we saw; Homer, Marge, and Maggie Simpson silhouettes, a turtle’s head, the back of a crocodile, a dragon’s head, and some other neat figures in the stalactites and stalagmites.  Mac was our guide and apart from being entertaining, he was very knowledgeable, really made for an enjoyable tour.  Lake Cave was the deepest Cave in the WA (Western Australia), and it’s entrance was the size of a football field.  We were 97 meters below the surface at one point.

Afterward, I drove to the beach to go in the Indian Ocean.  I got my right hand and big toe wet (accidentally, since my shoe got soaked), I count this as now being in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Ocean (check)!  The beach side reminded me of Hawaii with all the mountains along the side.  This was a very popular surf area and I could see why, there were beautiful waves although with some deadly reefs below.  The sea is an incredible blue color, just like the pictures.

I decided to go back to the city centre to do some more exploring and I’m glad I did, I got some more great Australia only items for friends and family back home.  Earlier, I rescheduled my lunch so I could hit up a winery when suddenly;  I drove by a cheese factory!!  I had to stop for only one reason, the love of my life!  She would have made us stop, along with the fact I would have stopped for us to enjoy this cute little store.  The store was set out all on it’s own (again in the middle of farm country off the side of the road).  I tried 5 different cheeses and bought Smokey Cheddar Cheese and Marinaded Feta!  They just melt in your mouth, and if I don’t open them they’ll last till I get home, but if I do I have to eat it all cause it will spoil on the plane…let’s hope that I’m a good boy….

I never did end up going to any wineries as time didn’t permit.  I barely made it to my lunch booking at Flutes, a beautiful winery on a rushing stream with excellent food.  I had a light meal since last night’s dinner was sooo heavy.  The food here continued to be fantastic and the wine as well.

All in all, it was very fun and full weekend, there is so much to do in Margaret River, you could easily spend over two weeks enjoying everything!

Anyway, tonight’s email is short as Zeus has compiled a photo montage of our trip for your enjoyment. We’re looking forward to coming home and we’ll see you all soon.

Thanks for joining us in our adventures!

Mandy & Zeus

“Another winter day, has come and gone away…
And I feel all alone, and I want to go home… let me go home…
Let me go hooooommmmmeee, I’m just to far from where you are and I want to go home…”"
- Michael Buble

Today was a glorious day and here’s why:

1) Slept late and thus got a late start

2) The sun was trying to come out

3) Went to Pylon Lookout where the sun DID come out for the remainder of the day

4) Spent the afternoon at Sydney’s Oldest Hotel & Brewery- Lord Nelson’s- and had the BEST meal we’ve had our entire time here…more to come.

That’s right today was glorious. We weren’t expecting the sun to come out, but when I woke up this morning and looked out the window, I noticed it was trying to make its way out; however, we still dressed warmly and brought our umbrella b/c we figured it would end up raining anyway.

So we got a move on and decided to go to Pylon Lookout, which is at the top of the one of the pylons connected to the bridge. Surprisingly, they do not hold the bridge up; they were built merely for aesthetics. However, the top provides a spectacular view of the harbour, the Opera House, the bridge and the city skyline. It was awesome, as the warm sunshine shone down upon us. On the way up the 200 steps, you know how we love climbing steps, they had interesting trivia about the bridge and the men who built the bridge. I can’t recall any of the facts at the moment (b/c our afternoon finished at the Lord Nelson Brewery- you do the math) but they were fascinating none the less.

Moving along, we got some great photos from up there and video, so I hope you enjoy. And oh…if there’s no video posted its b/c it usually takes a while for Zeus to edit and upload it, so “no worries mates” it will be posted eventually.

Anyway, afterwards, we were trying to decide what to do. I mean after all, according to my husband I’ve managed to cram most everything there is to see in Sydney into two hours. Well, we decided to go to the oldest pub in town and I’m so glad we did b/c there we had the best meal ever and our brainchild for solving the “crappy food crisis” that Sydney is facing. So we ordered the fish and chips which were battered and tempura fried, served with a wasabi mayo- which was surprisingly sweet not spicy- with a side order of potato wedges with sweet, chili sauce. It was heavenly and the most flavorful food we’ve had since we arrived. Seriously…who knew the best food was at the oldest pub around. I think we may be going back tomorrow. Anyway, it was here while towards the end of our first beer and onto the second one, that I (we- I say I b/c it was really more me) who had this genius idea of starting a restaurant down here in Sydney . Hear me out people…if for no other reason than a good laugh.

It’s called the “Crazy Cajun Cuban” (uh-huh…can some of you already see where I’m going with this?). While it’s a restaurant downstairs, it’s a bar upstairs, where naturally the “Bikini Tini” franchise will go. Anyway, back to the restaurant/bar, here’s how this operation will play out:

• Mandy & Zeus- Owners/wait staff (we’ll be able to apply for the Women/Minority Business Owner if Australia has that).
• Captain & Dwight- You’re responsible for catching the “catch of the day”; and possibly cooking it if needed.
• Mamma Debbie- Executive Chef on the Cajun side
• Mami Mirian- Executive Chef on the Cuban Side
• Admiral (Mom)- Sous Chef and quality control, managing plate presentation
• Jill y Tato- CFO’s (one of you is finance and one of you is accounting, so you can work it out)
• Laura- Head Little Dude in Charge (Laura has the ability to get anything done, so I figured she can sorta just oversee everything)
• Tim & Jason- Heads of Security (one of you is a cop and one of you is military trained- duke it out boys over who gets to be Director and who is Manager- we don’t really care- you can rotate weeks if you’d like)
• Becky- as my official Bikini Tini partner, well, she’ll over see this venture of expanding the franchise out here, and will remain as Director of Marketing/PR
• Meredith- since you have a similar background, I thought you could oversee the marketing and direct mail efforts
• Katy…bar and restaurant manager extraordinaire

So that’s our (my) genius idea for curing the “crappy food” epidemic Sydney is facing. We don’t care what the executive chefs want to serve on what days, we just know it will be a gagillion (that’s the numerical word for GINORMOUS) times better than what we’ve had so we’re looking forward to it.

So, I’m interested in your thoughts. If you’d like to play a different role in this family venture, hey we’re flexible it’s all negotiable, we just thought this is where we all naturally fall in.

So…as you can see, today was one of our more mellow days and we were ok with that. We came back to the hotel early and I’ve sorted our dirty laundry and packed us so we don’t have much to do tomorrow and can just enjoy the day and evening, and Zeus has edited some video for your enjoyment.

Just click below and enjoy. Until tomorrow…we miss everyone lots and will see you soon.

Mandy & Zeus

Here is Video Album of Sydney

Bridge Pylon

Our tale goes a little something like this…

Our driver Rob picked us up promptly at 7:30. It was us and another American couple from…can you guess? Close to Merry Hill, NC? Elizabeth City, NC. Kidd you you not! Turns out Fran is a wildlife biologist and her husband Tom is a pilot for the Coast Guard and they have two girls, who are ballerinas! They were very nice. We next moved to the Marriott to pick up newlyweds Logan and Kerry…a.k.a high maintenance. Kerry is a teacher (shout out to the teachers) but jobs are hard to come by out there so she’s currently a nanny (which must pay a boatload b/c they’ve done some extensive traveling and I don’t know how they’ve paid for it) b/c Logan just completed Pharmacy school two weeks before they got married, so we know he wasn’t making any money. Now they were very sweet, don’t get me wrong. They were nice and friendly and outgoing, and they promptly let us know they were honeymooners and had been married for a week. I can remember that feeling so it was fun to reminisce…shout out to Jill and Micheal who get to experience this themselves in April.

Moving along, within 20 minutes of the trip out of town, she busts out with her makeup case yet she had a full face of “going out” make up on. Who does that? It’s wet and rainy and icky outside. It was all I could do to put on foundation, bronzer and mascara! Notice I went with the hat and didn’t even bother to wash my hair b/c there was no point! Again….moving along.

Our first stop was at Featherdale Wildlife Park. These parks are really sanctuaries where injured animals, native animals, are nursed back to good health and live out the remainder of their days. Now here’s what was so fantastic about this place. We first pet a wombat (see photos of me and “Bubba Wombat”). Then we finally got to pet a koala! His name was Charlie and he was chillin, chompin on his eucalyptus branch, while the white girl and Hispanic (the only one on the island I’ve decided) pet him (see photos). Then we grabbed an ice cream cone full of kangaroo food and went to fed the kangaroos and I kidd you not… “Bubba Kangaroo” came right up, gently grabbed my wrist holding the cone (like my puppies do when they paw at me to get on the couch) and started to eat from my hand. It was incredible and so much fun! I’m so excited we stopped off at this place b/c it had been the best yet. Enjoy the photos and the video.

Now, it’s at this point, that we have high maintenance drama moment #2… on of the roos’ was feeling a bit randy and “LA” was holding an umbrella. Well, this one roo sorta followed us all around and at one point, wanted to play and so started hopping around her and the umbrella, and she totally freaked out… it’s at this point that her new husband ran off laughing his ass off and leaving his blushing bride to fend for herself…it’s at this point she starts screaming “help, get it away!” I looked at Zeus and said, “had she gone Caesar Milan on it’s ass, it probably would have backed off!” However, we can’t all be married to Caesar Milan, so her loss.

We continued throughout the park and finally got to see a Tasmanian Devil! I was so excited b/c we hadn’t seen one up until this point. He’s he little black critter in photos. We also saw a beautiful white peacock. I really wish he would have spread his feathers b/c he was so pretty, but I guess that would have required pissing him off and I wasn’t going to go there. Ohhh…I forgot to mention that while in the roo area, we saw a mamma with her joey…finally. Which reminded me, of the white wallabys you’ll see. The things sticking out from her belly, are her joeys legs. it was really funny to see.  And an interesting fact about kangaroos, they can suspend the development of a joey is conditions in the wild are bad (such as drought). The longest a roo was pregnant was six years b/c she suspended development until she felt the conditions were right. Can you imagine!?

Moving along, we left there and started making our way to the mountains. Our first couple of stops were just really interesting places to look out and see the majestic mountains before us. Picture the Grand Canyons but with trees. Seriously. Anyway, while at one of our first points we learned that a man had recently thrown his wife and adopted daughter (she was from a previous marriage) over the mountains. Oh but don’t worry, they were dead well before he threw them over. He apparently told everyone they had gone abroad, but since he was stupid and running his mouth, someone investigated and tracked his cell phone and what he was saying didn’t add up to where his cell phone was putting him. Interestingly enough, he was busted when Dingos literally found the bodies and dragged them onto a trail where they were discovered recently… a month later. What kinda of psycho does that?!

Again….let us keep moving along. We had lunch at the Imperial Hotel, which had actual fires and it was very lovely. Lunch was ok…we learned through our American touring buddies, that we all dislike the food b/c it has no flavor. Anyway, we headed for the Blue Mountain park entrance officially and onto the cable car to take us down into the mountains. Now, prior to reaching the official entrance, we went to a lookout point and could hear the rushing sounds of a GINORMOUS waterfall. We couldn’t see it, but we heard it. Remember this, because I’m coming back to it it.

I need to again pause for high maintenance drama moment 3. We were joking (well half joking) about the leeches getting on us if we walked down the stairs (937 of them, which you know after the bridge climb we were NOT about to do), and opted to taking the cable car. Well, “LA” totally flipped out. People, it would have taken an act of God for a leech to shimmy up my pant leg and start sucking… it was not going to happen, yet her drama only fed our fun.

Anyway, we took the cable car down, hope you enjoy the video. It was a neat little 4 minute ride and then began our trek through the “rain forest”. Interesting fact- if and when you see photos of a GINORMOUS tree, you should know that this is the third largest tree in the world behind the red woods and sequoias of our national parks. It’s some kind of eucalyptus tree.

Moving along, we made our way around a small portion of the park, coming to the entrance of the old cole mine, now it’s at this point that I want to draw your attention to the photo of Zeus “drinking” water… now, remember that waterfall I mentioned? You’re looking at it. I swear, they said that’s the waterfall, makes no sense I know, but it’s the truth, and I only tell the truth in these emails.

In the following photos, you’ll see the “Three Sisters” in the background. Aboriginal legend has it (long story, short version) these three sisters were given the opportunity to learn what the men do and how to hunt. During their first lesson with their dad who was the tribe leader, they were watching their dad hunt, when he got distracted going after a lizard. Well, they started to play and were throwing rocks and sticks at each other and one went over the cliff (the rock, not the sister) and into the billabong (a large pool of water) and woke up the yettti like creature that they call something else, but it escapes me as I write this. Anyway, dad is deep in the forest and the yetti starts to attack and he hears their screams, and the yetti has them pinned against the cliff, so dad turned them into rocks to preserve their souls. Well, now this upset the yetti thing b/c he’s missed out on his meal of three women so he turns his attention to dad. Dad, pinned against the cliffs, turns himself into a bird, but looses the “bone” (not a wand) that he needs to do his magic, but barley escapes. Legend has it, he returned to find the bone, but the bone, and the yetti were gone, never to be seen again.

Anyway, after the old mining area, we had reached our railroad destination. It’s at this point I want to draw you attention to the laugh out loud sign by the world’s steepest railroad… it reads, and I don’t lie b/c you can read it for yourself…

CAUTION: This is the steepest funicular (what? that’s what I asked-and it was in italics on the sign) railway in the world! 52 degrees, 128% or 1 in 1.28 (this translates to steep as shit)
DO NOT leave valuables, infants, or cameras loose on the seat beside you as they can fall off and may be lost or damaged.

Now tell me you did not just laugh out loud when you put “infants” and “can fall off or be lost or damaged” together. We all about fell out reading that before we got on this thing. Well, needless to say, we can’t imagine what the ride was like down, b/c we only took it up and it was scary as poo poo (shout out Natalia). There were no seat belts or shoulder bar like at Disney and this little railroad hauled hiney up the mountain. Enjoy the photos…and remember…hold on to your infants people.

So, we made it to the top, where it was time to board the bus and head back. Our driver drove us to the ferry and we had our night harbour cruise so that was at least $125 per person saved. Upon arriving, we bid LA and her husband, Tom and Fran adieu and went in search of crappy food. I finally had some of those GINORMOUS prawns, a.k.a. shrimp, and this time Zeus has the fish and chips and another liquid dessert.

And speaking of which, you went and made a liquid dessert,right? Did you not just love it?! It’s our new fav drink. Plan for it at the wine tasting.

Have a great Monday America, and until tomorrow…enjoy the photos and video tomorrow…
Mandy & Zeus

The Blue Mountains

Today was day seven of our 10 day trip and it was a fantastic day and here’s why:

1. Slept late and had french toast and waffles for breakfast
2. Didn’t get moving and out the door until 1
3. Did the Rocks Walking Tour
4. Walked through the Royal Botanic Gardens
5. Had a wonderful dinner at Wolfies finished off with a lovely liquid dessert in which I’ve provided you the recipe

While the weather was back to being soggy and dreary, we took our time finding our motivation this morning. We didn’t get moving until 1ish or so and then only because we wanted to make the Rocks Walking Tour…and we did. And we were so glad we did because joining this tour explained many of the old sights we’ve passed as we’ve been walking around, but also showed us other parts of the Rocks that we haven’t yet explored, but will do so in our last few days.

I need to pause here and tell you though, how tired our legs are from yesterday’s bridge climb. Our calves are killing us and walking up and down the hills while hiking through the Rocks was not easy. After the Rocks, we did the Royal Botanic Gardens and I swear it feels like my hip joints have widdled away against the hip sockets and there’s nothing left. And I know I’m going to have a “Charlie-horse” in on of my calves before I return home! And oh GOD…how those hurt!

Moving along, on the Rocks tour, we learned all about the glorious convict history that Sydney was founded upon…literally. We saw original roads, leftover homes (you’ll notice the fireplace in one of the first pictures, the “dead house” or as we call them today the morgue. You’ll know you’re looking at the “dead house” when you see in the foreground, construction walls that read “no parking.” Interestingly enough, while converting a church into a nightclub (I know… can you believe it?) they uncovered a road believed to be 150 years old, that has now become an archaeological dig. How cool, huh?!

Anyway, back to the tour on the Rocks, the first photo is the fireplace of a home that was beneath the stairs, and the photo after wards is the store house were goods were well…stored. We moved on to Cadaman’s Cottage which was the home of the “boat guard” or the man who serviced the boats upon arrival. he was a convict who was granted freedom in return for his services. He became a free man and repaired the ships when the came into port. The photo of Zeus with the random rocky floor behind him, is the original flooring in that home and in the other room, where you can make out a pipe, is when they finally installed some form of sewage system in the 1900s. Until then, water and sewage just ran down from the top of the Rocks, into the Harbour…they said you knew you were coming upon the Rocks when you smelled it. I got video of out tour guide in front of the cottage so I hope you enjoy it.

Moving along, we next saw the Sailors Home. A lot of times, sailors would “defect” upon arrival to join the gold rush so a church pulled their resources to create the Sailors Home in order to keep them close to port. I want to detour for a moment from our Tour on the Rocks and let you know another fun fact…ever heard the term “shanghaied”? Well, when sailors would “defect” women would lure them up to the bars, get them good and liquored up, club them over the head, drop them down a hole, which lead back to the harbour, where they ended up back on a boat and by the time they woke up, they were back out at sea and part of someone elses crew…thus they were shanghaied…interesting huh?

We then rounded the corner which put us at the tip of Campbell’s Point, named after a Scottish man, who built his business up to become the premier importer and exporter of goods for Sydney. You can see the shops, which are now restaurants in the background (one that we ate at this evening).

The next photos you see (of me through a window) are the top part of what used to be a house. Enjoy the video that follows.

On our way to see the part of the Rocks that we didn’t know was there, we passed the Sydney Observatory and Zeus’ future car on the left. We headed into Milsner’s Point and went to the Military (pronounced Mil-a-tree, not military) Church, St. Agnes. I want to give a shout out here, since after all this is a Military church, the oldest in Australia to be exact, to those in Iraq representing our great nation…one guy in particular…Jason T. Maris…he’s a sailor folks…not a soldier! You’ll notice two sets of pews in this church. The original church was built up to the columns but expnaded and side doors added so the military could come in and sit along the outside pews to attend the church services. What’s also interting to note about this church, the large stain glass window which costs 100 pence to have commissioned (which was in those time what a family’s annual income may be) was so cherished that it was removed during WWII (for fear of being broken), pane by pane, taken to the Blue Mountains for safe keeping and returned when the war ended.

Another side note, history fact, when England is at war so is Australia. However, when I asked our tour guide from the wine trip about Australia’s participation in Iraq, sicne Tony Blair supported us, he said that in that case, when it’s a “decision of consiouness” they declined. However, if America were ever invaded, they would be there to defend us. Just FYI…

The tour concluded outside of Greenway Ally, where the famous convict/architect Francouis Greenway is recognized. He built many historical buildings in Sydney but was not recognized for many years b/c the crimes he committeed were for fraud. He was good at forging stuff.

The following photos were taken from Campbel’s Point again. We took a photo of climbers on the bridge so you add a sense of how high up we were yesterday! We then decided to head over to the Botanic Gardens. We were hoping to eat at the restaurant but they had just closed so we walked around. As you can see, they have bats that live in the trees. Appearantly, the often squabble amonst themselves and their fights are tearing up the trees so the country in considerin moving them elsewhere so they don’t destroy the gardens.

Anyway, the gradens were wet, but very fragrant. I can only imagin however, was kind of sneezing fit would have resulted if the flowers were in full bloom and not drowned in water, so I’d say, it was actually good that we vistied when we did.

We finished our afternoon/early evening walking back around the Opera House and had dinner at Wolfie’s where we chatted with a nice American family from Atlanta (shout out to “Hotlanta!”). The Sydneysiders redemmbed themselves, food wise, with this restaurant. Zeus has he surf and turf, steak and shrimp on steriods, as he called them, and I had griled chicken breast stuffed with cheese and sundried tomatoes in a balsamic, chick pea salsa. It was YUMMY! We finised the night off with a Tolberone… a yummy creamy, liquid drink, which we sucked down for desert made with Bailey’s, Kahlua, Frangelico, honey and cream, cruched with ice. I’ve taken the liberty to look up the drink for you. So since it’s Sunday morning, hit the liquor store after church (so you won’t feel as guilty) and get the needed ingredients and finish off your weekend with this liquid treat!

We’re hitting the Blue Mountains tomorrow so until then…have a wonderful and relaxing Sunday!
M & Z

Day 7 The Rocks

P.S.
The photos of the guy and girl you see… one- John Travolta called and he wants his suit back…and two..seriously, who would ever wear a lacy monstracity like that in the States. I’m starting to question their fahsion sense here…I’m moving past the shoes nightmare.

Toblerone recipe

Today was a glorious day… the Sydney sunshine finally came out and we were so excited. I was particularly excited b/c I was convinced I was developing a bit of S.A.D. (Seasonal Affective Disorder) and was on the verge of killing someone b/c I hadn’t seen the sun since last Saturday! (Remember, I skipped Sunday entirely b/c I was on a plane sleeping and it had been raining ever since I arrived in Sydney. I think Zeus was starting to fear for his life.)

Moving along, we took our time getting motivated this morning. We called “home” a.k.a. Jensen Beach and Jacksonville to have a “proper” conversation with our parental units and to check in on the “kids.” Don’t worry, they’re fine and I’m thoroughly convinced that they won’t want to be returned to their parents b/c they’ve been spending their days on the couch, having walks or swimming in the pool.

Anyway, back to today. We went to the Rocks Market today, which is like Fiesta in the Park at Lake Eola or an outdoor market that NYC has on occasion. It was lovely. With the sun shinning down, we kicked off the morning with chocolate covered strawberries and bananas…well, Zeus did, I had a water. From there we proceeded to make our way up one side of the market and down the other buying some interesting gifts for our family back home.

I need to interject re: UGG drama. I’m over it. They’re all fakes here. I’m moving on.

After a couple of hours at the market, we had lunch at an Italian place and I must say the Australians redeemed themselves slightly thanks to this restaurant. However, since the food was semi-flavorful, I have to assume it’s run by true Italians, not Australians. (Cubans- if you came out here and opened a restaurant, you could make a killin! And for good measure- you can decorate the ceiling with an explosion of black beans [shout out to Tia Nina!]).

After lunch, we regrouped at the hotel and headed for the bridge climb. Now here’s the conversation I had with my parents this morning.
Mom & Dad: So what are you doing today?
Zesu & Mandy: Well, since it’s pretty we’re going to see if we can do the Bridge Climb.
M & D: Oh that sounds nice. Dress warmly.
Z & M: Well, I think they give you a suit to wear, b/c they hook you to the bridge.
M & D: What?! (Slight concern in their voices).
Z & M: Yeah, you get hooked to the bridge. We’re not walking across it, we’re literally walking over it! You know, it would be like climbing the steel of the Matthews bridge.
M & D: Well, be careful. And if you don’t write an email tonight, we’ll think something went wrong.
Z & M: Ok… I’ll be sure to do the email tonight.

So here I am, telling you about the amazing bridge climb…but if you don’t believe me, check out the photos for yourself. Upon arriving, you of course have to sign a waiver, indicating that they are not at fault if you fall off the bridge into the water… totally kidding…I actually don’t’ know what the waiver said, i just signed it. Next, you get suited up in a super sexy one piece jumpsuit reminiscent of school custodians. You have to lock up your valuables, camera, watch and anything else that could potentially fall off and end up hitting a car below. You then get your climbing gear. You strap on your belt, completed with the ramekin that hooks you to the steel cable on the bridge, a fleece jacket, a sunglasses neck strap, a beany, a head lamp, and your radio. We each added an additional 20 pounds to our body weight!

Following, you take a quick climb on the “bridge simulator” and then you’re ready to climb.

So Sophie (kidd you not mom) our guide, lead us onto the bridge to start making our way up. On our way, we walked pass the Park Hyatt, where rooms are an average of $600 a night b/c of their location at the point of the Harbour, and started to make the gradual climb up with the Opera House on the right and the rest of the city and Blue Mountains off in the distance on our left.

We did the twilight climb, which meant we went up just before sun set, watched the sun set, and climbed down as the city came to life with lights! On our way up, you see the majestic Opera House, it was an amazing view and one you can only get while climbing. We stopped at one point for the perfect photo opp with the House in the background.

I need to tell you at this point, that we nicknamed each other “Spiderman” and “Sexy Bitch” b/c of the fantastic suits we were in and the fact that we were scaling the bridge… and you guessed right folks…Zeus was “Sexy Bitch!” Totally, kidding he was “Spiderman” and our guide called him that the entire trip. At one point, I just gave up and said “Mr. & Mrs. Spiderman here for our photo.” (This was about the third photo opp and I also asked for the hair and make up artist but they never arrived).

Moving along, when we reached the top, they took another photo at “the Summit” with the sunset in the background…again I refer you to the photos of “Sexy Bitch” and “Spiderman”… try not to be jealous b/c we look so PHAT (Pretty Hot And Tempting) in our suits!

Last but not least, we took a group photo (we have a print out, not on the disc where we uploaded the images) and then we took one with the city behind us…after watching the sun set behind the Blue Mountains! It was phenomenal! It was just such a surreal experience. I mean, here we are in this foreign city, freezing our tails off at the top of this bridge, watching the sunset.  It was a completely different experience than watching the sunset over an ocean, as we often see on the Florida coast.

The climb down was illuminated by the city lights! It was wonderful. It was like no other excursion we’ve ever done. Completely different than the mountains in Vegas or the Hoover Dam. Completely different than the off-road adventure in Aruba. It was a calming thrill. It wasn’t scary or nerve racking. There were no feelings of nauseousness. No feelings of vertigo or dizziness, just a calm, exhilaration, which, yes…there is such a thing.

And by the way, we climbed 1,437 stairs. My legs are like J-E-LL-O!

When you look at the photos, there are four that were complimentary b/c we bought more than 4 photos; they’re the sunset, fog/flag photo, and two other that we aren’t in.

After a spectacular afternoon/evening, we finished at the Lowenbrau, a German restaurant. We had 1/2 liters of beer and Zeus had schnitzel and I had fish and chips…while bland, it seems to be pretty safe at most places. We topped off our dinner and celebrated our climb with beer battered apples! YUMMY!

Who knows what tomorrow will bring. I’m thinking the Royal Botanical Gardens, the Rocks Walking Tour and an evening Habour tour by ferry…but we’ll see.

Have a great Saturday States!
M & Z

Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb

Michael Buble Concert Montage from Jesus Salgueiro on Vimeo.