He Just Smiled At me and gave me a Vegemite Sandwich

For the record, Australians really do eat Vegemite a lot. It’s often eaten as a breakfast food on toast. It’s not terrible in all honesty. Very salty and not something that sounds like a great “wake up” call to me, but not unbearable. And yes, I have tried it.

Mmm...Vegemite

Hello Dear Family and Friends!

Ah, what a week it has been! My parents just left on Saturday after 2 crazy fun weeks of Australia and sunshine. Sad to see them go, but I am so glad that they came down to visit!

Flying over the Red Center

The Rock

So, last I wrote, I was on my way to Uluru. What an adventure! Once we got off the plane, it was so nice to be somewhere that was warm and not humid. Everyone talks about the Red Center being super hot, which it totally can be (last month it got up to 45 Celsius, which is a nice and comfy 114…yuck), but for our time, it was about 27 Celsius, which is more like 77 Fahrenheit, which was lovely. The weather kind of felt like the summer weather at home—until the flies came out. The flies in the Red Center are HORRIBLE. It is so dry out there that they try and get the moisture from your ears, nose, eyes, and mouth. You spend half of your time trying to brush them away! Fortunately, they don’t bite, they just irritate.  But there are thousands of them and they are everywhere. But, oddly, they seem to understand that they are not allowed indoors because they were not in any buildings we went in. I made a game of guessing how many of the flies Jammin would have killed at various points in time throughout our time there. My final guess would be that he would have killed somewhere between 100 and 150 flies. Honestly, they wouldn’t be missed and really, no one would probably notice. We arrived and checked into our hotel room at the Outback Pioneer Hotel and Lodge. Our hotel room was kind of funny. It honestly would have fit in very well in the 50s. Very basic, cement walls, old TV, squeaky beds. But it was cute. We had fun. The best two parts of the resort were the pool and dinner. The pool was great just because we were in the desert and, I mean, really, a pool can’t be beat in the desert. But dinner was a blast. The Outback Pioneer is definitely a resort that knows who their clientele is. For dinner, we went to the Outback BBQ. Actually, it was an incredible idea. The idea is that you purchase meat from them and then YOU get to grill it on one of the 20 grills available. Mom was beyond thrilled that she got to go “throw a shrimp on the barbie.” Seriously, she kept saying it. Over. And over. Haha. But we had a blast. There was a guy there who played lots of popular songs and just giving it a great atmosphere.

Grills...

Throwing another Shrimp on the Barbie

Bright and early the next morning, well, not actually bright as it was 4AM and the sun was not up, we climbed into a bus with 13 other people and a very friendly dog named Bandi and we were off to the camel ranch. We got to the camel ranch and were told how to mount our camels and how to keep our seats and not end up on the ground (pretty long fall).  Dad and I rode Rasheed and mom was on one that I didn’t learn the name of (sorry, mom!), but they were very sweet. The ride went out into the outback and gave us a great view of the sunrise on Uluru. When we got back, we had a fantastic “brekky” with homemade beer bread with jam, butter, and vegemite, and tea and coffee. What a trip!

Us with the Camel

Mom with her Camel

Camels

Bandi!

Later on (around 11), we took another bus to Uluru. When we got there, we looked at the map for the available walking trails in the area. All of them gave an estimated time to complete. The walk that went the entire way around the rock said it would take about 3.5 hours and was an easy walk. Well, being from Colorado and spending so much time in the mountains, we figured that 3.5 hours would be the amount of time that it would take people who didn’t hike a lot or spend a lot of time running/exercising. So off we went with our fly nets (best purchase ever), our water bottles, and our map, thinking that we would be done with this nice little hike in maybe 2 hours. How badly mistaken we were. Just under three and a half hours is how long it takes healthy, active people to complete it at a good pace. I think we really only stopped three times. We paused a few times for some photos, but for the most part, we were moving. After we finished that part of the hike, which was completely worthwhile, we had another two miles to go to get to the Cultural Center. Ugh. Haha. We enjoyed it, though.  By the time we got to the Cultural Center, we were all super hot and sweaty and tired and ready to just sit for a few minutes or hours.

Fly Nets

Eternal Hike

Reflection from Water Hole

A bit later, we were picked up by the Uluru Express (creative name, I know) and taken to the “sunset viewing area.” Fact of the matter is: getting to Uluru is expensive. For us to get there and back was going to be $42, but if we wanted to stay until sunset, it would be $50. We decided to stay until sunset, but Dad’s reaction was classic: “I think God would be upset knowing that they charge an extra eight bucks for a sunset at a rock.” Oh, Daddy, what a great way to phrase it. After taking a few million photos, we got back into the van and waited for everyone else to join us. BUT, right after the sun seemed to be all the way down, the last rays of the sun hit the rock and seriously made it glow red. It was beautiful. I ran out of the van and snapped a few hundred more photos. (I think between the three of us, we took nearly 400 photos of this rock). That night, we were exhausted. Honestly, it felt like we had done the “Senior High: LET’S DO IT IN 1 DAY!” Eagle Peak hike. Everything was tired and sore, but we had such a great time doing it, none of us regret it at all. We didn’t go throw another shrimp on the barbie that night, though. That was the only night we didn’t have un-American food. We caved and had pizza. Oh well. Once is ok, right? But we pretty much were all passed out by 9:30.

Sunset

The next morning, we were back at the airport and flying to Sydney. We knew going into this day that it would be a bit chaotic, but fortunately, life was a bit on our side that day. Our flight got in 45 minutes early (YES!) so we were able to get to our hotel (which was so cute, I’ll come back to that in a minute), get changed and all “frocked up” (Aussie-ism), and over to the Opera House in plenty of time to get our tickets, have a glass of wine and some crackers and cheese, and get to our seats to see “Carmen.” HOLY COW. What a show. Those singers have incredible voices: no microphones and totally filling sound. It was amazing. To hear the songs that everyone knows (whether or not you realize it, I’m sure you would recognize at least one song from Carmen courtesy of Bugs Bunny or various commercials) in that place was breathtaking. Now I wish I had paid more attention in French class so I could have understood more! Haha.  And to not only see one of the most famous opera houses in the world, but to have the opportunity to see a show IN the Sydney Opera House? Please, pinch me! It was incredible.

Darling Harbor

Sydney Opera House

Sydney Opera House

Sydney Harbor Bridge

The next morning, we slept in (for the first time since my parents arrived) before walking from our hotel over to Circular Quay. Oh, so back to our hotel. We stayed at this super adorable boutique hotel in the middle of this up and coming bohemian neighborhood. Some of the rooms had one twin bed in them and were tiny! For you camp people, these rooms are about the same size as the party room closets. For those of you at Rosen, they’re smaller than a Rosen dorm. Anyone else…use your imagination. But it was originally two buildings that were merged into one, so there are hallways that have angles, half staircases, elevators that don’t stop on certain floors, and stairs to nowhere. It was like a really cool funhouse! Not I would want to wander it in the dark on my own…that would be freaky.  Anyway, we walked from our hotel through the Botanical Gardens (which were beautiful, I can only imagine how amazing they would be in spring when there are flowers!), past the opera house and Sydney Harbor Bridge, and to the dock for our Harbor Cruise. On our way, we found this…restaurant?...cafe?...eatery called “Harry’s Café de Wheels.” Apparently, it is one of those ‘Hollywood Must Dos’ in Sydney since the outside is covered in photos of celebs eating at Harry’s. Even Colonel Sanders! Lol. So of course, we had to stop! What a fun thing to stumble upon! What they’re famous for is a dish called the “Tiger,” which is a meat pie with mashed potatoes, creamed peas, and gravy on top. Interesting to look at, but very tasty. If you’re in Sydney, check it out.

Harry's Cafe de Wheels

Mmm...tiger. (This time for real)

Our harbor cruise was fun…kind of what you’d expect from a harbor cruise in a big city. We found out later that there was one that took you out on a tall ship (like an old pirate ship or the ones in Pirates of the Caribbean), but we didn’t know about it, so we didn’t get to do that. Maybe next time I’m in Sydney? We’ll see. But we did get to go past lots of cool parts of historic Sydney and see many of the sights from the water, including one of the only places you can get a picture with both the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbor Bridge in it.

We're on a boat! And behind us is the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbor Bridge

Loving This!

When we docked, we were next to the Museum of Contemporary Art which had a big sign for their current exhibit, Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer’s Life. Now, Annie Leibovitz is one of my favorite photographers in the world, so I asked my mom and dad if we could PLEASE go see it. Mom and Dad agreed. I don’t think Dad knew who she was really, but he definitely knew her work (Google her name and you will probably know some of it, too, if you don’t recognize her name. She has taken some incredibly iconic shots of amazing people. Think of the John Lennon and Yoko Ono photo, or the pregnant Demi Moore photo…those are her work).  What a great experience we didn’t even plan on!

Annie Leibovitz for Disney

The next day, we walked to the Sydney Sky Tower—an observation tower that looks out over the Sydney skyline. It’s very cool to be that high about anything. We spent a while wondering around up there before we went in search of a subway station to take us to the one and only Bondi Beach. We spent that afternoon/evening playing at the beach and watching the surfers. The water at that beach is so blue and the sand is so white, it’s absolutely amazing to look at. Once we were back in our neighborhood, Dad and I made it our mission to introduce Mom to gelato. Three stops to ask directions later, we were having some incredible gelato. I hope we didn’t get mom addicted!

Bondi Surf

Bondi Beach

Sydney Sky Tower

Bondi Surfer

Sadly, the next morning, Mom and Dad were back on their way to the USA and I was back on my way to the Gold Coast. So…now it’s back to real life. Haha. Once I got home, I had one project to finish (DONE), two papers to write (still trying to finish the second one—this was a mental break. UPDATE: this second paper was written and saved under the title of "The Use of Rhetoric to Obscure Lack of Content" as it could be answered in half a page but had to be a full page for the grade), and an exam to make up (ALSO DONE). Is it weird that I find the use of scantrons for exams here in Australia to be fairly comforting? Its like…wait…I know how to use this! It’s not new! Yes! Lol. Yeah…vacation is definitely over. But, I'm getting lunch with Larissa on Wednesday, going to the National Finals Rodeo on Thursday with some girls from my Sport Event Operations class, and hopefully rock climbing again on Friday. So this week will still be pretty busy, but I’m happy with that. I’ve also booked my mid-semester break trip to Sydney and the Snowy Mountains to go horseback riding and to go to Hillsong Church, so I’m definitely looking forward to that. Speaking of break, does anyone have an opinion on CouchSurfer.org? I’m considering how safe it is when I’m travelling alone. If I can avoid spend money on hostels, I’d be stoked, but I’d rather be safe than thrifty and/or sorry. Both work.  

Aren't they cute?

And, continuing on the traveling theme, after much deliberation with my parents over the last two weeks, I have decided to not travel to Europe this summer. Financially, it just doesn’t make sense. Australia is a fairly expensive country and the exchange rate is not my friend right now. And while I’m not homesick, I do kind of miss being home. I like being with my family…I know, weird. Plus, it just makes more sense to save Europe for a future adventure. This will not be the only time I travel and leave the USA, so I don’t need to cram it all into one trip…it makes sense to spread the adventures out over more time. So my plan is to finish my semester here, fly to New Zealand for a bit (hopefully for about two weeks), and then head back to Colorado for a while before flying back to Orlando to begin my 4^th year at Rosen. So, if anyone has suggestions about New Zealand, I’d love to hear them!

I can't wait!

Anyway, if you are still reading at this point, you deserve a cookie and a glass of cold milk. I wish I could supply that, but apparently, they have a thing about dairy products being shipped internationally. And if you’ve been unfortunate enough to try my cookies, you know that you’re better off getting them from the store (unless it’s the already made dough, then you’re safe). I love and miss you all and would love to hear from you and know what’s going on in your corner of the world! I hope life is treating you all like rock stars because that is exactly what you all are—minus the excessive drugs and crazy fan girls/boys.

Yum.

As the Aussies say, “Keep Calm and Carry On.” (And I just learned that was a British WWII poster to keep up morale pending an invasion that never occurred and therefore was a slogan that was never really used…interesting).

Good Advice, Britain. 

Love you!

Leah

PS-There was a Christmas special on television. On April 4^th. What the heck?

Weirdest Christmas-releated photo I could find. 

PPS-I will put more photos on Facebook. Blogger just is difficult. 

PPPS-Hope you enjoyed all the photos and silliness. I love you all!

smile!