I found a gas station and saw this...I know it is per litters and I think the decimal might be different..but still had to share...
Church by the Queen Victoria Building
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Botanical Gardens
On the Opera House steps the large tree caught my eye......I walked over there and discovered the Botanical Gardens.
My Dad was curious about the trees - I know my brother would like to see some pics of the trees...there is such a variety.
This is a Fig Tree - huge!
More cool trees...
I love birds - these birds are so colorful and loud. I will upload video...
The castle building below is some kind of gov't house I never got to explore to much yet...very lovely building in the gardens...
I thought my Dad and bro would like to see these ducks - there are typical ducks but also unique ones as well...
More of Botanical Gardens...
I got a kick out of the sign below :)
variety of cactus and plants
Opera House from the Gardens - beautiful view, just a wonderful day
These are common birds - I guess the crows of AU
This bird on the left is like the Robin in WA - cool sounds and aggressive - one came at me and caught me off guard..I jumped and scared the group of parrots below. They started getting riled up so I ran :) it was comical...
The smells were amazingly fragrant and relaxing...
The bats were huge and loud!! I came into this section of the garden where there were no people and just 10s of thousand of these bats...I did not know if I was in the right area...it was freaky - they were so loud (ill upload a video).
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Hotel1 - First Night and first morning,,,,
Travelodge: Views from the window (AMP Tower)
Light switch took me a while to figure out - it was funny (the room card needed to be inserted into a slot)... The outlets are also different and I am still trying to figure out the voltage - some US things need a converter...thought i blew my laptop but its ok thank god.
First night out - pics below of the Harbor Bridge and Opera House ...as I mentioned early just stunning and good suprise to stumble on...
Had to take the picture of the palms trees - I have always wanted to live by palm trees and now here I am....I vow to be thankful each time I see a palm tree.
I had to throw in the pic of Starbucks - as I mentioned it was my first taste of home...I am suprised everyday as I finding so many stores, brands, etc that are that same...it is nice.
Friday, September 28, 2007
I Made It!!! Tracy's Down Under
G'day Mates!!
After months of organizing, planning, stress and emotions...I am finally here. As most know I am scared to fly so it was a blessing in disguise I did not actually know I was flying Monday (9/24) until that morning (I did not know about my visa until Friday, on Saturday night I found out Hawaii was not going to work because my 4 pieces of luggage (70 llbs) would not have transferred to my connecting flight, changed my flight Sunday which was finalized Monday).
After some tearful goodbyes to my mom, a few drinks with dad at the airport I was off to San Fran. I had to run to catch my connecting flight and was the last row (was empty).....it was my first time flying alone, internationally and on a jumbo... I was asleep before my first glass of wine was done, slept on/off for 10 hours or more. We did hit some crazy bumps but it was alright.
I felt well rested after landing in the airport and excited so when I found out my luggage was lost I did not freak out :) They gave me $100 for my inconvenience so that was nice. I was stuck in customs area for a few hours until a nice Aussie Guard helped me out...I had a man waiting with a sign for T Jarvis outside the gate. He was a local so gave me a verbal overview of everything on the ride to the hotel. The whole steering wheel on the right and driving on the left is pretty trippy. Why did one ever decide this would vary in different countries...
Hotel was a nightmare - paid for a room Tuesday so I could be accommodated at 8am vs 2 in the afternoon...there was mass construction going on so got a free breakfast and another room higher up which is nice. First thing I did was test the toilet (as requested) - at this point the verdict is still out whether it flushes the opposite way! I will test at my apartment (when I get one). I will post pictures and videos soon as well. After sleeping the entire first day, I got out of the room at night and wondered around. I found the Harbor Bridge and walked a little further to a breathtaking view of the Opera house - it is truly much different in person...huge, stunning, beautiful...now on my outing I was very happy to find some tastes of home - Starbucks, McDonalds, Baskins and Robins, 711....over the next few days I found Target, Kmart, Tony Romas, Subway and when I found Payless it felt even more like Seattle (except the shoes start at $29 and upwards of $70...seriously in payless). The city feels like Seattle with everything costing like New York... a regular soda was close to $3 AUD and a bottled water $3...but as I get acclimated I am sure there are cheaper places to shop.
I walked through the Botanical Gardens which was amazing...the plants, animals, people...very cool! Met up with Kai and Jodi for lunch - so good to see some familiar faces! Kai gave me a map so I am no longer flying blind around this new city. We ended up visiting the office since I did not have my luggage I was looking a little frazzled. The office is small and no real individual place to work but everyone seems very nice.
Hyde Park is a cool area - lots of stuff going on. I watched a life size game of chest that the locals say goes on everyday. The Cathedral was moving; huge stain glass windows - the magnitude of the building was beautiful. I hope to attend a service even though I usually enjoy a smaller church this would be an experience.
I have so much more to say but it is getting late and I have to be up early to go look at 2 apartments. The apartment situation is a whole other story :)
Cheers - I will post more soon... And to think it is only day 3 tomorrow...
Tracy
After months of organizing, planning, stress and emotions...I am finally here. As most know I am scared to fly so it was a blessing in disguise I did not actually know I was flying Monday (9/24) until that morning (I did not know about my visa until Friday, on Saturday night I found out Hawaii was not going to work because my 4 pieces of luggage (70 llbs) would not have transferred to my connecting flight, changed my flight Sunday which was finalized Monday).
After some tearful goodbyes to my mom, a few drinks with dad at the airport I was off to San Fran. I had to run to catch my connecting flight and was the last row (was empty).....it was my first time flying alone, internationally and on a jumbo... I was asleep before my first glass of wine was done, slept on/off for 10 hours or more. We did hit some crazy bumps but it was alright.
I felt well rested after landing in the airport and excited so when I found out my luggage was lost I did not freak out :) They gave me $100 for my inconvenience so that was nice. I was stuck in customs area for a few hours until a nice Aussie Guard helped me out...I had a man waiting with a sign for T Jarvis outside the gate. He was a local so gave me a verbal overview of everything on the ride to the hotel. The whole steering wheel on the right and driving on the left is pretty trippy. Why did one ever decide this would vary in different countries...
Hotel was a nightmare - paid for a room Tuesday so I could be accommodated at 8am vs 2 in the afternoon...there was mass construction going on so got a free breakfast and another room higher up which is nice. First thing I did was test the toilet (as requested) - at this point the verdict is still out whether it flushes the opposite way! I will test at my apartment (when I get one). I will post pictures and videos soon as well. After sleeping the entire first day, I got out of the room at night and wondered around. I found the Harbor Bridge and walked a little further to a breathtaking view of the Opera house - it is truly much different in person...huge, stunning, beautiful...now on my outing I was very happy to find some tastes of home - Starbucks, McDonalds, Baskins and Robins, 711....over the next few days I found Target, Kmart, Tony Romas, Subway and when I found Payless it felt even more like Seattle (except the shoes start at $29 and upwards of $70...seriously in payless). The city feels like Seattle with everything costing like New York... a regular soda was close to $3 AUD and a bottled water $3...but as I get acclimated I am sure there are cheaper places to shop.
I walked through the Botanical Gardens which was amazing...the plants, animals, people...very cool! Met up with Kai and Jodi for lunch - so good to see some familiar faces! Kai gave me a map so I am no longer flying blind around this new city. We ended up visiting the office since I did not have my luggage I was looking a little frazzled. The office is small and no real individual place to work but everyone seems very nice.
Hyde Park is a cool area - lots of stuff going on. I watched a life size game of chest that the locals say goes on everyday. The Cathedral was moving; huge stain glass windows - the magnitude of the building was beautiful. I hope to attend a service even though I usually enjoy a smaller church this would be an experience.
I have so much more to say but it is getting late and I have to be up early to go look at 2 apartments. The apartment situation is a whole other story :)
Cheers - I will post more soon... And to think it is only day 3 tomorrow...
Tracy
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