Wrapping Things Up

G'day everyone. I haven't been blogging as nothing too big has happened until recently. I was glad when school was over, well I guess classes that is. I still have one exam to go, and I am taking a break from studying now, but I have turned in all of my papers and as of 4:15 on Thrusday, my time... I will be a free man! Unfortunately I will only have 8 days left in Oz to enjoy it, but I'll make the most of every second!

Just after school let out on the 29th, Lee, Lee's mom Ann and myself headed off to Sydney. We stayed there from the 4th through the 7th in a nice little condo right down town. Lee's aunt lives close to Sydney, so she and Ann played tour guide for the weekend. The first full day there, we hopped on the ferry from the harbour and headed out to the Zoo. The place was massive and we had a lot of fun. The ferry ride out there was pretty cool too, as we had great views of the opera house and harbour bridge. At the zoo we saw everything from giraffe's to meerkat's. There was even a new born baby elephant that was out with its mom. It didn't do much but hid under her legs, but it was still pretty neat to see. That night we went to one of THE BEST seafood restaurants I have ever been to. I ordered the surf and turf, which was steak topped with jumbo shrimp and lobster pieces. The steak cut like butter and the seafood was so fresh... it was just a beautiful meal! Then to top it all off, we had chocolate fondue served with marshmallows and strawberries. As if we weren't full enough, we indulged a bit more and it was SO worth it! The next day was a bit rainy, but we made the most of it. We went out and hopped on the monorail and headed down to another spot along the water. There were some cool ships and old boats around and so feeling inspired, we went and checked out the maritime museum. I myself geek out over every type of mode of transportation, and so I was excited, but the museum was actually really cool and I think everyone enjoyed it. After that, we went and ate a little lunch and did some shopping. We went back to the apartment to rest for a bit, then we were off again. This time, we just did some driving around. We made our way over the harbour bridge and off into a little suburb. Little did I know, we were headed of to where the Prime Minister lives when she is in Sydney. We were able to drive up pretty close and look at the house. She gets some pretty stunning views of the opera house and bridge, I was definitely jealous. After that little trip it started down pouring, so we just headed back home. One of Lee's cousins came into town that evening so we all went out to china town and had dinner. We had another big feast that night... not quite as extravagant as the night before, but it was still pretty delicious. Again it was drizzling and so we headed home. On sunday, the weather was absolutely beautiful. It was sunny and about 73 degrees. We couldn't have asked for a better way to end the trip. That morning we headed down to the harbour again and went to this place that Lee's aunt and mom and found before. It was a rooftop bar/restaurant and it had amazing views out over the opera house. We all sat there and ate lunch and enjoyed the afternoon for quite a while. Then we went down and looked at the open air market that was going on in the streets. Many of the roads were covered in cobble stone, as this was an area first settled when Australia was first found. We wound our way through the maze of streets looking at all of the homemade goods each vendor had to offer. I ended up getting something for myself as well as Shelby, the last person I had to buy for on my list! After the market we headed down to the water side. We snapped a couple of pics and started walking around the water. All of a sudden we stumbled across this jet boat company and Ann REALLY wanted to do it, so we all joined in. The whole concept of this boat is to A) Go really fast, doing all sorts of bobs, weaves, and spins and to B) get REALLY wet.... Oh yeah.. and get really good views. Anyway we hopped on the boat and all of the things above were accomplished. We got an excellent tour of the harbour and got wet along the way. It was a fun way to end the trip. After being completely soaked... Me not as much as Ann who received the brunt of it, we headed back to the apartment to change and pick up the car and head to the airport.

I had such a great time on the trip and we had so much crammed into one tiny weekend. I got to see all the sites a tourist should see when visiting Sydney, and probably a little bit more! I had excellent tour guides and I know that I had a blast! Now I am back in Melbourne and am getting antsy for this exam to be over. I only have to wait 24 more hours, but I can't wait.

I hope it isn't getting too cold back in the Northern Hemisphere. It is getting hotter and hotter down here. Tomorrow is supposed to be 87! Nothing else new to report really. I am looking forward to seeing everyone when I come home. I hope everyone is well and I will speak soon... until next time... no worries!