chocoholics

Since I was spending the week in Melbourne there were many things that I got to do. On Monday I had the opportunity to go to the centenary of Victorian Women's Suffrage dinner. It was at Parliament. It was absolutely wonderful. I had even read a book about Liberal women so I knew a lot of the history and figures that we were talking about. There were about 180 people there. It was a great experience that I was glad to be a part of.

picture of the centenary of women's suffrage

The rest of the week went by quickly. We had lots of work to do. After work I went and saw Nights in Rodanthe and Quantum of Solace at the theatre. Then on Friday it was Lucs last day so we went out to lunch and then we had cheesecake. Then on Saturday I got up early and went into the city. I had to go and buy some souvenirs at Queen Victoria's Market. It was so cold. It was the coldest November 22 on the record. It rained and hailed pretty hard all day and it was literally freezing. I had three layers of clothes on. Then I walked by this building which has a very unique look to it.

This is the Public Baths, but is now a swimming pool. I have yet to go inside.

This is an alley leading to Collins Street which is completely filled with graffiti. Its actually pretty cool to look at and its even on art shows occasionally.

Then I went on one of the most fun things I've done in Melbourne. Melbourne has a very unique and interesting culture. They really love their cafes, teas, and chocolates. There are so many chocolate stores/cafes around. I went on a chocoholics tour, where we go around to five different chocolate stores and try their chocolates. We started out at Koko Black in the Royal Arcade.

This is the royal arcade where the tour started.

From the window looking into Koko Black. I got to see the bean that chocolate comes from. The chocolate confectioner even came out and talked to us. She comes from Bruge Belgium which is where the premier chocolatiers come from. Then we tried a chocolate that takes three days to make. I wish I had a picture but it was the best things I have ever eaten. It was amazing!

Then we went to Block Arcade to Haigh's Chocolates. We tasted quite a few from this store. At one point the tour leader had us plug our noses for five seconds and then breathe in again. Immediately we could tell a difference between this one and the previous chocolate. This one was orange.Haigh's display window. They had some really cute looking chocolates for christmas. I wish this photo were closer up.


This is from Cacao. We sampled a chocolate from this store that had chili in it. I didn't really like it as much. Look at the color in this chocolate pack. It looks very appetizing.

Then we ended up at Koko Black on Collins Street and ate at the cafe. We had chocolate mousse and a chocolate muffing. Then we got to pick any drink that we wanted.

This is the drink that I picked. I thought what other time in my life am I going to pay $7 for a chocolate drink. It even had ice cream in it, and chocolate shavings on the top. It was very chocolatey but it was fun to get and the presentation was beautiful.

Unfortunately after this, the tour ended. It was a really fun and uniquely Melbourne. I have heard for a long time that I really needed to go on this tour so I finally did it. After this I went to the Melbourne Museum and looked around. Then I caught the bus and went home. I was tending Jamison, my bosses son while they went out.

He was asleep for most of the time that I was there, but we had fun together. I really miss my nieces and nephews, so being with him makes me feel less lonely for them.

Only three more weeks to go before I'm home. I will be going to Perth on Wednesday, so I will have some pictures of beautiful beaches when I get home. Oh and I really hope I don't get terribly sunburned. It will really be fun, to be with my friend Jane on vacation. The last trips that I've been on, I've been by myself. More to come, stay tuned. JK

Sydney- day 4

My final day in Sydney I had to finish doing the touristy stuff. I saw the city. I took another tour in order to ensure that I saw everything. We went by Darling Harbour and Chinatown. Then the Rocks-which is Sydneys birthplace. It was first settled there in the late 1700s. Then we went by the Parliament House, Hyde Park, St James and then St Marys cathedrals. Then to Mrs. Macquaries Chair which is an area with superb views of the Harbour and city skyline. Then we drove through Kings Cross which is the red light district. I never ventured over here though because thats were the gentlemans clubs and the prostitutes are. It kind of reminded me of Vegas a little bit.

The view from Mrs. Macquaries Chair

Then we drove up the coast to the Gap where we saw even more stunning views of the Pacific Ocean and the Heads. Then we went to Bondi Beach. This beach is Australias premier surfing beach. The waves were small and it was windy and chilly, so there weren't as many people there as I would have thought. It was fun to see it though, another thing to cross off my list of things I have seen.

Bondi Beach

The Gap

Then for the highlight of my trip I got to go on a tour inside the Opera House. I got to see the Great even hall where the symphony performs, the opera hall and drama theatre. The architecture and engineering is amazing. It took them so long to build. The original estimates to build it was $7 million dollars and it ended up costing over $100 million. The government ended up paying it off though in four years, because they introduced the Sydney lottery. I was one of the highlights of my Australian adventure. What I found interesting is that it isn't all connected. You have to go outside or underground to get to the next hall. It is incredible.

One of the only pictures I have inside the opera house because of copyright issues. They wouldn't let us take any. Notice its like a sea shell.

After that I had lunch by the opera house and I just looked out at the harbour and the bridge, and of course the opera house. Then I went and walked across the Harbour Bridge. It was finished in the 1930s and apparently you can even climb to the top of it. That doesn't sound like the definition of fun to me though. Then I went to the Susannah Place Museum which are these really old residential houses in the rocks area that were lived in from the 1800s to the 1990s. They are really unique in Sydney because they tend to tear down and rebuild, whereas Melbourne has lots of old and beautiful buildings. Then I had to run and catch my plane. Oh if only everyone could have come to, it would have been an even more incredible time.

Sydney- day3

I got up at what felt like dawn and went on another tour. Today's featured trip was the Blue Mountains. We started out by driving across the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Then we went to the Feathersville Wildlife Park where I got to hand feed kangaroos. I also pet a wombat and yes a koala. They are so cute, it was fun to be able to do that, I wanted to hold one but that is against the law. Oh well, hopefully sometime I will get to before I leave.

Petting the wallabies and kangaroos

The wombat in the perfect pose

Feeding the Koala

Then the bus continued on to the Blue Mountains. We ended up reaching there around 11:00 or so. The blue mountains really are blue, because of the haze they appear blue even in the day. Its really pretty. They are famous for the formation called the three sisters. We heard different Aboriginal myths about their formations and it was really interesting. Then we went to a lookout and saw them. They are gorgeous. It made me kind of homesick to be near mountains again. On my way walking around I saw an Aboriginal man playing his didgeridoo so I had my picture with him. It was really a beautiful day. It was really hazy and rainy on the way up to the mountains, but it cleared out and was beautiful. If it had been foggy and I couldn't see the mountains and valleys I really would have been disappointed.
The three sisters rock formation

The blue mountains but in this picture they look kind of green


Me and the Aboriginal

Then we drove over to another side of the mountain and I got to go on the world steepest Scenic Railway. It was kind of creepy because it was literally straight down. I kept hoping I would live to see the end of the railway. I also got to go on the skywalk (tram) which had a glass floor so you could see directly underneath you. Then I walked down in the valley on the valley floor and saw the tall tree ferns and part of it felt like a rainforest. It was so muggy and there were varying plants and sizes. It was kind of dark in there to. Then I rode the cable way back up to the top.

on the valley floor

After that we drove home and stopped in the town of Bilpin. This is an agricultural area. This is where all the fruit is grown. Then we drove past the Richmond Air Force Base and then went on to see where the 2000 Olympic Games were. They turned their torch into a fountain. It was so neat seeing the grounds where another Olympics took place. I really wanted to see this site, so I'm glad my tour stopped there. Then I caught a ferry back to the city. It was fun because I got to see the city from the water and I even got to go under the Harbour Bridge and I got some great shots of the Opera House. Yes its as cool as it looks in pictures. The architecture is absolutely amazing! Then after that I walked around the city and I saw Central Quay and the stores. Then I took a detour and went by David Jones (a department store) and saw the Christmas display in the windows. They were themed and they were marionettes. It was really cute. Then I walked by and saw a Christmas tree and for some random reason there were a lot of bats flying around. Yuck, so I walked home, had some dinner, and went back to the hostel.

the 2000 Sydney Olympic stadium

The torch is now a waterfall

Sydney- day 2 (Canberra)

On the second day of my trip to Sydney I took a bus that went from New South Wales to the ACT or Australian Capital Territory which is where Canberra is. Its about a 4 hour drive to Canberra from Sydney. Its further south and it was fun to see the Australian countryside as we drove through. We stopped in a very small town called Berrima where everyone could get their morning tea. We went through the Southern Highlands and Goulburn Sheep district and the mysterious Lake George, which is nonexistent because of the draught. There is no lake and there are just cows in fields where the lake existed 10 years ago.

driving through New South Wales

waiting for morning tea to end in Goulburn

Then we entered the ACT and its quite odd. The location was chosen because Melbourne and Sydney each wanted the capital in their city, so finally they decided to put it somewhere else. They ended up putting it in Canberra. It is closer to Sydney but Melbourne agreed because its still far enough away. It is not located by the Pacific Ocean because they wanted it to be protected and further away from foreign ships and etc. We entered Canberra and went to the National Museum. Then we went to the billion dollar New Parliament House where we saw the Senate, House of Representative chambers and the Great Hall. Its a very different looking parliament house, because it is so new and it has a very interesting design.

Canberra

The lake winds through the city

the city from Mount Ainslie

Inside the National Museum. These are used by Aboriginals they are like a totem pole but for those that are dead.

New Parliament House

Inside one of the chambers

We went on to look at the views of Canberra from Mount Ainslie and then we drove past the embassies. Americas is the largest and its brick sitting on a hill with a big white fence around it. I like the way it looked, it said America. After this we drove to the Australian War Memorial. It was a pretty memorial and it had the most amazing war museum underneath it. I could have spent three days in that museum. Its main focus was ANZAC in the first world war. It was the best museum I have ever seen relating to war. It didn't glorify it, but I don't even know how to describe it. It was a neat experience.

the Memorial

Part of the war memorial, the soldiers names that have died

Canberra is a small town. Everyone that lives there are public servants. When Parliament is not in session, the town loses half its population. I wouldn't want to live there. You could tour the town in one day no joke. It was an interesting capital though, especially since I have been to Sydney and Melbourne. Its more like Hobart than the other two cities.

Not to shabby of a picture for using the self timer

Then on the drive home we stopped in Goulburn for dinner. I got a meat pie and some mashed potatos. The Australians absolutely love meat pies. I haven't been converted yet. I just don't understand. I ended up getting back to my hostel 13 hours after I left. It was a long but good day. I'm glad I got to see the capital of Australia.

Sydney- day 1

So I was fortunate enough to be able to go to Sydney this weekend. I left early on Thursday morning and unfortunately my flight was delayed but I ended up landing at 11:00 AM. I caught the train to Central Station and then found my hostel which I have to admit was really quite nice. Welcome to Sydney

These purple trees are actually natives of Brazil. They are all over and absolutely beautiful. They have such beautiful coloring. (sorry I was on the bus when this picture was taken, so its a little blurry. You get the drift though)

Then I grabbed lunch and found my way to Darling Harbour. I went to the Sydney Aquarium and the National Maritime Museum. It was quite fun but the Melbourne Acquarium is better. Here are some pictures. I walked across the Pyrmont Bridge which goes across the harbour. Its quite a touristy area. Oh and did I mention I walked past the Chinese garden and the Ian Thorpe Aquatic Centre.

The shopping centre at Darling Harbour

Aquatic Centre named after one of my favorite Olympic gold medal swimmers

ships at the Maritime Museum

Me inside a 18th century ship

There is a USA gallery in the Maritime Museum that the Australians built for us is celebration of our close alliance

Nemo and his dad at the Aquarium

Standing by the tropical fish tank

Fairy Penguins

Oh but more about the maritime museum. They had around 7 ships in the Harbour that you could go and tour. They dated back from the late 1700s to the 1970s. They even have a small lighthouse that you can climb to the top of and see beautiful views of the Harbour. It was quite small but I was tired by the time I reached the top. I think we climbed 200 stairs.

On top of the lighthouse

beautiful gardens on my way back to the hostel. It was part of the Chines Garden

Then I happened to find a Thai restaurant so I stopped and it was the best red curry I think that I have ever had, or I was just starving. Either way, Sydney has great Thai food and you don't have to call and make a reservation first which was pretty nice.