Oz - the Land Down Under

And boy, does it ever take a long time to get there and back...

Ben and I left for Australia right after New Year's and returned home on January 19th, 2008. We flew into Sydney and spent time with my extended family at their home in Narrawallee (on the Sapphire Coast); then took a road trip through Pambula, Thredbo (in the Snowy Mountains), and Beechworth, before reaching our destination of Melbourne.

Staying in a serviced apartment sandwiched between the high rise central business district and the more funky Brunswick Street, (and convenient to the tram), we set out to discover Melbourne in temperatures exceeding 100 degrees fahrenheit. We ate every type of ethnic foods we could get our hands on (Chinese, Greek, Thai, African), and we cherished the taste of the local brew - Coopers (Pale Ale, Sparkling Ale, Lager, Nut Brown, Stout - they're all good) in a neighborhood bar called Gertrudes Brown Couch.

We were able to learn about opals in the Opal Museum, stroll through Fitzroy Gardens, visit the Melbourne Gaol, the Victoria Gallery of Art, and the Melbourne Museum. We left the rest of the family in Melbourne, and Ben and I flew back to the Sydney area (New South Wales) again.

Staying at the Sydney Travelodge (which also houses the NSW Football Club), we were conveniently located to the Domain, Royal Botanical Gardens, Opera House, Circular Quay, Darling Harbour, and the Aquarium. We took a ferry to Manly Beach, and were treated to the sight of a giant sandcastle (a work of art, really) and some yacht club races.

After renting a car, we drove (yes, on the left) to Leura in the Blue Mountains National Park (home to the Three Sisters), where we dined on Indian food and hiked. Then we set off for the Hunter Valley, where we ate Japanese food and went on a wine tour.

We capped off our trip with a show (Le Grand Cirque) in the Sydney Opera House.