Coffee & tea

In every place we've stayed there has been an electric kettle. Tea is very big here. I have been drinking instant coffee. I brought along my favorite white chocolate hot chocolate to add to my coffee. I have been adding it to instant coffee every morning. It's not bad and significantly better than no coffee. I have discovered the joy of a good cappuccino. Here they sprinkle powdered chocolate on the top of it. It is lovely!!! I do not know if that is how they do it back home or not.

At the house I am staying in now they have a cappuccino machine, I don't know how to use it. damn it! I do not want to risk damaging someone else's stuff with my incompetence. This mountain retreat belongs to one of Kendra's co-workers and it is lovely.

Both Bear & K-Cars prefer a mocha when having coffee. Bear has been having chai tea and lattes as well the last few days. He's still sleeping, because he is still sick. We are driving from the Blue Mountains today down the south coast. Hopefully laying on the beach will back the sickness out of him.

It is raining and has been all night. It's a soft and soothing sound.

Bronte Beach

Bronte Beach is very small beach and as a result has really rough waves and a strong rip tides. It was exhausting just being in the water trying to float. It was as K-Cars says "Full On"! It was scary how hard it was to keep my head above the waves. Bear loved it!

We met K-Cars good friend Bianca who enjoys playing in the ocean as well. K used to live in Bronte for three years and was in the ocean there daily.

Night view of Sydney

On our way back from Manly Beach the harbor was lit up so beautifully I took tons of pictures. Here are just a few.

Hyde Park

Hyde Park is a lovely spot we walked trough almost every day we were in Sydney. It is huge with majestically huge trees providing great shade. There are Museums and St. Mary's Cathedral on the edge of the park and the Anzac Memorial in the center. The QVB (Queen Victoria Building) is an upscale and impressive shopping center. We had a great coffee there and window shopped.

Walking through this park is very tranquil. It is quite and soothing.

The first picture is a view of the park from the statue of Queen Victoria which Bear, Matt & Kendra are in front of.

The fountain is really impressive with four different statues of warriors.

K-Cars, Matt & Bear are on the edge of Hyde Park right before we went into the Australian Museum.

We started doing action photography while in Hyde Park one morning. The first one is me pushing a tree.

I love the one of Bear wearing a building as a hat!! :-)

k-Cars is being a weather vein, and Matt is holding up Captain Cook.

Bondi Junction & Trains

Bondi junction is an end of the line stop with a great and colorful market just outside the train station. Bondi is also a beach and a vibrant community. We walked to the Bondi Junction, affectionately also refereed to by the locals as The Jungle, after Kendra parked her car for the week. We exchanged our money at the bank behind us in this picture and then took our first train ride.

There is not tons of leg room on the trains, although most of them are two levels. They are quiet and sway gently. It would be super easy to fall asleep and totally miss your stop. Yesterday we took the train an hour to go to Featherdale a wildlife park where we got to feed kangaroos (woot!!!) and get our picture taken with a koala. Both K-Cars and Bear took a nap and I was responsible for noticing when we got to Blacktown, our stop. Thankfully Bear woke up and noticed a sign for Blacktown. I was totally sucked into my book and lulled by the swaying of the train I had not heard any of the announcement made.

K-Cars has a friend that lives up here in the Blue Mountains and commutes by train into the city 2 1/2 hours each way 5 days a week. Holy Smokes!!

Manly Beach

According to Matt, who lived in Manly for three years, the beach was so named because all the people on it were very fit and masculine. He may have been just making it up, I don't know him well enough to be able to tell when he's messing with me. Although K calls him the super smart ass, should be a clue, eh?

I am going to put up a very unflattering picture of myself in a swimming suit that totally Failed, it kept rolling down whenever a wave pushed into shore showing my boobs to everyone. I just put my sports bra back on. It sucked.

We did have super yummy snacks. K-Cars & Matt brought smoked salmon, avocado, sliced Colby cheese, and seaweed rice crackers. I was shocked by how much I enjoyed the smoked salmon, which I honestly thought was raw, and Bear was shocked by how much he liked the raw avocado. We've been eating way healthier, k-Cars is a good influence on us!!!

We hiked around the headland and saw some beautiful scenic views of the ocean. After our long walk we stopped for a cider and rum drink at a local tavern. We grabbed kabobs on the way back to the ferry. They were super yummy!!

Taking a ferry to Manly

On our first full day in Sydney we took a ferry to Manly Beach. Matt, Kendra's boyfriend lived there for three years. We took the train from central station down to the harbor, about a five minute walk and then five minute ride on the train. We then used our same transport passes to get on the ferry for a 30 minute ride to the other side of the harbor. I'd never taken a ferry before and found I was not sea sick at all. Part of that is due to the fact that because Sydney Harbor is so big you only get a little bit of wave to rock the boats. When we were near the headlands you could feel the waves more.

The ferry was three levels. You could sit anywhere. There was even a cafe on board. It is so amazing how organized the public transportation is. We took trains, buses, and Ferries all with the same weekly pass that cost us $44 each. One taxi ride from the airport to our hotel cost us $45 bucks.

Wyndham Asia Pacific Sydney Resort

My favorite sister Chantel let me rent a week from her time share.it was a great price and have enjoyed every time I've stayed there. This one was the smallest I've seen with a bizarre set up. The bathroom is bigger than the kitchen. The bed was comfortable though. With four of us staying there we were crowded. K-Cars & Matt slept on the sofa bed. We were on the 15th floor. Bear is standing on the corner of the street in the blue shirt.

The best thing about this time share is of course the location. It was only 5 blocks from the train station. It is really centrally located in the city. The only time we got in Kendra's car was to park it for the week. We walked everywhere!!! I am positive by the time we get home we'll have lost weight. We have been so much more active than normal. Bear has really sucked it up and walked farther and done more than he's been able to before. Walking or exercising EVERY DAY is something I am going to keep up when we get home. Today (2-22-13) we are in the Blue Mountains and both Bear & K-Cars are feeling like crap. Bear more than K. Matt got sick the day before yesterday, our current theory is that the storm water we all swallowed when we got rolled by the big surf on Bronte beach is responsible. Who knows. I will not be getting sick! I have been taking EmergenC and eating well and staying hydrated We got bear some cold and flu meds and Vicks vapo rub. They are both taking a nap.

Great plans sometimes fail.

I was so excited to create my own blog to detail my first trip across the ocean. Unfortunately I've had continual problems finding decent wifi to connect to to upload my daily adventures. Never fear I have been creating notes on my ever note program. I believe when I get home I will be able to successfully upload all my notes and pictures. I will do small ones when I get the chance.

Love a frustrated Sammy

We are in AUSTRALIA!!!

Bear & I landed in Australia at 7:20 pm on Valentine's Day. Our flight was 10 1/2 hours long. It was the most comfortable either of us has ever been on a plane. The food was good. And all alcohol and snacks were complimentary.

There is a great big sign we saw in customs that is posted every where cigarettes are sold that says smoking kills. A pack costs between $17 and $25. I am amazed anyone here smokes. It's actually pretty rare. The Australians seem much more fit and health conscious than we Americans are. Tipping is also a rare thing here. I do not know how I'd survive with out tips, they're all my play money.

We took a cab to our hotel with the quietest cabi we've ever met.