Hunter Valley wine tasting

One thing I've really wanted to do ever since I turned 21 was wine tasting and when I found out about the Hunter Valley, I knew wine tasting in Australia would be even more awesome (even though the whole 21 thing doesn't really matter here).  My parents really enjoy wine so I knew they would be excited to take me.  We signed up for another early morning tour (apparently that's how things work here) so I stayed at my parents hotel the night before.  This was a mistake considering the small space and the fact that my mother is an insomniac who likes to Skype at 4am with everyone back in California; this is not fun when you're trying to sleep 10 feet away.  Needless to say I was a bit cranky when I had to leave the hotel at 6am for our tour.  The excitement about the trip made things slightly better and so did the extra sleep I got on the bus ride there.  When we arrived at 11am I was feeling better and ready to start drinking.  It was 5 o'clock somewhere, 6 in California...even better!  We started off with the whole group at Brokenwood Winery where I'm sure they were trying to get us drunk.  They kept filling our glasses with various wines (red and white) AND then this amazing champagne - the best I've ever had(very close to my old time fave Ballatore)!  After getting a slight buzz , we split off from the group (they were going wine tasting on bikes...could you imagine my mother wobbling around from winery to winery?).  Instead we stuck with the bus driver and had him take us to some of his favorite spots.  All these places were charming and lovely in their own way. The landscape and scenery was absolutely beautiful; I had so much fun taking pictures and admiring the rows of grape vines.  We were also able to go to a winery that shipped bottles to the states so my parents could buy some to have with Dad's dinners at home - hope they still have some when i get back, but that's not very promising.  After a bunch of wine, it was definitely time for some lunch and relaxation, both of which made me feel a little more sober.  After lunch we were ready to go again, with a couple more wineries and then a stop at a brewery and the Smelly Cheese Factory (didn't really enjoy this one but mom did).  Wine tasting was awesome - can't wait to go sometime when I get home!      

Beautiful Blue Mountains

First adventure planned for my parents trip was the infamous Blue Mountains, located in katoomba New South Wales.  I've been hearing about this place ever since i first arrived in Sydney (I passed up a trip in the begining because i was sick).  Everyone who has been has said how beautiful they are and i figured this was the perfect opportunity to make the trip out there.  We got up early (way to earl for my liking) and met up with the group at a nerby youth hostel.  We drove baout an hour before making our first stop to some park grounds (not impressive enough to remember its' name though) where we had tea and biscuits and also the opportunity to use the most disgusting bathroom I have ever seen in my life.  After this brief stop we had another hour and a half trip to Katoomba.  I took advantage of the down time and got more much needed sleep.  When we got into town it was already time for lunch so we went to a deli for sandwiches (I ended up just getting some bread if you could believe that - I' really getting sick of the food here!).  We got back on the bus again, this time very eager to get our day started and see the spectacular sights.  We arrived at a popular viewing spot only to find fog filling the entire valley, reminding of San Francisco.  

We were all really bummed, but our driver assured us that the fog would clear up and the views would be worth the wait.  We listened to him ramble on about this plant and that rock, this species and that twig.  While he was extremely knowledgeable about almost everything in sight, I wasn't that concerned.  Dad took advantage of the situation though and asked heaps of questions  concerning the lay of the land.  After a while, I did begin to find him quite useful I suppose.  We then hit up a few more awesome view spots where we saw that the fog was soon disappearing.  I cannot remember exactly why they are called the Blue Mountains, but they sure did look impressive and actually blue! We also got to see this awesome rain forest spot, something I wasn't really expecting to see on this trip.  We wandered around admiring various species that our guide was able to explain.  It was cool to have such a knowledgeable/experienced guide because we actually we able to learn a lot and see some things we wouldn't have otherwise.  He took us to some very secluded, private spots within the Blue Mountains.  

Last but not least on the tour was the famous Three Sisters Rock Formation.  The place was much more tourist in comparison to the other places we had been earlier, but it's something you must see if you make the trip.  The Three Sisters are a beautiful rock formation with an interesting folk story behind them (I cannot remember though so ask my dad if you're interested).  We spent a bit here taking pictures and admiring the scenery before getting back on the bus and heading home.  i was relieved to arrive back in Sydney safely, considering the tour guides driving skills weren't as sharp as his knowledge of biology.  He drove like a maniac - fast and reckless.  Those of you who know dad could imagine how he felt about this situation.  Clearly his driving library was only filled with science books (probably only Brendan or Allison would get this so I they better be reading this).          

A visit from mom and dad!

The next week flew by as I scrambled to get work done before my parents arrived and also plan a few exiting trips for us.  I was really excited to see them and show them around city.  Dad was here 30 years ago, but this was mom’s first trip and both of them were in for some surprises and a few adventures.  I woke up early Wednesday morning to a phone call from my mom saying she had landed and everything had gone smoothly.  I hadn’t expected them to get through customs so quick and was honestly looking forward to a bit more sleep, but this slight disappointment was vastly overshadowed by my excitement to meet up with them and show them some sights.  Since they didn’t have a cell phone, I made specific plans for them to walk down towards my place and meet at a restaurant on the way.  My mom made it sound like she knew exactly where she was, so I was very confident that I would be seeing them within the next 15-20 minutes when I hung up the phone with her.  I got dressed and went downstairs, eager and excited to see them.  After 25-30 minutes and no sign of them I began to get a little worried.  Since only I had a phone it was up to my mother to call me if she was lost (not likely if you ask me…or Brendan or Allison).  I began to walk closer to where they were supposed to be coming from but I really didn’t want to pass them if they were inside a store or on the other side of the road.  I walked back to our original meeting spot, always stay in the same spot, and let them find you…right? Anyways, after a little more impatience and frustration, I spotted them off in the distance.  I walked towards them waving and smiling for a good five minutes before my dad finally noticed me (typical tourists, not paying attention to their surroundings).  I met up with them and took them to my apartment to show them my room and where I’ve been living for the past 3 months.  They both seemed to e full of energy so we were quick to start the day.  First off was breakfast at Broadway Café – have I talked about this place enough yet? After Breakfast we went out sightseeing.  I took them to the Sydney Tower viewing deck to see the entire city (dad likes to get his bearings in a new place) and then down to the beautiful Darling Harbour, where we walked around and visited the aquarium.  

Finally got some good aerial shots from the tower!

I had a tough enough time blogging about my first aquarium experience; so don’t expect anything except both my parents enjoyed it (dad really like the crocs!).  

After all the days excitement and I was looking forward to a delicious meal (definitely one of the perks to having your parents here).  We got some drinks at Docks while we waited for Luke who was meeting us.  After being indecisive and a few “I don’t care’s” we finally decided on the floating South Steyne Restaurant.  

It was a very quiet Wednesday night with the restaurant practically to ourselves.  You would think the food would be out quick in this situation but this was not the case.  After placing our orders, we waited probably 45 minutes before finally getting our meals.  At this point we were all very hungry and scarfed down our food.  But it was worth the wait; I hadn’t had food this good in a long time.  Mom was practically falling asleep at the dinner table (in her defence it had been a very long day) so we called it a night.  We had plans to go to the Blue Mountains very early the next day so this was for the best!

 

Easter in Oz

Easter in Australia was quite different then what I’m used to (surprise, surprise…what isn’t?).  First off, not a single box of peeps to be seen anywhere (I don’t even like these creepy marshmallow treats, but somehow they still remind me of home and make it Feel like Easter time).  The other Easter candy was quite different then what I’m used to as well (as many of you might know since I sent some home!).  Anyways, Easter weekend was our first weekend of break, so it was time to relax from the stress of school and projects.  Good Friday was a great time to do this, since apparently EVERYTHING closes in observance of this holiday, even the grocery store! Things were eerily creepy and quiet outside, like a ghost town.  I spent most of the day hanging out and watching some episodes of Dawson’s Creek, season 1 – talk about a blast from the past! Lauren and I had rented it for fun to relax since nothing else was going on and a lot of the group was out of town.  Before we knew it, it was Easter Sunday (don’t worry the Easter bunny found me here in Australia, I got a basket delivered to my apartment – thanks mom, you’re the best!).  Lauren and I woke up early and got ready for mass.  

St. Mary's Cathedral

We had plans to go to St.Mary’s Cathedral (near Sydney Harbour) so we thought we might dress nicely for the occasion.  When we arrived during the last part of the previous mass, we found ourselves to be VERY overdressed.  I know church is getting to be more casual these days, but I figured Easter mass at the Cathedral would be a different story.  Apparently not!  We ended up getting good seats in the massive/beautiful cathedral, although the tiny rows were slightly cramped.  When the music started, and continued on for thirty minutes, we realized we were at the Easter High Mass, which meant full on symphony throughout.  This was my first time going to church since being here and it was really nice, even if it was 2 hours long.  After mass, we were very hungry and decided to get some Easter pizza at Broadway café (not the delicious home cooked Easter meal I’m used to, but oh well).  Other than that, Easter was pretty boring and quiet – I really missed the big Easter egg hunt and a chaotic family gathering.  I did get a chance to SKYPE on Monday though (Sunday for those of you at home) and it was really nice to see everyone and say hi.  It made me miss home even more though; luckily mom and dad are coming next week!

The following weekend brought one more Easter festivity – the Sydney Royal Easter Show at Olympic Park.  What the heck is this you might ask? Well I had NO idea what is was when I signed up for it at the front desk in Unilodge either.  Chuck somehow convinced us that it would be fun, and since he had a guest visiting, we all joined in.  The lady at the front desk raved about these show bags that they had there and assured us it would be a good time, but we were still mostly clueless.  We signed up to leave on Saturday at 9am and when that rolled around I was very close to taking the thirty-dollar hit and sleeping it.  I pictured this to be an outdoor concert type thing, probably boring and lame anyways.  Eventually I rolled out of bed and grumpily met the group downstairs, iced coffee in hand.  Lauren was missing, apparently she was feeling even worse than me. I tried sleeping on the bus ride there, as I was still exhausted from the margarita night we had had the night before, but before I knew it we were pulling into the parking lot.  When we got to the front gate, I soon realized, that this Royal Easter show was a fair, like any old fair I’ve been too, only this time was some silly/fancy name.  I’m not complaining, I was just so confused at how wrong I was in picturing tis event in my mind.  I was relieved because I thought the day might be more interesting than I had planned.  It was a very pleasant day out and I was looking forward to the typical fair activities – a little shopping/browsing, good food, some rides, and a few special attractions.  It was me and 3 boys, so of course the first thing we hit up was the truck and motorcycle show.  I was very impressed and entertained by the fancy/daring tricks.  We then saw some farm animals (always a blast) and watched a ridiculous show on milking cows.  Then we got some lunch, which was not impressive, but we soon forgot about our disappointment as we rode the ferris wheel high above the entire fair and park grounds – we could even see the whole Sydney skyline in the way distance.  While we were heading up to me with Chuck and his friend we came across this –

 These were what the girl at the front desk was raving about, for some odd reason.  We entered the tent to find that these dumb show bags were just like oversized useless goodie bags you get form a kids party.  They came in every theme and style, big and small.  I[‘m sure many parents get conned into buying these for their children, but I still have no idea why this adult was so impressed with them.  They definitely seemed to be very popular here as they took up an entire massive tent.  So after our odd encounter with the Royal Easter Show bags, we got some ice cream and met Chuck at the wood chopping station (not exactly my kind of fun), where they had been there for 2 hours at this point!  After about 5 minutes there and a disastrous attempt at eating melting ice cream, I was ready to leave.  We went to watch the horse show for a bit and then decided to call it a day.  All in all I was pleasantly surprised with how the day turned out; I was dreading the whole thing when I woke up.  We had a great time and saw some pretty cool stuff, typical fair stuff, which is always fun!

Sporting events at ANZed!

ANZ Stadium at Sydney Olympic Park

For all of you sports fans back at home, I’d like to report that I’ve been to 2 Australian sporting events so far.  Both games took place at the impressive ANZ (pronounced ANZed) stadium at Olympic Park in Sydney. On Friday the 20^th of March (they’re starting to rub of one me, this is how they say the dates in Australia) we all got dressed in our red and green outfits to cheer on the popular South Sydney Rabbitohs Rugby team as they battled the Pirtek Parramatta Eels.  I even decided to buy a team shirt to support the Rabbitohs in this exciting game.  Now let me remind you that I have never watched a rugby game and don’t know a single rule; this was going to be interesting!  The stadium was very cool though and as we got off the train all we could see was tons of fans dressed as if it were Christmas along with the bright blue lights that stood tall at the entrance to the stadium.  We shuffled through the crowd to find or seats, in what we found to be pretty decent (considering we had anticipated the worst nosebleeds available).  The game was starting off just as we entered (not sure if they begin with a kickoff or what) and I was quickly lost by all the commotion on the field.  All I knew was that these guys didn’t wear any pads and they smashed into each other frequently and with great force.  The clock and play never seemed to stop, which made it even harder to catch up and understand what was going on.  I also can’t tell you anything about points or scoring – I probably should have done a little research before blindly attending a game I knew nothing about.  Instead I grabbed a beer and spent my time asking Luke a million questions, which I’m sure he really appreciated.  The game went by pretty quick and before I knew it we were on the train heading home.  I think the Rabbitohs lost – clearly this was a big concern of mine, o well!  I might not be the best person to recap the games events, but I still had a great time.  After the game we went to Landsdowne, a nearby bar, for some drinks.  Still dressed in our Rabbitohs gear, we attracted some interesting die-hard fans, quick to question our loyalty to the rabbits.  One in particular even decided to make himself welcome at our table (I blame Luke for buying a real jersey and looking like a real fan).  This guy was hilarious but also slightly creepy and annoying, particularly when he crammed his cell phone into my ear to listen to the dumb fight song (I got him harassing Luke, see below!).  We listened to him ramble on a bit longer but took the chance to leave when he got up to get a beer.  While we were amused and entertained, it had been a long day and I didn’t really feel like dealing with him anymore.

Not 2 weeks later I found myself on the train again headed towards Olympic Park, this time for a much bigger sporting event.  Tonight the train was packed with eager Socceroos fan as they were on their way to watch them play Uzbekistan in the 2010 National World Cup qualifiers.  This time our seats were much higher in the stadium, but I was grateful that we were high and away from the rain that drenched the field and lower seats.  I saw below me heaps of fans scrambling in the downpour as they looked for shelter.  The enormous 83,500-seat stadium was packed tonight with an estimated 57,292 people in attendance.  Once the game started, I found it easier to pay attention and get involved since I am somewhat familiar with soccer and its’ rules.  The first half went by slow, but it picked in the 2^nd half when Australia scored 2 goals (one regular and one penalty shot) with less than 2 minutes to go! After the excitement and cheers died down, we thought it might be good idea to leave early, beating the insane crowds that were destined to pour out in excitement when the game ended.  When Lauren called us ten minutes later to meet up out front, we were more than surprised to hear of the excitement that we had missed.  Apparently we missed a last minute goal on the Uzbekistan side (which wouldn’t even end up counting anyways), which was shadowed by the fire that started down below by some of the fans. I figured Lauren was mad at us for leaving and trying to make us feel like we had missed something.  We didn’t even believe it until we saw the video and pictures of the billowing smoke and scrambling fans.  The goal didn’t count and The Socceroos came out winning anyways, but this will teach me not to leave a game early next time!  After all the fuss and commotion, we made our way back to the train, battling the crowds and vicious rain the whole way.  All these sporting events are a lot of fun, but they make me miss home.  I can’t wait to go to a Giant’s game this summer!