Goodbye Gold Coast Hello Sydney (for a minute)

Well, hello to Sydney for a day.  We caught a flight to Sydney to be ready for our cruise to New Zealand that leaves tomorrow.  We've only been here six hours or so and we already know we are going to like it when we come back to stay a week.  We're in a very nice place in the China Town area of Sydney tonight and will actually return to this condo after the cruise.   It's a safe area with a lot happening on a Friday night.  And good sake.  At least I think it was because it didn't burn going down or cause me to shudder.

Let's back up a couple of days. 

We wanted to see Brisbane before we left that area so took a drive (about an hour) into the city.  We went to the city center and it was a busy, happening place!  It's a very alive city during the day -- full of business people and shoppers.  Just what you'd like Cinci to be.  They have the biggest shopping area I have ever seen (over 1,000 stores and restaurants, including farmer markets and anything else you can think of) in the heart of the city with several blocks paved for pedestrians only.  Where are my girlfriends when I need then??  We listened to carolers singing actual Christmas songs.  It was the hottest day we've had so far -- somewhere in the high 80's -- so the carolers were in red t-shirts and white shorts.

We decided to take what they call the City Cat which is a system of motorized catamarans that transport people up and down and across the river surrounding Brisbane.  It's not just a tourist attraction but actual working public transportation.  Imagine that!  Using a river to bring commuters, shoppers, visitors, and locals on a night out into a downtown area.  And it doesn't even require trolley tracks.  We were feeling kind of lazy so just stayed on the Cat and cruised the river.  Kind of like an outdoor bus ride without the fumes.  It was our lucky day because the ticket machine on board wasn't working so we had a two hour free ride.  That kind of made up for the $45 we had to pay for 4 hours and 15 minutes of parking!










On our last full day we followed the call of nature and explored another rain forest and hiked to a waterfall. It was another beautiful drive through lush green mountains and valleys.  We are suckers for the natural beauty of an area.  We learned more about the local flora and fauna.  There was a three foot eel in the pool beneath the waterfall.  That didn't make sense to us until we read that they swim in from the Coral Sea when they are young and stay until they feel like seeking a mate -- up to 16 years.  Now, I know that info will come in handy when I appear on Jeopardy.  By the way, I learned that we are staying by the Coral Sea though I'm not clear on when it changes from the Pacific.  Whatever it is, it is beautiful.

 

 

 

 

And this is where we ended our day.  We needed one more dose of our new favorite beach (Coolangatta) before we went home to pack.  Ernie got in some water time dreaming of wind-surfing while I made myself comfortable backed up to a lava rock reading while the sun was still shining.  We could have spent another day just beaching it, but it was not to be.  We grabbed some post cards to send to the grandkids and today I stopped at a post office to get stamps.  I cavalierly said, "oh, give me 3 for these post cards and 8 more for later".  Sure.  I paid my $28 Australian (which is about the same as American $).  Why don't I ask questions first??  Like, "how much is it to send a post card to the U.S.?"

 

It's now the morning we jump ship -- jump ON.  If you never see me again it means I had an overboard "accident" at sea.  (all evidence leads to Ernie -- even in my death I will have the last word).  I don't know how much we'll get on-line for awhile but we have some fun stuff planned so hope we can stay in contact.

Ohio people -- enjoy the weather :)  Here the sun is shining and the windows are open and the bad weather at home makes this trip tall the more wonderful.  Oh, Lord forgive me for rubbing it in.

Australia - 4 Days In . . .

Be patient while I catch up (or just look at the pictures and skip the reading altogether)

I'm sitting on the balcony of our condo, looking out at the lagoon that rests off the Coral Sea.  Ernie is out there somewhere having a late afternoon swim and will hopefully return some time before --  well, sometime. 

Ernie's out there somewhere!

He's had much trouble getting his blog out to people (though he's written faithfully every day).  We can't figure out which wrong settings choice was made but apparently most people are disallowed access.  It must be all those government secrets he's spilling.  So, I decided to resurrect my blog from a few years ago.  If you get bored with noise about Australia you can go back in time and read about some other foreign places. 

Though I'd hardly call Australia foreign.  It was so easy to slip into feeling at home here with English signs and speech. However, I did have to ask the front desk to repeat a phone number three times until I understood.  I figured out that "brekky" is breakfast but I still don't know what "pokies" are.  Oh wait!  I just googled it.  They are poker machines.  That's where I'd go brokey.  The only problem here is driving on the wrong side of the road.  I have never been so alert as a passenger before.  Ernie has done well, just a few incidents of honking, yelling, and gestures when we are heading down the wrong side of the road.  (The honking from frightened drivers; the yelling and gestures from me).

Airport Turkey Sandwich for Thanksgiving

The flight out would not have been so bad had I not developed a migraine. Blame it on Christmas lights.  The night before we left we drove the grandchildren through Pyramid Hill's Christmas light display.  Very impressive.  But, I discovered a new brain trigger or me -- passing under arch after arch of flashing LED lights.  Remember when Forest Fair first opened and people had seizures because of the flashing lights at the Dollar Saver Cinema?  Just so you know I'm not making this stuff up.  And, I discovered I forgot my anti-depressant meds.  I e-mailed my doctor to ask if my heart was going to stop, or if I would become maniacal, or if I would crave carbs until sesame seeds came out of my eyeballs.  I got instant reply 13b which addressed none of my concerns.  Either I see a doctor here or go without.  There may be only one of us returning from this trip.

It was pouring rain when we got to Brisbane early the first morning.  When you feel crappy nothing is as welcome as a day when you can't enjoy your long-awaited vacation.  We got our car and drove to the Gold Coast (Labrador), found out how much food costs (lots), and how nice the people are (very).  The day was only good for sleeping which was a good excuse to not force ourselves to adjust to AU time. Which, by the way starts with sunrise at 4:30 a.m.  It's not dark until after 6:30.  So far I've barely made it past 9 p.m.

The following day we hit the coastal roads and headed to Surfer's Paradise and Coolangatta.  The beach side of the coastal road is undeveloped (no businesses) -- just parks and miles of beautiful beaches. 

Surfer's were out in pods.  There is surfer etiquette -- they know who goes next and who gets out of the way but it all looks like an inevitable accident to me.  It was fascinating to watch the surfers of all ages out there.  Even a couple of 9ish year old kids were jumping off huge rocks straight into the surf to get out to the best waves.  

The surfers were out there paddling like crazy just to keep their spot and not be pulled back by the strong current.  It must feel amazing to ride a wave because it's a lot of work and waiting to catch one.  Watching them made us tired so we found a spot with a great view to sit and drink a beer.

Yesterday was our hiking in the rainforest day.  It was our turn for a work out and the scenery was worth all the climbing and descending.  We heard unfamiliar birds calling to each other in the tree canopies; and saw trees, ferns, and bushes that were new to us.  I'm sure the birds were Kookaburras because my old Blue Bird camp song kept repeating in my head.  (Forget that statement if you are under 60 and not from California). The trail was rocky and steep at times, and so very peaceful with no one else around for the majority of our two hour hike.  After running into several spider webs along the path, I  handed Ernie an official de-webber tool (soon to be available on QVC) and gave him the lead.

My Hero
 

After lunch in an artist- winery- green & gluton-free-new age-village where Ernie ate the biggest  hamburger he's ever seen (I guess it was OK because it had beets and a range-free chicken egg on top of the hand-fed beef) , we went to another spot and hiked down to the base of a waterfall.  Ahhh.  It doesn't get better than soaking your feet in a pool at the bottom of a waterfall after a long day of hiking.  Just forget that we had to put our shoes on and hike back up to the car.

On our scenic drive back to the condo we stopped at a recommended spot to see the view and drink a beer.  Sound like a theme? This bar was called St. Bernards -- because there were two resident St. Bernards (as in dogs).  The view was amazing and it was so nice to see all the flowers blooming in December.  Unfortunately, you can't see them in this picture so I probably shouldn't mention them.

And, today.  It was another lazy day laying at the beach feeling sorer than we should have from hiking the day before.  I proved today that sunscreen really does work by neglecting to cover several spots that will keep me warm tonight.  It was a good feeling summery and carefree.

So, you are up to date.