THE HONEYMOONERS

Hello from Sydney, Australia! The city is just as perfect as I remember it (4 years ago) and Bradley has fallen in love with Sydney just as I did! We are staying in a great part of town, Surrey Hills, which is central to everywhere. We have been here for about 4 days and have walked half the city! We're staying in a hostel, but payed the 10 extra dollars for our own room and own bathroom. It's a great atmosphere and any room is paradise compared to our last room in Thailand.

Our plane landed in Sydney at 4 in the morning. We hadn't felt any type of cold weather so it felt great when we got off the plane. We are in Australia's winter right now, but it's very mild. Everyday is sunny, and about 65 degrees. Perfect sightseeing weather. When we arrived at the hostel we couldn't check in until 1 in the afternoon! That was pretty annoying - we were wishing we had a hotel room, but luckily there were some comfy couches and a bunch of DVD's. After many hours of lounging, we checked into our room and slept for a while, then ventured out and ate at a food pub.

The next day was perfect. We took the bus to my old Uni, Maquarie Univeristy! We walked around campus and I showed Bradley where I lived, the Uni Bar, my old lacrosse field, and even the local grocery store I used to shop at. We ate lunch on campus and even bought sweatshirts from the campus store! It was so amazing to go back, I feel so lucky to be here again!

That evening we met up with one of Bradley's friends that he met at a real esteate course in Miami. Her name is Lynette, and she and her boyfriend Ian have showed us amazing hospitality in Sydney! She has 3 kids, one who is still in Kindy (that's what they call Kindergarten here) who is adorable! We went with her to pick her up from Kindy and then had a great home cooked meal at her house! It was amazing to sit down at a table and eat great food, not at a restaurant. We hung out at their beautiful house overlooking Sydney and sampled some wine from local wineries in Australia.

Wednesday morning we woke up and took a walk to the Botanical Gardens. I spent a lot of time here and couldn't wait to go back. Bradley loved the Gardens and was amazed by the flying foxes - thousands of huge bats flying and hanging upside down in the trees. I think he acutally got a little freaked out at first! We found an perfect spot in the Gardens that overlooked the Opera House. We sat there and read for a while before heading out. From there we walked around Kings Cross, the backpackers part of town. We found a cute cafe and had lunch. That night we met up again with Lynette and Ian at a restaurant and watched the soccer game and had a few beers. From there we headed to the casino on Darling Harbor and lost some money (not too much!)

So now we're about to fly to Adelade, a sleepy town where we will catch The Ghan, the train to Darwin. We will stay in Adelade for one night, then hop on the train for 2 nights. We don't have beds on the train so it should be interesting. Once we are in Darwin we are signed up to do a 3 day adventure tour in Kakadu National Park. It's hiking, camping and boat rides through crocodile infested waters. Wish us luck!

After the adventure tour, Bradley's parents are coming to meet us! We are so excited to be with family again. That's all for now! Cheers!