Momma comes to visit!

So I picked my mom up at the airport on Sunday morning about about 10:30 am. I actually think she survived the trip better than I did. We trekked up the hill to my apartment with her suitcase and just kind of had a hang out day. She brought me Harry Potter! I was so excited for this since I saw it everywhere here but I couldn't buy it because DVDs run differently here. She also brought some fun presents from home, including girl scout cookes from Stacie. It was so nice to have a little home here! That evening we went to church (Mom thought the music was just bit too loud. haha) and then just went back to the hotel. Since she has about 3 times the channels I do I chose to stay there and hang out and play some rummy before heading back to my apartment and going to bed. Monday morning we got up early and headed into the city. We went to the Sydney Opera House and went on the tour through the building. The history was pretty neat to hear. Apparently they had a contest for the design of the opera house and the winner broke many rules and wasn't supposed to win, and then after he did nobody thought the building would actually be possible. It was incredibly interesting and made me apprecate it even more. After the tour we had an amazing salmon sandwich. After lunch we headed out to Manly beach and walked around that area before heading back. I swear my mom also managed to bring nice weather with her because almost everyday she was here was gorgeous. Tuesday we got up and went to the Easter Show. Don't be fooled by the name. It has nothing to do with Easter other than the fact that it runs around Easter time. It is pretty much the Sydney Fair. It was still fun to walk around see the different booths and animals. I even bought a wool blanket which was perfect since I am starting to get pretty chilly at night! We also got snow cones which was cool because you actually got to kind of make your own sno cone and put whatever flavors you wanted it on it. Oh and this fair is a big deal. I had to explain to Mom that the train is never as packed as it was to get out there. We were kind of squished like sardines most of the time. Most of the time there is plenty of space for me to stretch out on my own seat. I am now very thankful for that! Wednesday we kind of took it easy and just walked around the Botanic Gardens which is probably one of my favorite places in Sydney. It is just so pretty and peaceful. After walking around we went back to the hotel and skyped Dad to make sure he was still alive. After that we did a little shopping for eating some dinner and heading back to the hotel to watch tv before going to bed because Thursday was an early morning! Thursday morning we got up early so we could head out to the Blue Mountains which was incredible. It was probably one of my favorite things so far. We hiked along some pathways in the mountain area and along the edge where you can see beautiful views of the entire valley. At one part of the mountain they have different skyways and railways so you can see the view from above. We chose to go down on the world's steepest railway! It is supposed to be like the one they used in the mining days. It was pretty neat! It also cracked me up a little bit because I sort of felt like in America there would be a few more safety precautions, but they just sort of stuck you in a seat and off you went without a seat belt or anything! There was even Indiana Jones music playing. It was neat! We walked around in the valley which is a rainforest area and then came up on the cable way which gave you an overview of everything. So pretty. After hiking around all day we were thankful for a 2 hour train ride to rest and then heading to bed early. Friday we went to Featherdale which is my favorite zoo like thing yet. Now i haven't been to a lot of zoos in the states but as far as I know they don't have animals wandering everywhere. Featherdale is really neat because there is so much open area where the kangaroos and birds and other animals are wandering around but there is still a place for them to go where people can't go if they just want to eat or sleep or something. anyway it is always cool to see kangaroos and wallabys and koalas so that was fun! I have actually definitely decided I want a pet wallaby. they are just adorable! They also have the cutest faces ever. So whoever wants is definitely welcome to get me that for christmas. (cousin exchange?) anyway after featherdale we went back to the mall to get dinner and found out that good friday is a true holiday here. Almost everything was closed, the only place open was the thai place so we got some fried rice before heading back and going to bed. Saturday we walked around darling harbour and walked through Paddy's market. Paddy's market remind me a lot of the markets in Hawaii where they are kind of closed in, and Saturday it was PACKED. This is the one day where it did actually rain and everyone decided to find shelter by shopping at the markets. After working our way through the crowd for about an hour we decided that was enough and went out to Watsons Bay. Watsons Bay has a bunch of different cliff walks which are so pretty. The color of the water as it crashes into the rocks is incredible. There were also some amazing views of Sydney from here. I love skyline of Sydney with the opera house and the bridge and this was a great angle to see it all. Sunday was Easter! We got up and skyped Dad to once again make sure he was alive and ready to pick up Mom on Monday morning. Then we headed to church, it was a pretty normal service but still pretty great! Then we took one more trip on the trains and headed out to Bondi Beach. Bondi is my favorite beach so I wanted to make sure Mom saw that before she went home. We walked around the markets and along the cliffs a little ways. It was crazy how much was open there on Easter Sunday! I forgot it was Easter most of the day. Haha. After that we headed back and watched more tv in her hotel, well I watched TV and she packed and left the next morning bright and early! It was a great week and very busy. I am so glad my mom got to get the chance to see where I am and I hope she saw enough to get a good feel of Australia! "Holiday" is almost over now so I am working on getting back into "normal" Australia life. Basically this means doing some homework and going to some class and making nightly Wooworth trips for tea and 50 cent cones with my roommates. I can't believe there are only 2 months left. I want to explore the city and the outskirts of Sydney as much as possible in the next 2 months. I guess this means I better finish up my papers so I can move onto more exciting things!

Melbourne!..or "Melbin"

So last Saturday I boarded the plane to Melbourne with a stuffy nose (I'm sure the guy next to me was stoked), a pressurized head and a very very plugged up ear. I was a little nervous about being sick, but since Callie texted me a few days before and told me she was also sick i thought it was perfect! Great for bonding time. I left sydney when it was 70 degrees and sunny and arrived to Melbourne which was about 60 degrees and POURING. I actually wondered if somehow that tiny itty bitty tiger airways plane made some sort of detour to seattle. Regardless, I was still super stoked to see Callie and spend some time exploring Melbourne. The first night we just watched a little boy meets world (or bmw) and ordered some dominos pizza and talked. I am not sure either of us could really tell you any conversation we had that night since we were both on drugs and i could hardly hear and she couldn't focus on any conversation. We were only a slight mess. The next morning we woke up and went to the church Callie has been going to. It was really cool to see her church and meet some of her friends there. Australia church is just all around a good thing. After that we went to a "china town" kind of are and I had dumplings for my first time. They were super good! After lunch we just headed back and watched a little more bmw and then made some tacos and went to bed. Monday morning I got up and headed into the city. I decided to take Geneva on my adventure with me. I am pretty sure she had a great time if you can't tell from the pictures. I walked around Federation Square a little bit (the buildings are so cool!) then I just followed the river to see where it would take me. I saw some odd art..pictures will be coming on facebook. If anyone can help me out with what they are I would greatly appreciate it. The river lead me to the olympic park and I walked around where the olympics were when they were in melbourne. After that I crossed the bridge and walked around the Royal Botanic Gardens for awhile. I love Sydney, but I have to say the Melbourne gardens totally beat Sydney's. I didn't even have a chance to see it all but it was so cool. There was a pond area in the middle and so many cool pathways and trees. There is even a special part of the park that is just for kids. It has mini trees and mini little pathways. I thought it was so cute! I tried to take pictures of it but I realized that they don't look mini since its not compared to anything in the picture..so ya. Anyway the weather and the gardens were so beautiful. After walking around I decided it was time to find lunch. Melbourne has this amazing area called the Laneways.They are like Diagon Alley in Harry Potter. So. Awesome. As you are walking down this small side street you kind of look down what you think will be a tiny disgusting alley and BAM there are a bajillion little cafes to eat at! It is like magic. I had an amazing chicken burger, it had guacamole and bacon, so nothing could be wrong about that. After lunch I headed to St Kilda beach and walked around Luna Park (the one where Our Lips Are Sealed was actually filmed) shortly after I headed back to Callie's and we ate some dinner and went to bed. Oh! I would like to take this moment to say I do not like trams. From where Callie lives you take them to and from the city it is basically stop and go, stop and go, stop and go, it makes me a bit carsick. I will definitely stick to trains. Anyway. Tuesday I got up and just kind of hung out for awhile and headed into the city in the early afternoon. The first thing I did was see the Disney Exhibit that was at federation square. It was so so neat. They had some of the original drawings from some of the original disney movies like snow white, cinderella, beauty and the beast, the little mermaid... it was such a cool exhibit and i learned just a little more about disney. After that I just explored the city a little more before meeting up with callie for dinner. we went to little italy where we had an amazing italian dinner! I had seafood pasta which was incredible. After stopping for some gelato we headed back to her place because i had to get up at 5 am, yes, 5 am in the morning. So in the morning I hopped on the lovely tram and headed into the city as the sun rose. Once the tour bus picked me up we headed out of the city and to the Great Ocean Road. This trip was probably one of my favorite days in Australia so far. First we stopped at a beach, to be honest I don't remember the name, but it was super pretty as most beaches are. We stopped at a few other beaches, one of them was Bells Beach which is where ripcurl started and where one of the biggest surf competitions is. Unfortunately we couldn't actually go on Bells Beach because they were setting up, but I still saw it from afar. After this was lunch. Where I experienced something I haven't had since the US. UNLIMITED AMOUNT OF KETCHUP!  There were actually ketchup bottles on the table where I could use however much I wanted. I didn't even have to pay extra! It was a huge highlight of the day. After lunch was where the cool sightseeing started. First we stopped in a rainforest area and took a small walk, it was super interesting, especially when I saw the inside of a hollowed out tree! it was neat. Next we stopped at the 12 apostles, this is where the ocean has formed different structures from the land. (pictures on facebook, im not going to try to explain it) It was seriously some of the most incredible sights I have ever seen. When we stopped at the gorge I decided I wanted a self portrait. So I walked down to the beach and turned around..started to take picture..and all of a sudden a wave attacked me. I was soaked from my knees down..and since I was wearing denim that quickly made the rest of me wet. Luckily that was the second to last stop and then I just had to sit in it for the 3 hour ride home. Regardless, it was an incredible day where I saw so many cool things. When I got back Callie and I watched a little more bmw and talked a bit and then I was about to check in for my flight the next day, and I realized, I wasn't ready to go. Between me being busy and sick and Callie being sick we really hadn't gotten much time to hang out so I decided to stay and hang out for a few more days! The blessing of not having ANY responsibilities or plans. Ok well ALMOST no responsibilities, but I'm sure I'll get those papers done at some point! For the next few days Callie and I just took some time to hang out, watch a little more bmw, and I got to see the life she is living there. It was a ton of fun. The last night we headed into the city for one more italian dinner and went to the rooftop bar afterward. It was a great way to actually end the trip! I got up at 5 am (again) and flew out the next morning. I got home just in time to prepare for my Mom to visit! She got here safely on sunday morning! There will be more about her visit in the next blog! Which I will try to write sooner! Also. I apologize for being a little slow with the blog posts lately. I have started to get so used to being in AUS that nothing feels that special to blog about anymore. However I have heard people still think that it is exciting and want to hear about my "normal" life, so I will try to blog a bit more often!