Moving On...

Greetings from Sydney!!

Since I last wrote, I spent two more lovely days in Auckland getting lost and exploring. The first real day I there, I walked through the Victoria Street market (had to) and down the lovely and quaint Ponsonby Street, which was lined with bustling outdoor cafes, local artisan clothing shops, and other stores of handmade crafts. There was quite a hill to get to the top of the street, so the views it provided of downtown Auckland were unbeatable. On my walk past Victoria Park, I glance over to see - A RUGBY GAME!!!!!!!!! With only one day left in New Zealand, I was beginning to think my hopes of seeing a game were going to be unfulfilled....BUT NO!!! Soooo exciting to watch two local teams (both mostly comprised of Maori individuals - so cool) battle it out with all their friends and families looking on. Never realized how loud two bodies crushing into each other could be.....now I do. In my past travels, I have many times come across weddings or newlyweds (still in wedding attire) wherever I happened to be walking at the time...well, I am happy to report that this tradition is continuing in the Southern Hemisphere. The newlyweds, along with the bride's two children and the couple's two good friends were all standing in front of the "Ride-a-Bungy" set-up that was nearby the hostel. Basically, the couple had just been strapped into this core metal ball contraption where the bungy cords that emerged from either side were then stretched to their maximum point, and upon release, they were flung into the air at high speeds and able to experience the free fall feeling over and over and over again. I think that idea, instead of spending money on a reception, was a fantastic alternative.

For my last day in Auckland, I decided to go explore "the island that has volcano on it." Well, just for a little background, there are only 2 (that's right, 2) islands that you can take a ferry to from Auckland's port - Rangitoto and Waiheke Islands. So I hopped on the ferry and off I went the beautiful waters to get a lovely ride, great views, and quite a lot of wind in the face :) Upon arrival, I was soooo excited to explore this volcano and do a little hiking around the peak that I decided to stop in the information center only for a moment, so they could point me in the right direction to the base. "Ahh the volcano. Right love, you are on the wrong island - you want Rangitoto, and you are now on Waiheke." Of course I am. Nothing you can do except roll with the punches, so got a map of the local walking paths and went on a 4-hour expedition around the western part of the island, which offered some beautiful views from my future home ;)

Just a little note to say thank you to my resident New Zealand "uncle/grandpa," Bob, who accompanied me to the airport in Christchurch before I flew out to Auckland. A big thank you to Bob for being such an amazingly hospitable and kind man!!! THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING BOB!!

After a bit of a delay and some serious people watching, I hopped on my flight to home of the Wallabies. Just a note and "thanks for telling it like it is" pat to the Immigration officer in the Auckland airport who, upon being asked "how are you today," responded "well, a little bit sore in my left lower back here, probably from fencing out back because that is what we do when we rotate during our shifts...and then I do a little bit of exercising before I head home to grab a bite, get some rest, and come back here to save the country....Yea, I have a golf time this weekend, I hope this back of mine feels better before then....I reckon I just need to rest it a bit..." Meanwhile, the cue behind me has now tripled in length and people are starting to get that look in their eyes. But cheers to him for actually answering the question AND for thinking his position and work is saving his country. :)

Yesterday, I took a HUGE walk throughout the majority of the city centre that included the Botanical Gardens, The Rocks, Sydney Harbor, the Observatory, Miller's and Mrs. Macquaries Points, Macquarie Street (which is home to all the state buildings...the State Library, the Mint, Parliament, etc), some of Darling Harbour, and all of Pitt and George Streets. Also, I was able to take a tour of the Sydney Opera House, whose architecture I have grown to appreciate even more so after learning about its construction and composition of materials. We were able to view the largest theatre room in the building, which was a MAGNIFICENT room full of the warm and rich colors of the Australian timber that lined the floors, ceiling, and walls, the birch that was molded around us to form our seats, and the vibrant 1970's red/orange color of the seats!!! SO COOL. When you look out onto the stage, you can see 135 polished organ pipes...what you cannot see is the 10,000+ other pipes that go back 7 meters behind the superficial layer, which help to produce a most MASSIVE sound! The architect (Jorn Utzon) has never come back to Sydney since he left midway through its construction after an argument regarding funding, but his son sure was there...and walked right in front of us twice on the tour. Pretty neat! The Opera House is one of only three 21rst century buildings to get awarded "World Heritage" by the UN, and its the only one whose architect is still alive. All in all a quite productive day!!! AND when I returned to the hostel, I was able to reconnect with Rachael (friend from Queenstown)!! We took in a night walk to Hyde Park and go to see the TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE!!!!! SOOOOOOOOOOO COOOL - RED MOON - A-MAZING!!!!

Today, errands were ran, flights and accommodation were booked, and groceries were purchased :) So with the necessary things out of the way, we simply walked down towards the Harbour. While she caught up with her friend, I attended a free lunchtime concert at St. James Church (the oldest in Sydney). The church itself was LOVELY - very welcoming and a simple decor (always a plus for me). The concert was put on by a group of three artists - an organist, cellist, and recorder-ist??? Yep, you know the instrument you were forced to play in grade school.... this woman played it and played the heck out of it. Didn't know
that is what a recorded is supposed to sound like!! The music was mainly themed to sound like something that would be played in high courts of early 1600 England (the same style as heard in A Knight's Tale). However, the most striking pieces of the whole concert were a slow, intensely sad French piece and a solo cello piece that called for all tricks to be played - slapping, plucking, karate-chopping - you name it, she did it!! Quite a treat to watch. After the concert and few more hours wandering about, I met back up with Rachael and we stepped our way up to Pylon Lookout on the SE side of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. We had the most spectacular views of the city, the Opera House, and the western side of the city - all at SUNSET!!! Que bellisima!! After enjoying the moment, we headed back to the hostel - I had to say goodbye to Rachael and come say hi to all you guys!

Quirky things I love about Sydney:
1. Their Thai restaurants have really innovative (and incredibly amusing) titles: Thainatown, Thai Me Up, and EnTHAIsing!! Hysterical.
2. They have a bus stop advertisement for using your Visa that says: "Put your fush and chups on it." (making fun of the New Zealand accent) Man, for this one, you might have to be here...but, say this out loud and pretend you are a big burly, beer-drinking, rugby-watching Kiwi or Australian construction worker or something...it's much funnier)

That's it for now. Tomorrow I hop a plane to Darwin in the Northern Territory to explore the national park and the Aboriginal culture!! I am looking forward to leg of the trip a lot, so I am pumped!!!! Much love to everyone! Take care.