Go Pack Go!!!

Of course the year I go to Australia, the Packers decided to win the Super Bowl!! lol  Not that I'm not happy, I'm ecstatic!! I dragged 2 of my friends to Hooters @ 9:30am Mon morning just to make sure I didn't miss the game (which was 5:30 Sun); I figured they'd for sure be playing the game. We had a fun time, but it def would have been more fun watching the game surrounded by football fans. Then they would have understood why I was yelling at the TV so much! What a great game that turned out to be!!!!:)

It is once again time to part with my new friend, but this time our paths aren't going to cross again over here. I am taking the bus back down to Brisbane this morning, to finally gather all my luggage from my friends house. Then, who knows where the wind will blow me.....



I hate watching with other people when it gets intense!!
I had to walk away:)

             

Byron Bay

After Sydney, it was off to Brissy once again to do some rehab for a few days. I had originally planned on gathering the rest of my things and then heading back to Sydney to find work, but instead I rejoined my new friend Mel up in Byron Bay. Every Australian raves about Byron, and apparently it's one of their biggest holiday destinations. It's pretty much a town full of hippies, surfers, and tourists; but this time a lot of the tourists were actually from AUS. I always love when you get to meet and hang out with some locals!! The beaches were of course beautiful, and it was nice to be back in a small town again. We were only there for 3 days, and then it was off to Surfers Paradise to watch the Super Bowl. Originally we were going to take the bus, but Friday night we met a guy that ran a wakeboarding school in Tumblgum; which happened to be on the way to Surfers. Not only did we get to wakeboard all day today, but we even got a free ride out of it!! Seriously, the things I just happen to fall into:)

Tommy

This post is dedicated to the nicest Japanese man alive!!! His name is Tommy and he has been living in Australia for the past 20 years....We ended up staying at my friends apt in the city, (which by the way had so much AC I actually had to sleep with a blanket over me) and just after we left to make our trek back out to Bondi beach; Mel decided she really had to pee. She randomly ran into some building, which is where we met Tommy. It was Australia day so pretty much everything was closed. Luckily for us, he had to come in to get something from work and was nice enough to unlock his office and let her use the bathroom. We all exited the building and went our separate ways... Then as we were trying to find our way to the bus stop, he randomly was coming around the corner in his car and asked us where we were headed. Not only did he give us a map of the city, but then drove us all the way out to our hostel and refused to take any money from us!! Just goes to show there are some really great people still out there.

P.S. there is a guy in my room playing the flute as we speak...oh the life of a gypsy

Lap of Luxury

Wow I don't think I've ever stayed in such a shit hole!!! I arrived in Bondi today, where I have booked myself for 4 nights on the beach. However, I'll be shocked if I survive 2!! My room is on the top floor and it's miserably hot because there is no AC. Plus the fan that we have makes noise, but doesn't blow air? It is unbearable to sleep, and getting ready without using a sweat rag to dry your face is nearly impossible. Thank God for my new friend Melody, or I think I would have started crying. She is one of my roommates, and now my new bff for this leg of the trip....Luckily once you get out of the room, life isn't too bad here. The water looks a lot like Florida; except everyone around you has a funny little accent. There is this beautiful coastal walk that connects about a dozen beaches; so we used that to get a little exercise for the day.

Last night I got to meet up with 2 of the Aussie girls that I met; while I was in Belgium last fall. It was so great to see them!! While traveling, you meet some of the most amazing people and it's sad because you usually will never see them again. So it was so fun to get to share a cocktail with them in Australia. Who'd of thought I'd ever make it all this way?:) Then tonight, Mel and I are heading into the city to meet up with yet another Aussie I met in Amsterdam. Should be a fun evening!!

Australian Open

I'm not really a huge tennis fan, but it  is cool to actually see them play live. Especially when your watching it in Australia. Yesterday was the first day of the Open, so we decided to get there a little early to get tickets. I don't know how we got so lucky, but our seats were right up front. We saw lots of random matches on the side courts, and the big ones we got to watch were Sharipova, Venus Williams, Roddick, and Federer. The whole set up of the place was really cool; with lots of different activities to do. Eventually your butt starts to go numb and you need to stretch your legs, so they had this really cool beer garden that had a live band and lounge chairs set up around a jumbo tron; which showed the match going on inside. Of course we decided to finish our day off there.

Tonight was our last evening together (my possy), so we just stayed in and cooked a nice meal in the common area. Unfortunately the time has come to go our separate ways, and to meet our next group of friends in our new adventures. However mine doesn't start until the 24th, as I will be in Melbourne until then. So hopefully I will be able to find some replacements.....

Roddick

I spoke too soon!!!

So the hole that is in our Ozone layer, is apparently right above Australia? The sun is finally shining and now I'm so burned that I will have to hide away for the next couple of days. I put a mixture of spf 15 and 30 all over, but the whole back of my body got scorched. Definitely the worst sunburn I have ever had in all my 27 years!! Guess I learned my lesson

We had our first big night out last night. Before I left the US, I randomly met a guy from Melbourne and he was kind enough to get us completely hooked up and taken care of by the owner at this VIP club downtown. There was lots of drinking and dancing, but the best part was how excited these girls were. They had never been to a place or treated like that before, so they were beside themselves the whole night. I know they will say it was completely worth it, but it's now almost noon and not one of them has made it out of bed.

Well I'm off to watch the Packers.....Go Pack Go!!!!

Rain Rain Go Away...

I made it to Melbourne; the place where I chose to go to escape the rain, and it's raining. Am I ever going to see the sun again??? I thought Australia was suppose to be all hot and sunny, where is my tan?? ..... I haven't really had a chance to go into the city yet, but I've been told it's comparable to Chicago. I'm staying in this hipster beachy area called St. Kilda. The people all seem really nice, but they have the most odd sense of style. I'm totally down with the whole trendy look, but seriously people; a lot of you just look homeless lol. I've met some really great girls so far. My possy now consists of a Sweed, a German, a French, and another fellow American. We've got quite the variety and our conversations have been very interesting. Today we picked up some wine, cheese, olives, sun dried tomatoes, crackers, and bread for a dinner on the beach, and then were off to go see the penguins. Apparently there is this place at the end of the pier where they live and at night they come out of the rocks to play. I didn't know Australia had penguins......