my new room wasnt going to be ready until the 27th of july so i decided that it would be a good time to make my way up to newcastle in order to visit the collis family. it had been a long time since out last visit (we figured that last time we saw each other was in 1994!). i bought my ticket and emailed them my itinerary, however the email did not go through so i surprised christine with a call from the airport. she was nice enough to come and pick me up, she had the week off work and didnt mind making a run to the airport. the first day there i went with her to buy a USB stick for her computer, produce shopping, and helped her cook dinner. she also bought a car that first day. it was interesting to sit in with her while the salespeople tried to make her add on all sorts of extras. she held strong and didnt give in to their pitches. she also took me to blackbutt reserve that day. i was able to see all kinds of natural australian animals in their 'natural' habitats. the coolest thing i saw was this tiny baby koala, it couldnt have been more than two inches long. apparently few australians have even seen such a small koala!
the next day christine took me to visit nelson bay. it was really neat to go up the lookout and see some of the smaller islands just off the shore. here are some pictures of the bay.
port stephen
these crazy lilies. i think they look like they belong in jumanji. they were really tall (refer to last photo) and incredibly bright.
another view of the bay
christine took me for a drive around the bush. we ate lunch at jerry's, which is a biker lunch place .
christine eating her sandwich!
that sunday christine and michael had to attend a wedding, so i stayed in and watched 'no direction home' (the bob dylan documentary by scorsese). it was pretty good, i watched 'im not there' a few months ago so it was neat to watch this documentary as well. earlier in the day michael and i went shopping at a german supermarket called aldi. it was the most efficient shopping i have ever experienced! it was amazing how quickly they were able to get people through the store. http://www.aldi.com.au/ almost everything being sold was australian, and fairly priced. amazing.
the next day i decided to make my way into newcastle to see the site. newcastle is an industrial city. i walked around the beach nearer the train station.
here is a view of nobby's lighthouse.
other end of the lighthouse.
view of the city from just under the lighthouse.
more of newcastle.
the bridge to stockton.
katie came down from gosford that night. it was really great to catch up with her. we talked a lot and it seemed like we had been in touch regularly over the last few years. im looking forward to meeting up with her at least a few more times over the next year.
the next day i found a walking path, apparently it used to be the train route but has since been covered with pavement. it now serves as a decent sized walking and cycling path.
the day before i left i decided, with michael's suggestion, to venture to sydney. i dont know anything about sydney and figured i would figure out what i was going to do for the day once i got there. i caught a train at 6:27 am and made the 2.5 hour ride. i arrived at central, got a coffee and called my dad. from there i made my way down to the circular quay. i was going to go to the museum of modern art, however it was only 9:30 in the morning so it was not open. it was at this point i saw a sign for a free ferry ride so i hopped on. i wasnt really sure where the ferry was going, but decided it would be an adventure. turns out it went to a place called cockatoo island. cockatoo has an interesting history. originally it was a prison, and was later converted into a naval shipyard. this year it is also the home of a biennale exhibit. the building were filled with different installation pieces. my favorite artist was william kentridge (http://www.bos2008.com/app/biennale/artist/40). however i only had an hour on the island so i wasnt able to visit all the exhibits.
cockatoo island!
view of some of the buildings.
not sure what these were used for.
large crane.
not sure why anyone would want to go here.....
view of the inside of one of the buildings.
this tunnel had one of the creepiest exhibits. it was pretty much just a recording of someone breathing. veeerrrryyyy creepy. i only walked in about ten steps before i had to turn around.
view of the harbor bridge form the island.
another view of the harbor.
here are a few shots from the ferry ride back. i was one of three on the ferry, talk about a personal ride! i was able to sit right up front. it was pretty cold and started to rain, but the sights were impressive.
the opera house.
after taking the ferry back i was able to meet up with julia. it was nice to see her and we got along very well. she took me to a nice lunch place near her house and then we ventured to bondi beach. super touristy.
a picture of me at bondi beach.
i caught a train home at around 4:30. it was neat to see the countryside between newcastle and sydney. wonderful views.
the trains were pretty amazing as well. they were double decker and the seats could be swiveled to face either direction.
it was a good trip all in all. it was nice to meet with michael and christine and hear all kinds of stories about my dad when he lived in sydney. there were some really funny pictures as well! it helped me to appreciate that they were both young once and had what seems like a different life before having children.
i made my way back to melbourne on thurs afternoon. it was rainy but the flight was pretty uneventful. pat and i made mexican for his roommates again. in total 11 people showed up for the feast. it was a pretty good time, except i invited our friend andy. who turns out is a pretty big creep and kept hitting on all the girls and saying offensive things. dont think we will be meeting up with him again....
friday night we went to acmi for the melbourne film festival. we saw american astronaut, which is one of pat's favorite movies. i tried to watch it once before but fell asleep. i must say it was a lot better this time around.
saturday we attended a 'sweet jelly roll' night on lygon street. it was a 30-50s rock n roll theme night. everyone was dressed up and the music was great. we met up with this girl talor, who pat met on the internet. she is a barista and had a wonderful personality. she was a ball of energy when she showed up, it was good to meet her.
pat as a greaser
me as a 50's housewife.
whooo that was a marathon post. i forgot my notebook at home and i am sure i am leaving something very important out of this post. i will check my notes and post a follow up to this one, it will include all the details i have missed from going off my memory alone.
enjoy all the pictures! until next time.
