My boyfriend's back!

Amber has arrived!!!!!
The poor thing endured a 22-hour flight, a missed connection in L.A., and then arrived to find that her luggage was lost by the airline, only to be delivered 2 days later. Yet, we're having the time of our lives!!!!

Amber and I couldn't stop interrupting each other with stories from the last 2 months that we've been apart. We started walking towards the Circular Quay as we blabbed, and before we knew it, we stumbled upon the most magnificent sight: the Sydney Opera House. This sent us running towards it like little girls after the ice cream man on a summer's day.

The Opera House is indescribable.....enormous and magnificent, it demands your attention and awe like few other structures I've seen. We walked all around it and took a million pictures from every possible angle. We sat in one of the surrounding cafes and enjoyed a glass of white wine while we caught up on each others' lives.

Afterwards, we headed to the Rocks, a trendy spot lined with eateries, an outdoor market, music, and tonnes of people. We shopped, laughed, ate a lovely lunch, and generally eased ourselves into these new surroundings.

Next was the Sydney Harbour Bridge. We hiked across and I was fascinated by, what else, the view!
We explored the shopping district of the city as well. The hotel we stayed in was in a VERY upscale little area, where names liek Gucci, Armani, and Tiffani were all around us. No, we didn't break the bank, but we walked so much that Amber's poor little feet were blistered and bleeding by the time we headed home.

The night brought us to Chinatown, where we still had plenty of conversation to catch up on over noodles and fried rice.

We are intoxicated with the city life Sydney offers. Your eyes are always focusing on something new, be it the architecture in the business district, the couture in the shopping areas or the breathtaking sights of the Circular Quay.

Unfortunately, the weather on the second day was not our friend. We woke up to rain, clouds and still no luggage. Do you think that kept us from hitting the beach? Hell no!

Manly here we come!

We took the 30-minute ferry across to Manly, and seeing the harbour from the water is priceless.

(interruption: excuse me, I realize that all the adjectives above are meaningless in the context that they are used. I have truly ran out of words that could do justice to what I feel, see and experience. I hope the pictures do a better job than the narration in telling the story of this trip).
Manly was bustling with action, even on a rainy, ugly day. There were people learning to surf, others actually getting up on the board, some swimming and a bunch who seemed to come for the food, drinks and view, like us!

At night, we were treated to an authentic Australian meal. Amber's mom has friends who live in a suburb outside of Sydney. Their son picked us up and took us to Bondi beach, where w had drinks overlooking the water and walked along the rocks. The beach is famous for good reason. Soft sand, fantastic waves, and lots of good looking people. Our dinner hosts, Anita and John, were incredibly gracious. They taught us about local customs and foods, and served us an incredible meal: wine, lamb with mint jelly, roasted potatoes, mushrooms, onions, greens with avocado and kangaroo! Animal lovers beware: it was delicious!

Apart from the meal and the friendly conversation, we were treated to a night tour of Sydney, going to different parts of the city to see the Opera House and Harbour Bridge from different angles. We were marvelled at every turn.....there are so many ways to see a city....

On our last day in Sydney, the weather was still not cooperating. The cloudy skies did not prevent us from getting on a bus to Bondi beach early in the morning. Coffee in hand, bathing suit on, and sunscreen in our bags, we hit Bondi, hoping for sunshine. No such luck. It was spitting rain on and off....we distracted ourselves by visiting the surf shops and enjoying breakfast overlooking the ocean. Still, the skies never opened up and we came home disappointed.
We're making the best of the city life though! Just tonight, we've been to a pub, two restaurants, and a wine bar. Thank goodness for the lively nature of the city, eventhough the weather has been less than perfect.

Tomorrow morning we fly to Cairns: Great Barrier Reef here we come!!!!!!

This is St. Kilda

South of Melbourne, there is a neighbourhood called St. Kilda, where a strip of sand and a relatively calm beach can be found.

My view as I arrived on the beach...

I walked about an hour to get there today (of course I have time to walk....what else do I have to do?), and slept on the sand while my achy feet rested. The day was slightly cloudy, but I welcomed the cool breeze.

It reached the low 30s in St Kilda today, and I slapped on the SPF70 like you wouldn't believe!

This is a life I think any of us could get used to....

High highs and low lows in Melbourne

Melbourne...

As my week in Melbourne comes to a close, I can't help it but to reflect back on the high highs and low lows that I experienced while here, and to contemplate the influence that these experiences have had on my view of this city.

The Melbourne skyline at night

If you've been reading along on my blog, you'll remember the dingy hostel that epidemizes the phrase, "you get what you pay for"; the schizophrenic Melbourne weather that is in the 40s and humid one day, and in the low 20s and wet the next, sending me to the Salvation Army in a little back town for a $5 sweater; and my lowest point, when I received news that my grandmother had passed away.

The highs on the other hand, have been incredible: napping on the beach while listening to the roar of the ocean, seeing my first koala in the wild, walking amidst the imposing architecture of the city centre, reading by the Yarra river, taking a helicopter ride above the Twelve Apostles and Loch Ard Gorge, and sipping wine while enjoying the symphony outdoors.

The streets in the city centre are lined with lush trees and greenery, always looking beautiful.

I have always loved big cities. I was born in one of the largest and most populated in the world, and maybe that has something to do with it. But it's more than that. Even when I'm alone, I never feel lonely in the city. There's so much to do, so much to see, and I wanna be in the middle of it all, even if it's just sipping a "flat white" and watching the people go by.

These pictures are from the Queen Victoria Market, the largest open air market in the world. It was close to my hostel so I checked it out.....the food was delicious, and I certainly could have had many good meals there. In fact, seeing all that fresh fruit and veggies makes you wanna cook!

A short love affair with Melbourne.....I've had my ups and downs with this city, but I hope to return again someday, and do it all again!

Out for a walk along the river



Reading by the Yarra river was one of my favourite things here in Melbourne. It's quite, sunny and you can just hear the rush of the water.



This is the other side of the river. Most of these buildings are residential. Imagine living here? Too good to be true? I wonder....


One of my roommates from the hostel, Christina from Calgary

Free outdoor concert put on by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra - sipping wine, listening to Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn and more.....


Fireworks illuminated the Melbourne sky after the concert. Spectacular! Aussies love fireworks. This is the 5th time I've seen fireworks since being in Australia.

Tuta

Ontem eu recebi a noticia que a Tuta faleceu. Immediatamente meus olhos encheram de agua e as lagrimas comecaram a cair.

Eu estou muito longe de casa e ainda mais longe do Brasil. Nao tem nada a fazer sem ser rezar e refletir.

A Tuta foi uma mulher maravilhosa. Um exemplo pra toda familia de garra, coragem e amor. Minhas memorias da minha vo sao todas boas. Sempre fui tratada com carinho. Ela sempre me lembrou do meu valor e de quanto eu fui amada por ela.

Eu lembro de tudo: quando eu era pequena, eu, a Ingrid e a Judith escondiamos o oculos da Tuta. Quando "achavamos", ela nos dava um dinheirinho pra ir comprar "chuvete". Lembro dos palitos de sorvete, das caixas de bombom em baixo da cama dela, da alegria que ela sentia quando eu contava que estava indo bem na escola. Lembro de brincar na neve quando ela foi pro Canada, de comer galinha com batata frita (so ela e eu) no Swiss Chalet, onde ela me contou coisas intimas sobre ela e o Nelson, e sobre a vida que levou. Lembro da felicidade nos olhos dela quando a Ingrid se casou, e lembro de como ela dancava, sempre sorrindo...

Mais de tudo, eu sinto o amor que ela sempre me deu. Ela me encinou a amar profundamente, e a perdoar tudo que nos machuca. Agora mesmo eu consigo ouvir ela me chamar de "Rainhona"...

Muitas pessoas nao sabem que a Tuta sempre escrevia pra nos no Canada. Nunca nos ultimos 17 anos passou um mes sem chegar uma cartinha dela, uma folhinha cheia de elogios, amor e carinho. As cartas nao diziam nada na verdade. So o quanto ela nos amava.

Falei com a mamae ontem. Ela estava arrazada, claro, e sem a familia por perto pra repartir a dor. Meu pai e a Ingrid estao com ela, mas sinto nao poder estar junto tambem. Minha mae estava preocupada com as minhas lagrimas, e a minha tristeza, e disse, "Nao deixa esta noticia mudar a sua viagem". Mas e impossivel que perder a Tuta nao mude minha viagem. Eu nao consigo controllar o aperto que eu sinto no meu peito. Mas eu consigo controllar o que faco com esses sentimentos. Deixa eu esplicar:

A Tuta amava a vida. Eu nao conheco ninguem neste mundo que gostava de tanta festa, alegria, diversao e felicidade. Ela amava a familia mais do que tudo. Ela vibrava com meus passeios pelo mundo e pedia pra mim contar todos os detalhes das minhas aventuras. Entao, minha viagem vai mudar sim. Em memoria da minha Tutinha eu vou sorrir maior, vou vibrar com mais alegria, vou dancar ate meus pes doer, vou amar mais forte, vou cantar mais alto, vou tomar mais sorvete e vou viver como ela viveu: com humor, alegria, amor e fe em Deus. Tenho certeza absoluta que e isso que ela espera de mim.

Para minha familia no Brasil, estou pensando em voces e rezando pra Deus que lhes de forca nesta hora tao triste e dificil.

Tchau Tuta....voce mora no meu coracao...sempre. Eu te amo....Ludmila

The Great Ocean Road

...and yes, it deserves its name as Great!

I left my shady hostel at 7:20am and embarked on one of the most beautiful drives I've ever experienced. You drive down the curvy but spectacular coast known as the Great Ocean Drive, with long strecthes beaches, stunning cliffs and natural formations. I got a tip from an older gentleman before getting on the bus: sit on the left side. He was absolutely right!

The weather was terrible. How can this be? 39 degrees one day, and a high of 24 the next. The visibility of the sites I visited could have been a lot better. But it wasn't just the cloudy weather, but also, there are several bush fires around Melbourne right now. The smoke blows down, and you can smell it quite distinctly.

So here's where I've been:

Torquay: Australia's surfing capital. We stopped for our "morning tea" there and then went to Bells Beach, featured in Point Break (remember Keanu Reeves?). But there were no waves that day at all - is this really a surfing reserve?

The best part of the trip was Otway National Park, and seeing the Twelve Apostles: tall rock stacks in the middle of the ocean. They can be seen because of mainland erosion. Only 7 of the stacks can be seen from the tourist viewpoints, unless....

YOU TAKE A HELICOPTER RIDE!

Hey mom! I'm in a helicopter!!!! This was by far the best part of the day....it was a thrill and my eyes couldn't believe the views!

Twelve Apostles

From the air....

Lord Ard Gorge

The Gorge view from the helicopter - one of the most most ship wrecks in Australia's history happened here...I'll tell the story in person


I wish the pictures captured how stunning this really was.....but I guess that's why people travel thousands of kilometers to see it for themselves.

London Bridge - another rock formation which collapsed (part of it as you see it above) in 1990. Two people were stranded on the other side and had to be rescued by helicopter. When reporters tried to interview them, they were camera shy. Turns out they were married...to other people!!!

Melbourne

I arrived in Melbourne at 6am on Sunday morning, having flown in from Perth overnight. I was tired, groggy, and had to wait till 8am for the bus to take me to my hostel. When I finally got there, I had my my first experience with "doubt": I doubted whether I could really do this for the next 3 months.

Here's why: my hostel is terrible. Dirty, full of drunken hulligans, and so hot I could fry an egg! What did I expect? It's a hostel for $27 a night. What was I thinking? Can I really do this? I had a moment of weakness, ran out of the room and into the city as fast as I could, and then I realized something: this city is awesome! And the reason I'm here is the city, not the hostel. The stupid hostel is just a place to store my stuff and sleep at night. I felt better instantly! Now don't get me wrong, I still have moments of panic everytime I walk in there. But let's focus on why I'm really here.....

I spent the day in the city, walking around and checking out the sites. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Federation Square - one of the most controversial man-made structures. Why? I don't know, but when I set my eyes on it (and it's huge!) the first thing I thought of was how ugly it is!

Melbourne's skyline from the Yarra river

I had lunch overlooking the Yarra river, enjoying a cold beer on a very hot afternoon. The heat here is definitely more humid than Perth....my hair tells the tale as it gets bigger and bigger!

Flinders Station

Just words....

In a previous blog entry I mentioned to you how many different countries are represented in the students in my class. This makes it for a very interesting mix, and although we are all speaking English, I am learning some new phrases. Here’s a taste from the Aussies:

“grouse” – cool
“cobber” or “mate” – friend
“daks” – pants
“dunny” – bathroom
“grog” – alcohol
“whipper snapper” – young person
“cossie” – bathing suit

And from my Irish friends:

“a few Bob” – a few dollars
“brolley” – umbrella
“dear” – expensive
“spend a penny” – go to the washroom
“Bob’s your uncle” – everything’s ok
“that’s gas” – that’s funny
“she’s a gas ticket” – she’s funny“to give out” – to complain about

Now that's an education!!!!

South Beach

On Sunday, I convinced myself that studying on the beach was possible.

My friends and I headed to South Beach, about an hour by bus from where we’re staying. The day was absolutely beautiful, low 30s (yes, Canadians, positive degrees Celsius) with a cool breeze.

South beach is gorgeous, made up of a small strip of white sand behind a dune, with calm, clear waters. We drank lemonade and swam in the ocean to cool down. I tempted the sun gods with a lower SPF and got burned. My upper back is so sore and then, I was punished further with thoracic manips all day Monday. Ouch!

Still, as I dowse lotion on my back and shoulders, I wince and say, “It’s all worth it!”

My friends looking for a good spot to "study"

Sizzling in the sun, and loving every minute of it!

My view of the ocean from the sand

I took this picture from the window at the cafe where I had lunch