Catching Up

Wow! So much has happened in the past two weeks! Where to begin... Hmmm. How about I summarize the first week, then do separate posts for my time in Hobart & Melbourne. Yep. I think that's the way to go.

So, let's get on with it...

Highlights include:

• Coffee/hot chocolate with Sonia again at Circular Quay. Such a lovely, sweet woman! Her step-daughter owns/runs an art gallery in Melbourne and she gave me contact details so I could visit.


• On Friday night (Oct 10), I had dinner with some new friends from Sydney! A while ago, while visiting The Gap, I met a great couple, Jen & Greg. Jen is from Sydney and Greg is from California. They've been married for a couple of years and live here in Sydney. They were kind enough to take some photos for me (at The Gap) and we started chatting. At the time, I was still considering a long-term stay here in Sydney and they were very encouraging and helpful. We parted ways, but about 5 minutes later they came back -- said they just felt like they wanted to stay in touch with me, and by the way, could they set me up with a friend of theirs. They were very kind and I really liked them, and being the Blind Date Queen that I am I said yes. Jen gave me her business card and we've kept in touch via email ever since. Due to everyone's busy schedules, we were not able to set up a meeting until Oct 10. Unfortunately, the friend they wanted to set me up with was unavailable that evening, but since I am unavailable every other weekend in Oct., we decided to go ahead with it anyway. They invited several other friends, and one friend brought a guy from the UK, so 8 of us got together at a great restaurant for dinner. It was a blast! If I were staying in Sydney, these would be MY people! They were so much fun! I felt like I'd known them for years. In fact, I sat next to the guy from the UK, who didn't really know anyone either - just the one guy - and he was shocked to find out that I'd only briefly met Jen & Greg over a month earlier - it was as if I just KNEW these people. The food and company were MAGNIFICENT! I could not have had a better night!
  
• Oct 11-13, Chris and Gretel travelled to the Blue Mountains, and I watched the kids all weekend. First, a THANK YOU to all of you who replied to my blog, via posts and emails, with wonderful and thorough ideas of ways to keep the kids busy and happy with their parents gone. I used many of your terrific ideas! Thanks!!! Second, I am even more in awe of all you mothers out there! At the end of the three days, I was EXHAUSTED!! (Gretel commented that she'd never seen me so beat.) But the kids still had all their fingers and toes, the house hadn't burned down, AND C & G had a wonderful time.


• I had two days to recuperate from the weekend and see a few more sights in Sydney, before heading off to Hobart & Melbourne. I explored Hyde Park, the Anzac Memorial, The Barracks Museum, and several churches and cathedrals. I also visited Sydney's Fish Market and the Maritime Museum.


• A little laundry, a little packing, and I was all set for travel adventures further afield!

Here are a few photos from this week...

Ravi & I taught Bronte how to play Uno. She couldn't hold all her cards in her little hands so she had to lay them flat on the table. That's ok, it allowed us to help her a little.

The Barracks Museum: designed by the convict architect, Francis Greenway. Until 1848, it provided accommodation for convicts but has since had many occupants becoming sequentially an Immigration Depot for Irish orphans and unprotected females, an Asylum, and law courts.It seems there has usually been a higher population of men in Australia than women. This newspaper add from England in 1868 is encouraging female emigration. And I was recently told that a similar program is currently going on - again in England - to bring more women to South & West Australia.

Close quarters! These are the bunks.
St. Mary's Cathedral.

I really liked this painting of Mary & Jesus. It's different from what you normally see in Catholic art - so much more natural and human.

Fountain in Hyde Park.

Captain Cook Memorial in Hyde Park.

At the Sydney Fish Market:

Watching the guys fillet the fish was really interesting. They were so fast.

Scampi.

Prawns, A.K.A. shrimp. I'm told you will never actually hear an Australian say, "Throw another shrimp on the barbie". They do use the word barbie for BBQ, but they don't use the word shrimp. They call them prawns. And they're VERY popular here. So where did the phrase originate from? And why do we think it is the ultimate Australian declaration? Apparently, Paul Hogan (of Crocodile Dundee fame) used this phrase back in the day. Producers knew that if they used the word "prawn", few people in America would know what he was talking about so they changed it to "shrimp".

Morton Bay Bugs. They're a little like lobster. I tried them during my dinner out with Jen, Greg, and the group. They're quite tasty.

Loved all the fishing boats.

Italian fisherman who own the above boat.

Pelican.

Oysters & Scallops.

Calamari & Octopus.

Lobster.

Lunch. I love good, fresh fish!

These are baby octopus. I asked about them and the next thing I knew, the guy was throwing a few on my plate for me to try. I wasn't feeling particularly adventurous about them - especially after he compared eating them to eating spiders. Blech. But I did try one little bite. They were actually really spicy so that's about all I could taste. Kinda rubbery. Not really my thing. I'll stick with fish.