March 17, 2010

I love Girls Day! Even though the last few days have been like Girls Week, Kate and I had a blast today shopping at Myer ( like Nordstrom, but better) while exploring Sydney City Center. We got sucked into an eye catching make-up product and a super fabulous Chi Chi Cosmetic respresentative who excelled at her job. We both walked away with new, fun make-up for our whole face for an amazing price and just in time to try it out for the much anticipated Girls Night Out tonight! And if that wasn't fun enough, upon exiting the store a beautiful man with the longest eyelashes we have ever seen asked us to stop and smell the Armani fragrances. Sure...he didn't have to twist our arm. We both enjoyed the sensual experience of smell and sight, though something must have been written on my forehead because he quickly changed directions and offered me a smell of Viktor & Rolf's Flowerbomb. And just like that, I fell in love again. There are many beautiful accents to enjoy in life and some of what I enjoy are perfumes, purses, shoes, and coats. I did not leave this store today without a bottle of Flowerbomb to add to my collection of perfumes - quite an extravagant splurge at that.

Good food today as well. Lunch was at Sumo Salad. This was our second time eating here, the first being in Cairns. It is a fresh salad stop where you can order it made to suit you or select from already made salads. I had the Pumpkin Pinenut (again) - delicious! Then we enjoyed an early dinner at Wagamama Noodles. I had seen an ad for them in one of the tour brochures. The advertising worked in getting me enticed to try them. We shared a Chicken Teriyaki Noodle dish with peapods, red and green peppers, onions, and eggs - another yummy meal. though the real treat was desert - Banana Katsu. I am going to try and make this one at home: a whole banana rolled in coconut and deep-fried, drizzled with a honey/ginger glaze and served with coconut ice-cream - heavenly!

Then home to the hotel with two hours to prep and fancy ourselves for an evening with Lady Gaga. The make-up application was fun, as we were trying out our new Chi Chi Cosmetics...which worked fabulously! Doing our hair tonight was a breeze for some reason. And of course, we were excited to put our Lady Gaga costumes together with our much thought out attire.

I love dressing up and going out! This was a new experience for Kate and she wasn't as comfortable getting primped and primed as I was, though she went with it and had a great time. I do believe age had something to do with it. I simply don't care what people think or say as I am out to have a good time and not impress anybody. Though at one time in my life I was out to try and impress people - I am so done with that! I agree with what Lady Gaga said tonight "I'm a free bitch!" - and I agree with many of the other things she said also. The concert was amazing! Such a talented and intoxicating voice! Of course, there were many wild and crazy costumes that Lady Gaga wore during the Monster Ball, as well as great theatrics. Many F-bombs (not my Flowerbomb perfume) were dropped with lots of R rated speech - definitely not a show for the baby monsters, only the little monsters like us and Lady Gaga as the mother MONSTER!

Surf's up?

March 16, 2010

It was another beautiful day in Australia. The weather was perfect today - perfectly warm, perfect humidity, and perfect waves for beginner surfers.

We took the public transit ferry ($6.40 each way) across the bay to Manly. Manly beach is not only a highly sought out tourist area for shopping, beaching, and surfing as there are many locals who call this area home. The commuters to/from Sydney are plentiful as the ferry travels every half hour from early dawn to late night. It is quite an enticing little world over there - kinda makes me want to change careers, relocate, and open a boutique on the beach. but until then, I will just have to continue living on my motto of: work hard to play hard.

Manly Surf School here we come. I couldn't help but wonder how these professional surfers can stand their job dealing with clumsy novices like us all day. Having said that, I did get UP on the waves three times and Kate got up several as well. We were VERY hapy to have achieved some success during our first time surfing! Prior to going out in the water, we had a half hour lesson on the beach on how to assess the ocean, interpret the waves, how to handle the (heavy) board, and safety tips. I know it looks so light when those experienced surfers are walking with their board under their arm down the beach, but I'm here to tell you they are conditioned and it was not as easy as it looks. My upper half got a good workout today from pushing myself up on the board while catching the waves. We had a two hour lesson and were totally exhausted byt the end of it. I don't think I phsically could have lasted much longer without a break. Now I completely understand how Cameron Diaz has sculpted that rock hard body on the water.

And here's my souvenir from the day - a jellyfish bracelet sting bracelet.

We both got stung by a Blue Bottle Top jellyfish. It feels like a bee sting that just doesn't stop stinging. They were plentiful and there were announcements on the beach warning of them, but we were willing to take the risk for the experience. We had full bodied wet suits on but mine was a little big and my arm sleeve kept sliding up, hence the location of the sting. Kate got stung on her hand though didn't get much of a mark left behind.

I would definitely go surfing again. It was a fun, fun, fun experience!

On to Sydney...

March 15, 2010

We were up before the crack of dawn this morning as we had a 530am flight back to Sydney to catch. I am happy that my driving experience in Australia was successful. It gave me some confidence in my foreign travel abilities. I think I'm ready for Europe.

We arrived Sydney at 930am - overcast skies and 27C. We took an airport shuttle to the hotel and had two near misses in traffic. The van was full and so Kate sat in the passengers seat up front and had quite the adventuresome view.

We checked into our next residence for the duration of our visit here. This was a timeshare that a dear friend of mine let us use. The space was very well utilized, compact, aned nicely decorated. The customer service was bar none - that is hard to find these days. The reception desk gave us some tips on what/how/where to experience Sydney and also advised us that there is no need to get a transit pass as our location is within walking distance and/or free shuttle to all major attractions. We settled into our room and went out on another adventure.

Darling Harbour is a busy place. Locals and tourists alike make it a populated place by foot, bike, scooteer, and skateboard. Sydney is known for its beautiful architecture and we got a small taste of it today. The parks are clean and beautifully landscaped - though I think our flowers in Alaska are more vibrant in color.

We browsed through the mall and street shops and even a bit in Chinatown. No super fabulous treasures were found, though we were pleasantly surprised at the prices - way more reasonable than the Cairns area.

Our exciting experience of the day was going to Alice in Wonderland in 3D on the World's Largest IMAX screen. Super great movie that we were happy we got to experience this way.

"ZEN! ZEN! ZEN!"

March 14, 2010 "ZEN! ZEN! ZEN!" he shouted at me as I frantically scurried away from the most gigantic spider I have ever seen alive in real life - all while I was casually entering the ladies room. One can imagine my ladies room experience was one that was alert and very brisk. After all, I was in the Daintree Rainforest and this was peace. OMG! i do not like bus, spiders, or any of the sort. Perhaps this is why I live in the Greatland of Alaska. We were anticipating an exciting day in the wild of Australia and experiencing the beauty of this world that God created. While Hollywood blows things up and way out of proportion, I was looking forward to entering the Daintree Rainforest after seeing MJ's "This Is It." I saw that big blue beautiful butterfly that soured through the videography in his final work. It was a beautiful and emotional moment for me. I was so thankful to have shared the love/life/music of one of our greatest talents.

We set out bright and early for our adventure into crocodile territory and the Daintree Rainforest. The tour company picked us up at our hotel bright and early at 800am. We drove the same curvy road as we did the other day, only now I think my daughter thought my driving was quite good in comparison - only one near miss on a narrow road that caused our tour guide to use a profane word or two.

We arrived a the boat launch of the Daintree river. We were welcomed with a cup of Daintree Tea, which was probably one of the most tastefully delcious teas I have ever experienced - and I'm not just saying that. We boarded the riverboat and enjoyed an hour long trip down the Daintree River where we were lucky enough to see a crocodile in the wild ( must have a good eye though you would have missed him in his camouflage). Very thankful for the tour guide to point him out.

We saw an egret.

We saw a birds nest. Look closely...Once across the Daintree River, our tour guide met us with the big 4-wheel drive vehicle we were to continue our adventure on. We drove through the mountains and stopped in the heart of it all. He guided us through a walk in the Daintree Rainforest which was cautiously entertained by both myself and the child. The smell was so luscious and fresh, a pure and welcoming aroma. After viewing that monster spider at the ladies room entrance, we were both hyper-alert to our surroundings. And having been such, I was the one who spotted that ugly little dragon lizard (whatever kind he was) on a tree trunk. Of course, all those tourists in our group were snapping pictures left and right and in my way that I didn't get one with my crappy little camera. I ust mention tha I miss my Canon Powershot that got beached in Hawaii last year and three cameras later, I want that one back...UGH!

The day was filled with adventure: we handfed kangaroos and wallabies, we had a delicious lunch of grilled steak and fresh salad (and cockroaches climbing up my stool), we experienced the Daintree Rainforest first hand, saw massive spiders, beautiful birds, amazing greenery, crocodiles under the trees, and did I mention the humongous spiders???

Oh and here is the vibrant beautiful cassowary that blessed our ice cream stop...

A Beautiful Warm Musical Lagoon

March 13, 2010

Woke up to another storm - dark gray clouds and heavy rain. I really enjoy these rain showers that are so powerful , yet peaceful. And the weather changes within minutes - that saying “Wait five minutes and the weather will change” applies here in Australia.

We decided to spend the day exploring Cairns. Spent some time at the mall and browsing the local market downtown. We went to the public swimming area, called The Lagoon, which is the nicest public pool I have ever experienced. It is right on the bluff next to the water and is built as to look like it flows into the ocean. It has multi-depths of water, though all the outer skirts are shallow for the children. One side of the pool has beach sand. The pool has three lifeguards on duty. There was live music on the lawn - an Indie girls band - which I enjoyed very much as I LOVE live music - it set the mood so sweetly.

Stopped at a Gelato (ice cream) stand and I had Coconut, while the girl had Strawberry. It was a nice cooling treat that I would have ate more of it had it come from my own freezer.

We went back home to the hotel and chilled out by the pool until the sun went down. I could get used to this.

The Great Barrier Reef Experience

March 12, 2010

GOOD MORNING Australia Day 2.

I now know that the bug that greeted my day yesterday was some sort of beetle because we saw clearly this morning what a cockroach looks like. Those loud expressions that came from my voice yesterday came again this morning though from Kate. As she summoned me to her room, I saw a very ugly, large (about a 50 cent piece size) cockroach with antennas that were about 2 ½ inches long on the floor in her shower. I startled him and he sped across the bathroom floor - man he was fast!

Next I know, Kate is moving her suitcase to my room. “What are you doing I ask?” She replied, “I’m not staying in there anymore.” I’m sure he came up from the drain in the shower or the sink and that there are many more where he came from. At any rate, I have a bedmate for the duration. Seriously, like I am going to protect her from those creep crawlers…..eewwwww

We had an early morning departure from the hotel at around 730am. We drove 45 minutes northward up the coast to Port Douglas where we were to leave on our expedition to the Great Barrier Reef. The drive was beautiful - much like Turnagain Arm, except the road was narrower and a bit more curvy. It actually was giving me a little nausea and I was the driver.

It was an hour and a half boat ride from the marina to the Outer Reef. We took the complimentary ginger pills once aboard in hopes of deterring any sea-sickness and am thankful we did because it was pretty rough. We scoped out a spot on the upper deck (3rd story) for the ride and were splashed by waves most of the way out.

The salt on our skin was plentiful - love that natural exfoliater! The company we choose to go on has a platform stationed at the Outer Reef which we docked on. It is quite an operation that they have.

I was impressed by the knowledge, service, professionalism, and must mention the food! A delicious seafood lunch was served. Fresh prawns (which Kate wouldn’t eat because the heads were still on…didn’t stop me, of course), many salads - including a seafood salad with fresh crab, squid, mussels, and shrimp, fresh fruit, rice & beef vegetable stir-fry, and a curry (I didn’t eat that) dish.

Having been snorkeling in Hawaii and Mexico I have seen some pretty fish, but none like what I saw today. Though I didn’t see Nemo, I saw so many other beautifully bright (neon green, blue, purple, pink, striped, spotted) fish. I saw one with bright red lips like she was wearing lipstick. A pink one came at me like she was trying to kiss me, only she was telling me to back off (which I found out later from one of the crew). The underwater world is a totally different existence of life and again makes one think about the how intricate our world really is. We had three hours to explore - saw and learned so much. We also took a ride in a semi-submersible glass bottom boat. I was a little apprehensive as to what we would actually see as I have been in a glass bottom boat in Mexico and was not impressed. This experience was quite the opposite. We got up close and personal - it was almost like we were in Finding Nemo or The Little Mermaid.

There really are those big curved shells that the fish live in! The coral is amazingly beautiful and so diverse. It was such a wonderful experience! I am thankful we had this opportunity to explore a very small part of one of the world’s seven natural wonders.

Once we arrived back to the hotel, the little one stopped at the front desk to “complain” about the cockroach encounter this morning. In the most polite way, the front desk lady said “This is Queensland, Miss.” And gave her a bottle of cockroach killer that she said will kill it with one spray. I bet we don’t see him again…

Bugs, Beach, and Beauty

March 11, 2010

GOOD MORNING! Tossed and turned since about 3am, finally got up at 5am and decided I should make my bed right away as to deter any “friends” from wandering in my sleeping quarters. Mind you, I have yet to see any bugs, but I know they are there. I pulled the bedspread up over the sheets, fluffed the pillows, and was rubbing my hand over the bedding to “smooth out the wrinkles” when I felt something hard. I’m pretty sure I jumped about three feet in the air some loud expressions exited my mouth. Kate came running out of her room to my rescue - “Mom, What’s wrong?” Then laughter hysterically broke out. In a very mature manner, I walked to the bathroom, got a rather large wad of toilet paper, came back to my bed (thank you that he was still there) and pinched him up in the wad (too scared to hear the crunch so I didn’t squeeze), quickly ran back to the toilet and sent him home to his waterland. Now I’m not quite sure what it was - could have been a baby cockroach or a tropical beetle, but he definitely got my attention in the most innocent way. I can hardly imagine (well actually I can imagine) what else might find me during my visit.

Our plug-ins (curling iron, phone charger, camera battery, etc) do not plug in to the Australian outlets. We headed back towards Cairns early this morning in search of an outlet adapter. This proved to be an endeavor itself (with three trips back and forth to the store throughout the day), but now we finally have all of our electronics usable.

We talked with the front desk this morning about which boats/guides to take to the Reef. She gave us a couple recommendations. I told her and my little one that we may not ever get back to this part of the world and therefore, I want to be able to experience the best of it. We booked a trip to the Outer Reef leaving out of Port Douglas (an hour north of here) tomorrow. I have been snorkeling a few times and absolutely love it! Kate has never been snorkeling before - and so her first time will be at The Great Barrier Reef - talk about eating the icing before the cake!

The weather today was gorgeous! 30°C, party cloudy, and humid. On our way to the store, we stopped at Trinity Beach and beach-combed for an hour or so. I found a couple pieces of beach glass for my mama. And some shells. Kate saw her first speedo thong bikini - on an older gentleman, oh maybe 65 years of age with the hair (gray) and body (Buddha) to boot. LOL!

Kate wanted to go to The Cairns Tropical Zoo. I think she was in search of a couple animals, one of which was a giraffe. I told her we are on the wrong continent for those. We did get to see some other cool animals though - the obvious Koala and Kangaroo, but also the Cotton Top Tamarin Monkey, Cassowaries, Red Panda, and even the American Alligator (which were humungous BTW!).