Brett and I made it to Melbourne! We arrived at Kerrie and BK’s place around 5:20pm. At 7:30pm Brett and I drove to Trivia Night at Revolver Upstairs. Kerrie was co-hosting it with another guy so I figured (despite my avoidance/dislike of trivia nights) it would be fun. We walked upstairs and greeted Kerrie who was standing behind a booth. She gave me a big hug and kiss on the cheek and handed me two dumplings. Excellent! Especially because I was starving at that point. She told us where to sit and Brett and I made two new friends. We all stated how bad we were at trivia. I think Brett was best equipped for the night. It started shortly after and it was actually a lot of fun! I didn’t know any answers per usual, but our group was cool and Kerrie and her co-host were funny. As we approached the end of the rounds, we discovered our team were in second place. SAY WHAT?! HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?? We all looked at each other baffled over what we just heard. However, when the night ended we came in 5th place. Womp womp. We all stayed and chatted for a bit and were the last group to leave around 10:30pm. We drove home and got back around 10:45pm. I'm so glad I got to partake in Kerrie's trivia night! It was a good start to the Melbourne part of my trip.
February 20, 2019
I slept in and it felt amazing! I left the house at 10:30am and rode BK’s bike because Kerrie said I should use it. I didn’t realize how high the seat was! BK is really tall. I definitely could not ride it. I tried to push the seat down, but the latch was super tight and I couldn’t open it. Aw mannn. I decided to walk it to the nearest coffee shop and ask someone there to help me. I spotted a construction worker walking over to where I parked the bike and I said, “Hi, excuse me. You look strong. Could you please help me with this bike seat?” He seemed flattered and wrestled with it for a second or two. Success! Thank you, kind sir! He even helped me latch it back because I struggled to do it myself haha. I then set up camp inside the nice coffee shop called Uncle Drew Café.
After the coffee shop I rode to Craft & Co for some beer. The waitress was very nice to me and she let me taste several beers before ordering. I told her I was testing different breweries to experience the beer culture in Melbourne. I mentioned that I was on a big travel trip and that I was biking around for the day. She said she was very jealous. I got the impression that she thought I was checking our breweries for a living. Wouldn't that be awesome! I spent about an hour there and caught up on my journaling. Next up was Stomping Ground Brewery which BK said he didn't like much but I loved it! Beer selection was eh but the layout was wonderful. They had a large open dining area and then an indoor beer garden with natural light pouring it. It also had lots of plant vines hanging from the ceiling. There weren't many people there, but there was a crying baby -_-
I returned to the house at 5:15pm so Brett and I could get ready and go to the free MSO orchestra concert in Royal Botanic Gardens (Sidney Myer Music Bowl) which started at 7:30pm. We were set to meet Kerrie there at 6:30pm. We packed up some fruits and wine and caught the train there. Brett and I set up our blankets (which were surprisingly tough to carry the whole way) and Kerrie joined us shortly after. We indulged in the food we brought and I poured Kerrie some wine. Kerrie then spoke with friends on the phone and they joined us as well. Her friends were very nice. We all made funny comments throughout the concert. It was nice to see that so many people showed up to listen to the orchestra! Appreciation for great music hasn't been lost. The music was fabulous and the city skyline of Melbourne was just offset to the left of the pavilion. It was an incredible view. We only stayed until 9:30pm, but just before we left we listened to a prodigy violinist. And get this, HE WAS 11 YEARS OLD. It was wild how beautifully he played. He walked on stage and he was so tiny compared to everyone else. While he was playing the full moon was slowly rising to the right of the stage with a deep yellow color. It was hard to choose which to watch! After the boy finished everyone gave him a standing ovation. The kid's nose was bleeding slightly due to the internal pressure of playing so forcefully, and the conductor wiped the boy’s nose for him. Kerrie said it was very demeaning. I agreed. The conductor should have just given the boy a tissue, not used it for him. It wasn't very respectful, that's for sure. We left after this and caught the train back home. We all went to bed around midnight. Tomorrow morning at 7am Atletico Madrid plays Juventus for Round of 16 in Champions League! It should be a great match.
February 21, 2019
ATLETICO BEAT JUVENTUS 2-0 THIS MORNING AHGJKSUVHFLSNLK!!! It was hard to wake up so early to watch it, but I'm glad I did! We watched it on the tv at the house and Brett, BK, and I watched. It was a really good match and Atletico could have won 4-0 if the ref hadn't taken back two of their goals based on poor calls. I was so proud of my boys!
Brett and I left the house on our grand Great Ocean Road adventure around 10am. He borrowed his mom's car and even brought his surfboard. There are many perks to having him around that's for sure! Speaking of perks, Kerrie messaged our group saying that she scored two free passes to see the penguins on Philip's Island! YAHOO!! I really have the best Aussie friends, don't I? She also said we can stay the night at her mate's place on the island. She has connections out the wazoo! Anyway, Brett drove us to the Visitor Center at the start of the Great Ocean Road so I could pick up some maps. The lady was in love with a place that did ziplining called Otway Fly. She must have brought it up at least 3 times and finally I bluntly told her we weren't interested in order for her to stop suggesting it haha. Brett and I made a quick stop at Bells Beach so I could witness the spot where major competitions are held. It was neat. The waves were perfect for surfing and loads of people were standing on the platform to video record the surfers. We witnessed one surfer who had just finished his ride and was grilling some lunch from the back of his van. It was like backpacking/camping for surfers! We continued to drive along the Great Ocean Road which hadn't provided any outstanding views….YET. Next we stopped at the iconic Great Ocean Road overhead sign to snap a photo and then the awe-inspiring views were in sight. The road bent around cliffs as the teal blue ocean whizzed by on our left. I kept taking videos during the drive but they didn't do it justice. I imagine this drive is similar to Route 1 along California’s coast which I plan to do in June. We'll see which is better! We took a quick stop at Teddy’s Lookout close to Lorne. It had a stellar view of the coast to the left and a dense, hilly forest to the right. It was very windy at the top and Brett snapped some photos of my hair flying everywhere. It reminded me of Ireland photos! We took a spontaneous side trip to Erskine Falls which was a long walk down from the parking lot. It was nice, but not amazing. We climbed the thousands (ok, that may be an exaggeration) of stairs back up and drove back down to the coast. The sun was just in the right position now that it would hit the water and you could see all different shades of blue. It was breathtaking.
I was getting pretty hungry but thankfully we brought snacks to nibble on. I didn't realize how quickly the time was passing and we ended up skipping lunch. We had a koala spotting adventure near Kennett River which proved very successful! There was a road that was known for having koalas in the trees and so we slowly drove along it and kept our eyes peeled for big fur balls. There was a group of people below one of the trees near the beginning and they were all looking up. We took this as a sign of a koala sighting. We pulled over to the side and joined the viewing party. The koala was moving and eating eucalyptus leaves! It has been 7 years since I've seen a koala in the wild so this was a treat. We jumped back in the vehicle and about 5 minutes later I spotted one! It was curled up into a ball and sleeping. Daw. Brett goes, “Of course YOU would spot one first!” I then proceeded to spot 5 others after that. Brett said, “Well if I ever need someone with eagle eyes I know who to bring along.” I then made it a game to spot koalas before Brett (mostly because I was already winning). He spotted 3 in a row so I was getting nervous he would surpass me. By the end I spotted 8 and Brett 3. Winner! One of the ones we saw jumped from one branch to another! It was so hardcore, like an action movie! When it moved around it looked like a monkey. Another one was situated on a very thin branch. It made me nervous! m funny After the koala excursion I saw the biggest kookaburra ever!! It was beautiful. It was sitting on the edge of one of the chairs just outside a cafe. I went into paparazzi mode as I slowly circled it while taking photos. Brett took video and photos of me doing it which were funny. We then walked about 30 feet to observe some very colorful birds. Many of them collected there because tourists buy food and feed them. Many people held out their hands and the birds would sit on them. Brett encouraged me to do it too (even though I had no food) so I did. Then a bird flew out of nowhere and scared the living daylights out of me! I remember looking up and seeing a huge silhouette of a bird with its wings outstretched. It made the bird look 3 times bigger than it was. I screamed and ran a little bit. Brett said he wished he had filmed it. Hardy har, Brett. Despite my near death experience, I eventually worked up the courage to try again. This time I didn't look and….success! I had a beautiful green bird on my hand for 20 seconds. My favorite birds were the purple and red ones. I’m not sure what they are called.
My 3 roomies were in the room when I walked in and they were all laying in bed. I gathered my shower stuff, did my thing, and returned to bed. The girl sharing the bunk with me turned the lights on for me and she said, “Sorry, we all woke up at 7am this morning and we're pretty tired.” She didn't seem too chatty but I did find out that all the girls in her group were from Ireland and now they lived in Sydney. I flipped through my photos and then fell asleep at 10:30pm. Tomorrow we are leaving at 5:30am to drive to Twelve Apostles to watch the sunrise! I set my alarm for 4:45am. Soooo early….
February 22, 2019
So this morning started with an unexpected bang. I woke up at 4:30am which surprisingly wasn’t as tough as I thought it would be. Though as the hours went by I could feel it hitting me. I caught up on messages and such and then met Brett outside at the car at 5:30am. Hey Brett, why’s the hood up? “The car battery is acting up…I’m trying to get it to start.” Ayi yi yiii! This was not good considering we were on a time clock to make the sunrise at 7am. I immediately headed into town. I told Brett I was going to try and flag somebody down. I walked down the dark streets and there was no one in sight. It wasn’t looking good. I reached the main road through the little town and I saw movement in the distance. Eureka! It was a man cleaning windows. Well, here goes nothing. I felt bad asking for help considering he was busy, but this was a dire situation! I said, “Excuse me, sir. Do you happen to have a car around?” He looked startled (as he should be considering the whole town was dead and dark) and hesitantly replied, “Yes.” “My friend and I are having car troubles. Would it be at all possible to help us?” He mentioned that he was working otherwise he would help. He said that some sort of car trouble agency could help us because they were available 24 hours a day. “Tell your friend to call them. If they can’t help, then come back and I’ll see what I can do.” “Thank you so much!” I ran back to Brett with a glimmer of hope. I told him what the man said and Brett told me that he already tried calling them and they were not answering. Aw mann. I then quickly ran back to the guy and relayed the message. He changed his tune and said he couldn’t help after all because he was working and he couldn’t leave the store. That’s fair. Thank you for your assistance, mister. He said that the coffee shop next door would open soon at 6am. I walked over to it and saw three women inside! I knocked on the window for a solid minute, but I couldn’t get there attention… I then turned around and saw an Apollo Bay pest control truck sitting right in front of the shop and A MAN INSIDE IT! I started getting excited. I tapped lightly on the window and tried not to seem creepy. I would have freaked out if someone did that to me in the dark. The man looked up, saw me, and did a double take. He rolled down the window and then I told him about our predicament. He said was happy to help and asked if we had “leads.” I looked at him confused and he made the motion of jumper cables. Aha, another Aussie word that differs from America! I told him yes and stated we were about 3 blocks away at a hostel down the street. He said he knew exactly where that was and then offered to drive me there himself so I quickly hopped in. He was a sweetheart and he jumped Brett’s car for us. Yippee! Our hero! After that we were on our way!
Brett drove us the 1 hour to Twelve Apostles, and we ended up getting there right at sunrise! Woohoo! However, we could not seen the sun. It was too cloudy. Booo. Despite not seeing the sunrise, the sky had lit up and the scene in front of us was magical. I was finally seeing the iconic Instagram post in real life! I could not get enough of the view. We walked around the boardwalk and took heaps of photos. The tall rock formations with the light brown color looked wonderful among the ocean, cliffs, and waves. We even saw dolphins! Brett was excited about that and he thanked me for my Snow White Aussie skills once again.
After the Twelve Apostles the car gave us a little scare, but it started after the second try. Then we stopped by a coffee shop in Port Campbell for breakfast and coffee. It took them a long time to serve our food, but they had some funny signs/décor to read. Then we were on our way to many other iconic places. First was the Lord Ard Gorge. We parked the car and walked down a series of wooden stairs. The water from the ocean came flooding through a gap between the cliffs and thrust itself upon it the beach. It was really neat! There was also a mini cave within sight as well. Brett encouraged me to touch the water because it was the Southern Ocean. I thought he was making it up because I hadn’t heard of the Southern Ocean. But it’s a thing! I guess I didn’t learn that in middle school. Whoops. I touched the chilly water and now I’ve touched 4 of the 5 major oceans! We walked back to the car and this time we had run out of luck…it wouldn’t start. Yikes. Thankfully there was a car pulling into the parking lot and so we put on our puppy dog faces and asked for help. We jumped the car, thanked our new saviors, and headed toward our next stop, The Arch. Once we reached the parking lot we decided it was in our best interest to start backing the car into parking spaces instead of pulling in, just in case we needed to access the hood to jump the battery (First rule of Boy Scouts: always be prepared). The Arch was a neat sight. The force of the ocean waves over time had created an arch in the cliff. The COOLEST part was actually after we walked to the right boardwalk and watched the massive waves slaughter the rock cliffs in their path. The waves were ginormous and often they would make a loud crashing noise. It was SO AWESOME. We watched this for about 15 minutes. It was entrancing. We walked back and I could tell Brett was upset about the car troubles so I decided to make a game out of it. I told Brett, “Hey, let’s play a game. Let’s predict if the car battery will or won’t start before we get in. Whoever gets the most guesses right, wins.” He agreed and said as a side rule that we couldn't ask the same people twice. We both decided to be optimistic and said it would start. And it did! Point for Brett. Point for Julie. We then drove to the London Arch. Brett decided to stay in the parking lot with the car running to prevent any battery troubles. He said he had seen the London Arch many times so it was no big deal to miss it. I quickly hopped out, took photos, observed the greatness of the London Arch, and returned to the car. The London Arch used to be a rock “island” connected by a rock “bridge” and so it was called the London Bridge but over time the force of the waves and wind broke the bridge portion and the “island” portion became an arch. So now it’s just called London Arch. It still looked really cool though!
We headed to The Grotto next and we chanced fate by turning off the car. We walked down some wooden stairs and saw a hole within the rock cliff which provided a window to the ocean. It was awesome! It was like watching the ocean on tv. But you could feel the wind and the mist and hear all the associated sounds. We returned to the car and had high hopes that the car would start. Well, it didn’t. Drats. 0 points for Brett and Julie. We asked another kind soul for help and we were on our way. At this point it was slightly comical. It was such a cycle now that we were getting really good at going up to strangers very quickly whereas before there was more hesitancy. Though it wouldn’t have been comical if there weren’t people around willing to help us.
The Bay of Islands was next and we just viewed them from the parking lot while sitting in the car. We didn’t want to chance it this time. It was a neat sight. There were multiple rock formations scattered throughout the ocean. Similar to Twelve Apostles but they weren’t as tall and there were many more of them. We drove to Bay of Martyrs next (I’m surprised I remember all these names! We stopped SO many times because there were just so many amazing sights to see!). Brett parked and decided to keep the car running because he really wanted to see it. That made me nervous. I took all my stuff with me in case someone wanted to take the free, running car for a joyride. Brett kept looking over his shoulder as we explored the Bay of Martyrs and thankfully, we had a car to return back to. I could breathe easy again. Bay of Martyrs was similar to the Bay of Islands. Again, it was really beautiful.
We then decided to venture back to the Twelve Apostles because the sun was starting to come out. I have learned over the years that all views are heightened when the sun is shining on them. The Twelve Apostles needed to be seen in the sun for me to see it in its true glory. This time around the parking lot was almost full of cars - quite different than this morning at 7am. We walked out to the boardwalk again, and oh my gosh was it stunning!! It was just how I imagined it would be. The sun hit the rocks in a way that really brought out their light brown color. This contrast with the deeper teal water (also due to the sun) really made the Apostles pop. I forgot to mention that there aren’t actually Twelve Apostles anymore. 4 of them collapsed and washed away. So it’s really the Eight Apostles. Anyway, back to me talking about how beautiful they are! Aside from the obvious beauty, there was also a small cove along the shore that had some greenery within it. Yet another color to add to the spectrum. There were loads of people taking pictures and being astounded by the views. However, it didn't feel to crowded or stressful because the boardwalk was designed so well. There was a long stretch of boardwalk along the entirety of the cliff that provided essentially the same view, so no matter where you stood, you could still get a good photo. It helped spread everyone out so you never felt squished. This was brilliant on the designer’s part – bravo! We stayed there a long time because the view never got old. Eventually we parted ways with the Apostles, feeling very satisfied. We tried to start the car and wouldn't you know it, it didn't start... Brett tried a trick where he put the cables on the battery without hooking it up to another car. And it worked! What?! Ok. Maybe we found the secret? We gave each other celebratory high fives and then drove an hour to Triplet Falls.
Thankfully Triplet Falls was pretty popular so we weren’t too worried about getting the car started if it had issues. We parked and walked about 30 minutes along the loop trail to the waterfall. It was a very green hike. It felt like we were walking through a rainforest. There were lots of ferns and dangling greenery from above. Most of the trail was covered by shade. It was well maintained, but it still provided a bit of natural growth. At times it felt like we were the first ones to discover the trail because some portions were overgrown (in a good way). I thought it was great that they didn’t clear everything totally out of the way. It made it more adventurous. After 30 minutes we saw the waterfall and it was nice. It was very serene and not too large. I liked how it just peeked out of the forest randomly. There was a small viewing platform where we stood to take photos. We then continued on our way and we saw a small stream that was moving ever so slowly. I really enjoyed our time there and I’d say the hike itself was better than the waterfall.
The car started! Yippee! We then drove to Little Creatures Brewing in Geelong. I had to check out this branch of the brewery so that I could compare it with the major Perth/Fremantle one. I really hoped it would have the heavenly cheese like the other one. We walked up to the building which was GINORMOUS. There were several breweries in one. I guess Little Creatures owned all of them? We walked down a wide alley among the brick buildings and eventually found the Little Creatures part. It was impressive and there was an outdoor beer garden with vines hanging above. The vines turned out to have hops on them. Very cool. I eagerly grabbed a menu and searched for the cheese. Not it, not it, not it….OMG it wasn’t there! Literally all the other food items were listed except for the cheese. I couldn’t believe my eyes #heartbreak. We ordered food and drinks and enjoyed the sunshine. I liked the layout of this Little Creatures better, but the other one had THE CHEESE so it won. Another interesting aspect of this brewery was that it had a pop-up barbershop in a trailer outside! And even more interesting, it was busy! So random.
Before arriving back at the house, we made a pit stop at the Pink Lake near the Melbourne bridge. It was pink because it’s a salt lake that had experienced high temperatures with lots of sunlight and lack of rainfall. Those factors allow an algae to grow that produces a red pigment. It was really cool! I was exhausted at the time and didn’t get as excited as I normally would, but it was still incredible. We took a bunch of photos. I definitely have never seen anything like it.
We arrived back at the house around 6pm and Brett and I shared our Great Ocean Road stories with Kerrie and BK. Then Brett left and Kerrie, BK, and I just hung around the house which was nice. Tomorrow we are hiking Werribee Gorge and then a beer festival!
February 23, 2019
Today was hiking and beer day. Kerrie and I left the house at 8am and drove to Uncle Drew Café to pick up coffee and two of her friends (Ash and Brett). They were both very friendly from the get-go. The drive to Werribee Gorge was an hour long and we all had some great laughs during the ride. We arrived at the parking lot at 9am and two more of Kerrie’s friends met us there – Jen and Rob. Rob had a rough night last night and felt very hungover. As soon as we pulled up we saw him with his head leaning forward on the seat in front of him. It was very comical. We started our hike and it was crazy steep in the beginning! The view down to the gorge with the river running through it was amazing. It would have been better if the land surrounding it was green instead of brown, but Rob said it was always brown. Rob’s girlfriend was Irish and when she and I chatted I would start getting an Irish accent too. Dang it – why does this always happen to me?! I hope she didn’t think I was making fun of her haha. I think I have a hidden leprechaun inside me that wants me to speak with an Irish accent to be true to my Pflueger ancestry. We hiked a long way back down and the rest of the trail followed the river. This was a very neat part of the hike. I enjoyed looking over every now and then and seeing the water flowing. It was also nice to hear it as we hiked. At some points we had to scale the side of rocks! If we were unsuccessful then we would have fallen into the river. I liked this challenging part of the hike! Sometimes there was even a rope or chord to hold onto. At one point we all dipped our toes in the water for a short break. Rob was not feeling well at all at this point. We neared the end and surprisingly there was another steep climb! Ugh. We all were huffing and puffing as we climbed and Rob looked like he was about to collapse. Poor guy. I don’t know how he did it. If I were him I wouldn’t have shown up to the hike at all. He looked miserable. We finished the trail around 11:30am and headed back home.
We quickly washed up, ate some food, and changed before two of Kerrie’s friends met up with us at the house. Their names were Nick and Tina and they were very sweet. Tina, Nick, BK, Kerrie, and I all rode bikes to the Brewers Feast (beer festival)! It was like we had our own posse and were on a mission for beer. It was awesome and it only took us 5 minutes to ride there. We parked the bikes, checked in, and set up our picnic blanket near the stage. This beer festival was much different than the ones I’m used to because we paid $30, but you only get one free beer. How lame! Each brewery brought about 4 beers and there were about 23 breweries total. Kerrie and BK sat down on the blanket while Tina, Nick, and I explored the grounds. I wasn’t used to seeing so many people sit down. Most Colorado beer festivals have people walking around or standing the whole time. I guess it makes sense since in Colorado you get unlimited tastings and you want to try as many as possible – there’s no time to sit down! We walked back to the group blanket where 3 more people had joined us: Ash and another couple. All of Kerrie’s friends are great. It’s really a testament to the type of person she is. I started taking advantage of just doing tasters at each tent instead of purchasing a beer. It worked out much better. Then I tried the chocolate waffle/beer pairing inside with Tina. It was delicious. I kept getting back in line for more. I was on my third round when someone came by and bumped the waffle covered in chocolate out of my hand! FUMBLE! I barely caught it before it hit the ground. Good save, Julie. It also smeared itself on my purse. Ah well. I then looked at Tina and asked if I had any on my face. She busted out laughing. Apparently it was all over my face. We hung around until the very end of the event and then there was a bit of dancing. We left at 8:30pm. It was a great success!
February 24, 2019
Today was an excellent day. I slept in until 9am and met Kerrie and BK downstairs around 10am. We left the house around noon to start our bike brewery tour! We began at Moon Dog Brewery which was a 10 minute bike ride from the house. BK came with us for this portion of the journey. It was a neat space and I ordered a lager. BK headed back to the house while Kerrie and I rode to the next brewery in Brunswick, close to where Tina lived. It was called Temple Brewing and Tina was there to greet us. Kerrie’s friend Kathleen also met us there. We got on the topic of the World Cup and it turns out Kathleen and I were both at the same match in Kazan: Australia vs France! Such a small world. We then went to Thunder Road Brewing. I ordered some food and I convinced Tina to play Mario Kart with me. She had never played before! It was fun listening to her commentary. We left after an hour or so and Tina and Kathleen needed to head home.
Next up was Henry St. Brewing and we arrived around 5pm and stayed about an hour. Then we rode our bikes about 10 minutes to Urban Alley. We had free drink vouchers from the beer festival so we wanted to redeem them. I got my free drink and joined Kerrie at a table outside. We had some great discussion about a variety of topics. I really enjoy talking with Kerrie. Her thoughts and opinions are so intriguing and she’s so forthright. We wrapped up and I asked Kerrie if there was somewhere we could go dancing. She said there were a couple places and we could take the train to them. Well, the train stopped running on her specific line so we decided to bike all the way back. IT WAS ROUGH. At one point there was a massive hill that I didn’t think I was going to survive. We first ended up at The Gasometer Hotel which was like a club. We walked in and oh. my. gosh. Everyone was so young! Like babies! I felt really old. We were definitely the oldest by a long shot. It was like a college class had let out and funneled all the students into the bar. We decided to give it a chance so we stayed for 15 minutes and the music was mostly techno. We found our own spot in the corner and danced like maniacs. That part was great. Then we left and headed to The Gem Bar because Kerrie said there would be dancing there as well.
We walked into The Gem Bar and it was like the world did a complete 180. We encountered the extreme opposite from the other bar – people in their 60s-80s swing dancing. It was fabulous! This was definitely a better scene. We ordered drinks and then stood near the dance floor. There was a live band and everyone was having a jolly old time. I loved the vibe. I have taken swing dance lessons a couple times, but I dropped it because I fell in love with salsa/bachata dancing. I figured I could potentially put some of my old moves to use. Kerrie asked a woman if she knew how to lead and she answered yes. Then Kerrie asked me to dance with the woman. Well, sure! The woman was a marvelous leader. I could follow her cues with ease. I messed up a few times of course, but it was a lot of fun. After that dance I walked back to Kerrie and finished my drink. Kerrie and I were swaying and jamming out and then a lady dancing knocked Kerrie's wine glass to the ground and it broke into pieces. Oh boy. The dancing subsided until the mess was cleaned up. Everyone was giving Kerrie the stink eye haha. The bartender lady gave Kerrie a replacement drink which was nice of her. Then I tried my luck at leading by asking Kerrie to dance. I mostly did salsa moves to the beat of swing, so it wasn’t as smooth as butter, but it was still a lot of fun. Then an older gentleman asked me to dance and he was very talented. I felt very comfortable following his cues and it was obvious he had been dancing for many many years. After the song ended we chatted a bit and he was there with most of his family (older kids included). He was very sweet and I enjoyed his stories and passion for dancing. The music stopped around 10:30pm which was a bummer and everyone left. Kerrie and I biked back home and then relaxed on the couch for a bit. We are heading to Phillip Island tomorrow! PENGUIN PARADE HERE I COME!!
February 25, 2019
Kerrie and I left for Phillip Island at 10am. Kerrie has been a truly wonderful host in so many ways. She arranged for me to see the penguins on Phillip Island because she has friends that live down there. Her friend Jo (who married Kerrie’s friend Toby) actually works at the penguin facility and gave us two free 4-park passes! Unbelievable! We drove for about an hour and popped by Kerrie’s mom’s house. We then went to a beach near Kilcunda to walk around. I kept mentioning how the water was so pristine and beautiful. We then drove to the Nobbies which were rocks/islands on the far west side of Phillip Island. From there you could normally see seals on a the mini island in the distance. However, we couldn’t see them that well today. We tried to use the binoculars but they were dirty so we couldn’t see much. We walked around the boardwalk and there were numerous penguin holes around! Later that night I would see them in action and I was sooo excited. We walked to the end of the boardwalk and the scenery around us was phenomenal. The colors of the ground were light green and pinkish which made it seem like we were walking around another planet. There were also a few rock pools below us that looked very inviting. Kerrie told me stories about how she and her family owned a house on Phillip Island and the activities they would do together. It sounded lovely.
We then drove to Cowes to eat our pastries from Momma Loveless. They were divine! We sat on the grass in the shade because it was such a hot day. Initially we were going to go swimming, but when Kerrie mentioned we could see koalas up close using our 4-park passes, I couldn’t pass that up. We went to the Koala Reserve and had a blast trying to spot koalas. We were very successful and Kerrie proved to be a much fiercer adversary than Brett in the “how many can you find” game. We made tons of jokes about them and we laughed so hard for the entire hour we were there. I spotted a koala that had his head against the tree and said, “That one reminds me of Rob (the guy who was hungover on Saturday’s hike).” Kerrie busted out laughing and said she needed to take a photo and send it to the group. We walked back through the visitor center and we stood in front of a board where a tour was starting. Once we realized we were in the way we moved aside. I moved aside by stepping away, but Kerrie was hilarious and basically glued her back to the wall and slowly shifted along it like in a movie. I busted out laughing. She is so funny.
We then drove back to Jo’s house and joined her and her two girls in the pool in the backyard. Jo was super friendly and heartwarming. After splashing in the pool a bit we all went inside because Toby (husband) came home and another couple from Kerrie’s high school came over with their two kids. I noticed they brought over burger boxes and one of them said “USA” on it. I asked what that meant and apparently that means they just add pickles. I had no idea USA and pickles had such a connection! It was funny. We all ate dinner while the kids played with one another and Jo gave me tips for the penguin viewing.
I left the house at 7:30pm and drove Kerrie’s car (Aussies drive on the left) to the penguin place. Kerrie initially was going to come with me but she wanted to spend some time with her friends. Totally fair. I was so super excited!! PENGUINS!! I arrived at 8pm with the only driving difficulty being that I would always initiate the windshield wipers instead of the blinkers (the levers are on opposite sides than I’m used to – blinker lever is on the right in Australia). Am I turning? Nope! I’m just cleaning my invisible rain off the windshield. Also, even if I got the right lever, I would click the wrong direction because the directions were opposite as well. Oy vey. It happened a few times. It was funny at first, but then I got annoyed with it. After arriving, I took advantage of the WiFi onsite for about 30 minutes. The display board stated that they predicted the penguins would emerge from the ocean at 8:42pm. At 8:30pm I walked along the boardwalk to the main viewing area. In this area there were two giant bleachers/stands set up facing the ocean. People started filling them in. Jo told me that the best place to sit was close to the left edge of the right bleachers. I took her advice and patiently waited for the penguins to walk out of the water. She also mentioned that the best part is not just watching them emerge from the ocean, but walking among them with the boardwalks. She advised that I watch a few groups come out of the water but then leave the bleachers and enjoy being surrounded by them in the boardwalk sections. During the entire experience, no photography or videography was allowed. It was a total bummer and it was very tempting to take thousands of pictures, but I can understand that the staff don’t want the penguins to feel invaded. Tourists shouldn’t take over everything or especially disrupt a natural process like this. They would yell at you if they saw your camera (and other patrons would yell at you too) and then they could kick you out. We all waited for a while and then everyone pointed to something on the distant right. A group of penguins! The first ones! They were hard to see so far away, but they were so cute! They waddled around for a bit, then some dove back into the ocean. Then finally they all left. Our portion of the viewing area didn’t see any up close for a while. A staff member stated it was because there were two big birds, who are predators, stationed there that usually leave by sunset. Once those two birds left then penguins came out of the woodwork! It was absolutely beyond belief. It was such a beautiful sight and I couldn’t believe it wasn’t a dream. They were all so tiny and adorable. They were called Little Penguins and they were about a quarter of the size of Emperor penguins. Goshhh I wanted to hug them all! My photo fingers were tingling, but I resisted the urge. After watching the astounding phenomenon for a few penguin groups, I left the stands as Jo suggested.
A few other people must have gotten the tip as well because there were a decent number of people walking around the boardwalks. And it was just as Jo said, the penguins were walking among/below us!! It was unreal. I got distracted so many times that I barely walked 20 meters over 30 minutes. Then I wandered over to the far side where there was a dirt path along the boardwalk. This was definitely prime real estate. The penguins were literally all walking on this path first to get to their burrows. I never counted them all, but I saw hundreds! (Later we all found out that the staff had counted 513!!) Now I see why they call it the Penguin Parade. The penguins came by in groups of about 5-15 and waddled right on by all of us spectators. It seemed like each group was heading to their own neighborhood. Fascinating. Many times a group would waddle by and one of the penguins would decide it was too tired. So it just dropped on its belly and laid there. I busted out laughing every time it happened. The rest of the flopped over penguin’s group would stop in their tracks and wait for it to get up again. Sometimes this lasted 10 seconds, sometimes 4 minutes. It was hilarious. I couldn’t get enough. Other times if one fell over, then a couple others followed suit. While this was all happening some of the penguins already at their burrows were squawking and making noises. I was in penguin heaven. I literally felt so full of joy and that everything in the world was amazing. Even when I took a break to look up at the sky the stars were awe-inspiring. Since we were on an island far away from any city/town, the stars were more apparent than ever. You could see the Milky Way in great depth and width. I got lost in it all because it was all so out of this world. I truly experienced pure bliss. One sight of the penguins below me and one sight of the immense world/universe above me. I never wanted to leave. It was close to 10pm by this point and many people left. I planned to stay until they kicked me out. I spotted one stationary penguin who was very close to the boardwalk. I walked over to it, squatted, and just stared at it. It stayed there for over 15 minutes, so I stayed too. I saw other penguins waddle by and sometimes a few had troubles walking and stumbled on rocks frequently. They usually caught themselves before falling, but it was very comical. I could watch penguins for days on end, no joke. My penguin buddy decided to leave so I ventured on to another part of the boardwalk. Eventually the staff moved us out and we all walked next to the last few groups of penguins trying to find their homes. At the very end, the staff asked us to split the group and stand behind two perpendicular white lines about 10 yards apart. They stated that two of the penguins had mistakenly gone the wrong way and needed to cross the boardwalk. We all did as we were told and then the little penguins waddled over to the other side somewhat hesitantly. A penguin from the correct side ran up to them as if to say, “You dumbos, get over here!” It was adorable. I was glad I stayed until the very end to witness it.
Photo on their website from the night:
I connected to the WiFi to get directions back to Jo’s house, but realized an unfortunate thing….I forgot to mark her address in my Maps! Uh oh. I had no idea what her address was. I messaged Kerrie and then called her with no reply…hmm that’s not good. I thought back to earlier in the day and remembered seeing the number 106. I’ve always been good with numbers at least! I also remembered the general area from which I came. I used my visual memory to also place that point on a bend in the road. I was able to pin a point from all the clues, but I still wasn’t 100% confident. Then I heard “free popcorn!” They were trying to get rid of it since they were closing. I may not have known where to drive home, but at least I got free popcorn! I asked one of the workers if she knew Jo and she said yes but didn’t have her phone number or address. Drats. She asked a guy coworker who had Jo’s phone number but she didn’t answer. Are they really asleep right now?? No way. It was only 10:30pm. The staff looked at me with apologetic faces and then I was forced to leave because I was literally the last patron there. I was putting all my hope in my directional skills. They usually don’t let me down. If I hadn’t run out of cell phone data earlier in Australia then I could have simply used the Google Maps App, but now I was solely relying on WiFi and I hadn’t downloaded an offline map beforehand. On my way out a few people were gathered around an animal taking photos. It looked kinda like a lemur to me, but when I asked they said it was a possum. Definitely not like the possums I’m used to seeing! The Aussie possums are much more attractive and have bushy tails. I researched them later and they are called Australian Brushtail Possums.
I hopped in the car and drove home using the pin I dropped for my guesstimate of Jo’s address. As I drove along, a car behind me kept turning his high beams off and on. I was worried that it was a sign for something and that I needed to pull over. I stayed on course, but it was very nerve racking. I mentioned this to Jo later and she said that some cars have a feature where their high beams are automatic and switch on or off depending on how far away the car in front of them is. Interesting. There were a few times I used the windshield wipers instead of the blinkers (typical) and eventually I pulled up to the address in my GPS and saw the surfboard mailbox. SUCCESS!!! I felt so empowered in that moment. I heard voices which meant that everyone in fact was not asleep so I laid my stuff down and walked upstairs. I told them how I had an adventure coming back since I didn’t know the address and Jo was very sympathetic and Toby was shocked/impressed I made it back. We stayed up for a bit and then we all went to bed around 1am.
February 26, 2019
Kerrie and I left Jo’s house on Phillip Island around 9am. We stopped by a nearby beach to go for a swim. It was overcast and windy so I only went in waist deep. Kerrie said she needed her swim fix so she went full in. I skipped rocks while I waited for her and then we drove to a nearby chocolate store, then a nearby coffee shop. After this we headed back home because Kerrie had to teach at 2pm.
We arrived back at the house around noon and Kerrie left for work at 1pm. I napped until 5pm and then typed some of this journal at a nearby cafe. I ordered the broccolini because seeing it on heaps of menus had always peaked my interest. It was like eating broccoli that looked like asparagus. It was quite tasty. At 8:30pm I got ready for bachata dancing! I left the house at 9:15pm and biked 15 minutes to Copacabana bar. It was amazing that Kerrie and BK lived so close to numerous salsa/bachata places. Bicyclists were out in full force on my way over! I love the bike community that Melbourne has built. I walked up to the second floor and then sat down to put my heels on. Once I had them on a tall guy asked me to dance. He then asked, “Are you a professional?” We hadn’t even started dancing yet and he already thought that? Sweet. He was a wonderful dancer and very complimentary. After our dance I was immediately asked by another guy. I had a blast the entire night! I was impressed with the salsa/bachata scene in Melbourne. Also, when I danced with one guy, a lady who was filming couples came over to us and focused on our moves. I felt like a superstar. I hope I can see the footage later. I rode home around 11:45pm and arrived 15 minutes later. I could get used to this! I didn’t plan to stay for 2 hours but it was just too much fun. Tomorrow Brett and I head to Mornington Peninsula!
February 27, 2019
Today Brett and I drove down to Mornington Peninsula. He picked me up at 9:45am and we didn’t have a set schedule so we figured out a game plan as we drove. We decided to go to the Peninsula Hot Springs first. Apparently this is one of Brett’s favorite things to do on the peninsula and he stayed there for 6 hours one time. Wow! I don’t think I like hot springs enough to do that. He was worried we would need to book ahead of time because they regulate how many people go into the facility throughout the day. We walked up to the building at 11:30am and we got in no problem. We went into the locker rooms to change and I followed Brett by accident into the men’s locker room. The worker lady yelled out to me. Oops! I just followed Brett blindly because I thought he was leading me to the overall locker area. He then took me to the Hilltop pool which had stunning views of the entire area. You could even see the ocean in the distance. It was apparent that this hot pool was very popular because we passed so many others that had either no people or very few people. The setup of the facility was actually very well done. There were tons of trees around and it made you feel like you were just walking through the forest. All the pools had a temperature listed on the board which put my math skills to the test to convert to Fahrenheit. Some pools were cooler than others and they even had one that was almost freezing. It was neat that they provided so many options. I appreciated the atmosphere even though it was tough for my body to accept such hot temperatures. We sat in a jet pool for a bit where the jets came on every 15 minutes for 5 minutes. I couldn’t even last the 5 minutes it was so hot! My favorite part was probably the reflexology pool. This strip of water contained many sections of different types of rocks. The objective was to walk across very slowly and let the rocks put pressure on certain parts of your foot. It was really neat! Some rocks were more coarse than others. We did this twice because I liked it so much. It was definitely something I hadn’t done before. The facility provided sunscreen at most pools which was a lifesaver considering mine was running low. We stayed for about an hour and a half which is longer than I anticipated, but it was worth it. I could see why so many people flocked there.
We then drove to Coppins Lookout which was near Sorrento. We arrived at 1:30pm and my gosh was it stunning! The water again wowed me with its deep blue colors and there were tons of pristine rock pools! I was so drawn to the view and I couldn’t wait to take a dip in a rock pool. I had seen a photo of a person floating in a rock pool many times on Australia’s Instagram account and it was going to become a reality for me. How amazing. We first walked up many stairs to reach the lookout and it was breathtaking. I could have stood there for hours. The waves crashing against the rocks were mesmerizing and further in the distance the waves just layered upon themselves. It was incredible. We walked back down and then I floated in one of the rock pools. It was very serene. Thankfully Brett offered to take many photos of me and then encouraged me to jump from a tall rock into the depths of the pool. I was hesitant at first, but it did look fun. I climbed up and got a little nervous because it was high, but eventually I took the plunge. It was so exhilarating! I did it two more times after that. I was worried at first the water wouldn’t be deep enough but we had seen others do it earlier so it was fine. It was so relaxing to float around among the stillness of the water while waves crashed in the distance. The third time I jumped, I scraped my foot on a rock which was pretty painful. It didn’t look bad until a few minutes later when it started bleeding. I tried to mend it as best I could. It started stinging later and I was worried I hit some sort of poisonous creature or coral like they mention in so many Australia books. I asked Brett about it and he said the only thing to be worried about would be a blue-ringed octopus (super deadly by the way) but they are very rare in that area. Well geez that didn’t calm me down at all! It took me a few minutes to convince myself that I was probably fine and wouldn’t need to go to the hospital later. Despite that last bit, this stop was my favorite out of the whole trip! Beauty, check. Adventure, check. Serenity, check.
At 2:30pm we stopped by St. Andrews Brewery for lunch. Brett really liked this place because it had a horse theme. There were old stables that had been transformed into booths. They also had horse names for each section and for many of the beers. All of this went over my head, but Brett was really into it. There is a rich history behind it as well which peaked Brett’s interest even more. The pizza was meh but the meal Brett ordered looked amazing. It was beef so I didn’t partake but I tasted some of the cauliflower and cauliflower puree. It was delicious. The hefeweizen was pretty good as well.
After that we drove to Arthur’s Seat Lookout. It wasn’t too impressive because there were many trees in the way of the view. We figured they did that on purpose so you would by a ticket for Arthur’s Seat Edge which is a cable car that goes above the trees. I think I would have done it if we had more time. It looked like a typical ski gondola so I could have handled it. We soaked in what little views we had and then drove down to Mount Martha which is a beach area. Along the way we encountered many curvy roads and the views were stellar. I had two beaches on my list (determined by looking up images on Google): Hawker Beach and Birdrock Beach. We aimed for Hawker first but there was no point for Hawker Beach, only Hawker Lane. We headed toward it and ended up passing the main beach access. Whoops. However, we did find a super secret access along the road about 2 miles further. I think we actually got a better experience in the end because it was very secluded. It was just us and two other people! It was very serene and there were heaps of colorful bathing boxes. I took many photos because the contrast of the clear water against the bathing boxes was unreal. The water was so clear that the sun reflected within it and created sun circles. It was stunning.
We waded in the water for about 30 minutes and then moved on to Point Ormond which also had numerous bathing boxes. We walked along the beach and glanced at all the colorful bathing boxes. You could also see the Melbourne city skyline, though only barely because there were some bush fires that created smoke around it. After this we headed back home. We arrived at 7:30pm and chatted for a bit. Then Brett had to go. This was the last time I would see him! So crazy to think we spent so much time together and now we needed to say goodbye. I thanked him profusely for everything and then we sent him on his way. BK, Kerrie, and I chatted on the couch for a bit and then I got ready to go out bachata dancing. Again, it was a successful night. Tomorrow I am meeting with Dennis who is Kerrie’s coworker in the local government. He is a traffic engineer and Kerrie suggested he and I meet since we have similar careers. It was very thoughtful of her. After meeting Dennis, I plan to meander around the city.
February 28, 2019
I left the house at 10:15am and biked to Richmond to meet up with Dennis for coffee. Along the way, I almost got hit by a car! Of course, the second to last day in Melbourne and I almost get hit. I was so close to making it through the trip heart attack free. I rode alongside the line of cars that had accumulated due to a traffic light. The cars had created a gap for an unsignalized intersection and so when I rode through the gap section (within the bike path of course), there was a car turning right that did not see me! I screeched to a stop and so did the car. I was so happy the person slammed on their brakes otherwise I would be injured for sure and I would have had no way to tell Kerrie that I would be late/not showing up. Me stopping probably didn’t help anything but it was a natural response. Actually it probably would have been best to pedal faster. Anyway, I arrived at the corner of Bridge Street and Gleadell as Kerrie suggested. Then Dennis and I walked to a nearby café, Café Azul. We chatted about city planning and balance for pedestrians, bicycles, and vehicles. It’s obvious Melbourne is very focused on that. I mentioned TRB which Dennis hadn’t heard of and I found out he worked for Jacobs (my company) in the UK for a few years! Small world. He only had 30 minutes to meet up, but it was definitely nice to discuss transportation with him. It reminded me how much I enjoy talking about it. I’m very blessed to have a job that I love.
I then biked into the city in search of Bourke Street which is a pedestrian/tram street similar to 16th Street Mall in Denver. I had mentioned Bourke Street as an example to a colleague when he asked me if I knew of any other pedestrian streets around the world, so I figured it would be good to check out in person. It was shaping up to be a very transportation engineering oriented day! I biked across a very high bridge and patted myself on the back for making it across without freaking out over the heights. The city skyline came into view and it was a beautiful day. I continued to ride along the river that ran through the city. The skyscrapers and bridges provided great scenery. I had some issues at one point because an elderly couple was walking really slow and I couldn’t pass them. I tried my best, but the small gap to the left wasn’t big enough for me to ride by so I sort of skated by while on the bike. I ended up falling into the railing and awkwardly trying to pick myself back up and keep moving. I was probably an inch in front of the couple for an entire minute while I tried to control my hot mess of a self. I’m sure it was comical to all the bystanders around. Then, I passed them, but I was so exhausted from the endeavor that I stopped for a break and they ended up passing me back. Facepalm. I decided to take a different route at that point to save myself from more embarrassment. I came across Bourke Street and took heaps of photos. It was nicely organized and it seemed very popular with the people. It even intersected with another pedestrian/tram street: Swanston Street. I reckon no one else has taken as many photos as Bourke Street as I did. I then walked to Hosier Lane after popping by a souvenir shop. Hosier Lane is known for it’s graffiti throughout the entire alley. Many people amp it up, but I thought it was overrated. There are plenty of other alleys in Melbourne that have better street art and they weren’t as packed with people taking photos like Hosier. I walked to a nearby Starbucks around 2pm and I was starving. I needed to charge my phone and tablet and access WiFi (which surprisingly was extremely hard throughout Melbourne). During this time, I FINALLY got around to compiling Julie Report #1 and I sent it out!!
I returned to the house around 5:30pm and took a shower. BK and I rode our bikes to The Mill Brewery where we met up with Tina (from beer festival) and Ben. The setup was nice and the beers were decent. I chatted with Tina for a long while catching her up on everything I had done since I saw her on Sunday for the bike/brewery ride. I didn’t realize how much I had completed and all the fun stuff I did! About an hour later, at 8pm, we met Kerrie at Tonkin for dinner. The wait staff was extremely slow and half of us didn’t get our meal until 9pm. The food was delicious though. I got 3 Boas of vegan duck. I ordered a beer that BK strongly suggested, even though it was a Pale Ale. Ben agreed that I would love it. I said to Ben, “Oh yeah, wanna bet!?” Apparently he’s a big betting person because everyone at the table was like “ooohh now you’ve done it!” Anyway, we ended up making a very realistic bet where I would give him a koala if I did like it and he would get me an echidna if I didn’t like it. I ended up liking it and I was surprised. We left around 10:15pm and walked to BeerMash. This was a place that had a very large beer selection. I ordered a beer and I spotted a few Colorado ones in the fridge! Kerrie, BK, and I played Trivial Pursuit while Ben and Tina chatted. It was fun because I actually knew some of the answers! Then, BK left and Kerrie and I wanted to play Cards Against Humanity. We waited in the booth for Tina and Ben to join us and they kept chatting with the bartenders. Eventually Tina walked over to us and said that Ben got kicked out. Oh my gosh! Apparently he got all riled up over something and wanted to pick a fight. Anyway, we played Cards Against Humanity (which was hilarious) until 11:30pm and then walked back to our bikes. I had a long goodbye with Tina and she said I am a beautiful, honest person and she hopes she can visit me someday. I was very flattered!
After we got back home Kerrie and I sat out on her patio. It was the perfect temperature outside and it was cozy on the couches. We chatted about life, careers, the stars, and other random topics. It was 2:30am at this point and she had to work tomorrow. I couldn’t believe she stayed up that late with me! It was an amazing last night in Melbourne. Tomorrow I fly to Sydney!
March 1, 2019
Today was my last day in Melbourne. It was bittersweet. I woke up at 10:30am and I basically just dilly dallied throughout the house all day. It was nice to be lazy. After Kerrie came home from work, I called an Uber and Kerrie and I said our goodbyes. I'm going to miss hanging out with her!
View before departure:
I arrived at the airport and it was smooth as butter. It took 15 minutes tops to go through everything. I love Virgin Australia’s self check-in and bag drop process. We were very late to take off but only arrived 15 minutes late in Sydney. I hopped on the train that took me directly to the city center. Super convenient! It only took 18 minutes. I then proceeded to walk to Sydney Harbour YHA on the Rocks - the same hostel I stayed in with the Virginia Tech girls 7 years ago! As soon as I got off the train and saw the Sydney Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge, and the glimmering water surrounding them, I thought to myself, “Man I really should have booked more days in Sydney.” I forgot how much I loved it. I also forgot about the MILLION stairs to get to the hostel. I walked down multiple alleys and each had their own set of stairs. I felt like a wet mop halfway through because I was sweating so much. I was struggling real hard near the end. I barely made it up a flight of stairs then a guy passed me and looked at me like I was mess (accurately so). He walked a little further, stopped, turned around, and stared at me for a few moments. I think he was curious if I was going to continue. I responded to his nonverbal question - “I’m just taking a little break!” He then asked, “Do you need any help?” YAAAS. SAVIOR. He took my bag up the next two flights of stairs and I was so thankful. I checked in and walked into my room on the third floor and there were 3 girls in their beds. I set my stuff down (lockers are ginormous!) and walked out to the terrace to soak in the views I had been looking forward to. The Harbour Bridge and Opera House were both lit up and in clear view from the rooftop. Drooool. I got a burst of energy in that moment and thought about going out on the town. The hostel was so popular and lots of energy was in the air. My desire to go out only lasted a little bit because then I hit the hay. IT’S SO HOT IN OUR ROOM! The staff said we shouldn’t use air conditioning unless we absolutely had to (saving the environment/planet) so we all stewed in the heat with the window open. One of us could ask the front desk to turn it on, but I don’t think anyone wanted to be “that person” and kill the planet. Goodnight at midnight!
March 2, 2019
I had a horrible night’s sleep last night. The open window allowed all the noise to seep in and the heat was unbearable at times. I think tonight I may be “that person” and turn on the AC. Today was a chill day which was MUCH needed. I also completed my taxes! WOO! It felt good to get that off my plate. Around noon I walked to The Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel which took about 7 minutes. I really liked the venue. I then walked around Barangaroo Reserve along the water. It was a gorgeous day! Many people were out and about. I then took manyyy photos of the Opera House. It’s such a good model. This weekend is Mardi Gras and apparently it’s a BIG DEAL in Sydney. It actually celebrates the LGBT community and they throw a huge 2 mile long parade at 7pm. Then there are tons of parties and a 15,000 person after party O_o A friend of Kerrie’s invited me to go with her and her friend, but after looking at the ticket prices ($195!!), I decided to pass. I went to dinner at The Australian Heritage Hotel and then I took a nightly stroll. I ended up at Palmer & Co which was located down an alley and through an old door. It was a neat walk to get there. I walked in and it felt like a speakeasy. There was a live band of three people – pianist, drummer, and saxophone player. It was dimly lit and there were two separate bars. I really liked the vibe. I ordered a drink and stationed myself near the band. I enjoyed the music for about an hour and then walked back to the hostel and went to bed around 12:30am. It was a nice, chill day! I’m enjoying just moseying around.
March 3, 2019
I slept in until 8:30am and then left toward Circular Quay at 9:30am. I hung out at The Rocks Café which was lovely. I had a sourdough toast with honey (honey on toast is an amazing Aussie thing!!) and a flat white, of course. I used their WiFi for a bit and then I walked around Circular Quay. It was another gorgeous day today. The water glimmered in the sun and the ferry terminals were quite busy. There was a lot to see and the sun wasn’t too strong. I made reservations for 2 people at the Quay Restaurant (highlighted on Instagram with STELLAR views of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge) a few months ago thinking Mel Chong (who I met at Oktoberfest in Munich in 2016) could join me, but she’s actually in the Philippines at the moment. Poor timing. Anyway, I walked into the restaurant at noon instead of 12:30pm and told the lady at the hostess stand that my +1 could no longer make it. She seated me right away. There were only 2 other people eating so there were plenty of tables. This place was FANCY! I figured it would be given the reservation months in advance system, but gracious! It was nice. Especially the views! She sat me in a little bulbed out area which overlooked the harbour. Before showing up I was thinking this wasn’t going to be worth all the effort, but I was wrong. It was amazing. I could have sat at that table soaking in the views for hours. The staff pulled out my chair for me and placed the napkin in my lap. Oh my! They then brought me the drink menu and I ordered a very pricey cocktail. Treat yo self. Next, they brought me the food menu and my heart sank. $225?!? There were only two options: $225 for 6 course meal or $285 for 10 course meal. Ummm that’s crazy. I mentioned that I had no idea there were only two options and I thought I could order something smaller. I told the waiter I couldn’t afford either option and asked if I could just have the drink. I even offered to move to a bar or smaller area so someone could have my table. He looked confused (I’m sure most customers know what’s going on) and said he would talk to his manager. Gosh, I hope they would let me stay! I felt bad. The manager came by and said, “I hear the menu is not to your liking.” “Yeah it’s a bit out of my price range. I didn’t realize there were only two options. I can move to another location if you’d like?” “We don’t have a bar but please feel free to stay and finish your drink.” I was impressed. She very easily could have been rude and snobby to me, but she was understanding and encouraging. Most places like that would act poorly toward you after not spending tons of money like everyone else. She said that they had to serve me something small because of some sort of liquor law. She came back and gave me a small cannoli about the size of my finger. I was so thankful that they accepted me despite my poor assumption. The table near me was indulging in the full experience and man, was the staff pampering them! I would hope so considering how expensive everything is! The lady ordered some sort of champagne and they presented it to her in a glass container (similar to the rose in Beauty and the Beast) and then removed it so that the misty cloud flew out of it. Amazing. Everything was very impressive. I would love to dress up really fancy and return some day. Of course I would need to save money for a month or two beforehand!
Next up was Bondi Beach. I hailed an Uber using the restaurant WiFi and started walking to the designated spot. After taking a few steps, a man from The Quay came running out after me and gave me free chocolate! Gosh I really appreciate that place. I definitely would recommend it based on customer service alone. I’m sure the food is top notch too. Around 1:50pm the Uber driver dropped me off at Bondi Beach.
I am currently sitting in the general dining area of the YHA hostel. When I first arrived around 7pm there was hardly anyone here. Now, at 8pm, almost every table is taken. Everyone has returned from their adventures to cook dinner or just relax. After the Uber dropped me off midday, I had a wonderful time exploring all the different beaches on the east side of Sydney. I walked along the water at Bondi and the waves were incredible. They kept breaking perfectly and in many layers. It was perfect for surfers. I forgot how long the beach stretched. I guess last time I was there we were sorta pinched for time so we rushed through it. Also, it was during Australia’s winter so there was hardly anyone in the water. It was crazy to see the difference. Last time it was dead and this time it was thriving. I must say that all the hype surrounding Bondi is definitely warranted. Its beautiful water crashed in a synchronized manner that was very mesmerizing. Watching all the surfers was a highlight as well. There were some impressive riders in the water. There was always something to see – constant entertainment. If I had more time I would have tried surfing for a bit. I would test my high school skills to see if I still had them. Then I walked to the Bondi Baths/Pools and took a bunch of photos. The brighter blue of the pools against the darker (but still teal!) blue of the ocean was amazing.
I then decided to be lazy and hail an Uber to Bronte Beach. It was about $17 AUD but I have been under budget this entire trip so I figured I could spare the cost. I was dropped off at Bronte and my, did I love this beach! It was smaller and more secluded, but still very popular. It had a large rock pool on the right side which was beautiful. Though I think I was spoiled from the Coppin’s Lookout rock pools because I thought about how much better Coppin’s was. Bronte Beach also had beach pools but it seemed like they were actually made of seawater unlike the Bondi ones. The waves would crash against the walls and seep into the pool itself. It also seemed less exclusive because there was a set of stairs in the open. Bronte Beach felt more welcoming and had a local feel which I really liked. If I had to choose, if I HAD TO, then I would say I liked Bronte more.
I was lazy again and hailed another Uber. This beach hopping thing was fun! Though I think I was starting to lose energy from the constant sun beams. I noticed I was getting a little burned on my shoulders as well. From Bronte I went to Clovelly Beach. This beach was interesting because there was only a small patch of sand and it led to a very narrow body of water that led out to the ocean. It was like a mild wave pool where no waves crashed. Though if you went out further, you could get close to the crashing waves in the open ocean. It was a shift from the other beaches for sure. Along the narrow water portion were large concrete walkways/slabs. So it was like a concrete beach – people laid out on the concrete instead of sand. Then a little further to the right were large jagged rocks. It was quite the variety.
After this I walked along the coast line toward Coogee Beach – another popular beach destination similar to Bondi. The walk was lovely. I could see the gorgeous water the entire time and there were a few coves/bays along the way where people snorkeled. It was a steep walk at times, but it only took about 30 minutes. Coogee Beach was definitely poppin’! There was loud music playing from one of the restaurants/bars on the oceanfront and tons of people. You could hear all the commotion from the beach. I’d say it was half the size of Bondi, but just as crowded. I walked along the water for a bit and then grabbed a burrito for dinner. I was feeling a little weird today because I think I’m coming down with a cold. My ears would pop sometimes and I didn’t eat much. The idea of a burrito was so tempting so I went for it. While eating I watched some soccer highlights that I’ve been behind on, and then I hailed an Uber back to the hostel where I am now. It was great wandering around solo!
Tomorrow at 9:30am I am meeting with Pras (Vice President & Executive Director of Operations) at the Jacobs office! I’m interested to discuss transportation engineering in Australia. Also, I’m going to meet with a girl from the Solo Female Travelers group on Facebook. Her name is Beth. It should be a successful day. Today I was thinking how blessed I am to be on this adventure. I don’t want to take this for granted!
March 4, 2019
I just finished my meeting with Pras at Jacobs in North Sydney! He also invited a guy named Andrew (Director of Operations: Transport). The receptionist was exceptionally nice to me and the office was impressive. It reminded me of the West Building in Denver – very professional and large. The meeting ended at 10:15am and it was very productive! I was very appreciative of their time. It was neat to hear how the Sydney office operates and learn about the different projects they have going on.
Next up was finding the North Sydney Olympic pool nearby. I saw a photo of the pool on Instagram and it was perfectly placed near the Sydney Harbour Bridge. I walked down a few alleys and came upon a boat dock. The views from the boat dock were outstanding. There were many sailboats anchored in the water and the Sydney Harbour Bridge was in the distance. There also wasn’t a cloud in the sky so everything looked extra gorgeous. I walked along the harbour on the North Sydney side and just soaked in the atmosphere. I then stumbled upon a small theme park! Nothing was operating at the time, but it seemed like a great location. I turned the corner and the Opera House came into view. Outstanding. I took many photos. I also asked a gentleman if he could take my photo and he went to town! He took like 10 with different angles. Thank you, sir. I popped by the Olympic pool but unfortunately there was an event happening, so it wasn’t open to the public. Oh well.
Beth and I set 2pm as our meeting time at Circular Quay (opposite side of the harbour). I walked from the Olympic pool to Kirribilli Wharf and the stunning view of the Opera House next to the Harbour Bridge never ceased to amaze me. I was in love. It was only a 15 minute walk to the wharf and when I reached it, I had 25 minutes until the ferry came. I went into the coffee shop, Celsius Coffee Co, and ordered some food for takeaway. It was a teeny tiny place and all the tables were full. It was actually a very cute place and I would have loved to sit down because most of the building was stilted above the water. It was a neat layout and I could see why people were drawn to it. It was just hilarious that it was literally the only thing at the wharf (but can you really call it a wharf when it’s the size of basketball court?). I ordered the waffles with berries and peanut butter spread. IT WAS AMAZING! I definitely saw what all the rage was about. I devoured it so fast I’m surprised I had time to breathe. The ferry came as I finished up my last berry bits and it only took 6 minutes to ride to the Circular Quay! I must say I am very impressed with Sydney’s public transportation systems. It was a beautiful 6 minute ride and then I stepped in gum. Greattt. I met Beth (who is from New York) and she was full of positive energy and I was excited to spend some time with her. We walked around the Botanic Gardens for a while and we talked about travel (of course), guys, American lifestyle, politics, our recent adventures, and our views of the world. We really bonded and I was sad we hadn’t met earlier. I felt like we could hang out for days. We had a lot in common. Especially our views on the world and our mutual love for meeting new people and seeing new places. She had been traveling for 5 months and is currently staying with a guy in Sydney who she met earlier in her travels in Asia. So awesome. She plans to find a job in either Melbourne or Sydney for a year and then travel to other countries again. She was such a free bird and it was refreshing to meet her. After wandering around the Gardens, we walked to a nearby bar and enjoyed beers. I told her she was the first solo female traveler I met through the Facebook group and she said, “same!” I then mentioned that she gave me hope for the future ladies I would meet through the group because she was really cool. She said the feeling was mutual. I’m really glad I met up with her.
We parted ways around 5pm and I headed back to the hostel. The WiFi was sooo sucky! So I gave up and decided to go out to dinner. I dropped by the room and met two of my new roomies - Lena and Celia. They were from Switzerland! They were very friendly and we chatted for a bit. I walked 5 minutes to Harts Pub and ordered a chicken dish with mushrooms and potatoes. It was divine! I then made reservations for a car rental tomorrow so I could drive to the Blue Mountains. At first I wanted to pick it up in the city and drop it off at the airport before my flight (talk about convenient) but it cost $100 more! Crazy. So I went with pickup and drop-off in the city instead. I’m picking it up at 9am tomorrow and returning it at 9am Wednesday before I take the train to the airport! I’m stoked!
March 5, 2019
This morning I picked up the rental car for the big Blue Mountains adventure. I woke up at 7:15am, took care of some phone stuff, and called an Uber. At 9am I picked up the rental car and it was a cute bright orange Yaris. I thoroughly enjoyed driving it all day. It handled really well. Once I hit the road it felt good to be behind the wheel. It was quite challenging to get out of the city, but after I entered the motorway it was smooth sailing. Last night I downloaded Google Maps for the area I would need so I used it to navigate the entire day. It was very handy! I had the voice commands turned on so it was easy to know what to do when. I called Mom along the way and we chatted for about an hour. I tried to catch her up on the highlights of my adventures and she told me how cold it was in Denver. I definitely don't miss that!
After we hung up I had only 15 more minutes until I reached the Blackheath Visitor Center. It was well timed. I went into the Center and asked what I could do with 6 hours. The lady seemed sad that I didn't have more time and suggested I stay overnight. Well…I fly out tomorrow for Santiago. She told me that I should do one major hike and then just hit lookouts along the major road. She mentioned the Three Sisters (the main attraction for most) would take closer to 1 hour rather than the 30 minutes listed on the document because you needed to find parking. I kept that in mind. I first went to Govetts Leap Lookout which was less than a mile drive from the Visitor Center. It was gorgeous! It kinda reminded my of a mix of Mesa Verde in Colorado and the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia. There were lots of trees within the canyon and there were rock cliffs in sight as well. I took a few photos. I then headed to Evans Lookout and Valley View lookout. It was a 10 minute drive and the two vistas were within walking distance of each other. They looked about the same as the previous one. Next I drove to Sublime Point Lookout. This really reminded me of Colorado National Monument with more greenery. Except this time it was much easier to breathe (lower elevation). By this point I had visited multiple lookouts and I noticed a theme of poor signage. Half the time I didn’t know where to find the lookout! There were usually multiple trails at each location and there were hardly any wayfinding signs to know which was which. It was frustrating. It definitely added more time onto each of my pit stops. I learned that the best way was to ask someone, who was returning from a trail, what they just saw. If they mentioned the name I was looking for, then I went that way. If not, then I went the other way.
Up next was Leura Cascades. Again, signage was poor so I had no clue where to start. I saw a large group walking up and I asked the leader if the trail would take me to Leura Cascades. He said yes and he gave me a tip to continue a little further to the left of the cave at the bottom for stunning views. Thank you, kind sir! I really enjoyed this little trek. The path followed a river bed and there were ferns everywhere. It was so green! It was probably one of my favorite small hikes of the day. I made it down to the bottom where the mini cave was and that’s where the cascades fell into a small pool of water as well. It was such a soothing sound and sight. I continued to the left as the nice man suggested and it was a gorgeous view into the valley! Stunning. I hiked back up and sweat was running profusely down my back. I was so thankful to have a car to return to after each hike so I could crank up the air conditioning!
The grand finale was the famous Three Sisters and Echo Point Lookout. I didn’t mean to put it at the end of my trek, but it worked out well. There weren’t as many people there as I thought there would be. Remember what the visitor center lady told me? About how I should add another 30 minutes to find parking? Welp, I found parking within 2 seconds. That was a major win. I parked, paid for a ticket, and walked to the concrete area where everyone was congregating. It was getting cloudy at this point with a couple rain showers in the distance so I was worried the Three Sisters wouldn’t look as glorious as normal. When I turned the corner I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Three Sisters were in total sunshine as was most of the surrounding area. They were glowing as if being highlighted by a spotlight. It was marvelous. I took heaps of photos, and noticed another solo female traveler taking a selfie. I asked if she would like me to take her photo and she excitedly said yes. Then she offered to take mine. I love that system! Then another solo female traveler saw me take the girl’s photo so she asked if I could take hers as well. Of course! Then ANOTHER solo female traveler asked me to take her photo. I said, “Ok, we need to put a hashtag on these. Like #samephotographer or something.” They laughed. Solo travelers unite! It was nice to see that I wasn’t the only one on a solo mission for the day. I walked around the area for a bit afterwards and then headed into the town next door called Katoomba to find food. Unfortunately it was unsuccessful because it was so crowded on the streets and there was no where to park. Then a rain storm came through. Wow, really perfect timing making it to Three Sisters when it was still sunny! Just in the nick of time. I drove in the rain for a bit into the next town called Leura. After going through many roundabouts (enter excitement here) I parked along the main street. It stopped raining and I walked to the closest café. It was lovely. I ordered a lasagna and Coke.
I planned to drive to Jellybean Pool next but then decided against it because I wanted to check out Young Henrys Brewery near Sydney before it closed at 7pm. I drove 2 hours to Young Henrys which was longer than my GPS said because it didn’t account for traffic…the only downside to offline maps. I drove through some rain as well, but otherwise it was an uneventful drive. The last 15 minutes of it were so frustrating. There were no right turn lanes so traffic would back up significantly. I tried to turn right for about 10 minutes but never moved. I gave up and tried to find a new way. Which proved even more difficult. Agh. Anyway, I eventually arrived at Young Henrys (horrible parking options by the way. That added another 5-10 minutes) at 6:30pm. Don’t close on me!! I walked up to the bar and the guy said, “You made it just in time. We are about to close!” I told him that I was rushing to get there so that I could taste the beers and I was glad I made it. I told him I was from Colorado and asked for a few tastings. He got vey excited that I was from Colorado. “I’ve been there! It’s so gorgeous! The beer and weed are awesome too.” Haha of course, gotta mention the weed. I ordered a glass of a lager and started pulling out my credit card. He said, “No, no. That one’s on me.” Hell yeah! And it was all because I mentioned Colorado. I wish me mentioning Colorado got me free beers everywhere. I was appreciative and asked him some questions about good breweries nearby. He gave me a brochure with all the Sydney breweries which was very informative. I sat down with it and used WiFi for 5 minutes. He then came by, told me his name (Bruno), and asked if I wanted to go to another brewery nearby because he knew people who worked there and could get us free beer. PERKS! I was so happy with how my night turned out. At 7pm I took my empty glass to the bar and the lady working behind the bar said, “Hey thanks. Did you want another?” I said, “Oh no, that’s ok. I know you are closing now and I don’t want to keep you.” “Well we still take 15 minutes to clean up. Are you sure?” “Yeah I need to head to the next place anyway. I just wanted to make sure I got in here before you closed. I rushed real hard.” “Exactly why you should stay and have a beer on us!” It was tempting but I declined. I told Bruno that I would meet him at Batch Brewing. Young Henry’s definitely made a great impression on me! Bruno mentioned that was how Young Henry’s operated – it treats its customers well and gives away a lot of beer. A+ in my book.
Batch Brewing was a measly 5 minute drive. Bruno introduced me to some of his buds working there and then we had a 30 minute chat since the brewery closed at 8pm. We discussed Colorado and his trip to the States. At 8pm we moved to The Grifter Brewing Co. which closed at 9pm. I ordered a mini which was like 4oz and he got a half pint. We chatted for another 30 minutes and then we said our goodbyes. I drove 20 minutes and parked the car just outside the hostel which was awesome. It’s free from 10pm-8am. Talk about perfect! It was much better than the option the hostel gave me to park it in a garage overnight for $45. I told my stories to Celia and Lena and then we all went to bed. I fly out to Santiago tomorrow! I’m sad to leave Sydney, but I’m excited to be immersed in a Spanish and soccer culture for the remainder of the trip.
View from plane after departing:
Wow! Did I Say Wow! I mean, like, WOW!
ReplyDeletePS. You are missing a blizzard here in Denver. Sebastian has spent the day watching the snow blow by the window. :)
XOXO,Mom
Great stuff!!! Such exciting adventures!
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