Hey look, this one has a title!

Hello from Sydney again! Instead of staying here for a few days as was the original plan, I've extended my stay in this awesome city through until Monday morning. There is so much to do and see, and it's been so much fun! I'm still staying at Elephant, despite the fact that the hot water in the showers is pretty unreliable now... But it's a fun place with a lot of charm and really cool people, so that makes up for it. I've made some friends and have traveling buddies now! We are heading to Bondi beach for a few days after we leave Elephant on Monday, which I'm really excited about because it is absolutely stunning. The water is gorgeous and warm(ish) and only a 5 minute walk from our hostel, plus it's a perfect beach for beginning surfers!

The botanical gardens near the hostel are huge and incredible, and the perfect place to see the Opera house and harbor bridge, so we've spent a lot of time there, taking meals to eat on the grass, walking, or just lying in the sun reading and napping. It's been pretty rough...

We managed to catch the finish of the Sydney marathon which was last Sunday, I can't believe how many runners there are in this city! Everywhere we go, every time of day there are people running and jogging. It's like the whole city is obsessed! It's almost enough to make you feel guilty for not running everywhere. Almost...

I've been to Bondi beach and Manly beach now, and wow! Just, wow. The beaches here are incredible; clear blue water, soft white sand, and barely a cloud in the sky! I can't believe it's only spring, the weather has been amazing. I hear it's actually unseasonably gorgeous, but I'm definitely not complaining. I can't wait to stay at Bondi, but seeing how beautiful these two beaches right on the edge of the city are has made me wonder what the beaches are like when you get off the beaten track are like. I can't wait to find out!

A couple nights ago I had dinner and drinks with some old friends of my mom's from back in the day when she traveled in Australia. It was so much fun! We had drinks in front of the Opera house and dinner at a great French café, and even though we had never met before they were so friendly and welcoming it felt like I had known them for years. It was such a good time, and really made me feel at home here.

Tomorrow we are doing a day trip to the Blue Mountains, which are also supposed to be stunning. It sounds like a pretty cool tour, there's a lot to do and see once you get there, and I'm excited to be out of the city and into some actual wilderness a bit! The city is awesome and fun, but I REALLY want to see some kangaroos!

Some good news: after a week here we are figuring out all kinds of tricks for adapting to this crazy expensive place! First, and obviously most important, adding sparkling water to the Goon (that's the nasty box wine) not only makes it drinkable, it actually makes it good! Second, the high end grocery store that's even closer than the Art Gallery has free wifi and comfortable seats from which to access it, and after 9pm every night, you can get all the bakery items you can fit into a bag for $3.90, which is an absolute steal! And since you can't live for too long (unfortunately) on baked goods, there is a different market with fruits, veggies, and eggs for less than half of what they sell for at the grocery stores. Between those and lunch specials in the $10 range (as long as you stay away from the major touristy spots) we are living the good life now! It's definitely an improvement.

So in short, Sydney is still amazing, but I'm looking forward to getting a little more nature in and seeing new parts of this country! And posting some pictures, that's going to happen when I get somewhere with wifi in the room so I have time to mess with this program. I'm learning, slowly. But everyone saw the title, right? That's cool, right?!

Hello family, friends, and stalkers! Welcome to the first official blog post of this crazy adventure!

After an obscene amount of time spent on planes and in airports I finally touched down in Sydney and managed to find my hostel. Apparently following the poorly worded directions and obscure landmarks mentioned by transient hostel workers on their website is a skill that needs to be maintained or it gets a little rusty, resulting in me walking in circles while lugging my backpack… Eventually, though, I cracked the code and arrived at the Elephant Backpacker hostel. It’s a pretty cool place in an old building with tons of character (read: doors that don’t close, cracks in the ceiling, and a construction site directly next door), but also hot showers, clean sheets and a little café where I can get my morning coffee, so I’m happy.

It’s also only about a half hour walk from the harbor, so I can easily go check out the bridge and Opera house, which I’m planning to do later today. It’s still a little early; I was in bed at 7 and up before the sun (thanks jet lag), so I’m waiting until it’s officially ‘morning’ to do anything.

On the way there’s a really nice little park and botanical garden to wander through, and an art gallery with free WiFi, which is pretty convenient considering the hostel has none, paid or otherwise. So I’ll be sitting on the steps with a bunch of other people all using phones and computers when I post this, which makes me feel like a genuine starving traveler, which is pretty fun. Of course I’ll eventually go check out the art, but for now I’m extremely grateful for the charity.

Which is a perfect segue into a rant I’ve been working on since yesterday: Australia is freaking expensive!!! I was warned ahead of time, but still almost cried when I found out that a case of (awful) beer averages $56, a small bottle of booze $36, and a spaghetti dinner (entre only) almost $30! So I’m having to undergo some drastic lifestyle changes already, because the only affordable booze here is one brand of wine that costs $11 for a 4 liter box. Yes, box. Don’t judge, these are desperate times! My budget simply can’t handle the horror of a $15 six pack of Corona. Oh Lagunitas, how I miss you already…

I also found out last night that lunch specials at most restaurants are about half the price of dinner entrees for the same food, but of course it was way past lunchtime when I puzzled that out, so I’m very much looking forward to lunch today, and my first real meal in Australia! Yesterday I subsisted on beef jerky (thanks Aunt Adrienne and Uncle Mike, you’re lifesavers!) and wine that tasted like antifreeze.

So all in all it’s so awesome to finally be in Australia after years of wanting to visit, and I’m having so much fun getting back into the swing of traveling. It’s been a long time since I was backpacking, and I forgot how much I love it.

I also want to say thanks again to everyone reading this right now. I had such an incredible few weeks while getting ready to go; the outpouring of love and support from everyone in my life was just overwhelming (in a good way!)! I feel so lucky and overjoyed to have such amazing people in my life. I don’t think I could have gotten on that plane if I didn’t have so much positive support. So thank you, everyone, for that. I really can’t express how much it means to me.

Ok, enough sappy stuff, I’m gonna go explore Sydney!

P.S. A link to a photo gallery is still in the works, bear with me!