Sydney, NSW Australia August 4-8

It was so fantastic to spend time with Joe, Zoe and Daisy - what a charmer Daisy is! (for those of you who don't know, this is my bonus-brother's, i.e. step-brother's, family. He and Zoe are from England and had Daisy nearly six years ago in Australia). At first, I almost didn't recognize Joe because he had sunglasses on and  I always forget how tall he is! We saw each other for the first time since the mid-nineties two summers ago, so last I knew, he hadn't had that last growth spurt yet. :-) He looked right past me as well though, but i suppose that's more excusable since I had long hair two summers ago, and my entire childhood.

Joe and Zoe were great hosts and we got lovely home-cooked meals each night - quite a treat on a long trip, and probably the last we'll see until we get back state-side. We stayed in their cozy little downstairs apartment - another treat when you're living the backpacker lifestyle! It's so wonderful to be back in touch and to so quickly feel my family has grown by three. We felt immediately at home with them and Joe and I spent several hours hashing out fuzzy childhood memories. Zoe is fantastic! i'm so happy they have each other - they seem to really balance each other well. And Daisy! What an adorable child! Really really bad birth control for Charles and I! I had already fallen in love with her in Chicago two summers ago, but she held Charles and I completely enraptured as we learned all about Rainbow Lorikeets, her pet rabbit, and witches, and as she sang with her mum to the Olympic Closing Ceremonies.

While in Sydney, we went to Manly Island (so named because some creative white guy decided the Aboriginals there were indeed, quite manly). It was a cute beach cafe area, but the highlight was the sunset ferry ride back past the Harbor Bridge and the Sydney Opera House, which reflected all the colors of the sky. We didn't end up doing the Harbor Bridge climb because it was astronomically expensive - like several hundred dollars each!

I love meeting up with friends overseas! it's really such a treat. My good friend, Kory, was just finishing a trip to Oz and we met up with her for drinks and late night pancakes in The Rocks neighborhood. Another day, Charles and I walked downtown and met up with his Kiwi highschool classmate, Penny, for lunch and had amazing Greek food.

After food we attempted to feel our way home, trusting our instincts way too much! We're way too reliant on grid systems. Anyway, we got hilariously lost, though hilariously close to landmarks that we would have recognized nearly the whole time! funny. but many hours later, we arrived slightly grumpily back home. It was mostly fun until we started getting a bit frustrated for the last hour or so of our romp! But we certainly saw a lot of sydney :-) And don't worry parents, it was all quite safe...we wouldn't have ventured into unsafe areas without a map or knowing exactly where we were going. Another day, we also took another long walk (without getting lost) up to the famous Bondi Beach! It was really beautiful and we walked all the way back along a coastal trail. It was just stunning the whole way with all of the different colors of sandstone and there was even a hanging rainforest along the way.

The city as a whole was a great place to wander about with lots of good pie shops and a diverse array of ethnic foods. Meat Pies, and a few bushmeats are the only thing we could find that was an Australian dish and we loved them! We ate literally dozens of pies during our trip. They're basically really good, small pot pies, but with a large variety of flavors.