Here it is!!

G'day from the AMAZING down under!! So finally we are staying somewhere that has internet access and we have a little more freetime so I wanted to update you all who are so eagerly waiting by your computers. Ha! Ha! Now pardon me if I repeat anything from the last mini-post but I have an itinerary in front of me so I'm ready to rock this blog!! (what a dork!)

Like I said before the flight was very long but definately well worth it!! The view from the plane window (don't worry I took 500 pics of it so you all can see) would have been good enough for me and it was at that point that I realized what I had just gotten myself into. We took a coach (aka charter bus) tour of the city and I think I may have mentioned how Sydney is a mix of the best parts of some of the most beautiful cities in the world. Pictures will NOT do it justice but I have been taking plenty of pics so that I can try and give you all the best glimpse possible. Think NYC meets San Fran meets Europe meets Boston meets La Jolla. And the list could go on!! We checked into our hotel which ironically was the Comfort Inn (way to step out of American culture right?) but it was very different, much like European hotels. So small, loud air conditioners, different outlets, but very quaint at the same time. UNF sponsored a dinner for us that night which was very good and then we all hung out in two of the boys room and I, as usual, provided the jams. We noticed very quickly that while the exchange rate is very good everything is just more expensive. Try A$14 for a 6-pack of beer. That bummed everyone out a little but the wine is cheaper so I'm good with that. (and they carry MadFish!!)

The next morning we took the coach down to the Harbour and had some free time before the Harbour Cruise so most of us took a tour of the Sydney Opera House. Words cannot describe how amazing that building is and how beautiful it is inside. Everything from the theaters to the bathrooms (p.s. Aust. has really cool bathrooms) were gorgeous! Then we took a cruise of the Harbour and they served us a seafood buffet which was really good.

I should take this time to mention what an amazing and incredibly diverse group of people I am with on this adventure. The fact that we can all be so different and yet respect each other and look out for eachother so much has really been amazing to me. Definately made some good friends! (don't worry Miss I'll only hang out with them when youre babysitting or with Ary)

Back to the cruise: it was (I know I am way overusing this word) amazing to see the Harbour from that perspective. I feel like every view in Australia is picture perfect and so the 3 hours on the boat was like a movie. We got back from the cruise and had a lecture with a guy named Garry Watson who has done some incredible work with educating the youth of Aust about their gov't in order to maintain their 97% (yes you are reading that correctly) of pop that votes. Really interesting guy with some great ideas. That night almost all of us went for drinks and entrees (which is apps in Aust) at the Australian-equivalent Stratosphere or space needle. It was (guess what) AMAZING!! Every hour and a half you got a 360 degree view of the city at night. And the walk there and back was just as good. To get there we had to walk through a place called Hyde Park which is like a mini Central Park but looks like its right out of a movie. There is a walkway that is lined in trees that grow together to form a tunnel like structure over the path and then there are those really neat street lamps you see in movies that provide some light in the park. Really freakin cool!!

Most of us went to bed early that night because we had to be up at 5:45 to catch a coach to the Sydney Fish Market.

That is all I'm going to give you for tonight, mostly because I'm tired of staring at a comp screen and have to go get ready for dinner. But I love you and miss you all and can't wait to see you back in the states!

Love
Jess