Weekend Walking Warrior

So, I spent my first weekend walking, walking and more walking! I've never walked so much! Well, first things first though.. on Friday, I drank!

On Friday after work I met up with Bel, Rich and their friend Rick for a pint at the pub. This particular pub was part of a restaurant in Harbourd - a little suburb of Sydney. It's a great little pub with Rugby playing on every television. I got a quick rugby lesson from Rick - I think I am starting to understand. It's pretty much all that's on television right now. There is some big tourney going on and everyone is completely into it. Pretty fun!

Saturday started my walk-fest. I started it with run along the beach first thing in the morning. Then I decided to make it a Manly day. I walked around the entire town from start to finish exploring all the little back roads. There is a little open air market on Saturdays and Sundays so I made the rounds looking at all the local goodies. I managed to waste an entire day just milling around and walking up and down the beaches. I was biding my time because I knew Bel and Rich had planned a big evening for us! Partly in honor of my arrival and partly because the Aussies will look for any reason to have a party - Bel and Rich held a "Christmas in July/4th of July/Thanksgiving" dinner party for about 12 people! They prepared an entire Thanksgiving dinner including turkey (which was no small feat since turkey isn't a big dish here - thanks to Dennis who hunted two down for them) & gravy, stuffing, sweet potatoes with pecans, candied carrots, sesame asparagus, dinner rolls and for dessert - creme brulee! It was amazing! They got all the recipes from Jackie Chattham (NRS peep from the States) to ensure authenticity! Since Thanksgiving isn't celebrated in Australia, everyone kept asking me if the meal was accurate and if they had all the details right. It was perfect! I think we must have gone through 8 or 9 bottles of wine by the end of the night. It was a blast! We all gave thanks for a great meal with good wine and good friends!

Sunday I slept in (hmmm, wonder why?). It was a beautiful day so I decided to start on my great 'To Do' list which everyone in the office was so kind as to help me put together on Friday. First to be checked off the list? Taking the Manly ferry into Sydney for a walk around "The Rocks". The Rocks is an cute little area in the Circular Quay (pronounced Key) where Australia pretty much got started. This is the area where all the prisoners were dropped off when it was a penal colony. Now, it's a shopping mecca with dozens of cafes, coffee shops and open markets mixed in. I spent all day walking around here until my feet were aching and decided to head back. I took the ferry back to Manly and sat on the beach for a while longer. It's so pretty I've made a point to walk the distance at least once a day. I am guessing the whole stretch is maybe 2 miles there and back.

That was pretty much my first weekend in a nutshell. I am getting ready to head off to my first program next week in Melbourne. I know there is some good dancing there so I'll keep you posted on that. Stay tuned for more adventures!

Cheers!
B.

A Night Out With NRSI

As a reward for two hard days of training, we all headed to Ripples (a really nice restaurant with GORGEOUS views of the harbor) to unwind. And unwind we did! I had my first "fish and chips" meal with some very tasty wine! They go together - trust me!



I also took a quick walk down the boardwalk to Luna Park which is this tiny little amusement park with a big scary face. I was advised that this might not be the most entertaining park of all time but I had to get a picture of the entrance. If you are afraid of clowns.. don't come here.

After lunch/dinner - we all headed to a few other pubs around town which I couldn't bring you back to if I tried. I have no clue where we were by that time! A drink or two there with the team and Bel and I headed back to Manly to help celebrate the lovely Fiona's birthday (Aussie PM). I am sure we stayed way to late b/c I have absolutely no idea what time I got home. I also went to The Boat Shed, a seedy little underground bar, with some of Fiona's friends to finish up the night!








I barely survived my first night out with the team - I was not in top form the next day by any means... I blame it on jetlag... :)

Cheers,
B.

My First Day

FINALLY!

The trip begins. The flight was one of the easiest I have ever taken. After countless trips to Singapore, I’ve become accustomed to the long plane rides but after the GA to LA trip (6 hours) and the LA to Sydney trip (13+ hours) there was no additional 7 hour trip to Singapore so I was thrilled!! I slept the entire way and didn’t get to see any of the 8 movies I had picked out in the flight entertainment book. Oh well.

I touched down in Sydney at 7:30am and got all of my luggage right away – no problem. Phew! After breezing through customs I was greeted by a cheery Bel and Rich (even though I made them wake up at the butt crack of dawn to pick me up from the airport). The sight-seeing commenced immediately as we headed to the Sydney Opera House and Harbor Bridge to have a look around. Syndey was just waking up as we strolled around and got a few morning pictures. After that we drove over to Manly Beach for some brunch by the ocean at a cozy little café call The Bower. It’s about 2 blocks from my place and right on the ocean!

After brunch we hung we took a driving tour up the coast North of Curl Curl which is where Bel and Rich live to waste time until we could move into my place. There is a path right by my apartment (where The Bower is) that runs all the way up the coast for miles and miles – I hope to get out to this path a few times to train for the 9k race Bel and I are doing in August.. gulp!

Finally we move into my apartment and it’s pretty cute. I do have a washer but no dryer and the cutest little dishwasher you’ve ever seen. There is a community dryer so I won’t have to hang-dry everything. Bel and Rich left me to shower and move in but we met up again for dinner straight afterwards. It gets dark here by 5:30pm!!! I could hardly believe it. We went out for a quick drink at a swanky little bar by my place and then out for a celebratory Thai feast! I ended up staying up until 9p with no problems at all. I don’t think I am going to get any jetlag at all. I slept all night with no problems and haven’t been tired yet to day. I love it! We did discover that the landlord gave us the wrong address so if I already passed it on to you - please note the change!

Unit 46 (not 49 like we originally thought)
69 Addison Road
Manly NSW 2095

That was my first exciting day. Don’t worry - this won’t be a day by day account of my life – just
the exciting stuff. I met the whole office today and everyone is super nice. I will start prepping for my first program in Dandenong (suburb of Melbourne) later today and then I am on my way! I’ll post pictures of the view from the office later – it’s pouring rain today so you can’t see much.

Cheers!
B.

T minus 10 Days...

This is it!
10 days left until I leave for Sydney! I hope to keep a thorough diary here for all to keep up with my travels during the exchange. I promise to post pictures and frequent entries as I go along! I'll also try to post these blogs on my MySpace and Facebook pages but this is for all of you who don't have profiles on those crazy sites!

Thank you to everyone who has planned a special outing or event to see me off. Sometimes I have to stop and think - "Bridget! It's only 3 months!!! - Get over it!" but I can't help it! Look at these guys... wouldn't you miss them? :)


I've included some shots from a few of the "going away" parties I have been lucky enough to have before I leave! The "2007 Salute to Summer" party hosted by Abby,

Dan, Andrea and Amy was a huge success! Good times had by all as usual up at Lake Harding! A fantastic Australian themed menu kept us full as we explored a new Grossweiler concoction - "Verde". Very dangerous. Also the "Bon Voyage Bridget" Highlands outings was an awesome mix of co-workers, dancers and college friends! Thanks to Jennifer and Rae for planning that great night!


Love,
B.