Sydney Boat Tour

Tonight we went on a harbor boat tour. We had a few beers before getting on the boat in Darling Harbour. Once on the boat they actually served a pretty decent dinner. Most boat tours in the U.S. serve pretty crappy food so I was surprised. Then we drank some wine and enjoyed the view and took some pictures of the whole group. It was really amazing and I'm glad I got to enjoy it with my mom. This trip has been a great experience and I'm really glad I decided to take some time off from the hustle and bustle of american life to see something that not everyone will get to see in their lifetime. Thank you to my parents and to my instructors for making this possible. I hope all of you enjoy my blog and consider traveling to Australia in the future.

Had the day off!

Today me and my mom slept in pretty late and then and had breakfast/brunch at this little cafe. We both had different flavor omelets and shared. Then I took her to the Royal Botanical Gardens. It was pretty gross outside today but I really think she enjoyed it. Then we went back to the hotel and rested. We didn't really do much for the rest of the evening. I feel bad because my mom flew all the way out here and I'm completely exhausted and ready to head home.

Sydney Opera House!

Today the group and my mom went to the Sydney Opera House for an architectural tour. The building's design was actually made by an architect who won a design competition. he used this theory about using a sphere to make pieces fit together in a perfect mathematical way. The inside design has a lot of wood paneling which reminds me a lot of musical instruments especially the woodwind family such as the cello and violin.

They used these different types of materials for the inside to help deflect echoing and enhance the acoustics. After our tour, we were done for the day so Mom and I went shopping. She literally thinks I asked her to fly half way across the world to buy me things but I actually missed her a lot so I'm glad she's here. After we shopped we went and picked up my cell phone that I lost the first time we were in Sydney and then went back to her hotel and got ready for dinner. Tonight we took all of the environmental design out to Shangri La which is a bar where you can see the entire city and then we went to the 360 degree bar for dinner. The food was absolutely amazing and it was so sweet of my mom to treat us all to dinner. Tomorrow we have the day off so I'm going to take my mom to the Sydney Botanical Gardens.

Back to Sydney!

Okay I'm super excited to go be back in Sydney. I get to see my mom! So today we flew back to Auckland and then flew straight from there to Sydney. When we got to Sydney we went straight to Wesley College at the Uni(versity). I dropped off my stuff then Emily Patrick and I went to meet up with my mom for dinner. We went to this place that all the other people in a group were raving about the first time we were in Sydney. It's called Bling Bling Dumpling. It was so good and so much fun to see my mom. Tomorrow we are going to the Sydney Opera house for an architectural tour.

Second Day in Queesntown

Ok so this morning I slept in again.... lets just say it was a long night. Then Ben and I got up and went to get lunch at a cafe on the lake font. Then we went and took a Gondala ride up to the top of a mountain where they do luging.

 We had to do the beginners Scenic ride because it was our first time but it was so cool! Then we went to check out a bird preserve so we could see a kiwi but it was not worth spending 40 bucks. Then ben and I went on a boat tour of Queenstown. I'm definitely moving here. Then we met up with Stuart and Patrick and went to a japanese restaurant for dinner. It was really good. Afterwards we all went back for a quick cat nap and then went back out to world bar. Our trip to Queenstown has been my favorite part of our trip. I hope to come back here some day.

First Day in Queenstown

This morning we woke up and Chris drove us back to the Auckland Airport. We caught our flight to Queenstown just in time. When we arrived in Queenstown, New Zealand I was extremely blown away. I felt at home. I was born in colorado and I have always been a mountain girl. I felt like I was in Vail in the middle of the summer. The Weather was perfect and the views were breathtaking. The town is extremely small but it has a wonderful homey feel.

We went and checked into our hostel and then had a great lunch at a cafe where the boys got Philly cheesesteaks and I got a quesadilla and the best chocolate milkshake I have ever had. Then we went over to the Shot over river jet boating. It was wicked!!!! I had so much fu but I thought Patrick was going to barf all over the place. He's not really a boat person. Then we went back to our hostel and got ready to go out. We went to a place called world bar where I met a bouncer who used to live in Littleton, Colorado which is where I was born! Then we went on something called the Kiwi Bar Crawl where these guys took us to all of the coolest bars in Queenstown. We finally got to go to -5 which is an ice bar where everything is made of ice! It was so much fun. Then we went home and hit the sack.

Second Day in Omaha Beach

Today we all slept in pretty late. I think we were all exhausted. Then we went out the beach and laid out for a little while. Then my mom wanted to skype so i came up to the house and skyped with her and a few other friends of mine. Then we all showered and cooked a humongous meal. We had steak, fish, grilled mushrooms, grilled peppers, and rice. It was absolutely amazing. Then we all sat down with bottles of wine and got ready to watch the men's semi finals in the Australian Open with Roger Federer against Nadaal. Nadaal ended up winning even though I was rooting for Federer.