Back online mates .....

Had no idea I would end up in Australia, country/island/continent, way back in May when plans were somewhat "solidified" (they never ever are in my case, in any case :), but as that 'make hay while sun is shining' bit goes ........ I arrived, to a clear blue-sky sunny winter day in Sydney, temperature hovering around 18 degrees celcius, where the locals load up on wool scarves, jackets and winter boots! ...... and there I was, still in my flip flops, capris and light cotton shirt ....... all of which I am having a hard time abandoning but also just because I did not bring any wintry clothing with me:) ! Flips flops, by the way, are called, thongs in Australia....finally get to call them what I did throughout childhood! :) If this can be construed as winter, I'm sold! Sydney ...... home of the iconic Opera House and I, along with a zillion other Japanese and Chinese tourists, snapped away, capturing every angle of that rather amazing structure. My knowledge of about the building was, well, zip, so ......I took in a tour with an entertaining chap, who had me in stitches, if not exactly the Japanese and Chinese folks! ..... English and particularly Auzzie humor, takes a bit of getting used to :) What an amazing history the Opera House holds .... after putting a tender out worldwide, a Danish plan won the bid. The foundation work commenced in 1959. It did not open however, until 1973!! ..... designed by Danish architect Jon Utzon, who, in 2003 received, for his monumental efforts, the Pritzker Prize, International Achitecture's highest honor. The fact I found the most amazing was that construction started on the building with no concrete plans in place for how the roof would be engineered!!! The Opera House had cost overruns galore, (reputedly from a very early estimate of $3 million and three years to completion to an astounding $108,000,000 and almost 14 years to ribbon cutting!! .... the Australians, being the gambling adventurous sorts they are, put on a country wide lottery to offset the costs, and the total was paid off shortly thereafter, simply amazing or rather, "am-I -zing"!! ..... the lottery was one of the country's most successful fundraisers ever!!! The Sydney Opera House, as of 2007, is a World Unesco Site ..... Meandering along, back to how I ended up down under ....... When Air New Zealand added a direct flight from Raro to Sydney, I abandoned plans to remain in the South Pacific for another month .... had toyed with the idea of more tropical warmth in either Fiji, Vanuatu, Samoa or Kiribati, but somehow, despite no strong desire to explore Australia previously, I was one of the first to sign up for this inaugural flight .... no special awards or deals were forthcoming unfortunately, just a big welcome at Sydney airport! But must add here ..... what a culture shock ...... after seven weeks on a wee island, such sudden exposure to six million souls and all the big city accoutrements, I almost had an anxiety attack!! Yikes.....back to bumping into folks texting on cell phones, talking on cell phones, ear buds in seemingly everyone's ears, shops, restaurants, coffee shops, businesses, of every kind, in every possible square inch of space. Sydney reminds me of a larger Vancouver.... with a fun accent. The British left their mark. There is a Hyde Park, Oxford Street, Bond Street, Paddington Saturday Market, Kings Cross. The Sydney Harbour was lovely to walk along, just for the sunshine and fresh air alone and Bondi Beach, famous for it's beach cafe society and surf, and a short bus ride away, was sheer heaven for an exhilarating seaside walk in the early morning air. People watching was fun as I enjoyed a grilled fish sandwich and a local cabernet at lunch along the beach boardwalk. This is "billabong" country hence lots of handsome young dudes running around pouring into winter wet suits for a spot of surfing! Still, after living in such peaceful quiet island ambiance for such a long time, totally devoid of any real commercial enterprise, this was still all just too much for me on every level...... my body must have gone into shock......it was like I was dropped off on some alternate commercialized universe ..... I developed a fever and was in bed for a few days shortly after arrival!!! I did manage to enjoy Sydney for a the few days before that! Nonetheless, after the fever subsided, I was quite happy to scout out somewhere less cosmopolitan.....Cairns it was.....pronounced by the way, as Cans (I was still a rookie on that Auzzie accent at the time) ..... had no idea what the agent at FC meant ...... (here I thought she was the lost one, thinking I was asking for a trip to Cannes, France!) We both enjoyed a good chuckle at my expense :) Heh....how about that Australia? ...... a lady Prime Minister....... how cool is that??!! (she still has to actually be voted in however and elections are sometime in late August) ..... Julia Gillard appears to be a real straight shooter, and being that I am a bit of a political junkie, have been paying attention to everything about her in the papers and on the telly while laid up with that darn fever. I am starting to form the opinion that she is rather an awesome woman ...... very forward thinking, honest, straightforward as a politician can be (kind of reminds me of a female Barack Obama). Will see how the election turns out and how this young woman will hold out in the rough and tumble world of politics. Interesting times for Australia.

Yes, love learning about the world wherever I travel, including or rather, especially it's politics! Photos of my early intro to Australia will hopefully follow this journal entry ...... I gave up trying to keep up with both journal and blog for the timebeing, so, my apologies for such long and tedious entries, but for now, they are my main journal musings ....... Onward to Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef. Later, mates Seija xo