Or at least, I'm back from the Down Under... right. So, I made it to Australia! First stop, Atlanta to LA where I spent the day with Jeanne Danielle. We watched Bio-Dead, the movie that she and her boy Steve produced (he wrote and directed the movie; it was very well done!), then ate some amazing sushi at Midori.
Second stop, 15 hours later via Qantas airways, Sydney!
The ride down was surprisingly good, and coach wasn't bad at all! (of course, there was no one sitting next to me). They also seat all of the airline employees together apparently, so we're all sitting back there gawking at the new A380, speaking airline talk, and getting taken care of by the flight attendants. One of the girls took 2 of us on a tour of the whole plane.. the upper level spans the entire length of the plane! It was beautiful. The in-flight entertainment had maybe 50+ movies installed and there was a real-time camera on the tail that you could watch!
A quick time out for the flight attendants out there: the galleys on this new beautiful piece of machinery. They were breathtakingly organized and efficient. Some of the cubbys had clear plexi doors so you could see into the bins. There was a trash compactor. And the side bar running along the aisle was set up as a self-serve station. I have to admit that I was a bit envious and felt a quick pang of resentment towards that little 76 mid-galley. But, I'm over it now.. I guess.
Moving on! Sydney was easy enough to navigate. I checked into my hostel and went out on my official sight-seeing walk.
St. James Church
completed 1824; oldest church building in Sydney that is still is use.
Sydney Harbour Bridge
the world's widest long-span bridge!
iconic Sydney Opera House
After the sightseeing duties, I took the ferry up to Manly Beach on the Northern Shore of Sydney. There were plenty of people there without it being crowded and lots of surfers - much fun to watch.
Then off to Melbourne for the rest of the week! I took this time for complete and utter relaxation and rejuvenation so I apologize in advance for lack of pictures and adventurous stories. :)
I stayed in a hostel in the city center of Melbourne and met up with my good friend from home, Trent. He works at the hostel doing the nightly entertainment (trivia, karaoke, other general bar enthusiasm) and making a video blog for them.
Between shifts he was kind enough to show me around Melbourne a bit!
We took a tram down to the St. Kilda area. There was an amazing bakery/ chocolate shop with Hazelnut flourless cake and coffees. Though, I still haven't fully gripped the Australian art of coffee: it's like walking into a Starbucks for the first time.. short black, long black (espressos), and a flat white (espresso with milk). Moving down the road was Luna Park theme park, pictured above.
We went to see the Broadway show Wicked
I think we came out of there with mixed reviews. The show was wonderful of course, and so clever. It was definitely worth seeing but, somehow, it just didn't seem to live up to
how much hype its been given. Still a very fun night. Happy Birthday to Trent!
Federation Square - a uniquely designed complex in Melbourne
We went to
Setting the Scene - an exhibition about all different sets in movies. It was really interesting to see just how much goes in to the smallest details!
I also witnessed the huge involvement of making a video blog.
Trent is documenting (and doing it quite well) his travels through Australia at
trentinoz.com - definitely check that out!
The Retrospective:
Through and through, a great vacation, despite the slight lack of adventuring. It was incredibly refreshing to have a perfectly clear and empty mind without the decompressing time (at the end of a work day I have to take an hour to myself to decompress.. to process the day's info, wipe the short-term memory clear of to-do tasks, perhaps unscrew the flight attendant smile if it was a bad travel day.. you know.) But it's really odd: when I finally got back to Birmingham after approximately 30+ hours of transit, I felt as if I left home and am just arriving for a week away. I've felt the out-of-body detached feeling before but could never exactly pinpoint it. I've gotten to a place where I feel just as, if not more, comfortable in-transit and traveling than I do at "home". I actually feel that home to me at the moment is hopping around between cities, and I feel completely at ease no matter where I find myself. I do look forward to having a place again though. A place that I've chosen and cultivated, hopefully living with someone I like, and having somewhere to really come home to. But, there is plenty of time for that.
I'm also genuinely looking forward to the future. I felt a huge surge of enthusiasm this morning about it, while also feeling entirely surrendered to the positive forces around me. I can't wait to see what happens!
