LIFE IN THE LAND OF OZ: So Spontaneous

Finally...something good to write about! Well, it's been a GREAT weekend. It started out with the idea that we needed to start traveling. Although Sydney has been amazing, we wanted to get out and see more of what Australia has to offer. A few weekends ago I contacted a realtor in the Jervis Bay area because we were going to go down but it never worked out. I sent him an e-mail Thursday afternoon asking him if he had any properties available (people rent bungalows and cottages instead of staying in hotels down there) and he had one left on a lake in Sanctuary Point. We said we'd take it, went to the travel agent, booked bus tickets, and were on our way! But first, I had a great night out Thursday with my friend Kara from IU and our friend Sam (she knows Julie and Elysa) from GW. We went to this place downtown called Captain Torres. It was a Spanish Restaurant/Tapas Bar and we had a great meal: chicken chorizo, a huge plate of fresh seafood, garlic prawns, arroz con leche, and of course Sangria. After dinner we took the train into North Sydney to an area called Greenwood. We went to the Greenwood Hotel which was so much fun. The bar was in the shape of a "U". The "U" was made up of a bunch of different rooms that all had bars in them and each room played different music. Outside was a huge dance floor...it still gets us every time to watch the Aussies dance...very different than Americans.

We woke up at about 7am Friday morning and took the train from Bondi Junction to Central Station. We took a bus from there to a town called Nowra which took about 3 hrs. Then we caught another bus to our cottage in the Jervis Bay Area (our town was Sanctuary Point). It was so picturesque. Our cottage was on a gorgeous lake - so peaceful and serene.

We called a cab and took it to the Hyams Beach area, about 10 min from our cottage. We were all famished so we stopped at the one cafe in the area and got roasted veggie frittatas, Greek Salad, and antipasto...soo good. From there, we walked down the road to Hyams Beach which has the whitest sand in the world! It was gorgeous, but very windy, and when the wind blew the fine sand felt like needles on our skin...ouch. We moved down to where the sand was more compact and stayed for a while. We went back to the house and ordered in dinner and just hung out. My friend Rob from camp lives in Ulladullah which is 20 min south of where we were staying and he came over to chill with us. It was great seeing him after 2 years.

So have you ever heard the old Aussie song "Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree" let alone experienced their vocal chords? Well, the Kookaburra, also known as the Laughing Jackass, has, according to dictionary.com, a loud, harsh cry that resembles laughter. Lets just say, at 6am when you hear this noise, it sounds like you are being attacked by wild monkeys. Bryn and I were in a dead sleep when these obnoxious birds started LAUGHING...seriously. It was unlike anything we'd ever heard. We honestly thought they were crazy monkeys that were going to jump in our room through the open windows and attack us...we were terrified but it was hilarious. Ok, maybe it will be funnier if your do this: click on this link Kookaburra, play the sound link on the page, and imagine you are in a dead sleep in the middle of nowhere...let me know what you think.

Anyways, the next morning, after recovering from our living nightmare, we made eggs and pancakes and took off for the beach. We attempted to go to Caves Beach, but after a 40 minute drive through the National Park, only to arrive at a private beach we couldn't stay at, we decided just to go to Huskisson Beach which was closer to where we were staying (Huskisson is the main town in Jervis Bay). It was a little overcast but still a nice day. We walked into town from the beach and it started to rain so we went back to the cottage for dinner. Rob came over again and we had our first Aussie Barbie. We grilled Chicken, Corn, and had an assortment of Tooheys, Carlton, and Boxed Wine...classy. It was a lot of fun but too gross outside to go out so we took it easy again and just hung out at the cottage...it was a nice break from dressing up and going out in the city.

We took a bus back to Sydney this morning. It was a long travel day but after a great weekend it's nice to be back. Australia had daylight savings time last night so now we're 14 hrs ahead of Miami. After checking our e-mail and Facebook we decided to go to the grocery store and I made dinner for everyone. The Australians are known for their Sweet Chili Sauce. They put it on almost everything...it's like their Ketchup. Rob gave us the idea of making a Sweet Chili Chicken Pizza so I took wholemeal flat bread, put a on a Sweet Chili Sauce Base, and topped it with spinach, roasted red peppers, caramelized onions, cheese, mushrooms, and grilled chicken. Definitely a recipe I'll be bringing back to the states. We had a big salad and I also grilled eggplant and rolled it up with rolled sun-dried tomatoes, basil, and bocconcini. Everything was soooooo good! Now we're just hanging out. I'm going to read a little for school and go to bed early. My knee is healing really nicely but sadly, it looks like I'll be coming home early to have surgery this summer. So upset the fam will not be able to visit me in Australia, but one day we'll all come back together. Hope everything is good at home. Congrats on initiation Phisters! Keep in touch! Until next time...Cheers :)