It's Getting Hot In Here....

Well, I spent abut 5 days in Sydney and found it odd to be back in a place that required me to actually use crosswalks and pay cover charges. Clearly I have gotten way to used to beach towns! Sydney was actually not that bad, and I was able to check out all of the main sights. The first couple of days were great, then my best friend along the East Coast joined me again--RAIN. Really? For one of the driest places on earth, I've had more rain here than in Denver all of last year. I am starting to think that all of the pristine scenes and sun drenched beaches are a hoax to get tourists here. That aside, I managed to walk the city and see the Opera House, climb the Harbour Bridge, and spend plenty of times checking out the local watering holes in The Rocks. I was fortunate enough to celebrate my Australian heritage with about 5 million of my closest friends in Sydney, only about 14 of whom I actually knew, and I'll tell you it was a blast. The streets were absolutely packed, and drinking and eating began well before I got out of bed. Live music everywhere, giant screens for people to display their Guitar Hero skills, cricket games in the street...you get the picture. It was a long day, capped off with an awesome fireworks show over Darling Harbour, with light rain falling. Great day!

The highlight of Sydney was definitely the bridge climb. I went up at night, and while I missed sunset, seeing the city at night was incredible. I have some pictures, but I'll have to get those up later, since they aren't on my camera. For some reason they don't like you bringing your own camera or anything else that might fall onto the cars below. I don't get it! Out side of the city, I took a ferry ride over to Manly Beach for the day along with a group of friends. The beach was, well, a beach, but the town was great. I would love to have spent some more time over there, but unfortunately I had a train to catch. It'll have to wait for the next visit.

I took an overnight train to Melbourne (10.5 hrs), which is where I am now, and will be for a week or so. So far I really like this place, more so than Sydney. It has a ton of great restaurants and bars, great shopping (not that I have the money to spend or the storage space to put anything else), and it has a greater energy than other places I've visited. I even got to go to the Australian Open, where I saw the semi-finals match for doubles. So far there is only one negative: Heat. It is frickin' hot here. Really. Supposedly we're in the middle of a heat wave that hasn't been felt in decades. It has been over 100 degrees the past couple of days; yesterday checked in at 45 C, or roughly 106 F, and today ain't much better. It is impossible to keep dry and want to know the best part? There is no A/C where I'm staying! I love it. I woke up this morning soaked in sweat. It's great!

While there is no set plan for the immediate future, I am hoping to cruise along the Great Ocean Road for 2 or 3 days this coming week, likely leaving the city late next week to head back up to Noosa until my flight to Thailand. Time is certainly flying by, but I'm loving every second.

Also, I am pleased to announce that I have officially joined the 21st century and become a member on Facebook. My page can't get much more basic that it currently is, but I'm working on it! Would you be my friend?!?!?

Cheers!