across the ditch!

i made it!  i am in australia!  another stamp in my passport!  i flew in to sydney on tuesday via auckland, my favorite city (ugh).  it was funny, as fiona was dropping me off at the nelson airport she told me that it's the fourth busiest in new zealand (the three busier ones being, obviously, the three international airports.)  hilariously, there were fewer people there than i've seen at the airport in king salmon.  taking into account hundreds of cannery workers and fisherman, it was still not as busy as cedar rapids.  and i had to pay to leave the country.  weeeeird.  but it was neat to see, while flying over the north island, mt. taranaki on my left and taupo and tongariro on my right.  minus the car debacle, it took us almost a day of driving to get that distance.  although from the air and being able to see the landscape you can really see why!

sydney looks amazing, i took a walk to the harbour as you can see from the top photo.  i'm excited to spend some time there, i just wish that i had more time in melbourne.  it seems infinitely more my type of city and SHOPPING!  i know i shouldn't, but there is an esprit here!  and a helly hansen (they have a belt i've been wanting, but you can only buy their products through retail--no online shopping)!  and stores i will never go into like tiffanys, chanel, gucci and prada.  i feel a little bit like i'm back in new york, really.  anyway, so yeah, i spent the night in sydney completely jetlagged (over a two hour time difference no less) and rose early the next morning needlessl and caught my bus to melbourne.  13ish hours.  we got to get off twice.  this is the difference between the two greyhounds, american and australian.  i may have spent 50 hours with four looooong transfers (one being in the middle of the night in salt lake, and the other at a truck stop in nowhere washington) but at least they let us get off every two to three hours!  i tried to stretch, but without being able to get out and walk my knee was hurting so much by the time i got off.  hence the second photo, approach to melbourne.  it was much anticipated.

i met harrison, my mom's cousin, at the bus stop, and we came here to their house.  i got to meet his wife and son for the first time ever, and they are all very nice to me.  so generous to let me stay!  it's a nice house, and they have a lot of artwork.  which should make me feel inspired but really mostly just makes jealous, hehe!  i went today to the ian potter something or other national gallery of victoria.  honestly, sometimes museums make me crazy, so i only looked at a few exhibits before leaving.  that was enough for me.  the rest of the afternoon was spent looking around the CBD--melbourne has TONS of tiny little lanes and alleys that go off with shops EVERYWHERE.  it's great, but it's hard to find what you are looking for, or if you are just browsing.  i also saw the shrine of rememberence and remembered to get on the correct tram coming back.  the best part though was taco bill's.  i've been craving mexican for a long time now, and new zealand just can't deliver.  this was so good though!  no el rancho grande, but it'll do for the time being.  (now, if tomorrow i can just run into someplace with barbecue...)

the only thing that could make this better is if kate where here.  not because i don't love anyone else, but because i know she would love it.  it's architecture and design heaven.  i think that even if i end up hating the rest of australia, which is unlikely, i will still have to come back to melbourne sometime.  another working holiday, perhaps?