Gold Coast Half Marathon

Despite the fact that I have run no more than ten times since I left Canada back on Dec 23, 2008 I just signed myself up for the Gold Coast Half Marathon on July 5th.  I'm hoping it will jump start my running. The training has officially begun!

 

Swine Flu

Yes, it can get worse. A student at my school has been diagnosed with swine flu. I don't work with this student so not much is being done for me or my class but I doubt I'll have many show up for school tomorrow.  I can only hope that everyone will be healthy soon.  As a friend said in an e-mail to me today, "you sure will have a lot of stories to talk about when you get back to Canada in December".  Boy will I ever!

Oh yah, a mouse ran through my classroom after work today.  See how many adventures I'm having here!

A Diagnosis and the Unfortunate Luck Continues....

I spoke with the specialist today and I do have ulcerated colitis.  Thankfully it's only in a small part of my insides and hopefully it can be easily managed.  It is recommended that I go to a gastroenterologist (although I'm not sure my medical will actually cover the visit so it will be another out of pocket expense).  The good news in all of this is that there wasn't any sign of cancer. 

On my way home from work today  I had ANOTHER bike crash. This one wasn't because of my stupidity though.  This one was because of the road conditions.  I rode home in the rain tonight.  At the beginning of my ride I have a pretty steep hill to go down.  Knowing that my tire was new and that the roads were wet I did my very best to go down as slowly as I could.  It didn't really matter though because as I hit the round about  at the bottom of the hill my bike slide out from under me and I got up close and personal with pavement AGAIN.  The bike seems to have taken a bit more of a beating (my handle bars have a new "original" shape), I have more blood on me, and I'm very certain I will hurt in more places tomorrow.  Thankfully I don't think I've broken any bones. I'm taking transit to and from work for the rest of the week. 

When I got home I had another unexpected bill in my mail box.  This one was from the pathologist who tested my cells taken in the procedure.  I guess someone had to pay for his services and that someone is me.  $262 (less $40 if I pay with in 21 days) will be paid by me tomorrow.  I have no idea if I'll see any of this back.

I still have two more bills to come (the surgeon's and the anesthesiologist's) before I can submit them all and cross my fingers that I'll see my money back.

Since I need to end this on a positive note my work laptop did survive my bike crash (it was in my backpack when I crashed) and I can still access the work I've done on my report cards.  I guess I can be thankful for that too.

My Luck Will Turn Around at Some Point Won't It?

If I told you that this week was better than last week I'd be lying.  I'm not sure why I'm being tested as much as I am right now, but I am and I need to just suck it up and deal.  I'm sure there are more good things coming my way.

Monday I arrived at school to find out that my school has decided to implement morning staff briefings.  For those who know me you'll know that I just love all the meetings I have to attend here.  So now, on top of my two one hour after school meetings a week, my one Friday recess meeting, I now have a daily ten minute briefing before school starts.  You can see the big smile on my face now can't you - NOT!  

On Monday I had to leave work about 15 minutes early to ensure that I got to the specialist in time to pick up my paper work for my procedure on Wednesday.  Kay, the teacher across the way from me was kind enough to watch my kids while they did our version of  "Run Across Australia".  I made it to the specialist with plenty of time to spare and I read over my paper work.  Once I understood all that I needed to do I started to walk home.  My first stop was the pharmacy to get the secret concoction for Tuesday. I then went to the grocery store to pick up allowable liquids for my colon prep.  My next stop was into a shoe store on Brunswick Street.  I was feeling so sad that I just had to buy the cute shoes I saw there. They helped put a small smile onto my sad face.

My make me smile shoes.

When I got home on Monday I was saddened to find out that my phone and internet were not working.  Immediately I got on my mobile phone and called the phone company to find out what was wrong.  They couldn't fix it from a far so they said that they  would send someone out before closing on Wednesday.  "WEDNESDAY!" I said, "you don't understand I have a major procedure Wednesday morning and I really need to be in contact with my friends and family back home in Canada".  The response I got didn't change.  I hung up my mobile and started to cry.  I was  out communication with the home country.

I woke up Tuesday (still no internet or home phone) and started my colon prep.  I won't go into details but let's just say there was no way I could have left the house.  Originally I had thought that I could work that day but thankfully I took it off work.  While at home I tried to download my mail program that has disappeared from my computer.  I don't know what I was thinking because in the process I've locked me out of every microsoft for mac program on my computer.  I can no longer use my powerpoint, word, or excel programs and I'm still with out my mail program. Thankfully my work computer is a pc and I can access those program from there.  But boy is it frustrating as I do most of my work at home on my Mac.  I only do school work on my school computer.  Apparently my work computer tech can help me fix my problem so hopefully by next  Thursday my poor sick mac will be back running smoothly again.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Anyhow, around 4 pm on Tuesday the telephone people showed up and got my home phone and internet working again.  I swear I could have kissed them.

Wednesday morning I made my  way to the hospital feeling a bit worried and very hungry.  There were some emergency procedures that got in front of me and another lady and so we waited in the waiting room for three and a half hours!  As with any surgery I had not eaten anything since midnight the night before and I hadn't eaten anything solid since the night before that.  I was HUNGRY.  I also read every newspaper and magazine in the waiting room.  Finally it was my turn.  They drugged me up, did the procedure, and I was back eating a sandwich before being taken home by a work colleague.

Thursday morning I got on my bike and road to work.  It was a lot more difficult than usual but I made it eventually.  I was really really sad though, which I later found out was because of the anesthesia.  Thursday was pretty uneventful.

Friday I was told to give the doctor a call to find out the results of the procedure and the tests that were done.  I was told that he was going to give me a call after 5 pm but it never happened.  So as I type this I still don't know what's officially wrong with me. I also received a nice $200 bill for a medical test that I had done. When I had the test I wasn't thinking about what it was going to cost me so when the bill showed up in my mail box my heart dropped.  I love these pricey medical bills that I keep having to pay.  On Friday night I went to a Vodka bar called After the Tears with a friend from work.  The food was great and the drinks were very good too but very pricey.   It was really nice to be out meeting new people on a Friday night.

Saturday I woke up some what early and decided I would try to go for a run to find this local farmer's market I had heard about.  It turns out it was only about 2km away and I found it with little trouble.  I also got to explore another bike/walking trail near my house which follows the Merri river. The farmer's market was at a place called Ceres which is an environment education site as well as mini urban farm.  They grow local fruits and vegetable as they raise chickens.  Everything for sale at the market had the distance it travelled to get to the market, and most items also listed what day and time they were picked.  Needless to say everything was VERY fresh.

Some of the chickens at Ceres

The Organic Market

The view from the sight looking at some of the garden and the market in the background.

I spent a bit of time there and then I continued along the river path before turning around and heading back home.

The River Path (about a 7 min walk from my Melbourne home)

Another view of the River Path

Feeling pretty good about my successful morning I headed home. I caught my dad on Skype and he filled me in with the status of the insurance claim for repairs to the suite below me that my leaking toilet damaged.   The news wasn't good and I think it's going to cost me out of my pocket a hefty sum of money.  Needless to say the news didn't make me all that happy.

But, I had plans to go and see another local farmers market so I jumped onto my bike and headed out.  I've never been to this market either and it's a bit further away but apparently easy to access via a local bike trail.  I haven't had much success finding this trail though so I gave it another attempt.  As I was riding, searching for the trail, I must have been pretty distracted by the news that my dad had given me because I t-boned a street curb.  As you can probably guess I went flying over the handle bars.  Thankfully I wasn't too seriously injured although both my shoulders are quite sore from bracing the fall and my left hand is nicely cut up.  I spent some time fixing the flat tire but I didn't have my bike pump with me (it was in my school bag) and I couldn't get my CO2 to work so I walked to the bike store (about 1 km) and filled up the tube with air.  While changing the tire I also noticed that there was a very good chance that I had sliced the tire so badly that I was going to need a brand new one.  Well, I was right and so I purchased a new tire.  At this point I also realized that I had already punctured the second (new) tube so instead of paying crazy prices for another bike tube I walked home (2km) and did the changing of the tire and tube in the comfort of my home (I had my dad bring over bike tubes for me at a fraction of the cost of the tubes here in Australia).  It was a great way to waste a beautiful sunny fall day.  ;-(  (You'll also notice that I didn't even look at my report cards on Saturday).

Saturday night I was invited out to a games night hosted by another Canadian couple on exchange.  They live about 45 min away by train and bus and I arrived there safely without any trouble.  It was a ton of fun and I met another set of new people.  I came prepared to either spend the night or catch the train and bus back home.  As the night was getting later my train/bus options where getting smaller and smaller.  Although I was able to spend the night with them I really wanted to sleep in my own bed.  In the end one of their guests were kind enough to drive me right back to my home.  It was a super treat and a great way to end a wonderful evening.  

So now it's Sunday early evening.  I've spent most of today either chatting on the computer, dealing with required choirs like cleaning, dishes, groceries, cooking and laundry, or working on my report cards.  The report cards here are much like what we used to write back home before we leaned them down so they are a fair bit more writing then I'm used to.  But they don't stress me out because it isn't anything I haven't done before.  I also know that they will get done, they always do.  

 

Hopefully there is better luck in my future.  

Quick Medical Update

I went through with the colonoscopy today and I must say the bowel prep yesterday was the worst part of the procedure. Waiting three hours and fifteen minutes in the waiting room before being given a bed for the procedure was a close second though.   The colonoscopy was easy because I was under anesthesia the entire time so I didn't feel a thing AND they fed me after.  

The doctor spoke to me after the procedure but I was still under the anesthesia so I'm not positive about what he said.  I do know that I need to call him on Friday for the official test results (he did a biopsy).  But what I think he said is that I have ulcerated colitis.  Again, this isn't official because I really don't remember what he said.

That's the update for now.  Thankfully at this stage I don't need to fly home for treatments or anything.  I'm waiting until the results before I plan any more adventures.  I am hoping to get to Darwin in August to see Kakadu and there are several other places on the east coast I'd like to visit.  For those that e-mailed me directly with your concerns much thanks.  It's nice to know that people at home are thinking about me and sending positive vibes my way.  It hasn't been easy going through this so far away from everyone back at home.  Having said that though a few of my staff members have been great to me and I'm really thankful for them.  Here's to hoping that there is good news coming my way and that I can deal with what I have and continue to enjoy the rest of my adventure here in Aus.  There is still far too much I want to see and do.

Toilet Leaks, Medical Issues, and Aussie Rules Football

This past week hasn't been one of my better weeks here in Australia but the good news is it had nothing to do with my work.  Every since I adjusted my attitude towards work I'm far less stressed (although it may be a little too late as you'll find out).  My students are making good progress and my more challenging student had a better week too.  We even went on an excursion via public transit in rush hour and no one got lost.  Unfortunately other things didn't go quite as well.

Last Friday/Saturday I received an e-mail saying that my toilet (in my apartment back in Vancouver) was leaking and that it was causing damage to the unit below me.  All this was happening while Sharon was at work.  Thankfully one of my neighbours was able to show Sharon how to turn the water off  at the toilet.  While she could stop the leak, the toilet still needed to be looked out.  It turns out the toilet was cracked and could no longer be used.  I had to replace my toilet.

Being over 12,000 km away from home I'm extremely thankfully for my dad who stepped in and saved the day.  He did the leg work, purchased a new "matching" toilet, and arranged for its installation.  He's also been in contact with my insurance company to deal with the damage to the suit below me.  That was stress number one.

My New Toilet

As I mentioned in my last post I was heading to the GP on Monday to check out a "functioning" problem I was having.  My dad and I had both thought it wasn't anything too serious but felt it was best that I see a doctor to confirm that.  Being from Canada if I chose to see any doctor here in Australia I have to pay up front first and claim the insurance later.  I did speak to my travel medical insurance people before heading to the doctor.  They thought I should just head to an emergency but I just didn't think that was the right thing to do because I didn't feel the problem was serious enough to warrant it.  Anyhow they okay'd my visit to the GP.

Unfortunately while the GP did think that my problem was what my dad and I most likely thought it was he couldn't see/feel any signs of it.  He referred me to a specialist.  Of course I had him call my insurance first and they agreed that they would approve me to see the specialist.  This doctor visit cost  me $60 AU of which I hope to get most if not all of it back.

Tuesday we went on our class excursion and my Vancouver Canucks were eliminated from the NHL playoffs.  That was a very sad day too.

Thursday I was off to the specialist to have a closer look.  Before I went to my appointment I was able to stop by the post office and pick up one final box of clothing from Canada.  My friend Katherine had shipped a motor home back to Australia and she kindly put a box of my winter clothing in it.  Before I picked it up I tried to list the things that I had put in it.  Boy was I surprised when I got home to see what I had actually put in it.  It felt like I was opening presents for my birthday.  That was the good part about my Thursday.  It's so nice to have a few more pieces to swap in and out of my limited wardrobe.

But, back to the specialist appointment.  The specialist did his thing and to my surprise he tells me that it isn't what we have all thought it was.  He also says that he thinks I should have a colonoscopy to confirm the severity of my problem.  At this point I'm thinking to myself, "how much is this going to cost me" and "what's really wrong with me?".  Remember everything is cash up front.  So I head to the counter to find out how much this specialist appointment is going to cost me, and how much a colonoscopy is going to cost me in Australia.  The specialist appointment with the procedure he did in his office was $200, and the colonoscopy may cost me up to $2100.  Wow, my heart nearly dropped.  We tried to get ahold of my insurance company while I was in his office but we didn't have much luck.  I then left the office called my dad on my mobile and practically started to cry.  What was I going to do?  When I booked the specialist appointment I was told that I was entitled to one doctor's appointment and one follow up visit.  The GP was the doctor's appointment and the specialist was the follow up visit.  Where did I stand with the colonoscopy? 

After several phone calls back and forth between my travel medical insurance company and my extended health care  I finally was given approval for the procedure.  But, during the conversation I couldn't get them to commit to actually how much they would cover.  Needless to say this has been a fair bit of stress for me.  Stress because I'm not sure what's wrong with me - although the specialist thinks it's Colitis, and stress because I really don't know how much of the $2100 I'll actually ever see again.  I'm also alone in a foreign country without my friends and family.  But I only have two choices.  Pay up front for the procedure here in Australia and find out what's really wrong with me (and hope I get most if not all of the money back eventually), or jump on a plane back to Canada.  It would probably be cheaper to head home but I'm just not ready to do that, at least not yet.

So once the approval was given I arranged for the procedure for this Wednesday.  I'll be off work Tuesday and Wednesday this week.  My acting principle has assured me that someone will be there to pick me up on Wednesday and now all I can do is wait for the procedure and stop worrying about the money.  I don't really have much choice.  It  bothers me that I save my money and now I'm spending it on something that wouldn't cost me anything if I was back at home.  It's just sad.  I wonder if this has something to do with all the stress I was under last term when I was trying to do the my job to the level that I'm accustomed too in a school environment that isn't conducive to that.  It just fuels my report for when I get back home about the good and the not so good with the Australian school system.

Most of the medical insurance issues happened on Friday so it wasn't such a great day.  Unfortunately there was more.

Friday morning I didn't ride my bike to work because I knew it was going to be a tough/stressful day.  Because I didn't have my bike I had to rely on public transit to take me home from work Friday afternoon.  I boarded the bus without any problem and validated my met card (bus pass).  I then got off the bus and headed to the train station. Some where between validating my met card on the bus and walking towards the train station I lost my met card pocket which had my weekly bus pass and TWO weekend bus passes.  I almost started to cry.  I looked every where but I couldn't find it.  So I had to head to the met office and purchase two new met card passes.  $45 later I was back in business.  I payed for my trip home (again) and made it home.  It was the end of an awful week.

This morning I was up early and dropped off something at the lab before taking myself out for breakfast on Brunswick street.  This afternoon I made my way to the Melbourne Cricket Grounds (MCG) to meet up with fellow International Teaching Fellows.  We were invited to attend an Australian Rules Football game (footy) between the Western Bulldogs and Melbourne.  My school is in Bulldogs territory and so I was equipped with a Bulldogs scarf and hat (thanks Tracy).  I know Sharon may not like that though as she has a Melbourne blanket in her home.  I guess I could have used the Melbourne blanket to keep me warm.

At the game we were given a "quiz" to fill out on Aussie Rules Football.  I decided to have fun with the quiz and I provided comical answers to the questions being asked.  While at the game I tried to learn a little bit more about the sport but I must admit I chatted with fellow exchange teachers and missed a lot of it.  I finally figured out the scoring though which is a step in the right direction.  The Bulldogs also WON so I was happy to be wearing the winning team's colours.  After the game we headed into chinatown for a meal. It was nice to see the other exchange people.  We also got the results of the quiz.  I certainly didn't have any of the right answers but I won a prize for the most creative answers.  I now own an MCG toque!

Inside MCG

You can tell by the empty seats that this wasn't a very popular match.  The Bulldogs are in the top five right now and Melbourne is last in the league.  Having said that Melbourne actually lead for a lot of the game but in the end they fell short and lost.  

Me in my Western Bulldogs Hat and Scarf

Here's hoping this will be a much better week and that the results aren't too serious and the insurance companies aren't total losers.  I think I was tested enough this week to last for a little while.

NHL Playoffs While on Excursion

Today was game six of a best of seven playoff series between the Vancouver Canucks and the Chicago Blackhawks and heading into the game my Vancouver Canucks were down 3 games to 2. Unfortunately I wasn't near a computer to check on the scores because I was on an excursion with my class in the city. Normally I'd just check the score when I got back to a computer but today's game was different. If we won, we kept playing and if we lost we were done for the season.

Knowing me, and knowing my love for hockey I must say I have the best friends back at home. Not one but two of my good friends sent me text messages throughout the game so that I was always on top of the score. I was right there with the highs and the lows of the game even though I'm here in Australia. In the end we lost which totally sucks but it's great to know I have such good friends back home.

Western Australia - May 9 - 10, 2009

If I covered Canberra in 36 hours some what successfully I figured I'd give Perth and some of its surrounding area a go in 48 hours.  Beyond school holidays and an odd long weekend I don't have much time to travel far so I need to make the most of the the time I have.

Friday after work I headed home, packed my bag and made my way to the airport.  Because my decision to go to Perth was a last minute one I chose the least expensive flight I could find.  I was scheduled to fly out at 10:25 am arriving in Perth at 1 am.  I was able to sleep in the airport, and sleep on the plane so when I arrived in the middle of the night I didn't feel too badly. 

A few hours later I was up meeting my day tour to Margaret River.  Margaret River is a well know wine area in Western Australia.  It's also around 350 km (or further) south down the coast from  Perth. Unfortunately the major highway is away form the coast so I didn't get to see much of it on the drive down.  

Our first official stop (we did stop at a small bakery for morning tea)  was at the Xanadu Winery in the Margaret Creek region.  It's one of the oldest wineries in the area and their wine can be purchased around the world.  The wine wasn't too bad and I ended up buying a bottle to enjoy with my  lunch (and later on dinner). 

Wine Tasting at Xanadu

Vineyards at the Xanadu Winery

From the the vineyard we headed to the Eagles Heritage Raptor Centre where we learned about animals including the wedged tailed eagle, peregrine falcon (fastest animal on earth), tawny frog mouth, and barn owls.  Most had been rescued from the wild with the intention to return them there. We saw an eagle flight demonstration and I was one of five that took the opportunity to hold the owl.

The Tawny Frog Mouth (I think??)

The Barn Owl and I

From there we travelled a bit more south towards Mammoth Caves passing the Borunap Kerry Tree forest.  

Inside Mammoth Cave

Inside Mammoth Cave

Once we departed the cave we continued through the Boranup Forest while heading to the cape at Augusta.   We stopped at Cape Leeuwin where the Southern and Indian Oceans meet.  It's also home to the Cape Leeuwin lighthouse.

Cape Leeuwin Light House

Cape Leeuwin

From Cape Leeuwin we headed to Busseltown for dinner and sunset.  We arrived  just as the sun was setting and while  everyone was enjoying their dinner inside I was outside taking pictures of the jetty in the setting sun.  Busseltown is the home of Ironman South Australia so it was pretty cool for me to be there. The jetty (which I would typically refer to as a pier) is almost 2km long.  Unfortunately it's no longer safe so you are only able to walk 100 or so meters along it.  

Bussletown Jetty at Sunset, Western Australia

Once we finished our evening meal we then had along journey back to Perth - three hours of straight driving.  I arrived back in Perth at about 9 pm after a very eventful day.  For what ever reason I wasn't too tired either so I walked around the city and neighbouring suburb before heading to bed.

Sunday morning I was up early for a little run around the water in the city before being picked up by John and Rachel (the brother in law and sister  of a very good family friend from back home).  They drove me north to Hillary's boat harbour and Sorento's Quay.  After a nice coffee and a muffin they kindly drove me along the coast passing Perth's amazing beaches including Scarborough, City Beach, Cottesloe and right down to Fremantle.  They told me about each area as we passed it and it was nice to have some "locals" information.  They were very kind to me.  

Scarborough Beach

Looking back towards the beaches.

Unfortunately we weren't able to spend the entire day together as they were invited into a box for the local footy game.  They left me in Fremantle, a port city along the coast south of Perth, and I was happy about that as I was eager to check it out.  I wandered around Fremantle for a few hours trying to take it in.  I visited the Maritime Museum Shipwreck Gallery, High Street Mall, Kings Square, Cappuccino Strip, the Fremantle Markets, and Bather's Beach.  I even rode around the the free local bus.  I was hoping that I might get a quick trip to Rottnest Island but I really needed a day to do that so unfortunately I didn't get to it on this trip to South Australia.

Fremantle Market was inside this building.

Cappuccino Strip  

Once I had seen enough  I boarded a train and headed back to the Perth central business district.  From there I travelled by foot up to King's Park to enjoy it's wonderful location and amazing views.

View of Perth's Central Business District (from King's Park)

View of Swan River and Perth from King's Park

Around five pm I was picked up again by R and J and we headed for a family mother's day meal.  After the meal I was able hang out with them at their home before they kindly drove me to the airport at 10 pm.  My flight back to Melbourne didn't actually leave until 12:50 am in the wee hours of the morning so once I checked in I set an alarm and went to sleep in the terminal.  I arrived back in Melbourne at about 6 am this morning but thinking ahead I  booked the day off from work.

For the past several weeks I've been dealing with a medical issues that really needs to be looked at by a doctor.  Since I was off work I decided to take today to visit the doctor.  The doctor couldn't be conclusive and so he has referred me to a specialist which I'll see later this week.  So as I head back to work tomorrow I have a medical certificate in my hand for today's missed work, and I'll be off again on Thursday visiting the specialist.  I'm still hoping it isn't anything too serious but only the specialist will be able to confirm that.

Overall I'm really glad I made the trek to Western Australia.  I feel like I saw a lot in Perth but there is still so much more I'd like to see in Western Australia.  I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it back or not on this year's adventure trip but you just never know what I can be up to.

Anyhow for the next three weekends or so I'm staying put.  I need to start and finish my report cards and I need to attend to some social engagements closer to home.  I guess life isn't too bad after all.

Report Card Season is Fast Approaching but First...

Okay, it's just about that time of the year when normal life as I know it goes on hold for writing the dreaded report cards.  I've had a little look at my school's report cards and they don't look too challenging (and they only have to do two sets a year instead of the three we do back home).  Report cards are report cards yet, no matter how many you've written before, they are always a huge stress on top of an already stressful job.  I'm hoping these report cards won't be too stressful to write.  I don't want them to take up too much of my free time.

Before I commit the time to writing report cards I'm off on one more adventure.  This weekend I'm heading to Western Australia.  Perth isn't all that close to anything but I've managed to find a good flight that will give me two full days in that part of the world (but not a lot of sleep). I've already booked a full day tour for Saturday leaving from Perth heading to Margaret River visiting several places along the way.  It will be a very long day (13 hours I think) after a night of almost no sleep.  It could be interesting but as I often say, "you can catch up on your sleep when you're 80".  I have an idea for Sunday's adventure too but nothing is official yet.  The good thing about Perth right now it's that the weather has  consistently been in the mid 20's.  I sure could use some of that warmth.  The funny thing about this quick weekend away is that I don't think I'll actually see any of Perth beyond the airport and my hostel bed.

Between my trip to Western Australia and the day my report cards are due I will be staying in Melbourne.  Thankfully there are some fun things planned during this time too (there are a ton of great things to do here in Melbourne - it's a fantastic city).  We have an exchange event planned for the 16th of May and we will be heading to an Australian Rules Footy game.  I don't know much about the sport (yet) but I do know that people are as passionate about their Footy Team as I am about my Vancouver Canucks team.  I've also been invited out to a night at a Vodka bar.  That could be interesting too.

So while report card season is quickly approaching there are still many good things for me to look forward to.  Plus, the day the reports are due in June  I'll be off on another adventure because it's a LONG weekend.

Sydney With My Dad - May 1 -3, 2009

I spent this past weekend with my dad in Sydney.  Having never been to Sydney I didn't know what to expect and I wasn't disappointed.  Sydney is an absolutely beautiful city and reminded me a lot of Vancouver - except of course there were no mountains and it's much much bigger.

I arrived Friday night after quite a hectic day of work - an almost all day field trip to return to school and present our class assembly in front of the entire school. I was definitely ready for the drink at the airport while waiting to board my plane.  The plane ride went smoothly and it was great to be with my dad again.  We caught up on his adventures since he had left me a week earlier and then headed out for a walk in the area.  We were staying in the Darling Harbour part of town so we were right near the water.  We were also near Chinatown and I just missed the Friday night market.  My dad saw it and said it was packed with people.  I only got to see them packing up for the night.

The next morning I got up and WENT FOR A RUN!  I was pretty proud of myself to get off my lazy butt and run.  I ran along Darling Harbour out towards the Sydney Harbour Bridge.  I didn't really know where I was going and managed to run up some wickedly steep hills too.  Sydney is definitely a LOT hillier than Melbourne.

After a quick breakfast and a talk with our hotel we headed to Paddington market.  I was told that is was a good market to go to and we found out it was on Saturdays only.  Well, I'm glad we made the trek there as I made a couple of purchases and almost bought a dress (it's too bad it didn't fit right because it was SOOOOO cute).

Paddington Market, Oxford Street, Sydney

From Paddington we walked to a place that was recommended to my dad for lunch.  It was well worth the walk as I had a fantastic salad with trout.  From there we walked to Circular Quay to catch a ferry to Manly Beach.  Manly Beach is about 3o min away by boat but still part of Sydney.  The views from the ferry were amazing and while I took a ton of photos I'm only post a couple here. 

Sydney Opera House (taken from the ferry)

Sydney Harbour (taken from the ferry)

Thirty minutes later we arrived in Manly Beach.  As you pull up you see two little strips of beach and wonder to yourself "where's the famous Manly Beach".  Well we had to walk a couple of blocks but we were not disappointed.  Manly Beach is a beautiful long beach which what looked like great surfing waves. It was also full of people learning how to surf.  

Manly Beach

My dad and I decided to take a walk along the shore line but our walk was cut short by a torrential down pour.  Although it was warm (about 20 or so) it was WET!  The rain came and went for the next little while but the surfers kept surfing.

A Rainbow at Manly Beach

Me, standing under the "Dripping Wet, Manly Beach, Australia" sign, soaking wet!

After a quick snack and a hot drink (we were both pretty cold and wet at this point) we headed back to the Circular Quay.  The sun had already started to set as we boarded the boat but I was still able to get a few good shots.  My dad has some amazing shots and hopefully I'll get copies so I can add them to this blog too.  

Sydney Harbour Bridge at Dusk

That evening my dad and I caught an interesting show in the Studio of the Sydney Opera House.  In case you didn't know there are several venues and stages with in the building.  The studio is just one of them.  After the show we had a nice dinner in the harbour and headed back to our hotel.

The next morning I got up and ran AGAIN!  This time I knew my way around a bit better and so I made it right to the Opera House and even ran through the area known as "The Rocks".

Proof I was "RUNNING" in the Harbour

Once back at the hotel and after a Sunday brunch pig out (hey, I had run two mornings in a row), my dad and I scored on our all day Sunday bus/train/ferry pass ($2.50 for the entire day) we hoped a bus for Bondi Beach. Before we actually walked on the beach my dad spotted another market.  He's starting to learn that I love to go to local markets to see what the local artists are up to.  Again I made a couple of purchases but I see them as true memories of my trip.  Once we exhausted the market we headed down to the beach.  Again it was warm but again it rained on us.  Thankfully the rain didn't last as long and it didn't rain nearly as hard as it did the day before.

Bondi Beach, Syndey

From Bondi Beach we hopped another bus and headed back to Circular Quay to spend some time in The Rocks (another area in Sydney right near the harbour).  We had found out the day before that there is a weekend market in The Rocks so we had to go and check it out.  (Okay, maybe my dad didn't need to get to a third market but I DID).  We walked around for a bit but there wasn't anything I needed/wanted to buy (thank goodness).  

The Rocks Market

We snooped around The Rocks a bit more before we made our way to the Sydney Harbour Bridge.  I had toyed with the idea of climbing the bridge, and I still may on another trip to Sydney, but this time my dad and I just walked across the bridge instead.

Walking the Bridge 

The Opera House and Harbour from the Bridge

Circular Harbour from the Bridge

Walking the bridge was a much less expensive alternative (it's almost $200 to climb it) and I'm glad we did it.  At this point though I needed to think about getting back to the hotel to catch my flight.  My dad and I decided that instead of walking back to Darling Harbour,  that we would take a ferry back (after all we did have our all day transit passes).  Like the first ferry we took this one didn't disappoint either.

View of the Bridge and the Opera House from the Ferry

View of Darling Harbour from the Ferry

Overall it was a really great weekend. It was nice to spend one and one time with my dad (that rarely happens at home), and it was great to see Sydney too.  The only sad parts about the weekend was finding out that the Canucks lost 6-3 to Chicago in game two of the playoffs, and knowing that I won't see my dad until I land back in Vancouver on Dec 23, 2009.  As for Sydney, I'll definitely be back to take a surf lesson at Bondi Beach (Tammy and Nancy B you'll be joining me I hope !), and to visit the Blue Mountains.  Heck  I may even run the marathon or half marathon in the Spring.

Now hopefully I can motivate myself to run tomorrow after work!

*Remember if you double click on the photos you can make them larger.  I love the one of the Opera House and Harbour taken from the bridge. The small size doesn't do it justice.