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| Iraq is Back |
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| Robin went to the Iraq vs. Australia soccer game at Telstra Stadium at Olympic Park. For hours before and after the game the Iraqis were loudly celebrating. Even though they did not win the game they were screaming and chanting as if the coming together of so many Iraqis in one place was all they needed to fuel their patriotism. |
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| Tricia and Vanessa at jazz class. |
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| Go girls!
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| Classmates |
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| My Wednesday afternoons were spent in writing class with Frieda, Lillian, Ann Davis (my wonderful teacher) and Alan (not pictured). Thanks for all the creative support! |
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| Isn't is really about the food? |
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| On our trip to Hawkesbury River we met some nice folks. Nancy was a great conversationalist. Great food all the way from Italy. |
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| Splashdown |
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| Bronte, Hamish, Tricia and Jake. |
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| Sorry For Backtracking to Aussie Photos |
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| Even though we're in Hong Kong now (shopping, of course, and trying not to killed by passing double-decker buses), we just wanted to catch up and have our famiy and friends meet some of our Aussie friends. And we wanted our Aussie friends to know we haven't forgotten them.
(From l to r )Here's Hamish, Tricia, Malinda and (front row) Camille and Bronte. Jake is in the background.
Miss you and xoxox to you and others we don't have pictures of!
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| Our new friend Rhubee |
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| We met Rhubee at the Outback Centre. She has a beautiful voice and she writes and sings ballads from her heart and from her Aboriginal past. I wish you all could hear her; her music is moving. She plans to cut her first CD next year. Go Rhubee! (Oh yea, that's Tricia and me pictured with her.) |
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| This is not the moom over Miami |
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| A full moon sure looks pretty down under. |
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| This is our goodbye image of Sydney |
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| We will be moving around every 2-6 days during the next two months. Yes, laugh at us for living out of a suit case, but wholl get a better view of the Great Wall? Well try to track down Internet cafes when we can. But if we dont respond to emails for a week, nobody panic.
Goodbye to all our new friends in Australia. We miss you already. This is your official invitation to visit us in America. But dont come during our winter (you probably dont have long underwear).
Thanks for the going away bash to Malinda, Jake, Camille, Nana, Hamish & Bronte. Got any leftovers for airplane snacks? Deb, Greg, Vanessa & family, well see you at Disney.
The Tim Tams are packed, although well have to ration them. We may (or may not) share them with our American friends and family. The Vegamite is packed also in case Annette and Patrick need a fix.
Kiss, kiss.
Merry travel to all and to all a good flight.
Xoxoxoxoxoxox Marla, Robin & Tricia
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| Big Tree |
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| They grow them big here!
Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney, NSW |
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| Make a wish |
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| Archibald Fountain, Hyde Park, Sydney
While Robin and I were having a field trip in the city searching for the US and Chinese consulates (to get questions answered and obtain our Chinese visas, respectively) we found this divine (the Aussies use that world a lot, that and lovely) fountain.
FYI...both consulates were closed by the time we got there. But we had a lovely lunch. Isn't always about the food anyway?
(Sydney, NSW)
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| Peli can you smile for the camera? |
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| A local bird friend. We'll talk to anyone. |
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| Merry Go Round The World |
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| As we rode the merry go round we listened to old American music. Robin (who, of course, was photoshooting) and I were singing with Doris Day to Que Sera, Sera. Can you just hear it now?
(Darling Harbor, NSW) |
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| The Year of the Rooster |
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| Happy Chinese New Year. The Year of the Rooster as was celebrated on Darling Harbor. It was an extremely hot day. There is only so much sun and heat and eggrolls that a person can take in one day, so Tricia and I ducked into the IMAX theatre while Robin rubbed elbows with the Dragon. |
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| Colorful boat races |
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| Chinese boat races during Chinese New Year celebrations. |
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| The Three-Hour Boat Ride Home |
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| The storm scared the @#*#! out of us as we were making our way home from Darling Harbor on the River Taxi. The skies went dark. The captain drove in circles. The passengers became restless. Robin took photos. Tricia wiped the boat's misty windows in hope of seeing land. And I was waiting for The Professor and Mary Ann to join us.
xoxoxox Marla |
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| Olympic Cauldron |
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| The Olympic Cauldron is now a freestanding fountain. No, the water is not flowing in the picture, I'm not imagining it.) The foundation -- on the ground surrounding it -- has inlaid bricks with the medalist winners names engraved. Oh yeah, Tricia and I are in the picture, too. |
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| The Journey's Motto |
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| Whoever David Wright may be, he has the correct idea. Life is either a Daring Adventure or Nothing. |
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| Rugby |
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| The first Rugby game any of us ever attended was played by the Australian Waratahs vs. the New Zealand Crusaders. It is very similar to American Gridiron (as they call it outside of the US) except the players are real men who don't wear helmets or body pads and the spectators are very civilzed. |
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| Sunflower |
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| The flowers are beautiful in Australia. Since the weather is very temperate amazing plants grow easily here, including palm trees, birds of paradise and sunflowers. We even had our very own pineapple growing on our deck. It ripened Sunday and it was delicious. |
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| The View of Sydney Olympic Park |
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| This view is from a hilltop across the street from our condo. We biked up the trails (which used to be an old landfill). |
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| Finally some New Photos...check out the photo link! xoxoxo Marla |
| Tricia is rolling back in time |
| We visited the PowerHouse Musuem, an Australian public museum with exhibits in the fields of science, technology, industry, design, decorative arts and cultural issues. |
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| Favorite Pastime |
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| Tricia's down time. Reading. |
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| Taxi Service |
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| This River Cat is our taxi to the city. Our apartment looks out onto the Parrammata River. So we go down 1km to the Ferry Wharf and pick up our ride. The River Cat takes about 35 minutes down the river to Circular Quay, which is where the Opera House and museums are located. |
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| Women's Doubles |
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| The Women's doubles match was just as hot. In wheel chair tennis, the rules allow a second bounce before returning the volley. These tennis players were were so strong and it was exciting to watch. |
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| Wheelchair Tennis |
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| The Australian Wheelchair Tennis Open was played at Sydney Olympic Park. This match was between Saida vs. Ammerlaan. It was a really hot day...Robin endured the weather to get some nice images and Tricia and I hid in the shade. The athletes are amazing in mind and body. |
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| More of the Blue Mountains |
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| Foliage in the Blue Mountains |
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| We walked through paths in the Blue Mountains. It was a beautiful day and ... no snow.
We'll aim to update the images every couple days. Sorry for the delay. |
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| Hanging in the Blue Mountains |
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| Tricia dangles over the electro-scenic glass bottom floor of the Skyway through the Blue Mountains. |
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| Robin is finally in a picture |
| Blue Mountains |
| Thanks, Grant, for taking a picture of the three of us at the Blue Mountains. We trekked around on the paths and rode the sky tram and train (which used to be a old coal mining track) through the rainforest. |
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| We still can't get Robin in front of the camera |
| The Opera House is in the background. |
| We keep trying, but Robin insists on being on the other side of the camera. In the next few days in my journals, I'll post the past three articles that appeared in the Northwest Herald (for those family and friends who don't get the paper).
xoxoxo Marla |
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| Sydney Harbor Bridge at Night |
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| At night, The Sydney Harbor Bridge delights passersby with the "disco ball" and a colored light show |
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| There's No Place Like Home, Dorothy |
| But until we get home, this will do just fine |
| Our condo building was housing for the families of the Olympic Athletes during the 2000 Olympics. |
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| A Room With A View |
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| Our view from our condo looks out toward Sydney overlooking Parammatta River and Homebush Bay. |
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| I made it out alive |
| There really are fish in the Great Barrier Reef |
| I'm a survivor, I'm gonna make it... |
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| How does ths fit over my nose? |
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| I'll be snorkeling just as soon as I can get this gear on. Oy vey, how did Jacques Cousteau manage? |
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| Going In |
| The Great Barrier Reef |
| The Great Barrier Reef waits for no one, especially Tricia. Gear on and and jelly fish protected, Tricia headed out to the great beyond. The waves were a bit choppy and a lot of salt water was consumed this day. |
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| Digging to China From Cairns |
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| Tricia and Robin dig down to water while we take a break from snorkelng. Sunblock anyone? |
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| The rainforest flowers |
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| Flowers in the rainforest outside of Cairns are colorful and the varieties are vast. |
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| Kangaroo Kurd |
| Calamine lotion is our friend |
| This is the Kangaroo Krud, in case our journal did not explain it well enough. |
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| Cairns -- Northeast Coast |
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| The rainforests in Northeast Australia have spectacular waterfalls. Robin and Grant took a cable car through the mountains of Karumba. |
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| The view from the top of The Sydney Bridge is Spectacular |
| We Climbed It! |
| Nick, our Bridge guide, filled us with facts and figures and Sydney trivia while we climbed to the top. Isn't the view amazing? The picture is of Tricia, Marla and our friend, Grant. Of course Robin was the one with the camera...not pictured. Check out www.bridgeclimb.com for more info. |
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| The Sydney Opera House |
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| The Sydney Opera House was designed by Danish architect Jorn Utzon. It opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 20 October 1973. Its first performance was The Australian Opera's production of War and Peace by Prokofiev. It cost $AU 102,000,000 to build and has an annual audience of 2 million for its performances. |
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| Almost there |
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| Almost there |
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