Australia Part 2!

I will apologize in advance again for how long this post will be, but these blogs are also for me to look back on and I don't want to leave anything out! I hope you enjoy reading them!
Friday was our first full day of driving. It is about 850km from Melbourne to Sydney but we spilt it up into 3 days so we could do some sight seeing as well. We started our day off early and had breakfast at home and packed some food for the trip ahead of us. As we began our drive I noticed that Australia is more green and lush than I imagined it to be! Highway drives in Ontario are not exciting with a boring flat scenery (well most that I do). This highway drive was amazing with hills and tress everywhere! It was honestly very surprising but made me fall in love with this country even more. Our first stop was in Glenrowan to see the famous Ned Kelly statue. This was the city where his outlaw ways began. Learning about all this history really made me feel more connected to the cities I was visiting. I am happy Ross and Barbara decided to plan this wonderful trip for me. Back in the car we went and then stopped at the Brown Brother's for lunch. This is a winery that Ross and Barbara have been to before and the food was amazing! We got some different plates to share and had some cheese and meat spreads and salads. I was in heaven... I have missed cheese so much! The property was also beautiful! I can't wait to explore wineries when I get home. We then did the long drive to Gundagai where we were staying for the night. We stayed at a farm homestay and it was one of the best places I have ever spent the night! It was a little two story cottage feeling building that we stayed in, right in the middle of nature. The girl running the homestay that night took us out on the 4-wheeler around the farm. While driving up the hill we then spotted wild kangaroo and chased them! There were hundreds and I'm not exaggerating!!! It was amazing to see them jumping through the trees. Then we had a wonderful mean prepared and delivered to us. They prep the food and then Ross barbecued the steaks while Barbara and I put the salad together. We also had potato bake which is the most delicious thing I have ever had in my life! It was a perfect evening with a perfect sunset. I had the best sleep that night because the air was cool and there was a heated blanket on the bed!!! Made me feel like I was home. We had toast, coffee and left over potato bake for breakfast before we hit the road again. We spent the morning driving to our next destination which was the lovely city Canberra! Canberra is also the capital city of Australia! Our first stop in Canberra was at the old parliament building. We got to do a walk through and see all the different wings of the building. It was a lot more interesting than I thought it would be! It has really made me want to visit Ottawa and check out my own country's parliament building. We then went to the National Gallery of Australia to see Sidney Nolan's series of pantings on Ned Kelly. They were beautiful and gave me more information and visuals to the life of the famous outlaw. The gallery had a lot of paintings as well completed by the Natives of Australia and they were amazing. If only I had more money I would have bought copies of some of these traditional dot paintings. Then we went to this nice spot on the water and had lunch. It was a beautiful sunny day so we had a nice little picnic. Then we drove to Red Hill viewpoint to get a fantastic view of the whole city! You could see the new parliament and old parliament buildings, it was beautiful. Then we went and settled into our apartment for the night. It was really cool to stay in a place like this because it allowed for us to each have our own room but also be in the same apartment. It also included a nice living room area and kitchen! We got ready for our dinner reservation at Belluci's and gave me time to message home. Then we walked to the restaurant because it was just around the corner. The restaurant was really nice and busy! It is an italian style restaurant and we had wine and amazing food! I had a salmon salad that was to die for! I seriously can not believe how much I missed a good salad! Then we headed back to our apartment for the evening and called it an early night. Once again it was an amazing sleep!

Started off our next day with muesli and fruit for breakfast in our room and then packed up the car and headed to the new parliament building. There are free tours at scheduled times so we put our names down to do the tour. Again it surprised me how much more interesting government  can be. I learned so much about the electoral process and how to pass a bill. The building was also mind blowing! It is built into the hill and you can walk on the grassed roof of the building! It was raining but did not ruin the roof walking experience! Canberra was a perfect stop before Sydney! After our tour ended we drove around and looked at all the embassy properties and they were beautiful and huge! Then our drive continued to Sydney. We arrived in the late afternoon and instantly I fell in love with this city! It is breath taking being right on the water and we arrived right at sunset making it seem magical to me! Sunsets make things so much more beautiful. We went to our hotel and got settled in and then walked around the harbour looking for a place to eat. We found this greek restaurant on the water front and it was yummy yummy yummy. I feel like every meal I eat is great but I'm not picky and had been living off of noodles and rice so changing up my food groups excited me! Also wine!!! So much wine and champagne, it was amazing! Thailand isn't really a wine place but I can tell you Australia sure is! After dinner we walked back to our hotel and planned the following day and then called it a night. The Ibis hotel was amazing and the rooms so nice! I got my own room so I watched a movie before bed and had a great sleep! We had the buffet breakfast at the hotel and it was great! Eggs, bacon, croissants, and fruit; I loved it so much! We then walked down to the harbour and the pier. There are ferries that run on a schedule and take you around the city of Sydney but on the water. It was my favourite way to travel while we were here. We got on the ferry and went to the pier closest to the Opera House. When we came around the bend and saw the Sydney Opera House I got goosebumps. It was beautiful, especially seeing it for the first time and being on the water it was indescribable. The Sydney Harbour Bridge was also a sight too see, and watching people climbing up it was crazy! I really wanted to do it but was not in my budget. Living on a Thai budget has really made me a cheap ass hahaha. We headed straight for the Opera House because we had a tour booked to see the inside of it. This was something Barbara and Ross had never done either so all three of us were very excited! WOW!! Words can't describe how beautiful the inside of it is. It is now a dream of mine to go back and watch a performance in one of the theatres. It was more incredible than I could have ever imagined. So much hard work and detail was put into the creation of the Opera House and I loved learning about it. That will forever be a day I remember. The weather was overcast all day but the perfect temperature for walking around the streets of Sydney. We stopped for afternoon tea with salad and soup for lunch at this cute cafe. We then went and saw some historic buildings and the parliament building in Sydney. They were beautiful buildings. Then we stopped for a rest in a park by the fountain. People watching is fun no matter where you are in the world. Then we went back to the hotel and took the subway instead of the ferry back. We rested and got ready for dinner where we met up with Ross and Barbara's friends. We went to the Meat and Wine Co. for dinner and it was delicious! I got a chicken kebab which came on this huge hanging stick with my salad underneath, so cool! The wine was also great as always! I will never complain about wine. They were very nice company and we had a lovely evening. After dinner we walked back to the hotel and packed my bags for the trip back home the next day. My flight wasn't until late so we still had a full day but had to take our bags and put them in the car after checkout.
We did breakfast again at the buffet with amazing real coffee! The instant Thai stuff is fine but I was getting sick of it. Then we went and loaded our bags into the car and then walked to Town Hall and got a train from the station there to Circular Quay, where we caught a ferry to Manly. This ferry ride was longer but the beach was worth it! It was the beginning of the winter season when I arrived so we couldn't really go swimming but I went and touched the water still so I could touch the South Pacific Ocean. The waves were huge here!!!! There were some people surfing and I was scared for their lives! We had morning tea at a restaurant on the beach and then checked out some of the shops along the boardwalk area. Then back on the ferry we went to CQ and then bussed to Bondi Beach! This beach was beautiful! The waves once again were huge and this beach was actually busy! People were laying out in bathing suits working on their Australian tan, but still way to cold for me! We grabbed some take out sushi and sat at a bench on the beach and had lunch enjoying the view. Then back on the bus and our next stop was Watson's Bay. We had coffee in the cafe on the dock and waited for the ferry back to Darling Harbour. I loved the ferries it was so nice to be on the water sitting in the sun with the wind blowing, I was very happy. It was the perfect last day in Australia. Then we headed to the car and drove to the airport. They dropped me off at 6:00pm and my flight left at 9:30pm. Ross and Barbara planned the most perfect trip for me and I am so thankful I got to spend 10 days with them in such a beautiful country. I hope to visit again very soon!
The flight back was really bumpy and I couldn't sleep much but that gave me the chance to stare at the stairs. It was breathtaking! Being above the clouds with a pitch black sky and so many bright stars. I was at a loss for words and felt so small. Felt good getting back on Thailand soil, felt like home.