Australia: All 10 Albums!

THIS POST IS FOR DONICA AND ME! I have been working on these albums off and on since May, between all our other trips and activities, and I'm finally fulfilling my promise to FINISH them now and not let them fade into some distant past!

So, here they are for our own posterity and remembrance, all in one place:

1. Australia: SYDNEY

It's a city full of parks, fountains (this is the Archibald Fountain), churches/cathedrals, landmarks and history.

2. Australia: SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE

This is probably one of the world's most recognizable landmarks!
I took pictures of it from every which way!

3. Australia: SYDNEY HARBOUR BRIDGE

I'm guessing this landmark comes in second to the Opera House in the city.

4. Australia: SYDNEY HARBOUR

Apart from the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, there's enough else to keep you busy for many days and harbour cruises! We took two harbour cruises and could have taken more!

5. Australia: SYDNEY TARONGA ZOO

OK, so this isn't a big album but I didn't know where else to put it!

6. Australia: THE BLUE MOUNTAINS

Nephew David took us to the Blue Mountains 50 km west of Sydney for a day of ooohing and aaahing.

7. Australia: THE GOLD COAST

After a week in Sydney, we drove a rental car along the Gold Coast north to Brisbane, spending a night in Coffs Harbour along the way: 982 km/610 miles.

8. Australia: BRISBANE

Talk about another incredible city! And we even met up with 2 of my blogger friends!

9. Australia: MAGNETIC ISLAND

After a long weekend in Brisbane, we flew to Townsville, in Queensland, and took the ferry over to Magnetic Island for a week of unbelievable R&R.

10. Australia: MAGNETIC ISLAND ECOLOGY

While on Magnetic Island, we were rewarded with myriad treats for the eyes. They say the island is one of Australia's best-kept secrets. It's true!

So now I can breath a sigh of relief (the photos are finally organized and published). AND I can move on to Brussels and a concert on the Prinsengracht in Amsterdam. Miles to go before I sleep.

The Blue Mountains

We're both back in Atlanta now before Donica is off to New Jersey on Sunday and we fly with Nicholas to Don and Ruth's for Farm Day in Michigan next weekend...and then back to Amsterdam on the 11th! WHEW!

BUT, since I spent almost every day this last trip in Amsterdam working on our Australia photos, to finally finish them for albums, I have that incredible trip from April/May on my mind once again.

One of our side trips while in Sydney was to the Blue Mountains, 48km west of the city...

...with nephew David as our companion and tour guide. The Blue Mountains happen to be one of his favorite places where he likes to take everyone. So we were lucky to have him with us, back-n-forth on the train.



The first thing we did before seeing the mountains was visit the Toy & Railway museum in Leura, a small town along the Blue Mountains railway line...just to say we did it.



Besides, I just LOVE model trains!






Then into the mountains we went on a rainy, misty day!




...walking along the trails...




riding the cable car....




...watching the delightful lorikeets at the visitors' center...




...and staring at the aborigine sculptures out front.




After a wonderful day of oohing and aahing, we were ready to catch our train back to Sydney, fully understanding why David and his partner love it so much.

And that was just one day of our 3-week trip! I'll never forget it.

Boomnetting

Someone on my other blog just "accused" me of being "all over the place," and since that's true to my Gemininity, I'll be the same here. HA!

Donica keeps reminding me that I'm not yet done with all my Australian pictures from April/May, so my goal this Amsterdam trip (we arrived yesterday!) is to finish them. I just PhotoShopped this little series of shots from when we went out on a boat to see Magnetic Island from the water. We got to snorkel...

...and something I had never heard of: boomnetting! I didn't do it because I wanted to take these pictures, but it looked like a blast!

This is a step-mother (right) and daughter who were the only ones on our ride who did it. The mother is smiling at her two little sons who were scared to death about what they were seeing.

It took a long time before they both figured out where they needed to be on the net without being dragged out to sea!

What a blast! I totally got my education that day. I had no clue there was such a thing as boomnetting. Where have I been all my life??!!

Okay, back to photoshopping Australia!

Lest We Forget: Anzac Day

(First of all, in case you're curious, I've added an update with photos to the last post about the almost-dead, sunken boat.)

Anzac Day. When we scheduled our few days in Brisbane, Australia, between Sydney and Magnetic Island, we were totally unaware that Australia would be celebrating one of their most important holidays during our stay. Rank it up there just behind Christmas.

We arrived on Wednesday evening and left Saturday morning. On Friday was the holiday. It is commemorated by Australia and New Zealand on April 25 every year "to honour members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZACs) who fought at Gallipoli in Turkey during World War I." (Wiki)

Talk about a fabulous war memorial!

What surprised us more than anything was how looooong the parades were, both in time and length. AND how many people were out to watch and applaud!


Everywhere there were reminders that this was a time to...remember! Poppies are the symbol for remembrance.





Especially the old-timers remembered.









The Vietnam vets looked just like ours in the States and brought back too many memories of post-traumatic stress disorder. But I think these guys looked a bit less stressed than ours?







Without question, there was pride, pomp and circumstance. Donica and I both had tears in our eyes when we saw the patriotism. We mentioned it later to a British couple who agreed that even in their country they don't see it like we did in Australia. It gave us pause!

(And yes, that left front man really was a giant!)


Lest we forget!

There is no way in the world the Australians or New Zealanders will ever forget their war heroes. They are a breed set apart, for sure. They do not have our own history. They are proud not to forget!

**********

Tomorrow morning Donica and I fly back to Atlanta from Amsterdam on two separate planes but at almost the same time. She'll then fly to NYC on Monday for the rest of the week...before we start gearing up for the big wedding the following week in Hawaii! Daughter Amy is definitely in count-down stage, as are we!

BRIZ-bun = Brisbane

If you go there, yes, you have to pronounce it correctly!

Next to Sydney, it was our favorite city to see in Australia...even though it was our only other big city to see. HA! It was well worth the drive from Sydney to Brisbane in two days, with an overnight in Coffs Harbour along Australia's southeastern shore. For one thing, the farther we got north out of Sydney, the more the sun began to shine.

Every city has to have its Town Hall and Brisbane was no exception. They even let you go to the top for free, which I did.

But the main building I just had to see was Brisbane's and Queensland's oldest structure, The Windmill. YES, folks. That's a windmill without sails. It was brought over to Australia by a British soldier who could not maintain the operation of the sails. He was a soldier, not an engineer! So he ended up using convicts to tread the grain mill for him by hand.

An elderly man, who saw me taking lots of pictures, stopped to tell me some of the history. Apparently said soldier really mistreated the convicts and was despised by them. When his body was later found in the river, it was assumed the convicts did him in, even though it was never proven!

One fun way to see a city, we have discovered, is to take a city sightseeing bus tour (those hop-on-and-off buses) OR, if there is a river, a river cruise. We opted for the latter and had a heyday with pictures. Well, I did, that is.

See the itty-bitty people climbing up to the top (just like on the Harbour Bridge in Sydney!)?

I think you could safely say I'm almost as mesmerized by bridges as I am windmills. Almost.

It so happens that three of my Shutterchance blogger friends live in Brisbane! You know me: I had to meet them. One of them was out of the country but the two remaining guys were game for a meet-up. First we had lunch with Neal (bottom left) and then supper with Adrian (upper right). Even Donica enjoyed herself, so it was a great time for all.

We were there from Wednesday evening to Saturday morning before flying to Townsville and taking the ferry to Magnetic Island. That Friday was a public holiday, Anzac Day, second to Christmas in importance. I would compare it to our Memorial Day in the States. But that will be my next post....