Katooooooomba!!!!

So. Here we are.

Yesterday we rallied. We woke up. We drove to the Blue Mountains. And we hiked to an amazing waterfall. Who's we? Me and all of the other yoyo ladies staying here in Sydney. Gee, it's nice to not be alone! Check out the video. Check out the falls. The valley. The pictures don't quite do it justice. Wow.

After our hike we got burgers and shakes. And we bought liquor. I found black vodka. A thing I have been searching for since I left Spain four years ago. Vodka negra y fanta limon, here I come! Friday night, we went out with a local, who a yo lady knows through a life swap deal through a friend. He was the greatest, and his friends were wonderful. We had such a good time. I don't want to go back to work tomorrow!

Sunrise and Wallabys.

So earlier this week, I journeyed 3 hours into the Blue Mountains to visit a couple of schools. I left my hotel/apartment at 4:30am.

4:30 am you say?! That's ridiculous! Well, yeah, a little. But with the jetlag, it didn't feel ridiculous. It was 2:30pm Boston time. But I made a discovery on my drive.

The sunrise is the perfect time to discover a place.

I drove into the mountains at the sun was rising. The air was pink. The mountains were purple and blue. There was a mist all around settling into the valley. I pulled over on the side of the road to take it all in, and a heard of wild kangaroos bounced out of the fog and into the woods. It was one of the most unbelievable things I have ever seen. I was more than happy to be up before sunrise.

On the way home from the mountains that afternoon, I stopped at the Jenolan Caves. They weren't too far off of the Great Western Highway. I hiked through the caverns, through the Nettle Cave and the Devil's Carriage out to the woods on the other side. While walking along the trail, I saw a little hopper out of the corner of my eye. I stopped and looked for a moment, and snapped a photo. I thought it was a wallaby, or a kangaroo. He looked like this:

I hiked on, past the river and a pond.

Yeah, the water was really that blue.

On the way back to my car, I stopped by the ranger station to show them my picture of the hopper, to ask what it was. They got excited. It was the rarest type of Wallaby. They asked me to email it to them. I felt pretty cool, to say the least. Australia is a magical place.

DOWN UNDAH

I'm in Australia!!! Woooo!

So far, I've been working most of the time. Very busy days. The schools here are lovely though, and the people are so nice. Nearly everyone I have met has been great. When they are driving...they are a little more like Bostonians- but in person very nice. The kids are sweet. The shows go well and they think I'm hilarious. Win win.

After work yesterday I stopped in on a wild life park. I saw signs on the side of the road, and I followed them. It was magical. I fed kangaroos. A mom roo hopped up to me and a baby popped out of her pouch. I was the only person in the park. It was so cool. I saw kookaburras. Emus. Dingos. Peacocks. Red Pandas. KOALAS! It was awesome. I love following random signs I see on the side of the road.

Having such luck with the first sign I saw, I decided to follow the second. To the Royal National Park. It was beautiful. Just as the sun began to set I pulled up along the side of a cliff dropping into the ocean, and then through a jungle. The jungle went on forever.

I've spent this afternoon researching what to do with the rest of my time here. I will see a platypus. I will go hiking. And I'll do all of the touristy things in Sydney. Hot Dog!! Will write again soon. xoxo

Travel Blogs.

The thing about writing a travel blog is...

I'm too excited and busy exploring to sit down at my computer and write.

Tomorrow I'm going to Australia for three weeks. Here's to writing about it at least once! And holding a koala.

See you on the other side of the globe, blog.

European Tour

So, my European tour has come to a close and I am now back stateside.

It was wonderful. If the weather wasn't so crummy in England, I could easily see myself living there.

The job aspect was great. English children are so well behaved. What are they doing that Americans aren't? Oh right. They have recess. At least twice a day. And art. And no MCAS or leaving children behind bullshit. It seems to be working pretty well for them. And their teachers strike to keep their pensions. Which, gave me a day off. That wasn't too shabby.

What did I do with my extra day off? I WENT TO STONEHENGE!!!!

It was cool. Definitely on my to-do list for life, which made me so very happy. Nobody really knows what it is or was, which I kind of like. I find the myths that surround it the most interesting. What would you do if you wandered through the woods and stumbled upon Stonehenge? Or Chichen Itza? I'll let you know when I stumble upon something that no one has really paid attention to in a few hundred years.

My last night in England was spent at a castle watching an outdoor production of Romeo and Juliet. Not half bad, if I do say so myself.

Next, off to tour Australia for three weeks. Worldwide tour. No biggie.....