USA & Canada trip

It started with a 14 hour flight to Los Angeles, then long queues at immigration meant we missed our connecting flight to Seattle. We managed to catch the next flight a couple of hours later so while we were waiting, Uwe had his first mega hot dog. He absolutely loved it.

We made it to Seattle, the birthplace of grunge and Starbucks. With all these coffee places, Uwe struggled to find a good coffee as the Americans typically add more water to their coffees to fill the cup up to the top. No matter how many times he asked for less water, he never got a good coffee. We spent one day checking out the sights, our first stop was the Pike Place Markets. They were amazing with all their flowers, frest fruit & vegies and seafood.

The weather in Seattle is always overcast and mostly raining with the occasional chance of sunshine. The locals call the west coast of America - the wet coast. In the afternoon, the clouds cleared and the sun decided to shine for a while. While there was a great skyline, we thought it was the perfect opportunity to visit the Space Needle and try to catch a glimpse of the surrounding mountains (by the time we made it there, the clouds had returned). The tower is 605 feet high and the lift ride takes 41 seconds with a great view from the windows. At the top, it was extremely windy, as you can see below with my hair! It was lovely to just sit there and watch the sunset while drinking our water downed coffees!

For dinner, we went to the Pike Place pub where Uwe enjoyed his beer and the dinner was delicious.

We also went to Fat Burger - a typical American eatery. At Fatburger, they serve their burgers in a range of sizes from Small to XXXL. It was amazing and very yummy. If you don't order the fries, it actually is quite healthy (well, that's what we told ourselves!).

Uwe spent the next 4 days at the Microsoft conference and I spent time shopping in Seattle. I loved Macy's & Walmart! But there was also GAP, Nordstrom, H&M, well, the list goes on.

When Uwe finished his conference we drove up to Whistler in Canada. It took us about 5 hours to get there, and was dark and cold when we arrived. When we woke the next morning it was snowing, I was very excited. We quickly got dressed and headed out into the village and into the snow. There were instant snow ball fights between the two of us. So much fun.

The next day I signed up for skiing lessons which were alot of fun as I had never skiied before and Uwe headed off on his own to explore all the runs Mount Whistler had to offer. He met me later in the afternoon while I was still having my lessons and took some photos. Luckily he didn't have his camera handy when I fell over a few times! The next day I did another lesson this time going on the beginners run and made it down without falling over. After the 2 days of skiing, my body ached and I could hardly walk!

We also enjoyed the view from the top of the mountain, above the clouds. There were some amazing views from the top.

On our last day in Canada we took a bus back to Vancouver to watch our first ice hockey game. It was the Vancouver Canucks versus the Dallas Stars. We had seats close to the action and it was a great game. The Canucks won convincingly - 7 goals to 1. We did however have some very drunk and obnoxious people sitting next to us that were thrown out of the game in the last period. Other than that, it was a great, fun night.

Sailing

I just love the Friday night twilight sailing. You get to finish work early, head down to the boat, have a race up and down the harbour, a few drinks along the way and back to the club for dinner. The night before our holiday we also won the raffle again, this time we won a bottle of champagne. Jen is a regular crew member on Fridays and mostly it is just the 3 of us who race.

Byron Bay

We were very lucky with our trip to Byron Bay considering what has happened in the last few days with the terrible floods in Oz. We had a few rainy days but mostly the weather was nice and the temperature was always warm. We walked up to the lighthouse and the weather was wild and windy. The view from the lighthouse was stunning, one side we watched the waves crash into the rocks and the other side was one long stretch of beach. Amazing.




We took our bicycles so we could get around Byron without the hassle of driving and parking the car. It was perfect and Uwe loved cycling through the puddles. It rained a couple of times when we were riding but luckily we took some wet weather gear so we didn't get too wet.

We spent alot of time walking along the beach and swimming in the warm water. The Byron Bay cafe lifestyle was also enjoyed with lots of nice and long breakfasts, lunches and dinners. It had changed since the last time we had been here, no more hippies and combi vans now replaced by the rich and big 4 wheel drives. We couldn't believe the prices of houses up there, similar to prices in Sydney.

Half way through our trip we caught up with friends and rented a house 5 minutes from the centre of Byron. We spent New Years Eve there and had a lovely BBQ dinner and watched the fireworks on TV. We spent the last day cycling around and swimming at the beach. It was a very relaxing trip.

BBQ

Last weekend we finally won the meat tray in the raffle at the sailing club. It was a massive tray and we clearly needed alot of people to help us celebrate the win and eat all the meat. Obviously it was impossible to celebrate without beer!

Wild day of Sailing

Last weekend was a nice day to be out on the water sailing - the sun was shining and the wind was blowing strongly. Only problem was we had a chinese gybe. No one was hurt but most of crew had lots of bruises!

Last week

Summing up what has happened in our lives the last week or so:

* We organised our Christmas holiday for this year. We are going on a road trip up to Byron Bay. We leave here Christmas day and come back sometime in the first week of January.
* I bought my wedding dress! After numerous visits to the bridal shops and being told I didn't have enough time to order a dress in (6 months till the wedding), I bought a dress on sale off the rack. So beautiful and what a bargain.
* Lots of wedding planning going on. Still need to sort out a ceremony location.
* Uwe bought me a bike! Its gorgeous and so comfortable to ride. We went out the last couple of days riding around the streets and through Centennial Park.
* I finished my German lessons, I can now speak a little German, but need to keep practicing or I will forget it all.
* Went to an Oktoberfest at a friends house, there was lots of great German food and beer.
* Visited a Wedding Expo, got lots of ideas and lots of free magazines and books.
* We are back to playing tennis every Monday night with some friends.
* Spring has arrived in Sydney and we are loving the warmer weather. Can't wait for summer so we can hit the beach!

The Last few months!!

How exciting have the last few months been for us. First of all, we got engaged!! It was a Saturday morning we went down to Bondi Beach for breakfast. Then Uwe suggested we take a walk down by the beach. Thats where he popped the question and I said Yes!! We immediately went ring shopping and bought an amazing engagement ring. That night, we celebrated at home with champagne.

Since then, we have been celebrating with all our friends and family. Above, we are on the boat celebrating with some champagne. Alot of our time lately is being spent wedding planning. Our reception will be at the Dunbar House in Watsons Bay, a lovely old building near the water.

I started my German lessons recently and is going very well. I'm taking them at the Goethe Institute at Edgecliff and go there 2 nights a week. There is alot of homework to do but Uwe has been practising with me alot and starting to get the hang of it.

Uwe ran in the City to Surf, a 14km run from the city to Bondi Beach. After he had finished the race, we headed for the Bavarian Beer Cafe for some refreshments. I think he deserved it after all that exercise!

Elvis & a little bit of Germany in Sydney

What a busy weekend. It started with Gene & Cates farewell from Hands On as they retire and move onto their next adventure. Jon & Jen came down from Brisbane and stayed with us over the weekend. Saturday night we caught up with some friends and Elvis in the local pizzeria named Elvis Pizza. We enjoyed some wine, pizza & a full on Elvis show from Australias number one Elvis impersonator. He played alot of his greatest hits including Suspicious Minds, Blue Suede Shoes and Wooden Heart. It was a great night with lots of laughs.
As usual, Sunday was a beautiful sailing day and we spent it on the harbour racing other boats. Later that evening, we went up to little Germany. At the moment it is the middle of winter and Sydney has set up an open air ice skating rink, beer tents, Oompah music, Apres ski bar & lots of Bratwurst & Leberkaes. Below is Uwe and Jon enjoying the Oompah music while drinking beer & gluehwein.

Brisbane

A couple of weeks ago we went up to Brisbane for the weekend to visit friends Jon & Jenny. This was our first time in Brisbane together and we had a great time. On Saturday, we walked over the Story Bridge and had lunch at the Story Bridge Hotel before going kayaking on Brisbane River. For dinner, we went to Ortiga restaurant and had some fantastic food, the wine book alone was 42 pages with wines up to $16,000. We settled for something much cheaper! On Sunday we spent the day walking around the city, enjoyed a nice lunch along the river before heading home.

Well done Jessica

This morning we had planned to take the boat out to welcome Jessica Watson home. She has spent the last 210 days sailing around the world solo and she is only 16 years old. Her journey is very inspiring and congratulations to her outstanding achievement. We got out to the boat but couldn't get the engine started. Even with a jump start, we couldn't get it to work. So we decided to take a ferry to the zoo and watch her sail down the harbour from there. You actually couldn't see her amongst all the other boats surrounding her but you did get the occasional glimpse of her pink boat passing by.

The zoo was alot of fun too. The elephants have had 2 new babies over the last few months and they were so cute to just watch them play together. The lions kept fighting each other and we saw seals, giraffes, hippos, bears and Uwe even cuddled up to a gorilla. It was a great day out and we were very tired by the end of the day.

Sailing

You wouldn't think we were a few weeks off the start of winter. It felt like a summers day today while we were sailing on Sydney Harbour. There was not a cloud in sight. Just sunshine and no wind!! Not exactly a perfect day for sailing, but it was still a lovely day. The race was a shortened course because there was no wind but it still took 3 hours to finish. We ended up coming 3rd out of 11 boats, so it was a good effort in such slow conditions. Below is a photo of all the boats behind Gondy.

On top of Sydney!

Yesterday we finally made it to the top of the coathanger. I had bought us tickets early last year but never got a chance to climb the bridge before now. We got to the Bridge Climb centre where we were given a safety briefing, got into our one piece suit and practiced climbing up ladders before heading off for the real climb. The scariest part of the climb was the approach between the office and the start of the arch. The walkway was high above the street and harbour and you could see straight below you. Before reaching the arch, we had to climb up 4 sets of steep ladders. But once there, the view was amazing. Walking on top of the arch was a fasinating experience. Our guide Tony was a funny guy and kept the walk very amusing. It was great to learn about the building of the bridge 80 years ago. Once we reached the very top, we crossed to the other side of the bridge and walked back down. It was amazing to see the city from a different viewpoint.

New Zealand

Our New Zealand holiday started in style with us travelling in an A380 from Sydney to Auckland. Its such a smooth and quiet experience compared to all the other flights we have been on. Our first night in New Zealand we were woken at 2am by the fire alarm going off!! We hoped this wasn't a bad sign of what might continue to happen on our holiday, luckily it wasn't.

The next day we caught a bus to the Bay of Islands.The weather was perfect, sunny and warm. We picked up the boat, a Noelex 30 that would be our home for the next 5 days. We both loved just relaxing, enjoying the sun, sailing around a little then anchoring in one of the many bays and swimming before one of the magical sun sets. On our last day with the boat, we were woken early by the coastal marine service advising us of a tsunami warning being issued and we needed to listen to the emergency radio for further instructions. Fortunately nothing happened, but it was still a little scary.

After giving the boat back, we went back to Paihia for one more night before heading back to Auckland for our flight to Queenstown. Uwe made a friend while we were there - Rocky the parrot. The parrot had fun eating a button off his shirt and didn't want to get off. He would bite at people who tried to get him off!

The flight to Queenstown was spectucular. The southern alps and lakes were amazing and then there was the tricky landing into Queenstown to avoid the many mountains surrounding the town.

For two nights we stayed in the Balmoral Bed & Breakfast in Queenstown. It had a spectacular view of the mountains and Lake Wakatipu from our room. Uwe went out on the town with Brendon for his bucks night and came home a little drunk.

The next morning. we drove up to Lake Wanaka to do some hiking, but we arrived too late and didn't have enough time to do the long walk before the sun set. We went part of the way and the scenery was spectacular along the way.

Then we drove to Glenorchy for our Dart River safari with some friends who also came over for the wedding. We got on the bus and drove through some forest and took a little walk to where the jetboats were. We got on the jetboat for a fun, and sometimes a bit scary, ride up and down the Dart River. After the jetboat ride, we drove to the lovely historical town of Arrowtown, where the wedding would be the next day.

Anita and Brendons wedding was lovely. They got married in a tiny church in Arrowtown, then the guests were driven in a red double decker bus to the reception, a lovely winery just outside of town. It was a lovely evening, enjoyed by all.

We had one final night and day in Queenstown before we headed home. Again another spectacular sunset, then in the morning before the flight, we took the gondola up to the top of one of the mountains for an amazing view over Queenstown. If we had the time we would of paraglided down the mountain, maybe next time!

Busy, busy, busy

Can't believe we are half way through February already. Where has the time gone?

I finished my job with Nover early January after working for them for 6 years. It was a sad day to leave, but needed to happen. I was travelling about 2 hours a day just to get to and from work. I started a new job with Infigen Energy, a company that owns and operates wind farms in Australia, the US & Europe. Their office is in the city, much closer to home, so I catch a bus in the morning and then walk home. Love going shopping during lunch.

Uwe went to Brisbane for a boys weekend. We play tennis every Monday night with friends. We have sailed Friday nights, Uwe sails every Saturday and we both sail every third Sunday.

Uwe and I started Febfast, which is where we give up alcohol for the month of February. Not really a challenge for me as I am not a big drinker, but it has been hard for Uwe so far. It was my birthday on the 5th February, we went sailing after work, then to a nice restaurant in Double Bay for dinner and water, no wine or beer for us! Then on Saturday we had dinner with my family.

On Saturday we celebrated two birthdays, friends Tracie and Jen. Tracie turned 40 and we went over to her place for a birthday lunch. Then after we left there, we drove down the south coast to Culburra Beach to celebrate Jens birthday. We spent Saturday night there and headed back home after lunch on Sunday. It was a lovely house on the beach, but it rained all weekend. Below is a pic of the view from the deck of the house we stayed in. It was only a short walk down to the beach.

A busy week ahead for us, we still have to organise a few things for our holiday to New Zealand in a weeks time, plus I am going to Melbourne with a friend to do some serious shopping this weekend! Really looking forward to both these trips away.