Pavlova In Australia

My Christmas in Australia was like stepping through a mirror. Everything was backwards!

Christmas in the summer?

I'd never been away from my family over the holidays, but the family I was with could not have been nicer. It was quite warm, but for Christmas there was to be a roast turkey and all the trimmings. Family and friends gathered around the table, in our shorts, and ate ourselves stuffed. I tried my first steamed pudding (i really did like Pavlova better... but we may revisit that come Christmas time). And at every place setting was a cracker... sort of a tube covered in colored paper. When you putt the ends, it makes a bang, and inside you find a hat and a joke. I still have mine pasted into the scrap book.

This was such a different experience from my German Christmas, but the Ireland family was so loving, I felt right at home.

and the car is on the wrong side of the road.....

We drove from Newcastle north to Surfer's Paradise. Now... coming from California I was most impressed to see such a LONG beach. There were also crowds of people.
I was excited to meet up with a few friends that we had met years before in Europe.
By day we played in the waves, at night we went dancing in the clubs.
Lots of shops, I even bought myself a new swim suit..... wish I still fit in it.....
ahh youth
Fun!

Brisbane was just a quick overnight to stop in with my friends grandparents....and to grab a free meal!

Listening to the stories of what Australia had been like, and what changes were taking place was fascinating.

Rockhampton was to be our turn around point... but we did stay for a few days to enjoy the heat and the water.

And the BEST FISH AND CHIPS EVER!

A new resort... the Capricorn Iwasaki... had just opened, and it was still waiting for tourists. We decided to help them out.

HUGE pool with rivers and waterfalls. Nicely appointed rooms. Delicious food.

And a funny Wallaby that kept opening the automatic slider doors to the lobby.... he drove the reception staff nuts!

Amazing, Astonishing, Unbelievable, Fantastic

Snorkeling takes you to another world...and this other world... the Great Barrier Reef left me awestruck.

From Gladstone we took a day boat out to the Reef.... and then we splashed our way on foot onto Masthead island. The day was spent snorkeling and exploring.

Don't you love the sound of the sea? When you are in the water... it sounds like another planet... the click click click sound... someone told me it's parrot fish eating coral. All I know is that it tells me I'm not in my regular world.

There were huge numbers of fish, in all colors and sizes. Coral, anemones and even lowly sea cucumbers.
I even saw my first sea turtle.

It was a perfect day.

Because I needed to see an authentic Australian town, we drove back to Newcastle with a bit of a detour to the interior (not deep interior... just 300 km west of Brisbane).

Miles, Australia... miles and miles from anywhere. To me it was like a movie set. The pub still had a separate room for women.

At the time there weren't many places to eat, and we all had a craving for pizza anyway, so we went to the local pizza place. They served THE BEST garlic bread in the history of time.

See... of everything... it's the food memories that stick with me.

Sydney is one of my favorite cities in the world... it's clean, friendly,walk-able, and the food is great

I wanted to see it all... so we squeezed in as much as humanly possible... a Harbor Cruise, a visit to the Opera House, the Sydney Harbor Bridge, the Rocks, the Botanical Gardens and of course, Bondi Beach.... where we watched a Lifeguard Contest.

On New Years Eve, dinner was high up in the revolving restaurant in the Sydney Tower. The food was amazing... I had a lobster mornay that was just too good.. and for dessert? of course...Pavlova. The perfect end to a perfect meal.

And the end of my vacation.

I had to get back on the plane to the US the next day.....