A picture of David!!!!

Hi all!

So, now I have a picture of David to add to my blog. David is the middle referee. Quote from Katherine's email:

"This is a picture of our favourite referee. Each year officials are chosen to officiate the final games for the IHA ( Ice Hockey Australia). The IHA would be like the NHL, however on a much smaller scale. It is quite an honour to be chosen for such games. This year the finals were held in Penrith ( just north of Sydney) and the Adelaide team was among the top four teams. However as usual they chocked and missed the opportunity to play in the final game. David had a great weekend away with the boys and continues to carry on the Canadian tradition of hockey."

Miss you guys!!!

Where to start....

Start looking with the "My first post" on the right side and follow the posts.

My Last Post of Australia

Well, I had a wonderful time. Hoepfully I didn't bore you with my pictures. I am very proud of myself to do this trip by myself, since I have done so little travelling.
But now I have the bug, and want to go again. That will come in time.
For now, I have great memories.

Thank you so much David and Katherine!!!

My favorite things:

- aussie yoghurt (it tastes like nothing here!!)...actually all the food tasted better.
- of course the 'roos and koalas!!!
- the punch bug game with Katherine and the children.
- and listening to Brenden speak aussie!!

And why am I known as Princess Fiona?

Well, it starts out that Dave (Turtleguy) likened me to Princess Fiona....very strong and independent (the "I can do it myself" attitude. Now I do believe this would be the non-green Fiona.......(Shrek).
Anyways, this performer who moved once you put money in his box, kissed my hand and then looked at my palm. He said I had royal blood. I was related to Princess Fiona!! I almost asked him if his name was Dave!!!

So thus, I am now Princess Fiona.

So our last day in Sydney....

One our last day, Katherine and I made it our shopping day....and believe me, we were "flat out like a lizard drinking"!! And we got lost, but laughed ourselves silly about it! I still don't know how we went past the Church of Scientology twice on teh same side of the street....but we did have a lot of fun....and I spent a lot of money!!!!

Night pictures

They aren't the best, but you get the idea. There is the Opera House, the bridge, and Circular Quay taken from the Opera House.

couple more....

And finally from the tower....

In the one picture, you will see a larger green area...that is their jumping arena...like Spruce Meadows, but in the middle of the city.

More Sydney Tower

Sydney Tower

So we also went up in the Sydney Tower (pretty good for a girl who hasn't even been up in the Calgary Tower!). I took pictures all around. It would have been nicer if it hadn't been cloudy...

Shopping area in Darling Harbour

Katherine and I did a little shopping in this area. I love that all the restuarants have large patios looking out to the water...would be wonderful on a summer night.

Pigeons

Believe it or not, pigeons are everywhere, and I mean everywhere. Inside building and restuarants!!! This is a picture to prove it, as this is the Aquarium caffeteria.
And they aren't scared of people...they will roam around looking for scraps on the floor....walking right under your chair and even brush by your feet.

Seahorses....

Although I was not able to get a good picture of the seahorses.....I did learn something. Seahorses are monogamous; they mate for life.
So, with that in mind, I am looking for my seahorse...

Simulation of the Great Barrier Reef

This was amazing to see!!! All the kinds of fish!!!

Dori and Nemo

Large Tortiose

Sharks and Stingrays

They had tunnels that ran at the bottom of there tank.....it was a little creepy!!

Seals

The seals were so busy, it was hard to get a good one....but these weren't bad.

Aquarium

At Darling Harbour, we went to the aquarium. It was a great experience for me so since I have never been to one before. Taking pictures was challenging there, but I did get a few decent ones.
There was a crocdile, a little penguin (type that would have been at Granite Island), along with many others that I was not able to get good pictures of.

Marine Museum

On our second day in Sydney, we took the ferry to Darling Harbour. There was a Marine Museum across from where we got off that had a war ship and a submarine.

Diggerido players

My spelling may not be correct.....but I thought this was so cool to listen to. I wanted to buy the CDs they had, but then I didn't see them before I left because of the rain.....this was a Circular Quay.

Some boats...

The yellow one is a water taxi. Just pay him to take you were you need to go.....

Sydney Harbour Bridge

This is amazing too. I tried to get night shots of it lit up, but they didn't turn out. Couldn't ask for a more romantic area to be at in the evening hours.....
Look closely and you can see groups of people on the bridge.....

Me and the Opera House

More Opera House.....

This building was created by using tiles.....not quite 1x1 ft tiles laid down on teh ground, and concrete poured over them and then they were put in place in segments. There are over 1,053,000 tiles!!!!!!!

Sydney Opera House

More pictures of the Opera House. Katehrine and I took a tour of the inside. It is extrodinary!!! Very beautiful. The Asts will be seeing Josh Grobin there soon.....I can only imagine how wonderful that will be. I would love to go back and see a performance there.....
In the one picture, you will notice runners going by......since this is downtown (CBD), at noon, the place is covered with runners....and yes, I noticed them as they ran by!!! :o))
These were taken by walking around the buildings....so many different angles.