31 March - Day 49

Litchfield National Park, Darwin.
This picture was taken during our tour of Litchfield National Park. We are standing in front of a Cathedral Termite Mound! The mounds can be up to 6 meters tall.

30 March - Day 48

I couldn't resist adding one more Sydney picture! This picture is of the beautiful boats in Sydney Harbour.

29 March - Day 47

This picture was taken at the Yalumba Wine Festival outside of Adelaide. We didn't participate in the stomping of the grapes but had fun watching.

28 March - Day 46

We went to a rugby game last night. The Western Force played the Bulls from South Africa and unfortunately lost. The highlight was at half time when two of the Western Force players (Cameron Shepherd & Josh Tatupu) visited the Corporate box we were fortunate enough to be watching from. Of course I couldn't resist capturing a photo for the blog! For a better view, click on the images.

27 March - Day 45

We went to see the West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO) last night at the Perth Concert Hall. They performed the world premiere of Little Ceremonial as well as Beethoven's Egmont and Piano Concerto No. 5 Emperor. We had a great time.

26 March - Day 44

The Sydney Tower is Sydney's tallest free-standing structure and the second tallest in Australia. It was hard to capture a good picture from the tour bus but hopefully you get the idea.

25 March - Day 43

What a view! How would you like to play lawn bowls here? This picture was taken from the Sydney sightseeing tour bus. There was a great view of the city and harbour bridge in the background. Click on the picture to see more detail.

24 March - Day 42

Although I'm in Adelaide today, I thought I would post some pictures of the storm that hit Perth on Tuesday. Our house lost power for 24 hours but thankfully we didn't sustain damage to either our house or cars. Several people have smashed windows as well as water damage. The insurance companies have estimated the damage to be in excess of $100 million. As you can see, the hail was as large as a golf ball!

23 March - Day 41

Randwick, New South Wales.
Randwick is the home of the University of New South Wales. I attended a Career Fair here yesterday with a few colleagues and today we will be interviewing students. There's nothing quite like a University campus. I went and saw a movie at the "old timey" movie theatre, complete with red velvet curtains. Last night, the 3 of us went to eat at El Bulli's where we were serenaded by Victor, the only person from Mexico I have met during my 2+ years in Australia!

22 March - Day 40

Well, I've earned my nickname of peanuts that my husband has affectionately given to me. I used a different camera yesterday and forgot to bring the "upload cord" to Sydney. So, I'll add today's blog picture when I get back to Perth. The picture will be of the famous Bondi beach and was taken from our sightseeing tour.

21 March - Day 39

We had the best meal and wines of our life last night at Bilson's restaurant. We ordered the "Fine Bouche" which consisted of 10 courses with each course matched to a different wine. In keeping with the weekend theme of firsts, we both had partridge and abalone for the first time. All 10 courses were excellent and we both agreed that the partridge (pictured) was our favourite. The full 10 course menu with pictures of each dish can be found at the link below.

http://www.eatshowandtell.com/2010/03/03/bilsons-restaurant-sydney/

20 March - Day 38

What an amazing day!! Another day of firsts in this magical weekend. We CLIMBED the Sydney Harbour Bridge! 137 metres high and 1,337 steps. It took our group of 14 roughly 3 hours from suiting up and going thru some training to safely returning. We weren't able to take our camera but our tour guide captured some shots. If you are in Sydney, this experience is not to be missed. It has been one of the most memorable experiences of my life.

19 March - Day 37

We caught the red eye to Sydney. After arriving at 6:00am and sleeping for a few hours, we hopped on a sightseeing bus. We were able to capture a few pictures of the Opera House but look forward to taking more tonight when we see A Mid Summer Night's Dream! We had a nice lunch at Darling Harbour and are now resting before our big night out.

18 March - Day 36

This is a picture of Hillary's Boat Harbour. In addition to boat docks, there are restaurants and shops.

17 March - Day 35

Lemon-scented gums line the entrace to King's Park where we got married. These trees were planted in 1937 and are absolutely beautiful.

16 March - Day 34

We saw these Kangaroos while in Margaret River. Notice the Joey in the pouch!

15 March - Day 33

We went to the Cottlesloe Beach art festival yesterday with friends. What a great exhibition! Here are a few pictures of the displays.

14 March - Day 32

Today we went to Fremantle with some friends. The Queen Mary 2 was docked there for the day. This ship is 3 times the size of the Titanic and the largest ship to ever dock in Fremantle.

13 March - Day 31

Last night, "M" and I went to the Outdoor Movies at Burswood and watched Invictus. There was a band playing prior to the movie. We took some food and wine and had a great night!

12 March - Day 30

This picture was taken at the BlueWater Grill in Applecross, Western Australia. "M" and I had a long lunch here on a stormy day. The restaurant has beautiful views of the Swan River and we considered this venue for our wedding reception.

11 March - Day 29

I went to a Career Fair yesterday at Curtin University. This is also where my husband went to University. It was a crazy day filled with students but hopefully ConocoPhillips will get some new recruits out of the effort.

10 March - Day 28

This is the view from my office window. Not a bad thing to look at for 8 hours Monday - Friday!

9 March - Day 27

This is a picture of the boat my husband and I sailed on out of Fremantle, Western Australia. It was a twighlight "cruise" on a beautiful evening.

8 March - Day 26

For my first birthday in Perth, my husband booked a hotel room for us which had great views of the Swan River. He then took me to C restaurant for dinner. C is a revolving restaurant so you get to see the entire city during your dinner. This is also where we ate dinner the night before our wedding.

7 March - Day 25

The 2009 World Triathlon Championships were held in Perth. My husband, best friend and I watched from the side of the freeway as we cheered for both the Australians and Americans. This is a picture of one of the female US contestants.

6 March - Day 24

This picture was taken at the Perth City to Surf event. City to Surf is a 12km walk/run or half marathon. Mike and I participated in 2008. The event takes you thru the City of Perth and ends at City Beach. We had a great time and plan to participate this year.

5 March - Day 23

This picture of us was taken at Howard Park Winery in Margaret River on our honeymoon. I received a call last night from Howard Park saying that we had won a case of their wines!!

4 March - Day 22

This picture was taken at Spring in the Valley last year. Spring in the Valley is an annual wine festival. Most of the wineries in the Swan Valley participate and have live music as well as plenty of wine and food! On my first visit to Australia, I arrived the day before Spring in the Valley. The next day, I traveled around the wineries and met my future husbands friends and family.

3 March - Day 21

This is a picture of the Elephant Rocks near Denmark, Western Australia. We went to Elephant Rocks the first time we visited Denmark and had a great time climbing them to see the view!

2 March - Day 20

Walpole, Western Australia.
On our trip last year to Denmark, Western Australia, we drove to Walpole to experience the Valley of The Giants Tree Top Walk. This walkway rises 38 meters above the forest and provides beautiful views!

1 March - Day 19

McLaren Vale, South Australia.
This picture was taken from our cottage in McLaren Vale (outside of Adelaide)last year. We had a great trip visiting the wineries and watching the kangaroos hop in the vines from our cottage porch.