Friday Five: Australia

My first day in Sydney, Circular Quay – December’06

Though technically I am a week away from officially being in the country (I arrive next Friday morning, Australia time), I’m already eagerly counting down the moments until I get there and I am excited about sooooo many things for this trip.

 

There are many groups of “five” that I am looking forward to on this trip…and below are my three of my top lists:

Top Five Food/Drink:

1. Dinner resos at Quay.
2. Arnott’s cookies (Tim Tams, Kingstons, Mint Slices, OH MY!)
3. Flat Whites (so much better than the Starbucks versions).
4. Coopers Sparkling Ale (yummy yummy beer)
5. Nachos, Guac and champers (the standard snack when I arrive in Aus)

Top Five Things I look forward to doing:

1. Hang with my girls and my adopt a nieces!!!!
2. The aforementioned nachos, guac and champers while watching Walking Dead
3. Bake macarons for my little adopt a niece’s first birthday!!!
4. Surf with my friend’s husband and then enjoy some breakfast beers
5. Celebrate my adopt a niece’s first birthday and take her to her swimming lessons

Top Five Things I Like Doing in Australia

1. Shopping.  They have some lovely stores you can’t find in North America and I love, love, love me some Peter Alexander pjs!
2. Hanging out in downtown Sydney.  The hustle and bustle of Martin Place and George St., Circular Quay, The Opera House, Harbour Bridge, the Rocks the ferries to Manly beach…so many great places.
3. Listening to the slang and accents.  It always makes me smile.
4. The easy access to champers at local lounges, restaurants, etc.
5. Go for a run and not freeze my rear off!

Woo! Australia!  Can’t wait!

~Princess Lisa

The Final Countdown

In a little more than a week, I will be on the road to the Twin Cities to go see Bruce Springsteen from the front row (beside the stage).  I will come home, work one day and then be off on a plane to Australia.

I.

Cannot.

Wait.

I need this getaway.  I need to be away from work.  Though I have only been here for nine months less a week, I am crispy fried from stress of it all.   It’s been a crazy nine months with one hell of a learning curve.  I’m thankful for the experience and am generally enjoying my time, but I’m also feeling the need to take of for awhile and regenerate a bit.

The plans for Minneapolis are pretty low key.  Checking out some local music with my dad, eating at some of my favourite places, stocking up on Trader Joe’s and doing a little bit of shopping (given the crazy low value of the dollar).  The hotel my dad and I are staying at has a great looking gym, so I plan on taking advantage of that.

I’m hoping that my flight to Aus will go quickly and I will luck out and have nobody sitting next to me on my flight from Vancouver to Sydney.  It’s approximately 14 hours long and it’s significantly more pleasant when you don’t have to worry about being sardined in with random strangers and their weird sleeping habits (oh could I tell you stories).

I will leave Vancouver around 11pm local time on Wednesday and arrive in Sydney around 10:30 on Friday morning.  No real plans that day except hang with my bestie and try to stay awake in order to reduce the impact of jet lag.

My time in Aus is gong to be focused around spending time with my friends and their families.  We are doing an uber swanky dinner at a top chef restaurant called Quay on Saturday that we have had reservations since July.  🙂  I cannot wait. 🙂

There will be time spent at the beach and enjoying the glorious touristy spots of Sydney.  Time cuddling my adopt a nieces.  Time spent doing the most mundane things like watching TV and eating nachos and guac and drinking wine with my bestie because that is something we only get to do on the rarest of occasions.  We plan on watching Walking Dead, 11.22.63…and well if the kiddos around, I’m thinking Frozen and Cinderella. 🙂

So when things get hairy over the remaining eight days of work , I will think of these awesome things…and try to keep calm.  Wish me luck!

~Princess Lisa