.it's cold outside...

It's cold outside. Period, the end. It has been warm lately in the 30's, so dropping about 20 degrees over night just isn't right, mother nature, it's just not right.  So to help myself warm up a bit, I started thinking about what I was doing one year ago.

On January 12, 2012 my dad, Dave, and I were packing up all our items to leave the lovely town of Newcastle. My dad was going back to the states and Dave and I were going traveling for 3 weeks. We packed our bags and walked around all the spots we loved in Newcastle. The sun was shining and everything was warm and beautiful.

.our street corner. 

.we had one last fish and chips from Scotties and ate it at the beach. 

Oh, what I wouldn't give to be in the sunshine and beach of Australia again!!

.that big thing that happened a year ago.

Last night when babysitting I shared a few pictures and videos of koalas and kangaroos with the three year old before bed time. She loved looking at all the pictures and asking lots of questions. It reminded me that we arrived in Australia just a little bit over 1 year ago!

When we left the states we were nervous and had no idea what we really got ourselves into. We only had a hotel room, one suitcase each, and hopes that we could figure it all out after a few days in Newcastle.  It took us about a week, but we figured it all out and made a little life for us in the six months we were there.

I wanted to share with you a few pictures of our time in Australia. These are the pictures that keep drawing me back to the country and questioning if I could live there forever.

 Newcastle, NSW

 Queens Tower, Newcastle, NSW

Newcastle Beach, NSW

Koala, NSW

 Sydney Opera House, Sydney, NSW

Sydney Harbor Bridge, Sydney, NSW

WhitSundays, QLD

Three Sister, Blue Mountains, NSW

12 Apostles, Victoria

.Snapshot Sunday.

My pops and I with the exact same pose...without knowing it...that's family for ya!

Happy Fathers Day!!!

.Green Island, Great Barrier Reef.

Green Island is the only place in the WORLD where rainforest meets the Great Barrier Reef! The aboriginals used to use the island waters for fishing and perform sacred manhood rituals on the island. Even today tribe members come to perform rituals on the island to keep their heritage alive. Dave and I spent the afternoon on the island relaxing, snorkeling, and sun bathing. It was great to explore the rainforest and then locate our perfect spot to snorkel..it doesn't get much better than that!

Trail through the rainforest 

Tree outside the alligator zoo looked like croc skin!

Snorkel Gear!

Green Island was the first place to have underwater observatory and a movie theatre on an island!

.To Do In Melbourne: Part 2.

The weather this week is GORGEOUS! It even reminds me of Australia spring time, which just makes it all a little bit better. Since I can't stop thinking about Australia it seemed like the best time to share with you Part 2 of what to do in Melbourne. Missed Part 1? No worries, you can check it out right....here!

6. Flinders Street Station
Flinders Street Station is one of my favorite stations in the whole city..or state, maybe even the country. It was so beautiful to look at, especially at night. We didn't see much of the inside of the station due to not needing to take the train, but i do hope it's as great as the outside. You can find this station just across from the popular Federation Square, where people like to meet up and hang out, making it a great place to people watch.

7. St. Paul's Cathedral

The architecture and beautifully designed church can leave you speechless. Dave and I spotted the church across from Federation Square and immediately wanted to get a closer look. Usually, I don't like to go into churches because I feel like I am breaking up someone's spiritual time and interfering with things. I also just admire from the outside, however I am appreciative of Dave for pulling me in. The inside of the church is magnificent and wonderfully crafted. This is definitely a place to check out and get lost in beauty. 

8. Hosier Lane

When walking down the street....Swanson Street, I think...we stumbled upon this gem in the city! This little alleyway is filled with graffiti. Every square inch on the buildings has this great, creative, street art spread over it. I think I took a picture of almost every graffiti piece, but for your sake I will just show you a few of my favorites!

9. ANZ Bank/Gothic Bank

This is probably the greatest bank in the whole world...well, not ANZ itself, but this location!! Did you know in Australia the pronounce it as A-N-Zed? Yep! This is one of the first banks I have seen in a gothic revival architecture and it blew me away. I used to be a bank teller and I would LOVE to work in a bank this gorgeous. The pictures below is where the banking takes place as well as the former stock exchange floor. 

10. Ride on the Great Ocean Road

The Great Ocean Road is called one of the worlds beautiful highways and rightfully so. The Great Ocean Road is 240km long with a view of the ocean almost the whole time. At times during our travel on the road we had the ocean on one side and the rolling green farm lands on the other side...just amazing. When on the Great Ocean Road make sure you stop at Apollo Bay, view the 12 apostles, London Bridge, and take it in slowly..you definitely do not want to rush through! We were able to book a day tour through our hostel and it was a great deal for a whole day of beautiful sights!

We spotted this cutie at one of our stops on the tour!

My last tip for everyone when visiting Melbourne is to go online and see what community events are taking place! When we were there a Summer Series of events as taking place in the Fritzroy Gardens every Saturday night. So we walked over to the gardens for a picnic, Bollywood music, and Bollywood dancing. The best part of the whole night was being able to be with a large number of the community and having a blast doing dance moves with strangers and feeling like we were citizens for a night!

The best thing about Melbourne 

is never knowing what you are going to find!!

.To Do in Melbourne: Part 1.

Melbourne, oh Melbourne, how I love thee!! This was the city Dave and I started our tour de Aussie. We only were able to spend four days in Melbourne and it definitely was NOT enough! While we were in Melbourne we longed to be able to stay more days, but our schedule and reservations made it not possible.  

If you ever find ourself in this amazing city, here are few things you should add to your agenda:

1. Queen Victoria's Market.  

This is the largest open air market in the Southern Hemisphere with 17 acres of stalls! You can find items ranging from fresh food to souvenirs to basically anything you could ever need.  This is also a great place to people watch with over 200,000 people passing through weekly. 

134 years young!

BONUS: It's on the FREE tourist shuttle route

2. Shrine of Remembrance

This is Victoria's memorial to the men and women who have served Australia in armed conflicts and peacekeeping operations throughout the nation's history. This is a wonderful, beautiful, and moving memorial. Dave and I spent a few hours walking around the memorial, taking in the views of the city, and watching the laying of the wreath. This is also a stop on the FREE tourist shuttle!

Unknown Tomb

view from the top

2p.m. laying of the wreath at the Unknown Tomb

3. Royal Botanic Gardens

The gardens are right across from the Shrine of Remembrance, making it a next great stop. The Royal Botanic Gardens are one of the best in Australia and in the world, I would have to agree. With the beautiful gardens and wide array of pants both native and non native you could spend hours wandering in the gardens. I suggest packing a light lunch, find shade under the perfect tree, and join the other picnickers. It's also a great place to read a book and people watch!!

View of entrance to Royal Botanic Gardens from Shrine of Remembrance

4. Run the Tan

What is the Tan? The Tan is a running track, 3.8km, that runs parallel to the Botanic Gardens. It got it's name due to the surface color of the stone it is made of. The track is famous amongst joggers, runners, and walkers alike. The quickest lap around the Tan is 10 min. and 8 seconds by AFL player Craig Mottram, during this lap he gave his team members a 2 min. head start and still beat them all!!

Dave running The Tan!

5. Queen Victoria Park

After the Royal Botanic Garden and running a little on The Tan, walk on over to Queen Victoria Park. This is another beautiful park filled with flowers, fountains, and a lovely statue of Queen Victoria. You can take a quick walk through, read a book, or find a bench to do a little people watching.