Oh! What a Darling Harbor...

After Dave and I spent hours at the Chinese Gardens we went wandering around the city a little bit. We walked a short distance to Darling Harbor, to see what it was all about. 

The area is one that is able to capture a medium level of the hustle and bustle with a large dose of relaxation. You can grab a seat near the harbor and gaze out into the water, eat or shop and one of the many many shops in the area. Since Dave and I try not to spend toooo much money we just walked along the harbor hand in hand watching the sky change colors while the sun disappeared. (Plus, this is the best way to take in ANY place!)

Don't you just feel like dancing with these birds?

The whole things is made of Legos! -Aquarium Entrance

After walking around Darling Harbor and seeing all that we could see, we decided to walk over to Hyde Park before it got to dark. Hyde Park is now one of my favorite parks EVER, it is like the Central Park of Sydney. Trees line the sidewalks and make canopy above you, they have a large chess set you can play with, fountains, did I mention the trees already..ooohhh my! While in Hyde Park we quick walked over to the beautiful St. Mary's Cathedral, which Dave told me was the oldest Catholic church in New South Wales.  When I first saw it all I couldn't take my eyes off it, I just started walking closer to it to get a closer look. 

We saw this little guy while taking pictures of the Cathedral! Check out the
neon head feathers!

Now that is was beginning to get dark we had to walk to our final landmark of the day, the Anzac Memorial. The Anzac Memorial is in honor of all Australians who have serve their country. Due to arriving late, we were not allowed to view the inside, but that means we get to come back to Hyde Park again! 

Dave and I will be heading back into Sydney next week

and I can't wait to see what we will 

discover next!

Sydney Chinese Friendship Garden

Dave and I spent hours at this great Chinese garden! It's a quiet sanctuary inside the hustle and bustle of the big city. It cost $6 for an adult, but it is well worth it! So next time you are in Sydney make sure you check it out, I promise you will leave feeling very relaxed.

My Journey: Who Am I?

I am pooped today and not really sure why...but at least it means I will finally get to bed at a decent time. Since moving into our apt. we haven't been going to bed until like 2a.m....not good!

On Friday (Thursday in America) I will be volunteering at University of Newcastle for their Cultural Awaking Event. I am super duper pumped for this, I have been smiling non stop since getting off the phone with the peeps in charge.

So while I get back into my element of being on campus, here is the post I had over at Diana's blog for you to read!  I think it's important for me to share here as well because it will be a big part of my life here in Aussie as well as the blog.
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Sho + Dave = Shoave

A little while after my husband and I started dating a friend mixed our names together and came up with Shoave, just like Brangelina..but a little less famous, wealthy, and waaaaay fewer kids [like no kids at all....yet].  This past year Dave and I decided that we were going to move to Australia for 6-12 months and see if we could make it in another country. This is something I have always wanted to do, the timing was perfect for us to do so we jumped at the chance. During the months leading up to moving we discussed that our time in Australia was going to be the time where we find ourselves and become the people who we want to be, no pressures and expectations to meet.

Before getting too serious (i.e. getting jobs and figuring how who we are) we have taken time to explore things near our new home in Newcastle, New South Wales.

who can resist a smiling koala bear?

But now it is time  to finally buckle down and figure out, Who The Heck I Am/ Want Be.  How to do this...I'm just not sure yet. We do have a little something on our fridge that makes me think about it quite often. 

This is our fridge door...

 This is the postcard that greets me every time I reach for something to eat or drink:

Avantcard

It's like when you are at an interview and they ask you to describe yourself and you never know what to say. You end up mumbling a few things and then hope that they move forward with the next question. But now there is no moving forward on to the next, I am going to stay at this question until I figure it out.  Then I will be able to answer the next question of Who Do I Want To Be and how the heck do I get there.  I do have a general idea of who I want to be; I want to be someone who is more self confident, who actually cares and tries to be healthy, who is more adventurous in wardrobe choices, and who thinks that they are "cool" (seriously, what does "cool" even mean!), but I think there is more to me than that and I need to explore it.

I invite you to join me on this journey of becoming and figuring out the person I want to be as well as following Shoave's Aussie Adventures!  

Cheers!

p.s. any advice is totalllllllyyyy appreciated, that is what blog families are for right?

HAVE A GREAT DAY EVERYONE! 

I will keep you posted on how the volunteering goes..but cross your fingers

that is goes splendid!