From the very moment we found out that we would have a week in NSW, Australia, I knew that I wanted to hold a koala. After further research, I found out that you actually have to go up to Queensland to hold them, but Derik and I were open to a little road trip! We hopped into our sweet new rental car, graciously provided by Europcar , and hit the road bound for Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. We arrived in Brisbane at night, and stayed in an adorable little apartment overlooking the harbor. Unfortunately in the morning we woke up to a downpour, and I was worried my hopes and dreams of cuddling koalas and feeding kangaroos at Lone Pine would be dashed. After reading a few reviews online about it being ok to visit during the rain (due to the ... Read More
Cruising Sydney Harbor
The Opera House in Sydney Harbor is one of the most recognizable landmarks in Australia. It's not a surprising, I mean, just look at how gorgeous it is!!! Our Christmas cruise with Carnival Spirit began it's voyage in Sydney, directly across from the Opera House. We couldn't have asked for a better way to start our vacation, than to watch the sun set over one of the most picturesque locations in the world (stretching here? Nah). As the ship headed out to sea, we sat out on the balcony and listened to the live music being played at the 'adults only' bar, watched the seagulls playing in the slight breeze, and waved to the group of climbers (no doubt from BridgeClimb) as they summited the top of the Sydney Harbor Bridge. It was kind of ... Read More
New Years Eve in Sydney Harbor
This is technically my first post of 2015. The last 8 posts or so were pre-written pretty much in the same 24 hours, before we left for our vacation, and I appreciated being mostly technology free for three weeks. Actually no, I didn't just appreciate it, I loved it. Our cruise was wonderful; I can't tell you how amazing it was to be able to have a vacation without having to worry about the little unknown aspects that comes with traveling in unfamiliar territory. The last three weeks were, if I were to put it in one word, refreshing. I feel so revived and ready to start 2015 with a bang, I'm just bursting at the seams to share it all with you! I'll be writing about the cruise, places we visited, and travel tips for the next several ... Read More