Must Read

A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz.  It's an Australian based novel about a quirky family that has some of the most ridiculous characters.  I couldn't stop turning the pages!!

Credit for recommending this book to me in the first place - Sandra Tong, Sydney born native and lover of books.

AGNSW

Art Gallery of NSW is one of my all time favorite museums.  Not only is it free they always have new exciting exhibits on display and various events.  Recently I (Joanne) took a hour guided tour of the new contemporary art exhibit. It ended up being just me and the woman giving the tour.  Awkward.  Felt like I was back in Sarah Rich's Art After 1945 class.  She would quiz me about the artist, technique, and about events that took place in Sydney 10 yrs ago.  Not sure how I deceived her, but I had to remind her that I'm originally from the states and was only 16 at the time whatever it was that took place. 

One of the best parts (after being free from the tour) was a drunken clown dressed in 80s workout clothes - check it out below.  Second best was a painting of a man on a farm which reminded me of my father and poland : )

Locks of Love

We took a beautful scenic costal drive from Sydney through the Royal National Park down to Wollongong. Best part of the drive was walking on the Sea Cliff Bridge which is well deserving of its name.  What surprised us both were hundreds of locks on the bridge's railings filled with engravings of love, relationships, and long (assuming happy) marriages.  Before leaving Australia we've decided to add a lock of our own to the bridge.  Making sure we each have a set of keys just in case ...  j/k!

Joanne’s New Obsession

Strawberry vanilla tart from Bourke Street Bakery!!!!   Words can’t even describe how delicious this tiny treat is.  The top is a thin crispy layer of sugar simpler to crème brulee.  The bakery is a 35min walk away, but come this July they are opening a store right in Potts Point!   There goes my weight loss….

http://www.bourkestreetbakery.com.au/

Easter Chronicles

6 days, 3 cities, 4 times bad luck ....   Fraser to Brisbane.

Fraser Island

First destination was Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world.  Our plan was to fly to Brisbane, rent a car and drive it up to Hervey Bay to catch the ferry to the island.  Near our apartment is an airport shuttle that runs every 30 min.  Because it was Good Friday they decided that they were only going to run it whenever they felt like it, unfortunately, we had no clue and when we found out the only other option was to hail a taxi.  Thinking that we live near Kings Cross (a popular clubbing/going out area) we shouldn’t have any issues.  First strike of bad luck.  6am and the Cross was packed!  No cabs in sight, people all over the place.  We finally see a cab and Joanne has to battle it out with a girl – in the end we got it. All else was smooth sailing.

Fraser Island seemed like  “I Still Know What You Did Last Summer”.  Only option to get on or off the island was the ferry.  The resort we were staying at (Kingfisher Bay Resort) was eco friendly and each room had a private balcony that was enclosed by nature. We went to sleep listening to the crickets and woke to birds chirping.  The first night we swam in the pool and were astonished by how clear the sky was and the ability to see the Milky Way.  Second strike of bad luck.  The only way around the island is by 4WD, we tried renting one but they were all out.  Too stubborn to do a tour we decided to walk, turned into a 40k hike in one day.   First 12k were fine b/c we stopped by Lake Mckenzie, one of the most breathtaking lakes ever.  Sand was pure white, water was crystal clear, and there were hardly any people!  We  could’ve spent our entire day relaxing but we were determined to see as much as possible so we went on to Central Station (only rainforest on a sand island in the world) which was 13k return trip.   By the end of it we had run out of water and could barely move..... but we had no other option.  So Joanne begged someone for water and we moved on. The last 15k was absolutely brutal.  We didn’t see a soul in sight, were exhausted and all we could think about were iced cold slurpees.  When we finally reached the Mckenzie Jetty and the ocean it felt like we were saved.  5k’s later we were sipping on beers, cola, and water.  Surprising the next day we were doing OK,  so we spent the afternoon fishing in the ocean drinking Coronas.  Caught nothing but had alot of bitters that kept eating all our shrimp.  Had a nice Easter dinner that night chowing down on kangaroo, emu, alligator (all Dan) and barramundi. 

Noosa

Noosa is a cool beach town on the Sunshine Coast.  We snorkelled for a bit, visibility was bad but we saw some neat crustaceans on all the rocks.  Because we love to walk, we did a hike in the National Park that took us around Noosa Heads and along the coast.  Listening to the waves was so soothing that we didn’t make it very far on our walk and spent most of it hanging out on the cliffs staring out to the ocean and then watching the sunset.    We had less than a day in Noosa and had one streak of luck when the Thai restaurant we ate told us we were the last ones to be seated that night b/c they were running out of food.

Brisbane

The size of Brisbane was equivalent to New Brunswick, NJ.  We stayed in the Valley which is the happening area.  Got breakfast at an ultra crunchy (hipster) cafe, called the Flamingo.  Walls were painted hot pink.   Spent most of the day shopping and checking out the stores.  There were heaps of design shops that Joanne wanted to buy everything for our old apartment in Bayonne.  The rest of the day was spent eating/drinking and somehow ending up listening to a heavy metal band perform, which were awful! 

Last day in Brisbane and our trip was spent checking out Black and Spiro (Sule’s favourite design store/blog), eating delicious hot cakes and eggs at Au Cirque cafe, walking through South End, then through the city down Queen Victoria.  To take shelter from the rain we went to St. John’s Cathedral.  Loved the fact the seat cushions were all unique and seemed to have been sewn by the church ladies.

B/c the town is so small we had accomplished all we wanted to by 1pm and had 5 hrs before our flight.  So we decided to eat lunch at The Vietnamese in the Valley, drank 2 bottles of wine and got dessert from Jocelyn’s Provisions (dubbed the Magnolia of Brisbane).  Third strike of bad luck.  Phone call from our airline that our flight had been cancelled and the best they could do was get us on a flight in 2 days.  Too bad we both had work and that all other flights to Sydney were booked.  So again being stubborn we rented a car and drove the 10 hours (starting at 6pm) from Brisbane to Sydney.  Fourth strike of bad luck.  On the way to pick up the rental car, a magpie was sitting on the side of the road and attacked Dan right in his eye.  To the point that it knocked out his contact and popped a blood vessel, he now looks like the Terminator.  Luckily his vision is fine.   All in all quite the adventurous trip but we made it back to our place safely (minus the fact it was 4am and we had to be up at 7am for work) and have fantastic pictures to show for it.