Sydney and what it's like to come home after 3 weeks

By the time we got out of Launceston and into our room in Sydney (don't ask, it was really annoying, in fact the hotel we stayed at in Sydney which shall remain nameless  but which was a total waste of money), it was too late to go to Bondi Beach, and the weather was kinda crappy anyway.

We wandered over to the rocks and to the observatory. It was kinda neat.

You can take the tree-hugger out of Portland, but...

For dinner, we wandered down to Chinatown again, but this time over toward the Haymarket area, where we found an izakaya. This wasn't the best food we'd ever had, but the ordering system fucking rocked. It was all touch-screen. No waiter required. Of course this led to us ordering too much food, but who cared? It was SO FUN. And so, so efficient! It was amazing. I WANT ONE ALWAYS.

Don't believe me? Here:

I want one of these everywhere I go.

Thought about having this for dessert, but opted for bubble tea instead:

Weird bird!

The next morning, I was able to get in a run (on the dreadmill. a subterranean one, non-ventilated area. ugh.), and off to the airport we went for our 13 hour flight to San Francisco. We had the luxury of a 6 hour layover, and got to see a friend of ours who picked us up and whisked us downtown to the Ferry Building. It was a delightful mini break within a big break--and made me realize we're due a propoer visit all too soon.

All in all? It was a great trip. We had a great time. Was it life-changing? No. Do I want to move to Australia? Probably not. Do I want to retire there? Not if I want to eat people food into my old age. Was it needed? Yes. Do I feel refreshed? Sure. I also feel really fucking broke. The next trip we go on will be on sale. The last vacation we took that was this long was in 2000, when we went to Brazil. (That was also a lot cheaper. Of course it was 13 years ago!)

But the luxury of taking three weeks off? We're lucky. It feels a little bit like we time traveled. And I guess we kind of did. Wednesday, Feb. 13 was the longest day ever.

It was worth it, though. But it was also worth it to come home and sleep in our own bed. And to also see these guys (who fucked up my favorite chair while I was gone but let's not digress any more than we already have:

So, that's Australia. This recap won't win any awards, but it's done and that's all that matters. It's more for my own posterity purposes, but it's always fun to look at pretty and silly pics!

Launceston: Cataract Gorge and the Tamar Valley

The next day, I went for a brief run around town and managed to get only slightly lost.  After I came back and got ready, Justin and I went for a walk in Cataract Gorge, which is on the outskirts of town. I guess I'd compare it to Portland's Forest Park in that there's a wilderness in the city--that said, it's much, much smaller. But really lovely. The trail we went on was called the Zig Zag trail, which made me smile. 

We thankfully did not have to climb these boulders. 

The trail does ascend pretty quickly and there are a lot of stairs. But then you see this -- hi, Launceston!

You can walk over the suspension bridge. It's wiggly.

Justin inspects for structural integrity:

The ceremonial face-eating at the summit:

 Afterwards, we had one of our best meals at Stillwater. I had the best gluten-free bread I have EVER had. I miss it. A lot.

 We decided to go for a drive after that. We went to the Tamar Valley, which is where a lot of the wineries are. We were kinda wined out, and it was kinda late in the day, so most of them would be closed or closing. So we just drove around the area--and over the Batman Bridge.

 I'm Batman:

 

By this point, we were ready to get back to Sydney for one night. It was kinda boring here.

Hobart & Launceston & Festivale

The next morning, a rainbow ushered us out of town:

Off to Launceston!

So, maybe because it was a Sunday. And maybe because it was a holiday weekend. And maybe because Festivale, a food and wine fest, was happening in Launceston, but the city was like...closed. I'm glad Festivale happened to be going on when we were in Tasmania, but I'm glad I didn't seek it out. It was fun, but not the kind of thing I had envisioned. I was actually a little disappointed, because I'd wanted to like Launceston, especially because so many wineries were nearby, I'd heard it was a foodie destination. But we were bored and a little disappointed. It's lovely, but...I didn't get that wistfulness that I got when we first came to Portland, for example. I think I set my sights a little high.

That said, we had a lot of fun at Festivale, getting wine tastings and hanging out in the sun. Tasmanian wines are so good. And so not available in the U.S. It's close to tragedy, really.

Like this one. SO GOOD.

Or this fine specimen! You Tassies don't know how good you got it!

Scenes from a food and wine festival, where you can taste the wine but food will cost you.

This lady was creepy. It was like she was trying to be one of those silver robot people, but instead she appeared to be dusted in flour. She was also creeping up on the little kids. WHAT.

What's a festival without dudes on stilts?

Justin enjoying himself:

 Chillin' with my monkey arms:

 Here's what I mean. Launceston was like a Hollywood backdrop on a Sunday. Also lots of churches. WTF?

Auditioning for Australia's "Where the hell are you?" marketing campaign.

Took a pic of this rolls because we saw it in Hobart, too.

Justin went in here. I hung out outside instead. Boring.

Maybe everyone was out climbing Cradle Mountain or something. It was a stunningly gorgeous day.

Tasmania: Bonorong Boomerang

I have a few more Bonorong pics I want to post:

Tasmanian Devils' jaws have more than 6 times the power of a pit bull's. They crush everything. And they eat anything. Raw meat, for one. 

You can tell everyone who works there really loves what they do.

 Justin petting the stupid koala.