The rest of Tassy and Melbourne.

Chris and I half way up Mount Wellington, Tasmania.

Yesterday was my last day in Tassy, Chris and I went to the MONA- the museum of old and new art (or something like that) it was crazy!! There were so many different kinds of art, like a transport truck that got driven into the museum.. they said it was to make you realize "life size" (or something like that). There was also a maze that ended in a room that had a mirror on the roof. Chris and I almost had a heart attack when we looked up because it looks like someone is coming down onto you.

After that we drove to south Tassy and did the Tahune Air Walk. It was really nice. We walked about 50 meters in the air in a gorgeous National Park forest. The trees were amazing, SO big.

Then he drove me to the airport where I flew to Melbourne. My friend Sean who I met when I worked in Alberta came and picked me up. He lives in a gorgeous house in Yara which is a suburb of Melbourne (I think). He had uni today so I took the train downtown Melbourne and walked around the shops and did a lot of people watching. Melbourne is a cool city with a lot of different people.

Tonight we're going to go to where he works which is a bowling alley/ bar.. Sean doesn't have uni tomorrow so he's going to take me around to some of the tourist attractions.

Weather was beautiful this morning, I went for a run along a river that's behind Sean's house. It has been threatening rain for a while but nothing yet. Hopefully it's not waiting for when we go out.

I fly out Friday back to Sydney where I start my roadtrip north. Apparently some of the roads are still flooded but hopefully everything will be dried out by the time we get up there.

<3

Glenorchy, Tasmania.

Chris and his new roomate picked me up at the airport yesterday morning in his roomies 1989 Toyota Corolla... it's a beauty. We drove to Port Arthur which is the main jail when Tasmania was a convict island. They used to ship excess convicts here from England. It was pretty cool- we went on a little boat cruise and watched a performance.

The drive was gorgeous- as is all of Tasmania. Beautiful forests, beaches and the ocean. The weather has been gorgeous the last 2 days- 21 degrees and sunny. I lucked out because people said it's been chilly and overcast the last few weeks.

Today we went to the winery and did some wine tasting and had lunch there. The winery is awesome- the owner is really into art so all the wine labels are works of art and there are a lot of really awesome pieces of art around the winery.

After that we drove up Mount Wellington and walked around the top. It's a beautiful view, you can see all around Tasmania. A few weeks ago my brother road his bike up the mountain- I can't believe it. It's a hiiiikeee to get up there! I definitely wasn't up for a huge bike ride today so the car was a good idea.

Tomorrow we're going to go to the museum at the winery- the winery is really cool so I'm looking forward to seeing the museum. Tomorrow night I fly to Melbourne for a few days, I've got a few friends there that I'll go visit and I might stay in a hostel for a night.

Hope everything is great at home.

<3

Sydney, Australia.

I have finally arrived!!

The flight was 14.5 hours but actually felt shorter than my Toronto to LA flight. I had an empty seat beside me and ended up beside 2 guys from Melbourne that I had been talking to at the gate. Having people to talk to made the ride go faster. I slept for a lot too, somehow managed to curl up on 1.5 seats and sleep although at one point I woke up and my entire leg was asleep because of the position I was in.

Sharpie picked me up at the airport yesterday and we drove up the coast to Sussex where her Mum lives. Her mum made us a really delicious Aussie BBQ with prawns and veggies! YUMMMM. I learned something that made me feel really stupid for not know before. Shrimps have heads- I learned this when I went to eat a shrimp from the BBQ and it's poor little eyes were staring at me. I'd always gotten them frozen and already de-headed. Sharpies Mum saw my reaction and she let me know that I just had to cut off the head and peel the shrimp. I think it might be a while before I eat shrimp again after that. Ew.

The coastal drive was gorgeous although it was realllly windy so it wasn't that warm. We drove through Woolongong and a bunch of other towns I can't remember. I saw my first kangaroo in the wild- it was amazing. They're so cute, they look like big bunny rabbits.

We drove back to Sydney for the night and I met all of Sharpie's friends. We went out in a place called Newtown- reminded me a lot of Toronto, a lot of bars and clubs and food places. Sharpie's friend got me an awesome stuffed kangaroo that you can see on my facebook. It's too bad that I only had one day in Sydney because of my flight delay but I'm gonna do all the sights at the end of my trip before I fly out.

I had another first yesterday- driving on the left side of the road. Definitely will take some getting used to. When I get back from Melbourne on Friday I'll pick up Sharpies car and start making my way up to Brisbane.. stopping in Newcastle to visit my friend and Byron Bay for some surfing?

Right now I'm at the airport in Hobart waiting for my brother and his roommate to come pick me up. It is GORGEOUS right now, I'm lying in the sun working on my tan. I don't know what the plans are for today- I picked up a bunch of tourist pamphlets but I'm sure Chris will know what to show me.

I bought an international calling card to try and call home but the only pay phone at the airport conveniently doesn't take this kind of calling card. I'm going to try and find one at a gas station sometime today.

Having a great time, can't wait for some sun and the ocean.

<3

Making the Best.

Well.. I take back my thanks to Air Canada. Worst. Ever.

My flight from Toronto to LA was delayed for about 3 hours... the first hour was due to snow, the other hours was due to their mistakes- mixing up bags, computers breaking, bad customer service, etc. If it was just the weather delay I would have made my Sydney connection but instead I arrived in LA last night at midnight. I got off the plane hoping they'd put me on a red eye the next morning or something but turns out there is one flight to Sydney a day, at 1015pm. They booked me at the Holiday Inn and gave me 3 vouchers for breakfast, lunch and dinner. As if that makes up for the day I missed in Sydney.

Also, Sharpie flew from Ayers Rock to Sydney to surprise me and she had the whole weekend planned out. She didn't get my message in time and waited at the airport for three hours and then realized that I had missed my flight. She'll still be there for me tomorrow though which is awesome.

The flight I was supposed to have last night to Sydney I had an emergency exit row... I asked again when I got here and the lady said it was $120 upgrade. United Airlines... also now on the black list. I'm going to ask at the gate to see if they can do anything for me. I didn't really sleep last night so hopefully I'll be able to sleep for the whole thing.

I made 2 friends last night on the shuttle to the holiday inn; one from Oakville and one from Brisbane. We hung out today, went to Venice Beach and Beverley Hills. It was a gorgeous day and we had a lot of fun. I'm glad the layover day turned out well, it could have been way worse- could have been stuck in Chicago in the snow.

So now I board at 930pm LA time and my flight is at 1015pm... I get into Sydney at 650am Saturday. Today felt really weird, kind of like a dream and now I feel like my trip is over and I'm going home... but I'm definitely not. I can't wait to get to Australia!!

<3 <3

Australia Bound.

Let the adventure begin.

I'm at YYZ right now.. was supposed to be flying from

Toronto to Chicago

Chicago to LA

LA to Sydney

but because of this awesome snow and my Chicago flight being delayed I'm now just flying

Toronto to LA

LA to Sydney

Thanks Air Canada!

So far things are working out well... I got an emergency exit row for my LA to Syd flight, although if I get my way I'll be flying first class! (haha) I figure I might as well ask because you never know... it happened last time. When I checked in this morning the guy said "oh mannnn that's a long flight, I was jet lagged for a week after that one" Thanks buddy. Hopefully not me!

I get to Sydney on Friday at 6:50 am... my friend Sharpie has one of her friends coming to pick me up. I hope she knows what I look like or has a sign...

I hope my bags get on the right flight.. the lady at the desk called and they said they did it but who knows!!

I'm enjoying free Wi-Fi here.. especially because now my flight is at 5:55pm instead of 3:00.

Probably wont have time to get on Wi-Fi in LA so I'll post when I get to Australia! I'm having a great time already and all I've done is sit in the airport.

<3