I got to the airport, through security (which is significantly more lax here), and to my gate. Now came the hard part: staying awake long enough to board the plane. Finally my 9:05 flight started boarding and I was up and in line as soon as possible. I managed to snag an aisle seat, plugged in my headphones and promptly fell asleep.

Approximately an hour and ten minutes later (it was sooner than that) my Virgin Blue flight landed in Sydney. Ah, Sydney. Even though every time I'm there I'm sick, I still love this city. I met my parents at baggage claim and we got a cab to our hotel. Our hotel was literally a block away from the Sydney Harbour Bridge and about a 10 minute walk from the Sydney Opera House. Maybe that explains my plethora of Sydney Harbour Bridge & Opera House pictures? Nah. It was such a fantastic location; I loved it!

So today was about exploring The Rocks & Central Quay and keeping my parents awake until at least 8:30 PM. We enjoyed a nice walk up George Street and over to Central Quay where we encountered about 10,000 street performers (most of whom had a didgeridoo in hand). We then walked from Central Quay to the Opera House. It was a beautiful day and we took a million and a half pictures. Approximately. I saw some Asians taking a picture at the Opera House with a "do not climb on inclined wall" sign... Oh the memories they will have. We grabbed lunch at the Orient Hotel, where my parents first encountered how truly expensive Australia is. It was delicious; who doesn't love chorizo salad? No one? That's what I thought. After our lunch, I was on a Zicam hunt because I could feel a slight tickling in my throat (and by tickling I mean burning sensation), only to find that Australia doesn't have Zicam. Lame. I also bought a $50 Sydney shirt for $10 today. And ate dinner at a noodle place called Wok on Inn.

Let the exploration of the Royal Botanic Gardens begin! These gardens were fantastic! They not only offered fabulous views of the Harbour, but were enjoyable and educational-ish as well! Perfection! We saw enormous fruit bats today (my parents first encounter with them), and saw some sweet herbs and stuff.

As we were leaving the RGB we stopped by the Governor's House to check it out, and managed to get 3 of the last 6 tickets for the last tour of the day! They only do tours on weekends, and this is the first weekend they've been done in a while since the house is still in use today. Every governor of New South Wales has lived there, except the two most recent ones. Governors are appointed to more or less represent the Queen of England or something. I don't really remember. Either way, the house was really cool. There was this lady, who I assume was British, constantly asking questions about the Royal Family (who has visited on many occasions); her daughter pulled her aside and said, "Stop asking questions about the Royal Family, it's pathetic." It was hilarious.

Tonight, we went to the Opera House to see some Beethoven thing with the Sydney Philharmonic. Well, part one was hardly Beethoven. It was depressing. Part two, however was J.S. Bach, Mozart and finally Beethoven. It was fantastic! It made me miss concert band so much.

Easter! Ironically, more places were open on Easter than were on Good Friday. Today we went to Darling Harbour. And the Paddy Markets. Darling was okay. It was less than I had expected. Paddy was also less than I had expected. We just kind of walked around the markets a little bit, and then headed back to Darling. We stopped at the Chinese Garden, which was absolutely beautiful. If you're going to go to Darling Harbour, go to the Chinese Garden. It's great. As we were walking through Darling to go back to George Street, an older Scottish woman approached us and offered us three tickets to a lunch cruise of the Harbour. It was fate! I guess. It was a lot of fun just getting to see a lot of the Harbour and eating too. When we got back to Darling, we walked back to George Street and ate some decadent deserts at Guylian's, a Belgian chocolate place. It was a good Easter.

Today was my sick day. We were going to go to Bondi, but I was exhausted and my sickness has reached it's height unfortunately. I spent a good portion of the day in bed, but when I wasn't in bed we walked around the markets at George Street and ate lunch at the Löwenbrau. Käsespätzle is delicious!

Today the Cairns adventure began. It was about a 3 hour flight up to Cairns from Sydney, most of which I slept through. We got to our hotel and got all this super nice treatment because my dad is a member or something. We went to the lounge thing and had a pre-dinner snack, which was basically our dinner. We then went and explored the esplanade. Cairns is much less of a city than I recall it being. We went to Nando's and my mom and I split peri-peri fries (the fried-food love of my life). We then went back to our hotel and settled in for the night.

We decided today would be a more relaxed day. We got some breakfast and went to explore the "city" a bit. We shopped around and got some really delicious lunch. Later on, my dad and I went to the pool and swam around for a bit. It was good fun. Sometime between Tuesday and Wednesday I made $10 profit at the casino.

I think today was the day we went to the Great Barrier Reef. We got up early and hopped on a boat and prepared to be amazed. GBR is pretty freaking sweet, I won't lie. We went on a semi-submersible first and took some pictures. Then my dad and I went snorkeling over the coral. Coral is terrifying. So are fish. And the ocean. Basically, I was terrified the whole time. There was this fish who is Reef Magic's (the pontoon thing) "puppy-fish" named Wally. My first glimpse of him? Teeth. I was scared. My dad tried to get me to pet it, but I wouldn't.

I met up with Erica tonight, and my parents took us out to dinner. Then the two of us went out and walked around Cairns and ate sorbet. It was good times.

Today we hopped on a bus to Port Douglas. The drive was beautiful, as was Port Douglas. I loved every minute of it there. My dad and I went for a swim in the netted part of the beach, and then we got some lunch. I found the church I plan on being married in: St. Mary's by the Sea. It's small and gorgeous and perfect.

Anyway... We walked all around town and it was super hot, but the weather was beautiful! We sat at the marina for a bit before we had to catch the bus back to Cairns.

Today we flew from Cairns to Brisbane and took the train to Gold Coast. We got my parents situated in their hotel, and then I showed them around a bit. We ate dinner in Surfers, and then parted ways.

I woke up today, and hopped on the bus (at the new bus stop). I got over to Pacific Fair and walked to my parent's hotel. From there we went to McDonald's for breakfast and free Wifi. From there we went to Brisbane for the day. We went around the markets at South Bank and enjoyed the sunshine. We then went to Queen Street, looked at a discount book store and ate at Pancake Manor. Oh, the good times. We stuck around South Bank a little longer, and then hopped the train back to Gold Coast.

Classes began today. I showed my parents Griffith University Gold Coast campus (you know, my school). Then we went to Australia Fair for lunch where they got kebabs and I got sushi. Then we did laundry, and later parted ways as I had class. Tomorrow, I am going to meet up with them for dinner and say my goodbyes until June rolls around.

♥ caitlin