Our Three Year Love Affair With a Sunburned Country

Like most things in life, things don’t always go to plan. Originally, our great Australian adventure was only going to last for a year; however, one year quickly turned in to two and today we are celebrating three years living down under. It’s strange yet wonderful how life works out, and just how quickly time flies.

While living abroad has its disadvantages- for example, the huge ocean that stands in between us and our family and friends, the time difference, the expensive flights, etc., overall, I would have to say our time in Sydney has been absolutely fun-filled and amazing. Our quality of life is excellent, our lives are relatively stress-free, and we’ve been able to travel heaps. We definitely have a different perspective on life thanks to our time in Australia.

Sydney obviously keeps us coming back for more and while we do realize there will soon be a time when we have to pack it up, for now we’re very happy to continue making our home here.

To celebrate our "three year aussie anniversary" we decided to re-discover Sydney over the weekend. It was finally a gorgeous, hot and sunny weekend so we had to take advantage of it!

It was a very busy and electric weekend in Sydney. There were heaps of people out due to the fabulous weather; the Australia v. India cricket match and the Hyundai A-league finals (football) were going on; it's (gay) mardi gras party time; and there was the royal rendezvous of the Queen Victoria (on its first tour) and the QE2 (on its last tour).

Saturday we caught a ferry to Circular Quay where we dined and drank it up in Aussie fashion at the stylish, harbour-side Opera Bar. After a lovely dinner, we engaged in a bit of culture at the Opera House and enjoyed the comedic production of Shakespeare's As You Like It.

Sunday we went on a walking tour of Sydney. We started in our neighbourhood, walked over the Harbour Bridge, through the Rocks and their outdoor markets, and on to Circular Quay. We had a beautiful seafood lunch and a few wines at a lovely restaurant on the harbour. After lunch, it was more walking all throughout the Botanical Gardens.

We had a wonderful weekend and as we move on in to our third year living on this giant island, we look forward to what lies ahead for us.

Our Weekend Getaway

We're back from our anniversary/Paul's birthday getaway to the Blue Mountains. We had a nice, relaxing time in the country. We did some sight seeing and a little hiking. For those of you who aren't familiar with the Blue Mountains, the Australian's call it the "Grand Canyon downunder." It's a world heritage listed national park that's over one million hectacres of canyons, sandstone cliffs, caves, waterfalls, and rainforests- It's a nature lovers paradise. The main attraction to the region is Echo Point and the Three Sisters rock formation.

We have been to the Blue Mountains before, so, this time we decided to go off the beaten path and check out some other areas of the region. Our favourite part of the trip was this scenic drive we did through the Megalong Valley. We drove down from the top of the cliffs in to this amazing valley that I think is quintessential rural Australia. It was beautiful and peaceful. If we go back there again to stay, we'd love to stay in this valley- there's hardly anything around you!

We also managed to find a local pub that would turn on the world series so we could watch what we hoped would be the last game... and as you all know, it was- the Red Sox won! Woo hoo! Go Sox.

Three Sisters



Blue Moutains



View of the Megalong Valley from above



Down in the Megalong Valley



Watching the game

Happy One Year Anniversary To Us!

This weekend we're celebrating our anniversary. On October 28th it will be one year of wedded bliss. So, we're heading off to the Blue Mountains for a country getaway. I'll be sure to take some pictures and post later. We're staying at a pretty flash place so it should be a nice little holiday.

In honor of celebrating our one year wedding anniversary, here are some thoughts on marriage:

A good marriage is a partnership. It's trusting, laughing and knowing when to compromise. It's remembering what matters and forgetting what doesn't. It's filling life with what you love and loving who you're with. It's a love that's nurtured by every day moments. Quick, little kisses, doing things together, quiet talks at the end of a busy day. It's the little things like these that make love great.

And for a little reminiscing, here are some photos from that wonderful day:





























*Photos by Michael Graham