Western Australia and the start of 2013!

Sorry again for the long delay between blog posts, I've been slacking since it's summer and it's sooo nice out! For the first time, I am going to include pictures, I hope y'all are excited.
The last night that Sammy was here we went to a party at our friend Lisa Kappel's apartment. It was epic! There were tons of people and lots of drinks and we had an amazing time. At some point I think her roommates kicked us out so we were hanging out outside and Avi fell asleep on the sidewalk and woke up the next morning with ant bites all over him. It was pretty hilarious! On Sunday morning we struggled to get up but Sammy left and then Avi and I had to pack for Western Australia.

On Monday morning, we got to the airport wearing our football jerseys and waited to board the plane for a 5-hour flight to Perth. From there we flew North to Learmouth airport, which is probably the smallest airport I've ever seen, but the views along the way were breathtaking. 

Then we rented a car and drove about an hour (117 km) to Coral Bay. This was our first time experiencing the drive on the left side of the road. Avi took the first leg and did a pretty good job, granted we were in the middle of nowhere and we probably saw about 5 cars the whole ride. The way there was pure desert and pretty much deserted...we had no service for most of the way and it was definitely a big change of pace from New York, Sydney, etc.

After arriving in Coral Bay, which is a beautiful tiny little town right on the Ningaloo Reef, we dropped our stuff off and then tried to go snorkeling a bit. However, it was getting late and the water was kind of chilly so we didn't last very long. Instead we had dinner and went to bed early to get ready for our diving trip the next morning.

Tuesday was AWESOME! In the morning we boarded a boat and went for a ride out to our first dive site in the Ningaloo Reef, Lotties Lagoon. It turned out that we were the least experienced divers on the trip but that didn't stop us. Even though we surfaced earlier than everyone else, we lasted 43 minutes for our first dive, 12 minutes longer than the last time we went diving. So we were happy about that. During the first dive we saw yellow boxfish, 2 amazingly beautiful green turtles, Painted Flute Mouth (really cool), Clarks anemonefish, many spotted sweetlips, flowery cod, Anna's chromodan's, midnight snapper, slingjaw wrasse, sailfin catfish, pink anemone fish, and moon wrasse. It was a blast.

After the first dive, we drove to a different spot and we were able to go swimming with numerous, massive manta rays. It was one of the coolest things I've ever done. They swam right under us and I got some amazing pictures.

However, the water was very choppy that day and on the way to lunch and our next dive site, Avi got seasick. Then he ate a little bit and he was debating not doing the next dive but when we were told that we were going to a shark cleaning station he changed his mind. Also a lot of people on the boat told him that often diving helps get rid of seasickness so he tried it out. In the end we did the dive and again we came up early (this time it was my fault since I ran out of air quicker than Avi but that's because I kept checking on him, I was nervous that he was sick), but lasted 44 minutes this time! But I am so glad that Avi decided to do this dive (I wouldn't have gone without him). It was probably the coolest one we've done yet. We saw tons of cool fish, like the bent stick pipefish, convict surgeonfish, painted flutemouth, baby Queensland groper, goldspot trevally, bludger trevally, pink anemonefish, MS sweetlips, smooth flutemouth, solar boxfish, and yellow boxfish. 

But the best part was the shark cleaning station. Coral Bay is one of the few areas in the world that has a shark cleaning station. There are certain fish (I forget which kind) that get their food by cleaning the teeth and the skin, etc. of sharks and other fish. When I first swam to the spot I got to see a gray reef shark with its mouth open getting its teeth cleaned! It was extraordinary. As I looked around, I saw 2 more sharks and they were all just chilling there. Out of this world. After the dive, Avi felt much better and was so happy that he decided to try it out. After the diving trip we had a relaxing evening and watched the sunset over the ocean.

The next day we wanted to go deep sea fishing but unfortunately the water was too rough so they had to cancel. Although we were upset, the day turned out better than we expected. Instead we decided to do a quad trek ride and snorkel (I'll post a few pictures here but check facebook for the album). 

When we first started driving, we pulled out into this desert area and we saw little kangaroos in the wild, it was so cool. Then we drove along the beautiful Coral Bay beach until we came to our first snorkel spot. Before snorkeling, we stopped because we saw a dolphin close by who had lost its dorsal fin. At first it looked like it was all alone but then we saw a whole pod of them. Needless to say, I was ecstatic! 

Then we stopped and went snorkeling in this amazing spot

where we saw tons of cool fish, an eel, 3 sea turtles and 3 wobbegong sharks (look under the coral). 










As we were swimming around more, all of a sudden a small blue spotted stingray (the kind that killed Steve Erwin) came out from underneath the sand and swam right underneath our guide. It was so cool.

Then we drove a little bit more on our quad bikes and went to the next snorkel site, which wasn't as big. As soon as we pulled up our guide thought that he saw a tiger shark so he went to make sure that it was gone and when he couldn't find it we went snorkeling. This time we saw 2 more sea turtles and they came really close to us. They were beautiful.

It was really a great experience and we weren't too upset that we didn't get to go fishing. Also, on the way back, we saw some more kangaroos which were much closer this time.

On Thursday, we were supposed to fly out early to Perth and spend the day touring the city and it's beautiful beaches but when we got on our plane at tiny Learmouth Airport, apparently the air conditioning did not work. So they put us on the place, then took us off the plane, then put us on again and then took us off again. To make a long and frustrating story short, we were stuck in this tiny airport on one of the hottest days yet with minimal AC for way too long and didn't arrive to our hotel in Perth until after 9 pm.

Fortunately, Friday was another great day. We took a ferry to Rottnest Island, a small island off the coast of Perth. The ferry ride was beautiful and when we arrived we took an adventure tour around the island. When they say adventure, they mean adventure. The water was extremely choppy and we were in a small boat, wearing body-sized panchos. 

Whenever we were traveling to another part of the island it felt like we were on a roller coaster and we often got completely soaked with water; it was a blast! On the way to our first stop we saw the strangest thing. We drove past this huge boat that had all of these dudes standing on the back of the ship with this one topless girl with large fake breasts...our boat, which was driven by a woman, drove by really slowly and we all waved and they waved back, but it was just so strange and hilarious. Anyway, on our first stop on the adventure tour, we saw New Zealand fur seals basking in the sun and playing in the water.

Apparently because of the large population of seals, there is a large population of great white sharks around Rottnest Island because they prey on seals. Needless to say, we did not go into the water there :)

On our next stop we saw an Osprey, which is a type of hawk, and it was just perched on a large rock staring ahead. It was really cool.











Then on our final stop we saw some Australian sea lions.







After the boat trip we had some lunch and then we went on a walking tour to see the quokkas which live on the island. They are these tiny marsupials that are found in Western Australia, mainly on Rottnest island. They were so cute and rather friendly. I was able to get up really close to them; loved it!

We had a blast on Rottnest Island. Friday night we watched the sunset from our amazing hotel balcony in Scarborough Beach and did a small shabbos dinner in our room. Then on Shabbos day we walked to the beach but it was kind of windy so we decided to go hang out at the pool. After that we took a long walk along the beautiful and rather empty beach before crashing for a long nap. 

On Sunday morning we woke up really early and drove down to Margaret River to prepare for our winery, brewery, cheese and chocolate factories tour. IT WAS BEYOND AMAZING! Since the Falcons were playing on Saturday instead of Sunday, I wore my jersey for the first half of the tour and then changed after they beat the Lions. Everyone else on the tour thought I changed because we lost, but really it was only because the game was over and we won. 

Anyway, we went to 4 different wineries (above) and they all had their own little niche and they were all beautiful. At the first winery they taught us the proper way to taste wine and we learned that you should never judge a wine by the first sip. Then we went to 3 more wineries and we ate a traditional Australian lunch at the 3rd one (although unfortunately we didn't get to try any of the crocodile or kangaroo). At the fourth won we tried more liqueurs than wines, but it was all a blast and delicious. Then we went to the cheese factory where I found some kosher brie that I was unbelievably excited about (probably because I had been to 4 wineries). Next we went to the Margaret River Chocolate Factory, enough said; delicious! Lastly we went to a brewery where we tried 5 different beers that they had. The bushtucker winery & brewery tour was amazing and I highly recommend it to everyone! 

After that we were pretty liquered up and tired, so we basically passed out on the couch for the rest of the night. Monday was our last full day in Western Australia so we spent the majority of the day in Margaret River. First we went to see Smith's Beach, which was extremely beautiful!

Then we went to Ngilgi Cave and Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse in Yallingup. They were our educational parts of the trip and they were also very fun and interesting.

After that, we went to see Bunker Bay, another beautiful beach and then we headed back to Perth for our final night. 

Tuesday, Christmas Day, we headed back to Sydney. Of course our flight was delayed... again, but like good American Jews, when we finally made it home we dropped our stuff off and then met Josh Borenstein for some Chinese food followed by a movie at his place.

On Wednesday, "Boxing Day", we went to Ben Pask's apartment and watched Christmas Day basketball, met Monique, Kara, and Mich, and then we started watching Friday Night Lights, which is so good. That night we went to Max Brenner, which is an amazing chocolate shop, and then we went to see Les Mis. I really really liked it, Ben fell asleep, and Avi stayed awake but didn't love it.

Over the next week or so we did a lot of stuff: we hung out with Ben and Mon a lot, we went to the beach a lot, we went out for karaoke (Avi stayed out until 5 am!), we got to see Charlotte Fliegner who was visiting from Melbourne, and we just hung out. 

Then on New Years Eve we woke up really early and went out to Macquarie's Chair with some friends and 10s of thousands of other people in the city to watch the fireworks over the Sydney Harbor Bridge and Opera House. We got there at about 10:30 am and then had to wait in line for about 2 hours.  

When we finally got in, we found a spot and made a picnic and sat in about 28C/85F degree weather. We had a really good time. Then at 9 pm, they did about a 5-10 minute firework show and at midnight they did a really long one, about 15-20 minutes. We didn't have the best view of the bridge and the opera house because there were trees in the way but we saw at least 3 firework viewing points and we thoroughly enjoyed it. However, as soon as it was over, we were so tired from being in the sun all day that we went home and were in bed by 2.

On New Year's Day, we went to Bondi Beach to say goodbye to Charlotte and then we met up with Ben and his friends from Melbourne, got some shwarma at a pita shop and then went to another beach called Parsley Bay. The rest of the week Avi worked from home and we just chilled out at night. We invited our friends', Avital and Gideon Harkham, over for burrito Shabbat and then continued to eat the leftovers for a few days. On Monday, Avi started work again so life pretty much went back to the pre-holiday norm.

However, this past weekend, after saying goodbye to Michael Apfel, who went back to the U.S. after his study abroad semester and travels ended, on Sunday we went to Melbourne for a quick trip to see the Australian Open. We were supposed to leave on Sunday morning at 6 am, however, our flight was cancelled about 6 hours before take off. So we had to take the 12:00 flight and because it was so much later, we each received $100 vouchers, which was pretty sweet. When we got to Melbourne we dropped our stuff off at Charlotte's parents house, where we were staying, and then Charlotte took us on a quick tour of the city. It was really fun, but for some reason it was very cold for the summer (only about 19C/66F). The next morning I woke up at 5 am to watch the Falcons beat the Seahawks (after giving me a heart attack!). Then Avi had to work and when he finished we went into the city to go watch the night session of the Open. We saw Janko Tipsarevic (Serbia) play against the Aussie, Leyton Hewitt. The match started off really exciting but Tipsarevic ended up winning all 3 sets. Then we watched one set of the women play and left to go to bed since we had a flight at 6:30 the next morning. It was a very quick trip but I'm really glad that we got to see the Australian Open while we were here and I know that we will be back in Melbourne soon to really get a feel for it.

Last night, we went to our friends', Lili and Natan, apartment where he had a quesadilla cook off! Natan, Lili, and I all made different quesadillas and Avi was the judge. Now if any of my campers or friends have had my quesadillas before, they know that it was no competition. Even so, we didn't tell Avi who made which quesadillas and he liked mine the best.

All in all, we continue to have an amazing time here and we hope that more of y'all will take us up on our standing offer to visit!

Cheers

Our First Holiday

Since my last post a TON has happened and I hope y'all are excited. On the 29th of November I cooked Thanksgiving dinner (albeit a week late) and invited all the Americans I know as well as several Aussies to join in on the feast. Thanks to a lot of help from my dad I made a turkey and stuffing muffins for the first time. I also made delicious mashed potatoes, green beans, and apple pie and I found cranberry sauce in the can, which I was very excited about. We had about 15 people total and it was a blast. Everything was eaten and everyone enjoyed it. I actually thought it was a little dry for my taste but for my first time making a turkey I was impressed with myself.

On Friday, Sammy Bazian arrived for his two week visit. In the morning I went and picked him up at the airport with my Welcome sign. Then I introduced him to Glicks bagels and we ran a few errands to prepare for our holiday (for all of the Americans, Aussies call vacations holidays)! For Shabbos, Avi had made soup with the turkey carcass (even though it was about 30 C/86 F) and I made some sausages and couscous. Everything was delicious. Shabbos day we went to Central Synagogue and introduced Sammy to that scene, then we ate some sandwiches before doing the Bondi to Bronte walk.

On Sunday we left for our week long holiday. First we flew to Uluru (pictures will soon be posted on facebook but I would suggest googling it as well!) for a couple of days. Uluru is in the Northern Territory, but it is essentially a desert in the middle of Australia. When we arrived we had lunch and then walked around and took pictures at some of the beautiful viewing areas. Then, because the weather was about 38-42 C/100-108 F while we were there, we swam in the pool before our first excursion, the Sounds of Silence Dinner. This dinner is supposed to be a sunset viewing over the big Uluru rock and then a dinner followed by stargazing. Unfortunately the previous day it had rained for the first time since April so the weather was somewhat overcast and there were a lot of clouds blocking the sunset. It made for a very interesting sunset however it was rather obstructed. But the dinner and the whole experience was fabulous. They had prepared a delicious vegetarian option for us and there was plenty of wine/beer to go around. The clouds also obstructed our view of the stars however once they turned all of the lights off around us we were able to see some. Also they had a telescope and we were able to see Jupiter and some of its moons, which was really cool. Oddly, Jupiter looked like a big moon and the moons looked like stars.

The next morning we woke up at 4 am to go on an Uluru sunrise tour. The sunrise was beautiful and then they took us around the rock and taught us about some of the Aboriginal stories associated with it. Although the Aboriginals ask you not to climb the rock for religious and other reasons, it is usually an option. I was really torn because Sammy and Avi were planning on climbing it so I didn't want to miss out but also I did not want to disrespect anyone. I had decided not to climb it, but when we got there the climb was actually closed due to strong winds (it is a very dangerous climb). Afterwards they took us to the Uluru Cultural Center where we learned more about the Aboriginals and their heritage and stories.

After another swim in the pool we got ready for our next tour which was supposed to be the Kata Tjuta Valley of the Winds Tour. We got to our lobby at the assigned time and were waiting for 30 minutes before a bus came to pick us up. When it got there, however, we found out that the bus was for a different tour (the Kata Tjuta Uluru Sunset tour) and that our tour was apparently cancelled without anyone telling us. We went through this whole spiel with them and to make a long story short we were able to go on the other tour, which was more expensive, and they refunded us the difference between the two tours. Kata Tjuta, or the Olgas, (google it and look for pictures again), which means many heads, are a group of large domed rock formations. Between some of the rocks is where the Aboriginal men teach the boys how to hunt, but that is the only information they currently know about it because the Aboriginal people have refused to talk about it. It was a beautiful scene and since the weather was better on Monday, the sunset over Uluru was still nice and different from the previous night.

On Tuesday we spent all day traveling. There was a direct flight from Uluru to our next destination, Cairns (home of the Great Barrier Reef), but it was double the price of the layover flight we ended up taking. So we flew from Uluru back to Sydney (both flights were delayed an hour). Then we flew from Sydney to Cairns and then drove an hour to Port Douglas where we were staying. Also interesting, the Northern Territory (Uluru) is an hour and a half behind Sydney (don't ask me why) and Cairns, which is in Queensland, does not participate in daylight-savings time, so it was an hour behind Sydney. So on Tuesday we were in 3 different time zones; it was crazy!

Wednesday was my favorite day of the trip! In the morning we boarded a huge ship in Port Douglas to go scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef. The ride to the Reef was about 2 hours long and every type of activity was available, from scuba diving to snorkeling to taking a trip on a glass bottom boat. Since Sammy is not certified to scuba dive he was able to do an introductory dive and Avi and I did our first certified dive (very exciting!). Also because there were so many people doing the intro dive, Sammy was able to dive in our little dive group. For our first dive, Avi and I were essentially on our own while the dive guide focused on the two intro divers. Because of this and since it was our first time, we went through our air very quickly! We were very excited and wanted to see everything while we were down there so we were only able to dive for about 28 minutes. While we were down there though we saw a twin tail sea slug and butterfly fish. We also found Nemo (clownfish) and his family and got to touch their anemone, which was awesome. It feels really cool as if it's suctioning your fingers or something and trying to clean them; it's hard to explain but it was awesome. Also we saw a HUGE clam and we got to feel its "lips", which actually felt like real lips. After Avi and I went up, Sammy and the other intro diver still had air left so they stayed down and they saw a shark as soon as we went up. I was really disappointed because I kept saying that I wanted to see a shark so Avi and I decided to do another dive after lunch.

During the second dive there were only 3 of us with the instructor and we were much more relaxed, so we were able to dive for about 36 minutes, which was great! I was really hoping to see the shark on the second dive but I wasn't expecting it because all of the instructors warned me that it was very rare that the shark would stay in our area. Fortunately, as soon as we got down there, the instructor did the sign for shark and I looked to my left and there was a white tip reef shark! I was ecstatic! It wasn't that big at all but it was so interesting and exciting. We also saw a grouper that was the size of Avi and me put together, some chromis, a moray eel, lionfish, and a sea cucumber. I am so glad that we decided to go back down for the second dive because it was amazing!

On Thursday we went on a tour of the Daintree Rainforest and Cape Tribulation. The Daintree Raiforest is the oldest rainforest in the world and it was beautiful. Unfortunately it was very hot so we weren't able to see many of the wildlife but the trees and the flowers were beautiful and we were able to go atop the rainforest and look down on it which was amazing (see pictures on facebook). Our tour guide was so knowledgeable and taught us all about the Rainforest. After the Rainforest we drove to Cape Tribulation which is a beach in the middle of the rainforest, very cool! Then we had lunch in the middle of the rainforest before going on a Daintree River Cruise. The Daintree River is famous for its crocodiles, crikey! Unfortunately, since it was blisteringly hot we weren't able to see any crocs, but we did see a very pretty bird. This tour was really good, however there was a lot of driving involved and the heat made it so that there wasn't much to see. We would have preferred spending more time exploring the rainforest and less time driving, but we weren't in charge of the tour. However, during the tour we stopped at this little ice cream place where they grow their own fruit and make 4 ice creams each day. When you order the ice cream you don't tell them what flavors you want, they just give you a scope of every flavor they have for the day and if you don't like a flavor, don't eat it. It was actually pretty cool and each flavor was delicious!

On Friday we went back to the rainforest and rented ATVs. It was our first time ever riding them and we all had a blast, especially because it had rained the previous day so it was extremely muddy. We went through huge mud puddles and then towards the end we got to do figure 8s in the mud and sprayed it everywhere (definitely look for facebook pictures and videos!). By the end we were soaked through and filthy. After long and thorough showers we had dinner and then went to this bar that had toad racing. Now this isn't your average toad race. They auctioned off toads and I won one! There were 6 toads in total: Fat Bastard, Camel Toad, Gay Freddo, Jerry Springer, Pigeon Toad, and Aussie Aussie Aussie (nick named Ted). Mine was Ted. After you got your toad they were all placed into a bucket. Each toad racer was given one of those party favor blowing things and you had to use that to move your toad off of the table. Once your toad was off the table you had to be the first one to put your toad in the bucket to win. The first prize winner won a bottle of champagne and a pass to some crocodile tour. Second prize won a pass to some other tour and third prize won a bottle of champagne. Yours truly won first place by a millisecond. The guy who came in second got his toad in the bucket literally right after me. It was awesome; I was clearly so excited.

On Saturday we just spent all day at the beach and went to bed really early because our flight the next morning was at 6 am and we still had to drive back to Cairns to catch it. Once we got back to Sydney we took the ferry out to the Sydney Zoo. Now I was not that impressed with it, I think the Atlanta Zoo is much better, but also the weather was awful! The lay out of the exhibits was very windy and confusing and we had a hard time finding anything. But the chimpanzee exhibit was amazing! There were at least 20 of them and we got to see how they interacted with each other, it was really great. After the zoo we went to a Chanukah party and I'm pretty sure that every young Jewish adult in Sydney was at the party. It was packed! We had a really good time seeing all of the friends we've met so far, introducing them to Sammy, and meeting lots of new people.

On Monday, Avi had to go to work and it rained again. So Sammy and I went to Darling Harbour to a place called Pancakes on the Rocks and had some deilcious pancakes for brunch. Then we walked to Circular Quay where we went to the Museum of Contemporary Art. Then we walked all around the city until 6 when we met Avi and went back to Darling Harbour to see the newest James Bond on the biggest IMAX in the world; it was HUGE! After that we went out for some delicious Indian food.

Yet again on Tuesday the weather was pretty crappy. Sammy and I went to Watsons Bay and walked around in the off and on rain. Then we went grocery shopping and then I made some sweet potato and regular latkes, with Sammy's wonderful help shredding. Today, it was finally sunny so we did the Bondi to Coogee walk. When we arrived at Coogee we saw several people gathering around someone on the beach. We walked closer and saw that a woman had been drowning and the lifeguards were trying to save her. They gave her CPR for a good 5 minutes but by the time the ambulance came she was breathing. I'm not sure if she was fully conscious because she was thrashing around and I think they had to give her a sedative but it was very scary and I really hope that she is okay. Afterwards we got some sushi and then some gelato and walked back. Then I met up with our friend Natan Kuchar and his daughter Ayala and played with them in the park for a bit.

All in all these last 2 weeks have been amazing.

Come and visit, you never know what exciting things will happen!

Happy Chanukah, y'all!

School's out for Summer!!!

So yet again, it has been awhile since my last blog post. However, not much has happened since the last one because I had exams and was studying a good amount.

Since my last post my old counselor, Hannah Vahaba, was here with her now fiancee, Martin, and I got to meet up with them for a drink, which was excellent. Also later in the week Avi met me out after I went out after class and after a few drinks we started to play the penny slot machines (here they call them 'pokies') with a few friends. After a couple spins we ended up winning $120 on one spin! It was so crazy and exciting. We played a bit more and moved to another machine where we won ten more dollars. Instead of splitting the money we decided to go out for dinner and put the rest into the lottery. We went out for a delicious Indian dinner and although we didn't win the lotto, it was a lot of fun!

About a week later I planned a Shabbat lunch picnic at Bondi Beach. It turned out really well. I was a little nervous if the weather would hold out and I didn't know how many people would be able to come. However, the weather was beautiful (Avi even got pretty burned!). Also we had about 10 or so people and the food was excellent. We had such a good time. Then that night I found out that I passed the Georgia Bar Exam! I was so excited and relieved.

Unfortunately, after that I was sick for about a week so I wasn't able to really celebrate. Later that week, Avi and I signed up for scuba diving certification classes to begin the following Sunday. So everyday that week we had to do the online preparation course. On Sunday we began our first day in the pool. We had to start out doing some laps and treading water. Then we got into our wetsuits and began the training. It was really intense; in fact, it started at 9 am and we didn't finish until 5 pm. We were beyond exhausted when we finally got home.

The next week we went to Camp Cove, which is the beach next to Watson's Bay. There we began our first open water dive. We only went about 4.4 meters and the visibility was not so great. However, we saw some trumpet fish and a little sting ray; it was so cute! It looked like it was smiling at us.

Lat week, I had three exams in a row: Monday I had a real property exam, Tuesday I had administrative law, and Wednesday I had constitutional law. Needless to say, on Wednesday evening I got a little rowdy, but it was very fun! Then on Thursday night we went out for a double date with Lili and Natan Kuchar. On Friday, since it was Thanksgiving in the U.S., Avi stayed home from work and we talked to all of our family; it was really excellent. Even though all 3 of my brothers are in different cities throughout the world, it was really great to talk to them and my parents, in-laws, and some of my cousins and I can't wait to see them in a bit over a year.

For Shabbat, we went to Avital and Gideon Harkham's for dinner and we knew everyone there; it was really exciting! Then on Saturday Lili and Natan took us to a semi-Thanksgiving lunch. Finally, on Sunday we had our last diving certification class. We went to Gordon's Bay, which was beautiful! We went down 14.4 meters, which is 40 feet. We saw a huge catfish and had an amazing time. It was so great, and now we are certified and can't wait until the Great Barrier Reef next week. After diving, we went out for hamburgers at Lewis Continental. The restaurant itself was pretty hot, but the burgers were excellent! Not as good as my dad's though.

This week, I am getting ready to host a real Thanksgiving dinner at our apartment. So on that note, I need to get back to planning. However, we have a lot of traveling coming up and I can't wait to share it with y'all.

Happy Holidays!

Cheers from Australia!

I LOVE Sydney!

A LOT has happened since my last post (I need to become more disciplined with my blog, it's my goal for the next few months). After the walk to Coogee Beach I had "Spring Break," which was extremely necessary. On Monday morning I woke up at 6 am even though I was on break so that I could watch the Falcons game, then since I was already up I watched the Braves game and then headed off to the beach. It was a pretty excellent day. Tuesday I slept in later, watched the Braves game and then prepared dinner for the pre-Yom Kippur feast! Since we were still on winter time, the fast wasn't as bad as it had been in the past and services were very nice. However, the best part of the day was breaking the fast! On Thursday and Friday I cooked in the morning (while watching the Braves game, of course) to prepare for our first Shabbat meal at our apartment and then went to the beach in the afternoon. That week was beautiful. Shabbat dinner was also a great success.

Saturday night we went out to two parties, one for the Maccabbi Rugby team-the Full Moon Party- and one for Hymie's birthday party. They were both great. Then on Sunday, we went with our new friend, Gordon, to the Sydney Aquarium. It was amazing! There were so many awesome and huge sharks (see pictures on facebook) and we also got to learn a lot about sharks and now I really want to go swimming with sharks (while I'm in a cage of course and they can't eat me). Sunday night began Sukkot; the weather was really beautiful and we had some great meals with great new friends and met a lot of new people as well. Then on Wednesday I had to go back to school, which was not so fun, but it was only for a few days before the weekend again!

Nothing exciting happened last weekend, however Sunday night was Shemini Atzerot and we had some new friends (Josh and Orly) over for taco night. Then on Monday for lunch we had some more new friends (Natan, Lili, and their daughter Ayala) over and we made sushi. Both meals were delicious and a great success. Monday night was Simchat Torah and it was AMAZING! I used to hate going to shul during this holiday but I had a great time here! When we first got to Central Synagogue, I talked and danced around a bit with some friends and then they had this HUGE kiddish with basically all of the food and scotch you could ever want. Unfortunately, I don't like scotch however I learned to cope pretty quickly. After we left Central, we went to the Yeshiva down the street and somehow we picked up a non-Jewish girl who stayed with us for the rest of the night. The best part was she was completely sober while our whole group was totally sloshed. After that we went to a party in Bellevue Hill and didn't end up getting home until about 2:30 in the morning. Needless to say it was very difficult to wake up in the morning and make our way back to services so that Avi could get his aaliyah, but we made it (and Rabbi Wolff was definitely laughing at me when he saw me)!

Then with all of the holidays over with it was time to get back to real life. I had class on Wednesday and Thursday and I finally got some of my assignments back at school. I learned that in Australia you only have to get a 50 to pass and that an 85+ is a high distinction. So far I am doing pretty well at school, not up to high distinction but I'm not too upset about it either.

This weekend was really excellent. I made a delicious stew for Shabbat dinner and then we got invited out by Rabbi Moss' parents for lunch (he is the Rabbi of Nefesh). Their family is so nice and welcoming and we had a great time. Last night we didn't really do much of anything but that's because this morning we woke up at 5 am to go to an event called Breakfast on Bondi. It was part of the Sydney International Food Festival and basically we went down to the beach to watch the sunrise while the Symphony played and we ate breakfast. Coincidentally we ran into some of our friends and we sat with them and got to join in on their "brekkie" picnic. Later in the day we went to Watsons Bay (see pictures on facebook) and walked around to see the Gap and then the two lighthouses, as well as a nude beach, in the vicinity. It was so beautiful and we had a great time. Then we took a ferry into the city and met up with our Irish friends for a bit before coming home and chilling out.
It was a very long day but it was amazing and we are having such a remarkable time out here. We would love for any and all of y'all to come visit us.

Please post and let me know if you're enjoying my blog and become a follower!

Miss y'all!

Cheers!

Getting into a groove

First off, sorry that it has taken me so long to write another post. When we first moved in we didn't have internet for awhile and then I had two papers and a midterm at school that I had to do. Since it has been at least a month, I will just fill y'all in on the highlights!

Avi and I moved into our Bondi apartment on August 11th. The next day was Avi's birthday so we went out for dinner at Katzys, which was pretty good, and we had a delicious cake from Glicks. The next two weekends we went out to parties with Evian Gutman and started to meet lots of new people. The first weekend in Bondi we got invited out for dinner by one Rabbi (Yehudah Straiton) and then we tried out Central Synagogue for the first time and we get invited to the Rabbi's for lunch (Rabbi Levi Wolff from New Jersey). Everyone was so welcoming and we had a great time and met a lot of new and very nice people.

A couple weeks later we went to Central Synagogue for a young adults Shabbat dinner where we got to hear two Olympians, Steve Solomon (no relation) and Jessica Fox, talk about their experience. Steve Solomon is a runner and he had a crazy story about getting to the Olympics, he is only 17 years old and he spoke magnificently; it was crazy. Jessica Fox won a silver medal in slalom canoeing and Avi and I each got to hold it, I even wore it around my neck (it was so heavy!).

Last week was Rosh Hashanah. We were invited out for dinner on the first night to Rabbi Aron Moss', the Rabbi of Nefesh Synagogue, which was also very nice and very delicious. The next night we were invited out again to the Harkhams (we also ate at their house the first or second week we arrived), which was also great.

This weekend was extremely fun, especially since I am finally on break from school and able to relax a bit. On Friday night I made Shabbat dinner and Avi and I just relaxed at home. On Saturday we went to shul and then had a quick lunch before going out to the beach. It was actually pretty windy so we left after about an hour, but it was still nice to get out. Saturday night we went out for a new friend's birthday party. We met a lot of really nice new people and one of them was even nice enough to give us a ride home. Today we took a beautiful walk from Bondi Beach to Coogee Beach. It took about 2 hours in total and there was so many amazing views on the way (see facebook pictures for details). Afterwards we stopped at Bondi Junction (the big shopping mall here) and we bought a brand new TV, which we are obviously very excited about.

Other than that we saw a kite festival on the beach a few weeks ago, which was really cool. When we first moved in there was a race from the city to the beach, called City2Surf, where about 70,000 people ran and we went to see the end of the race. It was awesome and crazy to see that many people. Since it has been so long I think I've forgotten a lot of things I should be including but I promise to try to keep up to date more often now that I have more time and internet. We are doing great and we love it here, although we would love it even more if y'all came to visit. Hope to hear from everyone soon!

Cheers!

Week 2: my personal start to the semester

Alright y'all, sorry that I haven't posted anything in a week but I realized it was time to go to school! Anyway, last Friday Avi and I went to check out another apartment in Bondi and we LOVED it! Not only is it a 5 minute walk to the beach but there's a bus stop right outside the apartment that goes into the city and Glick's bakery (with the delicious challah) is about a 2 minute walk. Also it has a brand new full size fridge, plenty of storage space, a sun room, and an extra twin bed. We got our application in that afternoon and found out around 5 that we got it! It was really exciting.

Then we had a nice Shabbat dinner and on Saturday we walked to the Sydney Opera House and the Circular Quay area, which is beautiful! (Here's a Wikipedia description: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circular_Quay) The whole time I kept saying that I wish I had my camera, especially since we saw the boardwalk and the area where Dance Academy is filmed (if you don't know what this show is, look for it on netflix, it's amazing!)!!! On the way home we walked through the Sydney Botanical Gardens, which is also quite pretty. After Shabbat, we had our first Australian date night, dinner and a movie! Warning: movies in Sydney are even more expensive than in New York! However, they do have student tickets. Avi's ticket was $18 and my student ticket was $16!!! Probably the first and last dinner and a movie date night (although I think we can get $10 tickets through our cell phone provider, I gotta check that out). On Sunday, we went to Darling Harbor and checked out all of the boats and then walked 3.2 km around the Sydney Harbor back to the Sydney Opera House and Circular Quay so that we could take pictures (see facebook for pictures). It was about 70 degrees, in the heart of winter, and they said it was the warmest day in Sydney since mid-May. So after being locked in doors studying all summer, it was greatly appreciated!

Monday morning Avi started work and I started my first full week of school (where I attended every class, thank you very much!). I have continued to learn that the Australian legal system is very...different in comparison to the U.S. system since it stems from the UK and the Queen is a part of their executive. I met another student from Ireland who is doing something similar to me so we quickly became friends and are equally lost, both in class and around campus! I think we need to find a few Aussie friends to show us the ropes! I've been finding it hard to get back into school mode after being out of school for over a year and studying so intensely for the Georgia Bar. Although it seems like I was already in some sort of school mode from bar studying, it is much different than school. For one, when studying for the Bar, they give you everything you need to know without all the extra crap. Also, no one asks questions during the lectures (so I didn't have to listen to the extremely annoying kids who ask ridiculously stupid and unrelated hypotheticals). However, unlike in the U.S., in Australia all online access to cases and statutes is FREE! There is no need to pay for anything like westlaw or lexis because they can access any legal materials they want online. It's pretty crazy!

Last night (Wednesday night) we were invited out to this nice Jewish family's for dinner out in Rose Bay. It was really fun and delicious! Then tomorrow (Friday) morning Avi and I are signing our lease and then after he goes to work I am going to set the apartment up a bit and then go back to stay in the corporate apartments for our last free weekend there and get ready for Avi's birthday celebration on Sunday!

Other than that, nothing else is really going on. The posts will probably be more sporadic until I am done with school in November but please stay in touch and become a follower to the blog!

Miss and love y'all and feel free to share the blog :)

Days 2 & 3: Kosher day & Apartment Hopping!

Sorry that I wasn't able to post yesterday, Avi and I were exhausted and fell asleep really early! That means that today's post will be much longer :)

Anyway, yesterday we had a lot more luck finding Kosher food...eventually.

We realized that if we want to travel, we need to try to save money on food, etc., so Wednesday morning we went grocery shopping. Since we had a really hard time finding Kosher food in the grocery store in the city, we bought fruits and vegetables and some snacks that had kosher ingredients to hold us over. After that we walked to my school again so that Avi could try to use the internet and I went to class. He failed in that department and I partly failed in the class department, but then again so did everyone else. The class was Administrative Law, which is how one can sue the government (basically a part of our Constitutional Law class). Anyway, since it is opening week (they call it "O week" here, which made me giggle), they had some crazy opening fair in the lecture building. There were speeches and really loud (not so good) singing and it was almost impossible to concentrate. My professor said she felt like she was watching the failed singers for Australian Idol. However, I did meet a really nice Jewish boy who is going to help me with my Real Property class, which will be clutch!

After class, we went to visit Bondi Junction. We took a train out there and it only took 10 minutes, which was great. When we got off the train we saw a guy wearing a kippah so I told Avi he should go ask him where we could find Kosher food. He was actually walking to the grocery store and showed us how to get there and explained to us the whole system. So in the suburbs where there are more Jews, not only do they have a Kosher section but also instead of the Kosher symbol on the items, they are placed on the pricing labels on the shelves. It's actually pretty convenient! So we bought some food for shabbos and tomorrow we are going to kasher the oven and buy some cheap utensils and stuff so we can have a nice first Shabbat in Sydney!

Today (Thursday) was much more exciting! We saw 10 different apartments in 3 different suburbs.

The first place we saw was in Surry Hills, which is the suburb right outside the city. It was pretty crappy. First of all it was on the 4th floor with no elevator, which would make it difficult for bringing up groceries and our luggage, etc. It was furnished but the kitchen was tiny and the bathroom was even smaller. The second place was in Darlinghurst in a hotel and it had a gym, pool, spa, etc. However, it was kind of like a bachelor pad. It was really small and had a dorm room fridge, but the balcony was HUGE!

The third place we went to was in Rosebay, which is literally Jew town! There were a bunch of kosher restaurants, and the apartment was huge and beautiful! But it was not furnished. So we would have to spend a good amount of money to fully furnish it (including a fridge). But it was our favorite through the first 3.

The next place was in Darlinghurst and it was also pretty crappy. It said that it was going to be furnished but apparently that only meant partially furnished. It also had a bed that came out of the wall like in a movie, which was pretty funny. The fifth place was in Woolloomooloo (try saying that 10 times fast!). It was actually beautifully furnished however it only had a half fridge as well. The sixth place was AWFUL! The bedroom and living room area were fine, but the kitchen was the size of my pinky finger. Also in the ad it said that there was a modern kitchen. Apparently a hot plate equals a modern kitchen. We told the guy showing us the apartment that his ad said it was a modern kitchen and he told us in comparison to the rest of the apartments in the building that was modern. OY VEY! We got out of their real quick.

Finally we saw 4 places in the Bondi area. The first place we saw was in Bondi Junction, which is where there is a lot of kosher food. The apartment there was really cheap but it was in the back of someone's house, it wasn't furnished, and it was tiny. The second place was also in Bondi Junction. It was unfurnished, huge, and beautiful, but it was way too expensive.

The next place we saw was in Bondi. We were getting pretty nervous because we had seen 8 places and none of them had really fit yet. On our way there we had extra time so we stopped at Glicks, a kosher bakery. We got some fresh Challah for Shabbat and it was warm when they handed it to us. Our real estate agent (Vanessa) was not planning on buying any but since it was so fresh, she bought one and let me have some. It was amazing! Whenever y'all come to visit, we are going to Glicks. Avi and I are now obsessed with it. Also, next door to Glicks there was a kosher marketplace which had every kind of cheese you could imagine and all the normal kosher food. Not as much meat, but we can get that at the grocery store so we were not that worried. Our drive to the next apartment was beautiful! I can hardly explain it, Avi posted a picture on facebook. We would wake up and see the beach every morning. Also we would be really close to a synagogue, where apparently all the rich and famous Jews attend! We were getting out hopes up before we saw the place. As soon as we walked in we were ready to sign. The place was HUGE! It was a two bedroom, one bathroom balcony, amazing kitchen, basically everything we wanted. Then the realtor told us that it was at least $600 out of our budget. Apparently there was a different one that we were supposed to see but someone else had leased it and they didn't change their ad for this apartment. We were so bummed and Vanessa felt awful.

However, he told us that he had another place that was in our budget but the tenant still lived there and he didn't have the keys so we could come back tomorrow. My smart husband, however, asked him if there was any way that he could get the keys and show it to us. He was able to and we got to see the apartment. It was realllllly messy (the girl that lives there now is a pig!). But it would be professionally cleaned and it had everything we needed (a full kitchen, a regular size fridge, fully furnished, etc.). So we put an application in and we were waiting to see. We love the area and even though it is a little bit further from the city and thus a longer commute to school and Avi's work, it is definitely worth it. It is literally a 5 minute walk from the beach! Also, there is another place that is a bit nicer that we are going to check out tomorrow so maybe that one will work too.

Sorry for the long post, but after a crazy day, we figured out what worked and we are pretty excited about it (assuming we get one of those 2 places). I hope y'all enjoyed my second post. Please let me know!

Miss and love y'all!