from down under!

3 continents, 2 weeks, culminating in 1 unforgettable journey! from chile, to california, to australia…it has been quite a whirlwind. our flight that departed chile took us on the most indirect route to sydney, having us connect in los angelos, ca. we were very excited to spend this layover (weekend) with fletcher’s brother, bass, in nearby newport beach. the first day we arrived, bass said that he needed to pick up some friends at the airport, so we all went along for the ride. to julie’s complete surprise, her sister jen and her boyfriend turned out to be bass’s “friends” that we were picking up. later julie learned that sneaky fletch went behind her back and conspired with her sister to come all the way to newport beach to surprise her for the weekend. julie had absolutely no idea, and the weekend was a complete success! after bonding with our good friends and family from home, we were ready to embark on our next country…australia!

adam, jen, christian, julie, and fletch go sushi!

the sisters at the getty museum in la

1st stop: sydney-all the iconic sites in the city (ie. opera house, the bridge), the botanical gardens, sydney harbor, darling harbor, king’s cross, good thai food.

sydney from the botanical gardens

opera house in background

the opera house at night, view from the ferry

the famous sydney bridge with fletch

 2nd stop: manly beach-this beach is a short, but scenic 30 minute ferry ride from sydney. we enjoyed walking along the coastal walkway and mingling with the very “LA”- ish locals. this place reminded us very much of california.

nearby manly beach is similar to newport beach!

julie joins the locals in that eternal goal of the perfect beach bod!

 3rd stop: bondi beach-we spent a few days here at this very busy vacation spot, famous for its surfing.

and more beach...the world famous bondi

bondi is sand and surf for miles

 4th stop: Cronulla-a more down to earth beach suburb, we came here to see our deer friend, jayme (and her friend chelsea), who is also traveling the world. see her blog link on our blogroll to the right.

night out in cronulla with friend and fellow vailite, jayme

national park near the landing site of captain cook!

jumpin' for joy with our colorado friends!

 5th stop: blue mountains-easily accessed by the extensive train system, we headed inland for a change of pace. we visited katoomba, a quaint mountain town and hiked along beautiful cliffs, where the aborigines once roamed.

hike in the blue mountains, with the aboriginal legendary "3 sisters" in the background

 after a quick (and expensive…) 9 days in australia, we took off to our next destination, new zealand. we will now spend the next few days in auckland before touring the rest of the country.