Hi everyone! (This is Sam... ) 

Just wanted to fill you in. We arrived in Sydney this morning and will be here for the next two days. Then we are headed up to Cairns to the beach!!!! Snorkeling and rainforest's ect...

Sydney is beautiful so far and we are headed for a tour of the Opera House and then a Rugby Game... good times. The weather is so amazing. Sunny and 70 degrees.

We have pictures coming of our Great Ocean Road trip. They will be up soon, so stay tuned.

Oh and I thought that I should clarify... when you see Casey's pictures with the little playmobil guys... those are all going up on the Tutoring toy website, I promise my Boyfriend does not usually carry around toys... well... maybe :)

I love you all and Cant believe that I will be home in less than two weeks. It is amazing to have Casey here and we are having such a great time. But I have fully prepared for these days to go quick, and they are doing just that :(

I will keep you posted.

Love from Sydney... Sam

Just Pics

And You Thought Roscos Chicken and Waffles was A Weird Combonation.

Our Second stop on Sydney Road was a Kebab Stand that was also featured on the Melbourne episode of No Reservations. Now this wasn't your run of the mill kebab stand though, It was a Kebab stand and a Car Wash. A hand car wash. It was exquisite though and they were sooooo excited to have us.

After lunch we were off like a dirty shirt. We wandered the city killing time before meeting up for dinner with Sams friends. As we walked I was left to ponder the day. Coming to a realization. Aussies are kinda bad asses! They have numerous products and stores with the same names and even the same logos but with no ties to the American counterparts. As if to say ,'so sue me I dare you'. It got to be kinda funny waiting to see what came next.

Getting lost trying to find Anthony Bourdain.

So our morning begins with a bang. The rental car has a flat tire and the doors wont lock. Great, just Great. So we hoof it into the city hoping to fair a little better. A train ride later and we were mere blocks from the "artsy" "hip" area of Melbourne.


That is when the Reds struck. Out of Nowhere 3 Ruskies decided to put a damper on our day. They made this slick wet metal grate appear out of nowhere and down goes my better half. Good thing Jacque and Olaf were there to vanquish these Cold War Villains.

An injured knee, some ibuprofen and breakfast later we were on our way to the illusive Sydney Road and a delicious Middle Eastern Lunch. This was my chance to Nerd it up as this street was recently featured on Anthony Bourdains No Reservations.
A1 Lebanese Bakery was stop number 1 on Sydney Road. MMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!

Just a few more things we saw.

Say Hello...to My Little Friends!! (Read this title in a Cuban Voice)

So the city is clearly on to us. I decided if we are gonna make it here we'd need a little help. I picked up the phone and called in the C-Team. They are kinda like the A Team but if you had the A teams number you definatly would call them first.

With their help we proceeded on our journey through the city on foot,with all manner of beasts on our tail.

But at the end of the day we escaped unscathed. Victory was ours!!! Tommorrow will be a new day though. Stay tuned for more adventures down-under.

On another note, Kangaroo "sacks" are much harder to locate than anticipated.

THE CASEY SARTAIN TAKEOVER.

SAMS BLOG HAS BEEN TAKEN OVER!!

For the next couple weeks Sam is going to learn an important lesson in sharing as I, Casey Sartain, borrow this forum to share my time here with her. When I first arrived they welcomed we with a giant red carpet.

I left the airport and met up with Sam. After a luggage drop and a shower we were off. I learned the bus system and in the process gained perspective on how lucky we are to ride the bus for a few dollars a day. Here its more like 5 each leg.

Once we were downtown I realized I was under strict instructions. Everywhere we went the code of conduct was clearly posted. It was at this point I reflected on the countrys history. This place is still like a giant jail. Rules everywhere.It felt like communist China for a moment. I mean to think, they thought they could dictate my Vacation. HA!! I'll show them.

The pulse of the city must of heard my thoughts and so they tried scaring me away with stories of Sea monsters. Its a good thing I know better. Plus I brought a little help. Which you know by now since that post is right above this one.

Federation Square.

Hello friends and Family, have you missed me? I know that it has been far too long since I have caught you all up on Australian life, sorry for that... rest assured there has been good reason.

Life is going fine here. Today marks 3 weeks till I am home in SLC. Its so weird. I always find it so funny that you finally master the city and all it has to offer right as you are leaving it. I think that I have finally become a Melbourne city transit pro... I am able to get from point A to point B with out any problems and at an increasingly efficient speed. Ive also found that I know the city much better than I would have imagined. It is sad that my time here is coming to an end.

This is my last week of work. I have five more days to give it all I've got. To go out with a bang, as Casey likes to say. Well I am going to do just that... I will let you know how it goes :)

So Casey is going to be here in a week... I don't think excitement is an adequate word to use... I wish there was something so much more severe. I just cant wait.

Oh and about that... So for how many months have I been counting down the days till Casey's arrival? How many posts have I mentioned the amazing plans that we have arranged for the 2 weeks he is going to be here... like the Sydney Bridge walk, hiking in the Blue Mountains, Beach Walks on the Great Ocean Road, Snorkeling in Cairns, etc, etc..... WELL GUESS WHAT WORLD... NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!

Casey was playing with Ole in the yard and thought it a good time to break his freaking ankle...IN TWO DIFFERENT SPOTS! Yep... 10 days before the adventure of a life time Casey broke his ankle. Poor Guy. Poor trip... I was so sad. I spent all of last week calling all of the places that we had made reservations with inquiring about one-legged options, most of which will be okay. We will not be able to do the Sydney Bridge walk or the hiking trips, but other than that its all going to work out. What a bummer though... So sad.

So that is what I have been up to. I went to the Pompeii exhibit last week and it was great, they did not allow photos thus there not being a post following the excursion. I have VIP tickets to a swanky personal tour of the Salvador Dali exhibit Tuesday, hopefully they do allow pictures.

I hope all is well in the U.S. of A. I am sure it is. I love you all and will see you all too soon.

xo

I suppose I should tell you about the pictures... So this is Federation Square. It is one of the neatest building I have ever seen. Some of the locals don't really think that it fits in the city centre, I think its great! :) There is like a two block area next to the art centre that has Flinders station on one side and this building on the other side.. I would say its kind of the heart of the city. I would also say it is an architects dream to create. I hope you enjoy the pictures!

More Federation...

More cool pictures...

Hello.

So I know that I have been an absolute slacker with posting lately and I have to say, I don't think it is going to be getting any better. You see, I have been doing nothing exciting lately in the sense of blogable... I have just been hanging around the city in areas that I have already posted about. I do plan to do some new things this week and I will make sure to add them. Casey gets here in 13 day (soooooooo excited) and I am just preparing for his arrival and our two fabulous weeks of traveling.

This weekend I locked myself up in my bedroom with the intentions to start and complete the last research paper of my undergraduate degree. Well... its 6:30pm on Sunday night and I am on page 2... not really the progress that I was hoping for. I have to get this paper done before the semester is over so that it can be graded and added to my transcripts and then my degree will be sent out... Thank the lord above! :) I am going to make a goal to work on it ever night and to complete on page every day... I would like to have it out of the way before Casey gets here.

I am coming home to SLC in less than a month. My time here in Australia is coming to and end. Its so weird to think of these last few months... they feel so long yet so quick. It feels like I have been here forever, feels like I have missed so much in SLC. However, I am fully aware of the fact that when I return home it will be the same. There is something so comforting about that. I think that my days of interning are over, the days of moving and leaving everything familiar are gone. I am ready to come home, start a new chapter in my life and love every minute of it. I am ready to see my family and Friends. I know how cliche the phrase "distance makes the heart grow fonder" is, but Utah I miss you. I am so excited to be in your arms again. I want camping and cabins and lunches and hugs. I am really looking forward to seeing you all again.

Here are some pictures of people that I love and miss and cant wait to see... there are many more, I just didn't have any pictures of you! xo

St.Kilda.

This last Sunday I headed down to St.Kilda beach. Its probably only a 15 minute tram ride from the city, but it might as well be a different part of the universe. Melbourne has been so cold a dreary lately but this weekend was beautiful. We got down to St,Kilda and it felt like I had been transported to Southern California...San Diego? It was sunny, bright... (Have I mentioned that the sun here is so much brighter and harsh... its like unlike anything I have ever seen) warm and inviting. I could hardly believe that I was wearing a jacket because it felt like I should be running around in a bikini! There is a little amusement/roller coaster park next to the boardwalk and it is very fitting.

Anyways... there was an adorable, all hand made art market and I loved it! I guess there is also a cake market on Sundays but we didn't get to see that. Next Sunday Maybe...

Things are good... I am counting down the days till Casey gets here... That will signify when the real fun starts... Traveling with my best friend! So excited.

I love and miss you all. I hear Utah is hot hot hot... cant say that I miss that :)

More Kangaroos.

Here is a video of the Kangaroos ahead of us in the trail. I like this because I think it is fascinating to see them hop away...

Kangaroos.

So after we walked down to the beach and had tea, we resumed our walk to the end of the trail. As we were walking all of the sudden every one stopped... there was a kangaroo in the middle of the trail maybe 150 feet ahead of us. Clay had hoped that we would be able to see Kangaroos feeding so he had timed it that we would be walking back right before dusk. Sure enough.... There was a kangaroo. It is one thing to see a kangaroo at a zoo or an animal sanctuary where I got to feed one earlier, but it is a totally different (and incredibly amazing!) thing to see a kangaroo in nature feeding and going about its daily life. It was so great. After the Kangaroo hopped away, we looked to the hill side down from the trail and there were tons of Kangaroos scattered all along eating their dinner. I know that some of the pictures are a bit hard to see, but if you double click on them it will enlarge the picture and you can see more clearly... try to see how many kangaroos you spot in the different pictures, they are very well hidden!