Adventure
Planning an Australia Adventure
Wednesday, November 19th, 2008 | Travel | 5 Comments
Great whites, aloof surfers, phenomenal seafood, cheap lobster tail, world class wines, cosmopolitan cities, a true cafe culture, and (to Justin’s delight) little penguins!
Sydney by Michael McDonough
We’re leaving for Sydney, Australia on Friday or Saturday night which probably has us landing on Monday the 24th and returning on Saturday the 6th, though, I am hoping to shift our schedule so we get an extra day or two. Jet lag, I imagine, will be a bitch.
Thanks to helpful people on Yelp!, I got a big head start planning things to do/places to see/foods to try! If I had a car reserved, domestic tickets purchased, and places to stay, we’d be all set. At any rate, I’ve concocted the list below as a result of the lovely suggestions Yelpers have given me. Justin and I also acquired a Fodor’s Australia guidebook today, so things may be added, if at all possible. :)
My rough trip outline, working with the number of days I have, is below:
- 2 days in Sydney
Beaches: Bondi (most famous), Coogee and Manly (start at Coogee then take the trail to Bondi, about 3.5 miles. Enjoy the walk and stop for food & drinks along the way. Get a drink at Icebergs, a surf & lifesaving clubhouse near Bondi.)
Breakfast at the Intercontinental Hotel
Harbor tour: lunch at Doyle’s at Watsons Bay/Taronga Zoo/Aquarium/drink at the Opera
Surry Hills (up and coming foody neighborhood to check out - maybe stay in this area) - 1 day hiking + climbing in the Blue Mountains (climbing if I can find a guide) - overnight at B&B or camp
- 1 day driving/sightseeing southward - overnight camping or in car
- 1 day @ Phillip’s Island - overnight Melbourne
- 2 days in Melbourne
Great Ocean Road
great cafes with Italian coffee - 1 or 2 days Yarra Valley wine tour - overnight in Yarra Valley?
- 2 days Alice Springs - an Oasis in the Outback (flight required)
- 1 day back to Sydney???
(Paddington outdoor market if here on a Saturday) - Depart for home
Melbourne by Andrew Hux
On the way from Sydney to Melbourbe, I’d like to possibly take the Snowy Mountain highway :) …unless it adds a ridiculous amount of time to the trip, and visit Canberra (the capital) if at all possible.
Also, I’d like to visit the Barossa Valley (if any way at all). So yeah, not too much to ask for 2 weeks. haha
Foods to try in Australia (aside from the seafood and Asian food which I hear is great):
Pides - turkish pizzas - try one at the nearest kebab place
Laksa - thai coconut noodle soup
Aussie hamburger - same has here but we like ours with beetroot
Meat pies - savory pies
4th Anniversary - Roundtrip to Polanda via Vienna
Saturday, October 11th, 2008 | Adventure, Family, Photography, Travel | 3 Comments
Justin and Vanessa at Castle Wawel in Krakow - Vistula River flowing past
As some of you already know, Justin surprised me with a trip to Poland for our fourth anniversary. While we did things tourists are typically expected to do, such as visiting Castle Wawel and snapping photos in Rynek Glowny (the grand square) in Krakow, and strolling through Stephansplatz and along the Danube Canal in Vienna, the primariy purpose of our visit was so that I could experience, first hand, the land of my ancestors.
For a time I’ve been working on a family website based on research my great aunt,
Justin at St. Stephen's Cathedral - Stephansplatz, Vienna, Austria
Vanessa in St. Jacobus in Nysa, Poland
Off on a ‘Top Secret’ Journey
Thursday, October 2nd, 2008 | Travel | 3 Comments
In truth, it’s only top secret to me. Justin has something secret and special planned for our 4th anniversary (Wow!!! 4 years!); his lips are sealed on the topic. In a few hours, I’ll know where we’re attempting to go. We are flying standby, afterall.
What I’ve managed to deduce so far: It’s probably an international flight given how long we’ll be waiting at the airport. It’s not a JetBlue flight, given the attire I am wearing to attempt to get on the plane. I don’t know if we’re taking the puppies or if someone is watching them - though am guessing the latter considering it’s possibly a non-JetBlue flight. I’ve also managed to deduce it is not a Caribbean destination after all (I’d originally thought otherwise) as I was told not to packed sandals, hiking, or beach clothes. This goes entirely against typical Justin and Vanessa vacations - no hiking!? So, I am stumped. I just hope we make it on the flight. With only 5 seats open and an unknown number of standby passengers, it’s a gamble at best.
Luckily Justin has a couple of backup plans. =)
I read this quote a moment ago and it had a strangely peace-inducing effect. I thought I’d share it with you: “Give each day the chance to become the best one in your life“ - Mark Twain
Adventured.net Gets a Facelift
Monday, August 11th, 2008 | Website | 2 Comments
What did you do with your Sunday night? Chances are, you weren’t hunkering over a computer for several hours with your fiancé working on transferring your Blogger blog to WordPress and then working on styles, layout, and a header…
No, chances are you were outside enjoying the nighttime air or curled up in front of the TV or even cozy in bed reading until you feel asleep well before midnight. But here we are, at almost 1 AM, revealing the new look of our site. We hope you like it and we welcome feedback for how we can make it even better, so let your thoughts rip!
Also, the comments are up at the top right now. Let us know what you think of that, too! :)
Thanks,
Vanessa
The Awesomeness of Puerto Rico
Monday, July 21st, 2008 | Adventure, Popular | 7 Comments
This is from a letter I quickly wrote to Dao and Rob (as they too have experienced the kick-ass nature of Puerto Rico):
Justin and I got back from a weekend in Puerto Rico late last night. We had a blast!!!! We took one of his coworkers (Alex) and his friend (Marisa). They said it was one of the best trips of their lives (and they’ve been all over the place). This is how our trip went:
Day 1: Breakfast at Casa Cubuy in El Yunque, hike through the rain forest and swim in a variety of pools. Get back to the hotel and discover there are masseuses-in-training just down the street. We each get a 1 hour massage for $20! Drive to Naguabo and go out with Capt. Paco to see Monkey Island and snorkel. Capt. Paco was super busy so he dropped us off on our own with a kayak and supplies! We snorkeled out there - just us, monkeys, fish and seagulls for almost 2 hours. It was great!!! We even got to take turns kayaking. We also saw lots of starfish.
It was amazing. Return to Naguabo and have dinner. Head back to the hotel with a stop to grab rum and mixers. Sit outside for hours talking and drinking before hitting the hay.
Day 2: Breakfast at Casa Cubuy then head to the end of the road, where no cars are allowed. We were informed of a neat hike that takes you across a metal bridge (actually, not so much a bridge as a big pipe over a river). We were the only ones on the trail (actually - on both days!). Hiked for a while and came to a beautiful scenic overlook. On our way back, Justin suggested we head down to the river. We found and amazing lagoon at the bottom of a treacherous looking waterfall! Marisa kept climbing up rocks and finding neat places to jump in from.
There were lots of tiny little fish and even some prawns! Leaving El Yunque, we stopped at a beach on the way back to San Juan, walked along it, and spotted some hermit crabs. Back in San Juan, we bought some food to take back to the airport with us (I got amaaaazing camarones enchilados - shrimp in hot sauce, and beans) and stopped for pina coladas at Barrachina - of course!!! We made it back to the airport just in time to get on the flight!!! All in all, an action packed, exciting weekend. :)
There were only 2 minor hitches and they both worked out. 1) Our camera tumbled into raging water and somehow we managed to find it. The memory card compartment came open during the fall and somehow we managed to find the Flash card, too! 2) Alex forgot his wallet at a gas station on the way back to San Juan when he was changing in the bathroom. This morning he spoke with a woman there that found it and is FedExing back to him free of charge! So nice!!!
Re-reading my entry above, I feel kind of like I am reading a diary entry from when I was a little kid. I was pretty much never patient enough to go into things in depth. I guess that isn’t really a bad thing. :) Photos to follow. <3 :D
Photo Update
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The Great Midwest
Saturday, June 14th, 2008 | Adventure, Travel | 2 Comments
Justin and I are taking of in the morning and won’t return for a week! We’ll spend one day in Denver, Colorado and the Rocky Mountains!! I am so psyched to see the Rockies. Justin has talked to me about them, and visiting Glenwood Springs specifically, ever since I have known him, so I am really glad we’ll get to snoop around a little bit.
The majority of our trip will be spent in Montana with three days in Billings and two full days in Yellowstone. It’s guide training time for Austin-Lehman, which is as good a reason as any for me to fly out and meet everyone, see our offices, and work on face-to-face projects.
Justin plans to set up a remote JetBlue camp for the first few days from our LaQuinta hotel room before heading out to Yellowstone with the ALA crew. I am sure we’ll keep you updated via Twitter (easy with my phone) and the blog for more thoughts, feelings, and photos.
Special thanks a mucho love to the Val! for watching our babies and inhabiting our apartment while we are gone. Happy birthday to Olivia!!!
Love you guys and I’ll miss you!
Ness
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