Sydney

I have just come back from a week in Australia. What a nice surprise--I asked my school if I could get some International Baccalaureate training and they booked me on a three-day course in Sydney. I stayed on a few days more so I could visit Micah & Anna and Chris & Tam. I didn't do too much sight-seeing this time, instead I visited, ate food, did some window shopping, played games, drank wine, went to church, and read books. What a nice holiday!


Micah and I spent a day in Newtown, a shabby and hip suburb of Sydney. There is a shop there that sells only buttons (above). We browsed at the used book stores and the antique stores. I bought a few pieces of old cutlery, since food styling seems to be one of my main hobbies at the moment. Micah bought a book and we ate some excellent Mexcian fast food. But it was really just the time chatting and wandering that made this a memorable day out.

I went with Anna to her work and saw the offices that she is soon to leave for good as she takes a break. We ate food, which is actually my main hobby, I admit. I got a tour of the complex in which she works. Since I have never worked in an office I was quite interesting in how noisy it was (not that much) and how friendly her co-workers were. I think it would be strange to see everyone else making phone calls or working on their computers while you were doing your work.


I had dinner at Chris and Tam's place and saw Ethan--now a big boy who can almost walk and has learned a few words. He also knows baby sign language. Wow--what an idea! I had never heard of it but I guess it's quite well known in Australia. Ethan can communicate that he is thirsty, hungry, or done eating using signs Chris and Tam have taught him. Tam says it keeps him calm and less frustrated and that it also helps toddlers learn to speak more confidently in time. What a great idea.


After meeting Tam for coffee at her work, I wandered around downtown Sydney and saw the Queen Victoria Building, with its beautiful floors and windows.


The QVB is a very upmarket mall; the main attraction for me was the building itself. I love the tiling on the floors (and took more pictures so I might be able to turn them into a lesson activity one day).


The rest of my time was taken up with relaxing with Micah & Anna and meeting Norman & Natalie, their flatmates. Anna has started a blog, Anna's Ambles, and we talked blogging a bit. Please have a look at it: each post shows a beautiful image from Anna's travels and she shares the story behind each memory.