On the Road Again

Happy Birthday, Gran!  I started writing this post on your birthday, but I got a little distracted...

It's actually been a fairly eventful couple of weeks since we return from our trip.  The LSAT and Basic Patisserie now behind us, and Wilson is actually in the final few weeks of his semester.  While he somehow manages to crank out paper after paper on topics such as Australian diplomacy, Asia-Pacific relations, or Fijian crises, I'll be tempering chocolate for truffles, pinning and turning puff pastry, or sifting flour and whisking eggs for a sponge.  Wilson claims his lectures are stimulating and intriguing, but frankly, he can't be having as much fun as I am.  All hailing from different parts of the world (France, England, United States), the new chef teachers in Intermediate offer entirely different perspectives and teaching styles.  They are knowledgeable, experienced, and have a sincere desire for us to learn and improve our pastry skills.

We're continuing our tourist activities here in Sydney as well - last Monday was a public holiday, so we ventured into the city to explore Paddy's Market.  Frankly, I've never seen so much junk in one place in my life.  And by junk I mean everything from Australian paraphernalia to suspect seafood to knockoff handbags.  So we decided to ride the monorail around the city for a slightly different perspective.  On Saturday, we returned to Darling Harbour to view the some of the worlds most expensive and luxurious vehicles alongside bizarre concept cars at the Sydney International Motor Show.  There were vintage Mustangs, Volvo station wagons, Holden "utes," Maseratis behind glass fences, and a $2.1 million "supercar" from Sweden.  My favorite part was eating lunch on the waterfront afterwards.

A drive along the coast south of Sydney with John and Kathy consumed our Sunday.  Stopping first at Coalcliff, we walked along the $52 million Seacliff Bridge for an expansive view of the Tasman Sea.  Supposedly, the view is so vast that you can actually see the curvature of the earth...but I'm still skeptical.  We traveled along to Wollongong, stopping for a scrumptious seafood lunch, and then drove several miles south to Kiama, which is known for natural "blowholes" created by ocean swells shooting up within rock formations.  The seas were calm, however, and there were no blowholes to be seen. Oh well, maybe next time.