Hi. I've just paid for a bit of internet in Cairns. I've been traveling around Australia with my parents and sister since Sunday. It has been awesome, but there has been little time for blogging. I'm about out of internet time so I'll have to write all about it when I get back home in Michigan. Cya!
ps Cairns is pronounced CANS!!!
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Friday, November 13, 2009
AQWA
Today Vanessa and I went to the Aquarium of Western Australia (AQWA). The aquarium is a collection of fish and sea creatures from Western Australia's 12,000 km of coastline. AQWA is located at Hillary's Boat Harbour, which is about a 20 minute train ride from Perth. Hillary's Boat Harbour turned out to be a pretty cool place so we stuck around for dinner as well. I honestly wished I had discovered the place sooner, but I suppose its distance from Perth explains why it took me until my last few days here to venutre that far by train.
The aquarium was pretty cool, especially because it exclusively featured fish from Western Australia. The best part by far was the underwater observation tunnel, which is pictured below:
I also took some video in the tunnel, and managed to capture a pretty funny moment having to do with a certain disoriented sea turtle.
After the aquarium, Vanessa and I walked around the boat harbour a bit to check it out. It wasn't long before the smells of the all the cafes, kebab stands, and gelato shops had us, well at least had me, getting pretty hungry. The choice for dinner was easy. Last week for my birthday, Vanessa took me to a place called Australia's Finest Burgers a.k.a. FAB (I guess they liked FAB better than AFB). As it turns out, not only was it Australia's finest burger, it was the finest burger I had ever had in all my life. The apparent secret was location. All the ingredients in the burger were from local sources. The beef was from the Swan Valley. The bread was baked fresh. Even the lettuce tasted amazing. In fact, even all the pictures on the walls were taken locally at locations around Perth (many of which I had been to). So naturally my choice at Hillary's Boat Harbour was the second and only other location of FAB in Australia. I ordered the exact same thing and again it amazed me. I only wish I had discovered the restaurant before my last two weeks in Perth. I snapped a picture of the super sandwich along with all the fish in the aquarium and put it in an album right here. Enjoy.
The aquarium was pretty cool, especially because it exclusively featured fish from Western Australia. The best part by far was the underwater observation tunnel, which is pictured below:
I also took some video in the tunnel, and managed to capture a pretty funny moment having to do with a certain disoriented sea turtle.
After the aquarium, Vanessa and I walked around the boat harbour a bit to check it out. It wasn't long before the smells of the all the cafes, kebab stands, and gelato shops had us, well at least had me, getting pretty hungry. The choice for dinner was easy. Last week for my birthday, Vanessa took me to a place called Australia's Finest Burgers a.k.a. FAB (I guess they liked FAB better than AFB). As it turns out, not only was it Australia's finest burger, it was the finest burger I had ever had in all my life. The apparent secret was location. All the ingredients in the burger were from local sources. The beef was from the Swan Valley. The bread was baked fresh. Even the lettuce tasted amazing. In fact, even all the pictures on the walls were taken locally at locations around Perth (many of which I had been to). So naturally my choice at Hillary's Boat Harbour was the second and only other location of FAB in Australia. I ordered the exact same thing and again it amazed me. I only wish I had discovered the restaurant before my last two weeks in Perth. I snapped a picture of the super sandwich along with all the fish in the aquarium and put it in an album right here. Enjoy.
And the school part comes to an end
I finally finished up with all my finals. Well I finished up with all my finals two days ago, but I've been at the beach since then so I really couldn't get anything up here until now. It has felt great to be without the burden of studies on my shoulders, but it is also a little sad too as everyone is starting to leave Tommy More. Indeed a few Notre Dame students have already left and begun their traveling experience throughout the rest of Australia and beyond. Luckily, Andrew was able to get our whole group together one last time for a photo:
Only Mike, who was still in the hospital (though finally out today), and Kelsey are missing from the picture. Also, the two other exchange students in Tommy More this semester, Alice (Nebraska) and Jonathan (Italy), are in the picture too.
Now that I'm done with school, I'll be spending the next few days packing, buying souvenirs, preparing for my family's arrival, and trying to squeeze in any last minute adventures that I can find.
Only Mike, who was still in the hospital (though finally out today), and Kelsey are missing from the picture. Also, the two other exchange students in Tommy More this semester, Alice (Nebraska) and Jonathan (Italy), are in the picture too.
Now that I'm done with school, I'll be spending the next few days packing, buying souvenirs, preparing for my family's arrival, and trying to squeeze in any last minute adventures that I can find.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Finals
I have a final on Friday as well as next Monday and Wednesday, so I wouldn't expect any new posts or anything interesting in that span of time. I haven't and won't be doing much other than studying as final exams in Australia are worth a much more significant part of your grade than they are back home. My Materials final is worth 70% of my final grade. Meanwhile, the temperature has been in the high 80s everyday this week even though I can't enjoy it. Luckily, when I finish with exams on the 11th, I will have until the 15th to enjoy the beaches before my parents and sister arrive to visit and I begin my long journey back home.
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