Goodbye, Farewell....

Today was a lot of “lasts”.  It was the last morning where we could wake up and get ready while looking over the harbour.  It was the last morning where I, (Hallie) could go downstairs and feed Oliver and hear him say in person, “Auntie Hallie.”  It was the last morning where we could play with his animals and dance.  And the last time I could hold him for his cuddles and hugs.  Oh no, I am currently tearing up… I already miss him so much.  Oliver is such a little bundle of joy, his eyes so blue and his smile is so big.  Being in Dunedin was definitely a home away from home.  Being there was truly a blessing, I am so glad we got such an amazing opportunity and visited them. 

Alright, enough with the sappy fest, after we finished packing we head out for some last minute adventures.  The first stop we made was a small beach to see if there were any sea lions, unfortunately there were none.  Then we went where Dunedin has their surf school.  The beach was really neat, we saw a couple surfs and walked along the beach.  Afterwards, we headed into town to do some last minute shopping and to grab a bite to eat.  We stopped at a cafe and we both got chai tea latte and toasted cheese roll.  They were delish, it was like a grilled cheese but with seasonings; Zoë thoroughly enjoyed them with tomato sauce.  We then did a little shopping and I got a top that I really liked, which ended up being a Christmas gift from Chris and Clare, score!  After, we did some last minute souvenir shopping, everyone on our list has be checked!  Finally, while in town we had one last mission.. Tim Tams. Zoë’s love for Tim Tams beyond compare to my love for popcorn.  I really don’t know what she’s going to do when we go back to the states..and her stash of Tim Tams is gone… most likely severe withdrawals.  After we got some snacks for the flight we head back to Chris & Clare’s. 

IT’S CHRISTMAS!!!! Okay, not really, but we did open up Christmas gifts when we got back.  Obviously, Oliver made out like a champ and got so many presents.  Though, like most kids, he enjoyed the packaging a little more than the actually gift… silly kids. My parents even packed gifts for Zoë and I, trinadads, aka delicious, rich chocolate. After gifts, we had to do last minute packing..more like stuffing and head out… Saying goodbyes were haard, but unfortunately had to be done.  Next thing we knew, we were on our way to the airport.  

As we arrived to the airport, the ladies told us that they were already boarded and they would have to reopen the gate for us…uh oh.  So we checked in our bags quickly, Zoë’s was over..so we stuffed some things into my suitcase.  After, we sad goodbye to Chris and frantically went through security and to our gate… of course Zoë gets stopped for a random security check. Finally, we run up to the gate and flight attendants say we won’t be boarding for another 20 minutes! What the heck! All that sweat and stress was all for nothing…so while we were waiting, we stress devoured our popcorn that was meant for the flight…oh well. Well we finally boarded, and realized…we aren’t even sitting next to each other! Ughhh, we had many plans together… okay maybe we’re being a little dramatic for our 2 ½ hour flight, because we were right across the aisle from each other.  We were still able to communicate, see each other, randomly wink, and share food. 

We finally landed and took a taxi back to the hostel that we stayed at with our group.  We then settled in and went out to grab a bite to eat.  We ate at the Haymarket hotel, where they have delicious food for a great price.  I, (Hallie) got a $10 steak, heaven and Zoë had some fish and chips.  It was very interesting, very fish and very doughy..so not as good as my meal.  When we finish our meal we headed back to our hostel to do some organizing.  All of a sudden, there was a knock knock knock on the door…it was our Aussie family!!  It was so nice to see them all again, we just chatted and caught up for a bit.  We hit the hay a little earlier because we were getting up at 4:30 to see the sunrise! 

Man oh man, more goodbyes, and more “lasts.” We said our goodbye to the Sydney Harbour probably the best way possible.  Megan, Ahnna, Becky. Zoë and I woke up around 4:30 and headed out to the harbour.  This seems like a pretty easy task, but with our luck, that was not the case.  We went to get our daily train ticket…our credit and debit cards wouldn’t work.  So, we had to go back to the hostel and go to the ATM and went back to the train station.  We finally made it to the Sydney Harbour, and the sun was just starting to rise.  It was absolutely breathtaking, watching the sun rise over the Sydney Opera House. Just amazing.  There are no other words to describe it.  It was definitely worth getting up at the wee hours and it definitely made it harder for us to leave.  After we saw the most beautiful thing on the earth, we headed back and had Starbucks for breakfast.  We then had to do the worst thing on the trip so far, pack up to leave for home.  Obviously, we had to, so reluctantly we packed up and headed to the train with our Aussie family.  Some of you may know this, but we do not pack lightly…so lugging our luggage across Sydney was quite the challenge.  But we made it to the airport… actually a little too early; we had to wait 2 hours to even check in.  So in that time we just all caught up, ate and relaxed.  Then, we went through the whole check in and security process again.  And let us tell you, we are pros at the airport by now. Sadly, we did get stopped at security and Zoë had a snow globe in one of our carry ons… Unfortunately, it was too large and she couldn’t take it on the plane! So to remember it, she took a picture, which definitely won’t be the same.  Once we found our gate, we all took turns for food breaks.  While waiting to board, we caught up on our social media, blog and ate.  Sadly, nothing too exciting happens while waiting..except watching our friends who took drowsy medicine for the flight.  They were quite entertaining. After a long 15 hour flight, and some, we have made it home safely.  A reflection blog is coming soon!
Much Love,

Hallie & Zoë

Ba Ba Black Sheep

Oh Wednesday, how eventful it was.  We started out the day by hiking; Zoë, Chris, Clare, Oliver, and I all went on it!  Thankfully, I was starting to feel better, though walking up hills was a little tricky.  It was somewhat shitty; but literally because there was sheep crap everywhere!!! Especially since there were hundreds (Hal meant to say thousands) of sheep just freely roaming around.  Even though the walk was “shitty,” the views we saw were just incredible. We swear, we’ve never seen such gorgeous views in Australia and New Zealand.  One of the lookouts we were at was called Lover’s Leap, and boy it would be quite the leap.  It is a straight drop of thousands of feet…pretty scary actually.  Anywho’s, we made our way back…unfortunately, I, (Hallie) had to use the toilet. (Again, she has the weakest bladder, besides our friend court!)   Too bad we weren’t able to get to a toilet within the next hour.  So the obvious had to be done…nature pee time; everyone had a lookout spot incase anyone started to come.  I’m pretty sure I heard Chris singing a song to Oliver about me peeing in the nature…nothing out of the ordinary.  After we had that short little pit stop, we were back on  the road!   We then went to see the Albatross colony! These our New Zealand birds that our huge like gigantic! They're really quite interesting, I (Zoë) would recommend googling these beasts! Joan also met us and we all did the tour together! After the tour we drove to a little town called Portobello and we had lunch that we packed. We sat by the water and when we were done we collected a few shells, if anyone knows my (Zoë’s) dad well then you know he’s got a thing for shells and rocks. So, I obviously had to get him some New Zealand ones! Cross your fingers they don’t get crushed on the way home! We then went home for awhile, Oliver took a little nap and we just hung out. When Oliver woke up we went back into town. We went to the Botanic Gardens in Dunedin and got to see some of Clare’s artwork that is displayed there! It was so cool to be able to see her work, it was pretty amazing. We even made her take a picture by it so when she becomes famous we can sell it for millions! Well, Hal will still have some pretty good connections regardless! We also saw ducks at the garden and I’m pretty sure Hal almost died of happiness right then and there. I think everyone who knows her knows she obsessed like she really is, she was a duck for halloween, so you can only imagine the excitement. She probably took at least 100 pictures of them, most likely more!  As Zoë mentioned before; I was beyond excited.  I was in duck heaven! Some of the ducks were so big! It was amazing! Also, Oliver really likes ducks as well; so it even made the experience more special because he kept saying, “Duck! Duck! Duck!” After, they had to pry me away from the ducks, we saw some other pretty cool birds in the gardens..though they weren’t as cool as all of the ducks. Afterwards, we took them out to dinner, but we didn’t even realize it was after 7 because it was so light out! Chris and Clare picked a Japanese restaurant, we treated them, for their amazing hospitality.  We each had a chicken meal and we even tried seaweed salad, which was delicious! After dinner, Clare and Oliver went home because it was quite past his bed time.  Chris, Joan, (Clare’s sister) Zoë and I all went to the tiniest bar ever.  Seriously, it is one of the smallest bars in the world! Chris’s friend was playing piano at it, so we sat outside the bar, (there’s no where to sit inside) and listened to him play for about an hour.  It was a really neat thing to experience.  To end our night; Chris suggested to watch this apparently awful “horror” movie called “Black Sheep.”  So of course, I listened to my big brother, and Chris, Zoë and I watched it… and man it was horrible, it was like a zombie outbreak…but with genetically engineered, crazy sheep.  It was quite the bizarre and disturbing… I mean who comes up with this kind of movie? It’s alright though, we got some good laughs out, and a couple scares out of it.  Then, we had to do what we were dreading the most…packing, again.  We did a little packing and called it a night.  

Road Trippin!

G’day! 

We had our first full day in Dunedin, and it was just wonderful. We started off the day with breakfast, I, (Hallie) got to feed Ollie, and it was so much fun! (He is quite the messy eater.)  Then we said our goodbyes to Oliver & Clare and we headed out on a road trip with Chris.  Within a half an hour of the trip, I was sound asleep in the back. I, (Zoë) stayed awake the whole time! The drive was absolutely gorgeous. It was amazing how the scenery would change so quickly, without really even noticing. It would go from full green vegetation to rock structures and then into the mountains. 

Finally, I (Hallie) woke up and the views were gorgeous….and my bladder was quite full.  So we had a mission to find a toilet; it’s a lot harder than you think it would be. Finally, we found one..but of course we had to cross a bumpy bridge over a river…not very fun.  Once we all took care of our bathroom duties, we were back on track. Seriously; the views, just breathtaking.  We’ve never seen any body of water so blue!  All of the sudden Chris pulled over, and there was the biggest dam ever; seriously, it is the world’s largest concrete dam.  And dam, it was huge…haha get it? We then arrived to Old Cromwell; for some lunch and relaxation. It was quiet an adorable little area.  I had the best chai tea latte, hands down…sooooo amazing!  I, (Zoë) had the best sandwich ever, it was a BLAT, bacon, lettuce, avocado and tomato, holy yum!  Anywhos; after we enjoyed lunch outside, we did a little window shopping, because clearly everything is out of our price range.  Then, we hopped back in the car towards our next destination.  We were on our way for our first wine tasting.  We learned how to spit, and that we both are not a big fan of red wine; no bueno.  Then, I bought my first bottle of wine; as a thank you gift for Chris and Clare.  This was really exciting because I am not 21 yet; so I cannot do that in the states…It was quite the milestone.  After that, we went to another winery; the views were wonderful, the wine not so much.  Good thing we knew how to spit! We then headed back; we both fell asleep in the car ride while Chris navigated.  All of sudden we stopped at a fruit shack and we got the best ice cream ever.  It was vanilla ice cream blended with fresh berries; this treat will be greatly missed.  When we got back I, (Hallie) got the pleasure of giving Oliver a bath; it was so much fun! 

I (Zoë) helped make dinner, okay so I didn’t really do that much, just chopped some vegetables for our tofu tacos. Which I absolutely loved! It was such a good meal, and we will definitely be making tofu tacos, so 1501 Wyatt girls, get ready!  Afterwards, we just hung out relaxed and just enjoyed family and the beautiful views.  To wrap up the night, we watched Glee, the Corey Moneith Tribute.  If you haven’t heard of Glee, you’re missing out! Glee is a semi musical, comedy and drama…that doesn’t really make sense; but it’s wonderful.  The episode we watched was dedicated to the death of one the main characters… It was very sad, needless to say, our night ended in tears.  Except when I, (Hallie) played some funny videos right after to lift our spirits.    

And a New Adventure Begins...

We arrive shortly after midnight at Chris and Clare’s, we were extremely tired but little did we know how amazing there house was! We were in awe…especially when we saw our bed, pure heaven on a cloud. Needless to say we had a great night sleep..together :)  We got to sleep in but we ended up waking up at eight thirty. We could not get over the view they have every day, absolutely beautiful.  Then, we got to see Hals nephew OLIVER! I don’t think I have ever seen Hal this excited except for the night before when she saw her brother Chris :) We then got up and I (Zoë) got to meet Clare (Hals sister-in-law) and Clare's sister, Joan, whom are both wonderful! Chris took us into Dunedin, first we went to the Dunedin Public Art Gallery, it was really awesome.  Majority of the art was modern, there was an interactive section for kids to play in; obviously we played as well.  Our favorite artist was Gregory Grewdson, he had a spectacular exhibit of photographs portray the hardships of the American middle class.  Unfortunately, we could not take photos, but we promise you-it was wonderful.  Zoë wanted to buy the book that he had; sadly it was $75… too bad we’re poor, American, broke students (wink wink, nudge nudge-Mamma S;) ) We also got to tour the Cadbury Chocolate Factory!! We were so excited, well I may have been a tad bit more than Hal but I am a chocoacholic so I guess that’s understandable! The tour consisted us wearing goofy hair nets, and Chris had to wear a beard net.  But it was worth it, we were able see how they make all of their chocolate and even got some free samples…they’re almost gone.  Afterwards, we walked around downtown Dunedin and did a little shopping.  I, (Hallie) started to get a little tired, and had a coughing attack; so we headed back.  When we got back, I laid down for a little bit…okay like 2 ½ hours.. either way; I woke up and, started to feel better.  So cross your fingers everyone; I may get my voice back by the time we go back to the States! While Hallie was sleeping, I (Zoë) hung out in the kitchen and Oliver was a good source of entertainment until he had bath time. Then, I had a lovely conversation with Clare and Joan about New Zealand and the States, mainly the politics of the two countries. I then went upstairs to wake Hal up, this took some work! For dinner we had a lamb roast, potatoes, kumara (sweet potatoes), and green beans. It was absolutely delicious and so nice to have a home cooked meal!  After dinner, we hung out and made our plans for the week. 

This isn’t goodbye, it’s just a see you again Sydney!

The last few days in Sydney have been nothing but incredible, besides I (Hallie) still being sick.  

*quick side note, Zoë just said, “I think everyone knows you’re still sick…oh wait they can’t hear you cough.” I am currently dying of laughter & coughing. 

Anywhos, on Friday, we traveled to the Australian Broadcasting Company. Which included a behind the scenes tour of the sets of shows that are produced there.  Also, news rooms, radio rooms and their giant control room. After that, we had a lecture from a lady name Dianne who started her own public relations firm when she was 23! When she told us that, we both thought, “oh great, we’re 20/21 and we still don’t know what we’re doing with our lives…” Anyways, I (Hallie) was really excited about this lecture because I am very interested in Public Relations.  We thought it was really cool hearing how she started her own business and she now represents huge companies like UGG, Spanx, Stoli and Yankee Candles.  At the end of her lecture, she even gave us business cards, incase we were interested in contacting her or even if we were interested in interning… hmmm.. :). 

Later that night, we went to the Hayward Hotel for dinner, you could get steaks for $10!  Which, Hal got but, I (Zoë) got chicken schnitzel! 

The next day, (Saturday) was our final full day in Sydney! We had our last directed group activity  Hal and i were again in separate groups but we were assigned the same activity. We went down to Sydney Harbour and asked pedestrians why they thought the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House were iconic to Australia. We then asked them what iconic figures they thought of when think if the States. Afterwards, we started to pack, well Zoë started to pack, I slept because I wasn’t feeling well still.  Then we got ready for our farewell dinner, we couldn’t believe it was our last night! Our group was going to take the bus to Darling Harbour, where we had reservations, but the bus drove right past our stop! How rude! So, we ended up walking, which wasn’t too bad actually.  The restaurant we had our final dinner at was called Adriana’s, or something like that.  The food was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING, Zoë got the salmon and I got the prime rib steak.  Unfortunately, I really started not to feel well, so I wasn't able to enjoy my sticky date pudding.  Zoë enjoyed her selection of sorbets, especially the raspberry.  As we were finishing up dinner, there were fireworks over the harbor! They were just beautiful, and such a perfect way to end the night. After, Hal went back to the hostel and I walked around with some of our friends. We stopped at a store and I stocked up on some Tim Tams, which are my new favorite food!!! They are seriously  SOOOO YUMMY!!! I will be bring a good amount home, wherever i can fit them! :) When we were leaving, we took the train home and o forgot my pass so, Jade and Becky helped me sneak in! Phew! When I got back, I finished up some packing and then Hal and I got ready for bed! 

Sunday: Well, Hal and I are currently sitting in the Brisbane Airport because our flight has been delayed 3 hours, no bueno. But lets start from the morning, we woke up from our beauty sleep and had breakfast with our group for the last time and we got pancakes!! This may not seem like a big deal but it is, because every other day we have had, eggs, bacon and toast. Not that we don’t love that but it does start to get a little old haha. We then proceeded to finish packing and say our goodbyes.  After we checked out, we got on the shuttle to take us to the airport…good thing we still had insurance because our driver was a crazy mad man! But seriously, he didn't seem to be in a good mood, and it was quite the bumpy ride.  But thank God, we arrived at the airport safely. After our first flight, we arrived at the Brisbane airport, and found out we were delayed..wahhhh. we just wanted to be in New Zealand. So during those 3 hours, we ate, slept and ate. Finally, they say we could board, we were back in business! About 4 hours later we landed in Dunedin safely! 

Let the New Zealand adventures begin! 

Much Love,

Hallie & Zoe :) 

A Night to Remember!

Yesterday was quite the interesting and eventful day.  We went to a Migrant Resource Center, I (Zoë) had been quite excited for this! (I may have been one of the few who were haha) We listened to staff share their experience of migrating to Australia and what their job entails at the Center. We both thought it was really awesome that they are given back to their community and helping migrants get settled like they have done before.

When we got back to the hostel, it was time to get ready for the show at the Sydney Opera House!  After we did all of our girly primping, we headed down to the Opera House to have dinner there with our entire group.  As we were walking around while waiting for our food, I (Hallie) felt a sudden shooting pain in my side. So obviously I told mother Zoë and some other friends and they said right away; cracked rib.  CRACKED RIB, are you kidding me, it’s not like I’ve been sick long enough and now this? So with every step, cough and breath, just pain shooting in my side.  Needless to say, I was not a happy camper.  However, that did not stop me from eating and going to the show.  I had the kids meal of fish and chips and Zoë had some kind of fancy hotdog.  Along with our dinner, we figured it was a special occasion and enjoyed a nice drink. 

IT WAS TIME! IT WAS TIME! IT WAS SHOW TIME! The show we saw was called La Soiree, there are so many words to describe this show.  A few of them are bizarre, hilarious, spectacular, eccentric, risky, and downright crazy! The acts included a drunk lady that was, well just drunk. A girl who could hula hoop and jump rope like no one else’s business. A woman who sang and stripped bear naked in front of EVERYONE! Well except Hal because she had to go to the bathroom right before! So she missed it, none of us thought she would believe there was an actual live, breathing, 40 something year-old naked women on stage, but she did! Most likely because we all couldn’t stop laughing like immature little girls. Then there was a man and woman who did an absolutely incredible acrobatic piece and the “Queen of England” who I (Zoë) thought was a woman the whole time but nope it was a man! That is some great acting, let me tell you! After the show we walked back and Hal went to bed in hopes she would finally feel better in the morning. But, you know I think it’s kinda hard to feel better when you have a cracked rib. :( #BadLuckHallie 

Cherrio! 

Much Love,

Hal & Zoë

Oh what a week!

We’re almost caught up on our blogging! yayyy! 

Sorry mates, we’ve been a little behind, but thank you so much for being patient with us.  We greatly appreciate it. :) 

Now, where did we leave y’all hanging? Oh yes, Sunday Funday! On Sunday we got to tour the Royal Botanical Gardens and the Government house.  The Botanical Gardens were just lovely, there were so many beautiful flowers, plants, and spiders. Spiders you may ask? Yes, spiders, they we’re gigantic and not so lovely.  Then, we walked for a little bit and reached the Government House.  This house was huge! Sadly, we couldn’t take any pictures except on the outside and the ballroom. 

Later on, we made our way back to the hostel and prepared for our lecture from Professor Haney.  As soon as we got to the lecture room, I (Hallie), ran to the bathroom… and you may guess what happened then.. Needless to say, I did not make it to the lecture and ended up sleeping again. For dinner, our friends and us made spaghetti, well I (Hallie) didn’t since I was still sick.  We ate a little, talked a little and had some fun.  Shortly after though, I had to run up to the bathroom… and guess what happened next.. yeah I’ll save you the details again.  It was just not my day. 

The next day, Monday, January 6th we had a guest lecture, I (Hallie), came later because I still did not feel the best. (Zoë) The lecture was about Aboriginal art and besides her powerpoint not working it was a very interesting lecture. 

Then we ventured off to the Art Gallery of NSW, where we had an hour tour.  The place was amazing, it was filled with such beautiful art.  The main focus on our tour was aboriginal art, the detail artists use is just incredible.  

After, we went with a few of our friends and did a little shopping at the Marketplace, a huge shopping mall. Shortly after, we went to the Queen Victoria Building which is another huge shopping mall and we all got cupcakes.  Well, I (Hallie) got a giant cupcake, and I couldn’t be happier.  Of course, it was my favorite kind; vanilla cake with lots of vanilla frosting. I (Zoë) got an apple cupcake which is different for me since I am usually a chocolate fanatic! But it was very good:) 

Tuesday, we had to guest lectures, who happened to be brothers! How neat is that? They taught us about the sports culture in Australia and rugby. They were both very interesting and good presenters. We learned a lot about the importance of sport in Australian culture. Afterwards, we hopped on the buss and headed to the Sydney Olympic Park! Yeah that’s right we toured the ANZ Stadium, be extremely jealous. :p At the Olympic Park we got to sit in the stadium, check out all the VIP rooms and some media rooms.  It was so awesome! We also got to see the Coca-Cola suite! 

Wednesday,  was lecture day, we had three different lectures.  The first lecture was on the Refugee Council of Australia, Lucy Morgan was the presenter and she is the Information and Policy Officer there.  The second lecture was Professor Haney gave us an overview on public relations and how we use it today.  The third lecture was on health care in Australia.  Which I, (Hallie) have already become very familiar with.  After our long day of lectures we went to the Queen Victoria Building, which is a huge shopping mall.  Obviously, we shopped til we dropped..or until the stores closed which was at 6.  We are very surprised because this is common for stores to close around 5 or 6 every night.  Then, we just came back put our feet up & relaxed. 

Cherrio! 

Much Love, 

Zoë & Hallie 

The Catch Up Game

Yes, yes, yes, we are well aware of how far behind we are on our blogging! But crickey mates, things have been more wild than a kangaroo getting out of the zoo! And let us tell you, that  could probably get a little crazy.  Anywhos, we'll try to catch y'all up as much as we can!
Let's start all the way back to Thursday, January 2nd, we went on the longest walk of our lives.  Okay, not really, but it felt like it was.  WE took the Spit bridge and walk to Manly Beach, which was a little over six miles, (so they say.) We're pretty convinced it was about 20.  The real kicker was that it was at least 99 degrees, the hottest day yet here! Which probably doesn't sound too bad compared to the -1000's degrees you guys are about to experience, good luck with that one! The walk consisted beautiful views over many bays and beaches.  Unfortunately, this is when I, (Hallie) really started to feel sick. We slowly dragged our way to the ferry but then we lost our professor! So we told the rest of our group that we'll stay behind and look for him, he was no where to be found! Then, when we gave up looking for him, we hopped in the next ferry.  We come back to the hostel and found out our professor was on the ferry with the rest of our group before us! After we cleaned up a bit, we had a short lecture on communication fancy schmancy stuff, though I stayed back and slept because I still wasn't feeling well.  My night consisted of getting over 14 hours of sleep! I, (Zoë) had to leave poor Hal so she could get some rest. So, I ventured down with some of the girls to get some tucker, (that's what they call food here!) We ate in the hostels cafe and I had spaghetti, which was very good. After dinner, we just hung out and then I came up to check on Hal and she was fast asleep..getting her beauty rest (she needed it). That night, I slept in the top bunk and I was pretty nervous for it, it's been awhile since I've slept that high. But luckily for me, I was a champ, haha but seriously I kinda was.


The next day, Friday, January 3rd, we had a guest lecture by Chris Tobin.  He specialized in Aboriginal Politics and Land Rights. We both thought that he was very interesting to listen to. He brought in different tools that the aboriginal people use on a daily basis. Neither of us knew much history about the Aboriginal people. Chris, is Aboriginal and he provided a lot of education and insight on the Aboriginal culture.  After the guest lecture, we had another group activity... Which meant we were separated again! No Bueno!  Luckily, we had the same assignment, therefore, we ended up at the same destination. We both went to Harry's Café De Wheels, here we were instructed to ask patrons about the famous meat pies that are sold here and of course we had to sample. I (Zoë) got a chicken one and Hal got a beef one. We both enjoyed them and then got on with the assignment in our separate groups, arg!  A little background on Harry's: It is an iconic establishment of Australia and opened up 70 years ago. The first franchise came about in 1998 and currently Harry's is trying to be expanded into Europe and America, which we would be pretty pumped about! A really cool thing about Harry's is that  it is a must for visiting celebrities and the one that we went too had pictures of all different famous people trying the meat pies. In 2004, Harry's became classified as a "Quintessential Sydney Icon" by The National Trust of Australia on the wall. Go to Harry's website for more information. We approached people and asked them what they thought of the famous meat pies and what they thought of iconic American foods. Sad to say, most people associated America with fast food, we godda work on changing that people!

Front: Hallie, Megan, Ahnna, Zoë
Back: Michelle, Jade, Lexa, Becky 

Later that night, we were reunited again! Yay us! (Yes, we are well aware how pathetic we sound.)  We then went out to dinner with a few of our friends.  We ended up going to Darling Harbour and found a nice place to eat.  Afterwards, we were walking around and some street performers caught our eyes.  There were three men, probably in their mid 20's and they were dancers, pretty incredible we might add as well.  It was a lovely way to end the evening.
Saturday, January 4th was a big day.

It was Blue Mountains Day!  This was one of the days we couldn't wait for! I, (Hallie) was still not feeling my best, but nothing was going to stop me from seeing the fantastic views.  Our day started out with possibly the coolest tour guide ever.  His name Nigel, and he reminded us so much of Nigel from the Wildthorneberries, (some of you may know what we're talking about.)  Anywhos, we had about an hour bus ride up and we both fell asleep the entire time, shocker.  When we finally got there, we couldn't believe our eyes, it was gorgeous! First we had to take a cable car where we saw the three sisters, which are just beautiful rock formations.  Then, we got to go on this awesome railroad which had an incline of almost 180 degrees! Afterwards, we did a a little walking around and headed towards a cute cafe for lunch.  This is when things took a turn for the worse for me.  I felt absolutely wretched.  As soon as we got into the cafe, I found some couches and just laid on them.  Then I felt nauseous, so I told the tour guide and the people at the restaurant gave me a rubbish can.  And then it happened... I will spare you the details, but I bet y'all can figure out what happened next.  There I was, just having the time of my life, while everyone was in the other room eating.  Clearly, I was not up for any more hiking for that day.  Which was really frustrating because hiking the Blue Mountains was something I really wanted to do.  Instead I just slept in the cafe until everyone came back. I (zoë) was just about to take my first bite of fish and chips when Nigel flew around the corner saying that my friend wanted me. So, i dashed to see poor Hal bent over the rubbish can, like she said, i'll save you the details. I sat with her awhile (and the bestie award goes to Zoë Page!) and then proceeded with the rest of the group to go on our walk. (once again we were separated) However, it was definitely good Hal did not go because it was an uphill climb! But so worth  it, the views were amazing and we saw the most gorgeous waterfalls! On the way back we had the option to go on an extended hike just about a half hour, so me and five others did so and saw some more beautiful waterfalls. On the way back we got a little lost okay a lot but we eventually found our way back to the group!

When we got back I, (Hallie) headed to the Prince Royal Hospital, sounds fancy, I know! And honestly, It was very nice.  After a few hours later, I come to find out that it I have a chest infection and there really wasn't much I could do, except sleep.  So thats what I did, I got a lot of sleep!

New Years Shenanigans

G'Day Lovelies!

First off, we'd like to apologize for slacking on our posting; it's been quite crazy!
Second, HAPPY NEW YEAR!! We hope you all had a wonderful and safe New Year.
Speaking of New Years, on New Years Eve we had a small group scavenger hunt.  Sadly, we were not in the same group.  That means we were separated for more than four hours! yikes...  This scavenger hunt was all across Sydney and it's surrounding areas. The scavenger hunt consisted us navigating Sydney all in our group during New Years Eve...Which turned into a nightmare. Crickey, it was a horrible situation; so many people and so many roads were cut off where we had to go.
After the long hot scavenger hunt, we went out with some of our friends to go watch the fireworks.  We got to the Sydney Harbour around 4 pm; found the perfect spot and realized we now have to wait for 8 hours until midnight.  And that is exactly what we did. We started out the long wait with me doing many of the girls hair while we also made some new English friends.  They were Ben, who was from Europe and recently moved to Australia, and his cousin, Tom, who is also from Europe.  They were extremely nice and entertaining.  We learned a lot of interesting facts from them.
As it slowly approached to midnight, there were actually "family" fireworks at 9:00pm, and they were lovely.  After those fireworks, everyone slowly got sleepier and sleepier,  We still had 3 more hours to wait! Finally, the 10 second count down began.. and then boom boom boom! Fireworks galore! They were the most breathtaking fireworks we've ever seen.  However, they were only 12 minutes long; but all in all it was worth the wait.
Though the amount of people we had to weave through was a little crazy.  It took us about an hour to get back to our hostel because of so many people and usually it only takes us 15 minutes! Due to the huge crowds we were all forced to take the escalator. Some of you may already know, but Zoë has a fear of escalators; aka esclatophobia. The first time she had to go one, she cried before; poor chica! However, I discovered telling her stories helps her not think of it.  So when we went on the escalator on New Years Eve, I told her a wonderful story about Christmas and snow. And guess what, she survived the survived the ride! YAHOOO! Unfortunately, this is when I really started to feel sick; so when we got back; I went to bed straightaway.
The next day, Zoë and I

both didn't feel good.  She had a bad sore throat and ear ache and I had a bad chest cough and body aches..Happy New Years to us.. :/ Though the only thing that kept us through the day is the fact we went to the Koala Park! The Koala P1ing! We saw so many awesome animals like; Koalas, kangaroos, dingos, wallabies, and so much more! We even got to pet a koala and kangaroo! They were soo soft and the cutest things ever!
Then, we came back and had to write our blogs for class.  And of course I took my sweet, long time on mine; so Zoë decided to take a little cat nap in the cafeteria where we were writing...Oh Zoë.
That concluded our New Years Shenanigans, once again we apologize for our delay. We couldn't be more blessed to ring in the New Year in Australia. We hope you all had a wonderful and safe New Years!
Cherrio!
Much Love,
Hallie & Zoë