Before the Outback!

This weekend we're going to the Outback and this week was honestly just trying to prepare for it. We took a ton of naps because we knew we were going to be tired. That definitely sounds lame, but we were also tired from our weekend trip to Melbourne. It was a little bit colder than Sydney and we had some pretty ridiculous setbacks, someone lost their phone in an uber, we had a ridiculously early flight that we almost missed, and the uber we took from the airport was ridiculously overpriced because we were all too tired to realize that uber from the airport is only uber black and super expensive.

Melbourne was super cool though! It was a really awesome city for a weekend trip and we had a really fun time exploring. We went to the Queen Victoria Market which had a ton of awesome food and some cool shops for souvenirs! In the city there's also Hosier Lane which is filled with all of this awesome graffitti. Like super artistic and cool. Apparently Banksy had something there but it got painted over and then like accidentally got cut out as part of some maintenance project so we couldn't find it... There was definitely some really cool art though!

(Monsters Inc. at Hosier Lane)

(Hosier Lane Graffitti)

We also went to Brighton Beach in Melbourne which was super cool because they had all these cute little houses that were painted all different colors and had different animals or patterns. It wasn't really a good beach day, but exploring was fun nonetheless!

(Cute Crab House with Katie and Addie)

(Brighton Beach Houses)

(Brighton Beach Houses from the Other Side)

When I got back from Melbourne, my parents actually came to visit me in Sydney. We went to the Queen Victoria building where there is a really expensive shopping mall and had some amazing desserts by Adriano Zumbo. They were honestly so, so delicious. My parents also took me to a jazz concert inside the Sydney Opera House. The inside is really architectually interesting and the concert itself was pretty cool too. I don't get super excited about classical music or jazz or operas but this performance was actually pretty fun. They had singers as well as the instrumentalists and they got the audience to participate too by snapping or clapping. Definitely a pretty entertaining evening!

(Inside the Sydney Opera House)

We also managed to go to Manly this week which was gorgeous. It was a slightly chilly day but even that doesn't make the beach any less stunning. I honestly don't think I could ever get over or get tired of the views that all the beaches and walks and just in general the city of Sydney has to offer. I cannot really think of many reasons someone would leave here and the fact that the program is winding down is making me really sad...

(Manly Wharf)

(Manly Beach)

The realization that we're getting closer to the end just makes me want to go out and explore more though! We're going to the Outback tomorrow, and I still want to kayak the Harbour, go on some really cool nature walks, surf again, go to Luna Park, and so much more. Hopefully I can pack it all in!