Saturday in Sydney

This whole trip keeps getting better!

Today, a bunch of us went to Paddington Markets (not to be confused with Patty's Market, to be explained later) to peruse the beautiful jewelry, clothing, and authentic Australian goods. Wow, it was amazing. Not only were there beautiful handbags (one of which I will be going back to get before my internship!) hand crafted by Australian artisans but there was food, textiles, art, and jewelry - my goodness the jewelry! My mother would've wet her pants in this market the bracelets were so beautiful. Me, I love rings, and I found my absolute dream ring - which I will be buying at the end of program. Right now I'm saving my money for trips, but if after everything I still have the money left over I'm going to get it. It's good for me to have something like that because it'll make me think twice before buying anything else. I'll go, "Hmm...I like this dress but do I like it enough to take x amount away from my ring?" So, kudos Paddo market for being a deterrent for my shopping habit. It was just such a gorgeous marketplace. I bought a tiny cupcake and some delicious apple, carrot, ginger juice and that was it for the day. Everything was so pretty, I'll definitely be going back there for Christmas presents. I already know that what I want to get Mom, Maddy, Ray, and Jenna are all there. I'm super excited. I'm really glad I got my butt out of bed and went.

Then, after Paddo Market we went to Patty's Market which is a HUGE marketplace filled with everything you could imagine from produce to cameras. It's like Canal Street on crack. Seriously. I bought some apples, an avocado, and some wasabi peas for under $10 which should hold me over at least for the week. But this market was seriously overwhelming. So many people, so many aisles, so many men and women screaming at you to check out their wares and that their oranges were cheaper than the other guy's. It was insanity. On our way home from Patty's I stopped over at my favorite place ever - Backpacker's World Travel to have one last sit down with Amanda before booking my trip. We have landed on....(drum roll please)....Auckland! Sail City! I'll be flying out there on Friday morning, then hopping on a beautiful catamaran on Saturday for an eight hour excursion around the Bay of Islands, New Zealand's Whitsundays. I get lunch and snorkeling and sunbathing on the bow - all things Dad loved to do. Then, on Sunday, I am doing a three hour America's Cup boat racing tour around the harbor. Something else Dad loved - big beautiful boats that go fast. I'm really excited to be doing it on my own, too. Dad traveled by himself all the time and although he loved traveling with people it's a skill to go somewhere brand new all alone and learn to enjoy it. I'm really looking forward to exploring the way he did, meeting people and making connections. It was a skill he wanted me to have - independence, adventurousness. So, I'm following in his footsteps, packing light, and hitting the ground running in Auckland, New Zealand. I'm sure if he had known it was Sail City he'd have been planning a trip out there as soon as he could. Now if only there was a Motorcycle City I could go to....or would that be Milwaukee? I'm revved to get out there and spend some time with myself and his memory on the ocean.

After the markets we all took some time to relax then met up for dinner. We found a Mexican Restaurant on Glebe street which was amazing! Margaritas, enchiladas, and tres leches cake! Three of my favorite things. I found a really great group of friends and we had a wonderful time laughing, eating, and drinking outside at the Baja Cafe. It was a perfect day all around. Now, tomorrow we're going to tour some of Sydney's beaches, weather permitting, then get ready for class on Monday! It's all going so fast, I hope I can hold on long enough to soak everything in!

G'night from down under!