New York City

First of all, let me appologize that it took me so long to blog! The internet situation is not always dependable. I will divide the trips since there are so many great picutres! Lets start at the beginning...New York! We had an incredible time in New York and I already want to go back! We got to the city around 7pm on Friday night (the day after Thanksgiving). We took a taxi to the hotel and went straight to dinner. We ate at a great Italian restaraunt across the street from the hotel and then decided to go Rockefeller Center to Ice skate. We got there and it was so crowded (and expensive) that we decided not to skate, but still enjoyed the surroundings. New York is by far the most magical place during the holiday season! The lights and decorations were incredible. I felt like a kid in a candy store.

Radio City Music Hall. The Rockettes were doing their Christmas Spectacular show.

The Ginormous tree in Rockefeller Center.

The Tree again, with the famous statue.

I love this picture!

While we were near the plaza we also saw the beautiful window decorations at Saks Fifth Avenue and ate roasted chestnuts. This was the best way to welcome the holidays!

After we left Rockefeller center, we went to Times Square for a while. I LOVE NEW YORK! We wandered through the theater district looking at all the shows that were playing. I wish we could see all of them, but one will do for this trip. We stayed out until about 11:30 and then went back to the hotel. On the way we were able to stop at Herald Square and take a few night pictures of Macy's.

Just a few of the many shows on Broadway.

Herald Square. This is where the Thanksgiving Day Parade stops, right in front of Macy's.

On Saturday Morning we went to the ship and did our work. We met up with Kevin's Friend Rico and had a quick bite to eat with him. It was nice to finally meet him! We went back to the hotel and dropped off our stuff and then went out again. We stopped at Macy's on our way to Times Square and saw the Famous Macy's Santa! We traveled to Santaland via the Polar Express and the North Pole. The set up they had was fantastic. I don't have a picture on my camera, but I will scan in the picture we purchased when we get home! It was so fun!

Here is Kevin on his way to see Santa...

After Macy's, we went to Times Square and had dinner at the Stage Deli before the show. They have the best pickles!

We had some spare time after dinner so we wandered some more. We both had to go to the bathroom and finding public restrooms in Times Square is not easy. We saw this sign that said "Charmin, gotta go" so we went in. This was like a theme park for bathrooms. The presentation was incredible and they had staff members cracking jokes and cleaning the toilets every time someone went in. It was awesome!

Here is the sign. FREE public restrooms!

Here is what the stalls looked like. Every stall was cleaned after each use! AMAZING!

And the photo after the magic!

After the lovely bathroom experience, that took about 30 minutes, we went to see Shrek the Musical. The show was so fun! It was not the best musical I have ever seen, but it was very fun and enjoyable! We went to the stage door after the show and got a poster signed by the cast members.

This is the guy who played Donkey.

I got a little start struck!

This is John Tartaglia - Pinocchio - he also has a show on the Disney Channel called "Johnny and the Sprites" and was the original Princeton in Avenue Q

This is Chris Sieber - Lord Farquad. He was great!

And this is Brian D'Arcy James - Shrek!

Sutton Foster, who was amazing, did not come out of the stage door and we missed her. Slightly bummed, but seeing the other people was still fun!

Here is the final poster and Shrek all done up!

And to top it all off....

Just us in Times Square!

We had an awesome time and I can't wait to go back sometime soon!! Hope you enjoy these pictures!

Off again

First off, Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone had a great holiday and is now officially ready for the holiday season. I know I sure am. Something about seeing Santa in the Macy's Parade always gets me excited and ready for the holidays. When I found out this year that I would not be at the Broadmoor for the start of their holiday season I was very disappointed, but when I found out we would be in New York everything was better. I am so excited to go to New York tomorrow and see how they celebrate the holidays. I think it will be a great atmosphere and I can't wait to take it all in.

We leave tomorrow morning and get to New York around 7 pm. We will be in New York for 2 days and leave on Sunday to go to Lisbon, Portugal. We will be in Lisbon for 3 days and then we go to Barcelona for 5 days! It should be another wonderful trip and I am excited to share it with you all again. Stay posted for new updates!

P.S - The Jamaica trip fell through this time, but we are still planning on going at a later date.

Happy Halloween

Well I think I can finally say, after almost a week of waiting, that I have readjusted to the time change. This week was rough for me adjusting, but I think I am just about there. I spent multiple nights this week awake until the wee hours of the morning, but hopefully those times have passed now.

This week I turned in all of my substitute applications so that is a relief to be done with. Now I just have wait until I receive the calls for orientation. I have learned through out this process to not hold my breath, so I won't! It sure is not a speedy process, but I think it will be worth while in the long run.

My mom moved into her new house this weekend so that was a long and tiring process, but she will be so much happier in the new house. There are still lots of boxes to be unpacked, but the house looks great.

So now, a few pictures. I know a lot of people are only interested in pictures anyway so here they are!

I went to my boss Aspen's house for a small Halloween party. Here we are! Pumpkin and Candy Corn.

Just me! And Moe too!

Up close...I loved my pumpkin make-up. Dressing up is so much fun.

I was sad that Kevin was unable to be with me, but I still had a great time. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, and I am already looking forward to next year.

Oh, one more thing....I know in the last post I said my next trip was not until the end of the month to Lisbon and Barcelona, but a new opportunity presented itself. Kevin and I will be going to Jamaica right before Thanksgiving (but we will be here for the fantastic Turkey Day). There is an all-inclusive resort down there that has a climbing wall that needs to be maintained, so that is what we will be doing. It will be exciting because it is a little different than the other trips. Stay tuned for more information about the upcoming trips!

ANOTHER flight delay...and more Sydney!

So as I am sitting here at the LAX airport with another delayed flight, I thought I would update you all with some information from the rest of our trip to Sydney. First of all let me explain what is happening at this exact moment in time.....

I arrived to the LAX airport this evening around 6pm. I had a few problems with check-in, but nothing to really worry about. I got through security fine and arrived at my gate. I had about an hour before we were supposed to start boarding and I was so happy to go home! I found out that our flight was going to be delayed an hour, so I made the necessary phone calls and waited patiently. About 45 minutes later, I find out our flight is delayed another hour. At this point, instead of arriving into Colorado Springs at 11:15pm (which is already really late for me) I was to arrived at 1:15am. This was a big difference, but I continued waiting patiently. About 30 minutes later I find out that we will be waiting to depart LAX until 11:49pm (yes, leaving almost 2 hours after I was supposed to arrive to Colorado Springs). So now I am waiting, not so patiently to say the least! I will be arriving into Colorado Springs at 3am Monday morning. Good news is, I received a free round trip voucher to anywhere in the United States! I believe that is 2 free vouchers within the last 2 weeks. As you may remember, Kevin and My flight to Sydney was delayed for 24 hours, less then 2 weeks ago, and I think we will be receiving a voucher for that trip as well! Delays can be very inconvenient, but the airlines seem to be making up for it. Both delays were due to maintenance issues, so the airlines have some control over the problem, as opposed to weather issues.

So that is what is happening right at this moment. Now that you are caught up on this little bit of detail, let me fill you in on the rest of our trip to Sydney.

On Tuesday we decided to go into the Sydney Opera House and then go shopping at the Rocks. We got to the Opera House and saw that you had to pay $30 for a tour, so after a bit of thinking and discussion we decided to forgo that part of the trip this time, and plan to actually see a show when we go back in February. We figured the price to see a show would not be that much more than a tour, and would be twice as exciting. So we looked at the schedule and we are going to see either Madame Butterfly or The Magic Flute. I am definitely looking forward to that! We left the Opera House and went to the Rocks to do some shopping. We did not stay there very long, and ended going back to the hotel pretty early and just relaxing. Not the most eventful day, but it was nice to relax.

Here we are on the steps up to the Opera House!

On Wednesday the weather was very crummy! We decided to stay indoors for the day so we went to the Australian Museum and the New South Wales Art Gallery. Both places were very cool to see, although by the end of the day we were pretty museum"ed" out. I took a picture of a stuffed Platypus at the Australian Museum because I am fascinated with them. Here it is!

On Thursday the weather was not great either, but it was better than the day before! We went back to Paddy's Market and did some more shopping. We also did some shopping on Pitt Street. Went back to the hotel to warm up and dry off and then went to the Noodle Festival. This was an outdoor food festival in Hyde Park. They had all kinds of Asian foods that were served with noodles of some sort. It was still pretty cold and rainy, so there were not many people, but it was still fun to be there! I was not too hungry, but I did have some room for Ice Cream. I had an ice cream called the Hokey Pokey. It was vanilla ice cream with honeycomb pieces. It didn't really taste like honey, but it was still delicious.

My Hokey Pokey ice cream

After we ate, we went back to Circular Quey and took some evening pictures. It was beautiful!

The Harbor Bridge

The Opera House

Part of the City skyline

On Friday we went back to Bondi Beach. The weather was finally nice again! We actually suited up in our swim gear and considered going into the water, but it was much too cold! It should be warmer in February, so we will try it again. After the beach, we decided to go back to the Noodle Festival. This time, the weather was nice and the party was hoppin'. There was not even a table to sit at, whereas the night before no one was even using the tables! It was much better than Thursday night. We didn't stay too long, and went back to the hotel.

We picked a nice little rock to sit on and take in the scenery.

We walked out to this rock and watched the water splash. It was very cool!

Here is Kevin and his wave

And here we are at the end of the day. I can't wait to go back to this beach!

We left on Saturday and thankfully didn't have any problems leaving. It was a great trip and I can't wait to go back!

I am now finishing this blog at home in Colorado. I arrived at 3 am this morning and I am so glad to be home. The next trip is not until November 28th, but I will try to post a few times before then. The next trip is to New York City, Lisbon, and Barcelona. Thanks again for your interest in this exciting time in my life!

Sydney

I apologize ahead of time that this post may get lengthy, but I want to fill  you in as best as I can from the last 3 days here. I last left off just after we arrived and were getting ready to go to the ship. We bought a 7 day train, bus and ferry pass and headed to Circular Quey. This is the stop on the train - similar to the subway system - where the ship was. Conveniently this is also the stop to the Sydney Opera House. What a sight! It certainly took my breath away when we came up from underground and there is was. We grabbed a quick bite to eat and then went to the ship. We finished working within 2 hours and went back to the hotel to drop off the tool bag. 

The view off the back of the ship where the wall is!

On our way to the ship we also saw this Aborigine who was playing the Didgeridoo. 

They Sydney Harbor Bridge - again, off the back of the ship. Not a bad view to wake up to in the morning!

After we dropped off the bag we went for a long walk. We went to a street called Pitt Street, that has a lot of shopping and food. We just walked by, didn't buy anything, and headed to the Hay Market. This is almost the equivalent of a flea market in the states. They had tons of souvenir type gifts and things - basically a market full of very cool junk! We didn't stay long that evening because they were closing down, but we went back the following morning. We walked around some more that evening and headed back to the hotel around 6. We tried to stay awake as long as possible, but ended up crashing around 8:30. 

On Sunday we went back to the Hay Market and then walked around Darling Harbor. There were lots of people out and about and we had a great time wondering. This harbor has a park, the Sydney Aquarium, multiple museums, lots of food and of course boats on the water. It was also very cool to see. We also went to an area called the Rocks and did a little bit of shopping at the outdoor market. I bought a real boomerang, made by an Aborigine. I can't wait to learn how to throw it!

The towering city skyline over Darling Harbor

We went back to hotel for a few hours and then decided to go to a beach. We hopped on the train and went to Bondi Beach. This is probably Sydney's most famous beach and it was so beautiful! There was an art exhibit called Sculpture by the Sea, that consisted of over 100 sculptures along the coastline in between two different beaches. We walked all along the coast and looked at the pieces, while enjoying the incredible scenery around us!

The beautiful and famous Bondi beach - very famous for surfing. 

This is what the entire coastline looked like. It was the most beautiful beach I have ever seen.

Today we went to the Taronga Zoo. It is across the harbor so we took a ferry from Circular Quey to the zoo. At the zoo we saw Koalas, Kangaroos, Wallabies, a Platypus, Dingos, a Tasmanian Devil, and poisonous snakes that were all indigenous to Australia. We saw lots of other animals too, but those were the ones that were most interesting for us. We even go to go into one of the Koala exhibits and take up close and personal photos of them and with them. Unfortunately we could not touch them, but it was still very cool. I will scan the photo we have when I get back home, so you can all see it. For now I will just show you some pictures of the very cool Australian animals we saw. 

The adorable Koalas...I think they are one of my favorites! If you look really close you can see the baby on the right!

A Kangaroo

The Tasmanian Devil. Not exactly like the cartoon eh? This is also not the best picture, but you get the point. 

And the Dingo

I could not get a picture of the Platypus, but I really did see it!

After the zoo we got back on the ferry and went to the Royal Botanic Gardens. We had some left over lunch so we had a picnic in the park and enjoyed the sounds of the Flying Foxes - giant bats all over the park. Here are the last few pictures for today!

Our picnic in the park

The Flying Foxes - aka Big God-Damned Bats!

And a nice view of the Opera House and the Harbor Bridge. 

So far, our trip has been wonderful! I am so excited to see more! I will keep you posted!

Finally in Sydney

After 2 days of travel, we are finally in Sydney. We arrived at the Colorado Springs airport on Wednesday at 2:30pm. We traveled to LAX and had a 5 hour layover before boarding our flight to Sydney on Wednesday evening at 10:30pm - LA time. We boarded the flight on time and Kevin and I both crashed. Much to our surprise, the plane was having mechanical problems and while we slept for 4 hours, our plane sat at the gate! That is right, we sat on the plane for 4 hours to find out that the flight would be delayed for 24 hours. The whole flight was deplaned at 2:30am and everyone was given hotel vouchers. We lucked out and got a voucher for 2 nights - even though we only needed one, but this gave us the option of staying in the room until 8pm the following day, since the flight again did not leave until 10pm. We got to the hotel around 3:30am and went straight to bed. We spent the entire day at the hotel and went to the airport around 8. We boarded the delayed flight on Thursday evening and took off! The flight time was about 14 hours and we landed in Sydney on Saturday - Colorado's Friday - morning at 6:30am. We were fortunate enough to get a hotel room right away so we went to the hotel and showered and are now on our way to the ship! 

Anyway, long story short, it took longer to get here than planned, but we made it safely. We have not seen much yet, but I am very excited to be here! I will try to post some pictures later today. 

Leaving on a Jet Plane

It has been a while since I posted, and I thought I would catch everyone up on what has been happening. I returned home, bymyself, 2 weeks ago. I have been busy getting all of my substitute information together over the last few weeks. I am excited to say I am now officially a substitute in the Harrison District 2 schools, and had my first sub experience last Friday. It was definately a challenging situation and school, but I loved it! I still have not applied to district 11 and 20 because I do not have a physical copy of my sub license, but it has been approved and printed, so I hope it will be waiting at the house when I return from Sydney!

Speaking of Sydney....Kevin and I are leaving tomorrow afternoon for our adventure to Sydney. We fly to LA and wait for 6 hours at the airport before boarding our 747 to Sydney. The flight tomorrow is 15 hours and 33 minutes. I am very apprehensive about this extremely long flight, but I think I will be fine. The nice thing, is that the first part of the flight is during our evening, so it will not be too difficult to sleep. I am also nervous that Kevin and I will be separated again, like we were to and from London last month. I guess all we can do is wait and see what happens. All in all, I am so very excited to go on this grand adventure! I know that I am an extremely lucky gal to be able to see the world like this, and I will be forever grateful for the experience and opportunity!

I will try to keep everyone posted as often as possible. We arrive in Sydney on Friday morning, but with the 17 hour time change, it will still only be thursday afternoon here. I can't wait for our adventure and to be able to share it with all of you! Thanks again for your interest in our travels!