I went to the land down under in the (northern hemisphere) summer of 2010 to do some research at the University of Sydney with the Faculty of Architecture, Design, and Planning. That’s where I am currently at. In a few weeks, I’m going to head off to the outback with a few friends for high adventure!
- My Office at the University of Sydney: I share “the dungeon” with about a dozen other PhD, post doc, and visiting scholar types.
- My Apartment in Sydney: I live with a couple of roommates in a backpacker apartment in Ultimo, just a few minutes from the university.
- The Way to Work: This is the way I walk to work every morning.
- Centennial Park, the walk to Coogee, and elsewhere: A nice walk through the park with Wanda, one of my office mates who is also here for the summer/winter from America.
- South beach walk to Bondi Beach: Wanda and I went on a bit of a hike along the beaches and cliffs south of Sydney.
- Sailing around Sydney Harbor and to Manly and back: It was a great day for a trip on the ferry to Manly and back.
- Royal Botanic Garden: The Queen’s birthday holiday made for an excellent excuse to wander through the park.
- Outside the Sydney Opera House: The stark beauty of the opera house is breathtaking to behold in person. Photos don’t do it justice.
- The Sydney Harbor Bridge: I took a walk across the Sydney Harbor Bridge to take in the sights and marvel at the sheer scale of the structure.
- The Sydney Observatory: The old time-keeping observatory next to the Sydney Harbor Bridge is a nice vantage point to look out across the harbor.
- Around Downtown Sydney: The maze of buildings in downtown Sydney holds many surprises from early penal colony buildings up to modern sky scrapers.
- ANZAC Bridge and Around: The ANZAC Bridge isn’t too far from my apartment. It’s an impressive modern construction.
- ANZAC War Memorial and Odds and Ends Around Town: I visited the ANZAC War Memorial with Wanda and strolled around the Sydney CBD before detouring through Darling Harbor and back to my house in Ultimo.
- Downtown Brisbane: I journeyed northward to Brisbane to check out the city and visit a few friends. First stop was to go see the downtown area.
- Brisvegas: After checking out downtown, I headed to Mandy’s house for a great time. Drinking the grog and having fun is a wonderful way to spend a Saturday afternoon and evening.
- A Visit with Tish and the Ride Back to Sydney: I had a quick visit with Tish in Brisbane before heading back south for Sydney.
- Koala Park Sanctuary: Wanda and I went to a small sanctuary/zoo to check out the koalas and other cute Australian animals. In the wild they are all bloodthirsty killing machines. In the zoo they are adorable.
- Cockatoo Island: Steph and I ventured out to Cockatoo Island to check out the art installation and see the island.
- The Blue Mountains, The Three Sisters, and Around: Steph and I headed up to the Blue Mountains to escape Sydney for some nature and a little exercise. If only we had our climbing gear with us!
- The Powerhouse Museum, the Australian National Maritime Museum, and a Monorail: Steph and I explored a couple of the museums of Sydney and also checked out the workings of the monorail.
- Vanuatu: I took a week off from the hubbub of Sydney to go relax in the island nation of Vanuatu.
- Blue Mountains Bushwalk: Dallas and I went out to the Blue Mountains for a bit of a walkabout.
- Train Ride to Blackheath: The train ride was photogenic.
- Blackheath to the Grand Canyon Trail: We walked along some fire roads to get to the starting point of our bushwalk.
- Blue Gum Forest Bushwalk: Into the canyons and jungle we went with adventure in mind!
- Finishing Up at Work: The last few odds and ends were wrapped up at work.
- Trans-Australia Expedition: With work finished, Zach and I set out on a Trans-Australia Expedition the likes of which the world has never seen.
- New Zealand: Following the Trans-Australia Expedition, I departed Australia for New Zealand where I went on a magical campervan adventure with Kristen.
- Overstuffed Book Shop: Coming back from New Zealand, I found myself in the overstuffed stacks of Gould’s Book Arcade.
- Beer with me Mates: I had one final beer with me mates from Uni before returning to America.
- Railway Museum at Steph’s Work: An old locomotive works now houses offices. The occasional steam engine repair tool slips in, too.
After all of that excitement and fun, I boarded a plane back to America where I promptly went on the POPCORN motorcycle ride with Emily. On to more adventure!