australia, the first installment

Hi!! we're having a super time... with the exception of 1) me getting a cold upon arrival in sydney and 2) me discovering a tick in my armpit at dinner one night in byron bay. and of course the on-off rain. i suppose there are much scarier bugs here than ticks. and my cold seems to be in it's final hours. though brock remains inconsolable when he feels the slightest mist in air or cloud in the sky. but we're MAKING DO, don't you worry.

Here are a few photos (with "our" new lens, which i love, thanks mom and dad!) of the trip so far!


Sydney


(our first stop after dropping luggage off at the hotel. at 9am. the most delicious modern italian deli. i had mushrooms on toast and a soy latte, which was divine even after spending a mostly sleepless night getting sick on the plane.)



(botanical gardens... my pictures of the bats and big birds didn't come out)









(our favorite dinner so far at a really neat rustic modern restaurant called pony. we're still talking about it. plus they had our currently-in-storage eames dining chairs which made me semi-lustful for a house as cool as their space)



(saturday market in the yuppy paddington neighborhood, which we of course loved and made us feel right at home. they even had a kiehls, which was excellent because we were low on face wash.)



(spring is a pretty time to be in the city)



(breakfast at a great little spot called bills where people sit idly around, drinking lattes and reading their book/newspaper/magazine. we love weekend every day.)


Byron Bay
(sorry, no picture of the tick. but Brock proved to be an able husband by expertly extracting it with tweezers.)












(the farther north we go, it seems, the bigger the common birds become. this is our friend we met walking to the beach. he's like a giant turkey vulture thing that, along with flock, runs madly through the forest around the resort.)



(finally made it to the pool. success)






Brisbane


(we arrived in gold coast, in the pouring rain, to a sheraton that felt and smelled like an shabby 80's version of sea world... SICK. While pondering our next move, we watched the election results come in and listened to Obama give his excellent acceptance speech, HOORAY!!!! then, newly inspired, we promptly packed the car, canceled our reservations, and drove out of my personal incarnation of hell, to Brisbane. Which turned out to be a fine city after all but mostly involved no aging tropical print textiles nor chlorinated lagoons in the lobby).






Hamilton Island


(finally arriving to the honeymoon part)









(the water is like 80 degrees. at least. we are happy roasting in the sun, reading our books, and snacking on cold brewskis at the moment)





Tomorrow morning we're off on a sailing and snorkeling trip all day... thanks sky, mellie, and yordi!