A Trip Down Under-Part 5

Ok, here's where I stopped writing in my journal and now it's been 2 weeks since I've been back from the land down under so let's see if my memory serves me.

Day 13- Today was the last day in Cairns. We decided to take the day easy and buy any last minute gifts and souvenirs. We walked down some of our favorite streets, including the walkway by the croc infested beach (we never did see any crocs there), by the pier where we enjoyed a nice lunch, to a jewelry store, and when we were walked out we passed by a didgeridoo store. Maren reseted her feet on a bench outside the store and I wandered around having a look. The store advertised lessons. I became curious and with Maren's encouragement took a short lesson. In order to play this aboriginal instrument which is basically a tree branch which has been hollowed out my termites, one has to...umm, how to I explain this. I guess the best way is to say that you have to imitate a horse by blowing through your lips to make them vibrate...you know, like a horse. Does that make sense? Once you have this technique down you place your mouth on the top of the instrument and do the same thing. I did it the first time perfectly but then lost my beginners luck and it took several more tries before I could successfully do it again. Finally I figured it out and it I was making "music". It was fun to practice. While I decided not to bring a didgeridoo home with me (tempting) I did purchase a CD of great didgeridoo music. As we left the store the store keeper and music teacher (a handsome single man) apologized that we hadn't been picked up by any men while on our holiday. He said he was just downright embarrassed. We assured him it was ok and he rightfully assumed we must be "good Christian girls". He invited us to return to meet his 2 "good Christian guy" friends who also worked at the store. We told him that under normal circumstances we would accept the invitation (why not?!) but that since we were on our way to the airport in just a few hours we would have to take a raincheck. :-) Then we headed for the park where we spent our last hour recapping our favorite Aussie moments and soaking in the sunshine. Then it was off to the airport and back to Sydney. After a delayed flight and trying to avoid a scuffle at the metro station we made it back about 11:00 pm.

Day 14-Well, this is the final day. We spent the night in a haunted hotel...at least that's the rumor. We were hoping to get the haunted room but weren't so lucky. I had picked up a cold and spent the night coughing so I'm sure I scared all the ghosts away anyway. In the morning we packed up, enjoyed breakfast, and checked out of the hotel leaving our luggage until it was time to go. Maren and I said goodbye since he flight left earlier than mine and I wanted to spend a few more hours in Sydney instead of hanging out at the airport. I bought a ticket for a city tour and spent the next 2 hours being driven around the city seeing some beautiful sights and cute neighborhoods. I fell in love with Sydney even more! After the tour I headed to a store we had visited on our first day in the country. I purchased a painting by an aboriginal artist. Once I had selected the piece , which is dot painting of patterns I learned that the pattern represented women in a meeting. Cool. Then I walked to a grocery store and purchased some cold medicine and tissues, a huge jar of Nutella, since it was on sale for a much better price than I'd find it in BKK and forgot that I there were several other things I wanted to pick up while I was there. Oh well. I returned to the hotel, grabbed my bags and headed to the airport. My Australian adventure had come to an end. The 2 weeks had been amazing! We saw and experienced so much! And it was easier to leave knowing that returning is actually very affordable! I'm so glad we chose Australia!!!

Ugh, i just realized that I skipped day 12!!! What a crazy day that was!! Another entry for another day.