Scenic Sydney
What the Eiffel Tower is to Paris, the Opera House is to Sydney, its iconic roof rising over the harbor like billowing sails. In fact, the Danish architect’s father was in the shipping business, which had an influence on the design, not only the roofline, but also the windows, which angle out over the water and you feel like you’re on the bridge of a ship. What appears at a distance to be a solid white roof is actually composed of over a million white & off-white specially made ceramic tiles, as pure white would have...
read moreConnections
We go through life making connections, some sought, but many appearing happenstance. When looking for your calling or pursuing a dream, many of the best connections appear synchronistically, amazing “coincidences” that move you ahead in wonderful ways, that there’s no way you could have dreamed up. Traveling is one of those times when synchronistic events seem to come in waves, I’m not sure why. I’ve read that they happen more frequently during big life changes, but I also think they occur more often the more...
read moreHey, Mate, What’s Different Down Under?
Yes, they do call their friends “mates,” and crocodiles really exist in abundance, waiting to chomp on unwary tourists. But there are a lot of different things you won’t necessarily have heard about or seen in the media, like different signs… …and different foods. There are very different plants… …and insects (these green ants weave a nest of leaves, but don’t get too close, they bite!) and speaking of ants, look at the size of the termite mounds here! and then there are different animals, of...
read moreSpiritual Uluru
Woke at 5am to what sounded like the rattle of rain on the metal hostel roof, but when I went outside, discovered it was giant palm fronds brushing the roof in the wind. Saw the orangey yellow sky as the sun rose, then the gray rain clouds moved in. Passed a camel farm, on the bus on my way to Uluru, sacred land of the Aborigines, renamed Ayers Rock by some white guy named Ayers, then renamed Uluru back again, in respect to the Aboriginal people. My new women friends all said that they really felt the spirituality of the place. A young guy at...
read moreCairns: Rainforest, Bush & Reef, Triple Treat!
Where I’m staying, just outside the town of Cairns, may look like an ordinary neighborhood, but it’s surrounded by hills covered in rainforest. A short drive away you can catch a cablecar that goes above and through it, or stop and see the giant curtain fig tree. It doesn’t always rain in the rainforest, there’s a dry and a rainy season, or, like now, a relatively dry rainy season. A short jaunt and you’re in the bush, walking with the wallabies! In this small, family owned park, you can buy pellets for $1, and...
read moreA Day in My Life in the Rainforest
Woke to a symphony of birds calling thru my open window, then the gentle whoosh of a brief rainfall (they call this the rainforest for a reason). Lindsey called me out on the deck to see three big white cockatoos in the tree, amazing! I’ve only ever seen them in captivity. A pair of Rainbow Lorikeets swooped by and a tiny yellow sunbird landed on a branch right in front of me. Tried to take photos but they were much too fast. We headed up the coast along stunning views of crystal blue turquoise water punctuated by golden crescents of...
read moreAcclimating to Australia
Acclimating to a new country can be challenging, even when the native language is English, especially after a long flight and crossing many time zones. The first leg of my trip, to Australia, took 30 hours, and includes a 15 hour time difference. But it was made so much easier by my lovely hostess Lenore, her housemate Lindsey, and 4 legged friends Lucas and little Patch! Lenore picked me up at the airport, and whisked me off to the local market where she presented me with a fresh young coconut to drink, which I swear was like a miracle...
read moreThe Art of Goodbye
Goodbyes are hardly ever easy, especially when you are leaving those you love. Saying goodbye to family, and friends you’ve known for decades, as well as those you’ve recently met but adore, is a challenge, brings up feelings of nostalgia, sadness, anxiety, emotions we see as not fun. You remind yourself it’s not forever, you will be coming back, though at this point you have no idea when. And maybe some of those friends will join you on your journey, meet up with you across the sea. You spend your time, in between sorting...
read moreLetting Go
Have you let go of anything recently? Maybe some shirts you never wear, gave to GoodWill, or a few books you’ve already read, shared with a friend? It feels good to let go, even if it’s something small. But what about the big things? A job you dread going to every day, or a marriage that died long ago, even if you’re still living together? A house you can no longer afford, or that’s just too big now that the kids have all left home? Many people I know want to travel, but say that they can’t, not yet, maybe some...
read moreReady to go? Not Quite…
You’ve bought your plane ticket and packed your bag, and you’re ready to go! But wait…it seems like every time you cross one thing off of your to-do list, you add 3 more. Things like research and buy traveler’s insurance, as apparently most US insurance doesn’t cover you when you’re out of the country. You need to figure out where your mail is going to go, where your car (if you keep one) will be stored, how it needs to be insured, and what to do with all of your other stuff that you’re not taking with you (which for me...
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