Toronga Zoo! And a Baby Elephant too!

Toronga Zoo!

Honestly, I didn't think I could be so excited to go to a Zoo, but guess what? I was. Toronga Zoo is one of Ogilvy's clients so being an employee we get free passes to go to the Zoo, and I was more than happy to use them. Just a short ferry ride out of Sydney Harbour, I was on a whole other plant. At moments, you can almost forget that you are in Sydney esp when you see all of the amazing animals, then you look up and see the Sydney skyline just above the Giraffes enclosure.

We started the day with the Giraffe's (my favorites!) where we got to listen to the trainer talk about the animals as they fed on carrots and eucalyptus leaves (see video) then we watched the Seal Show (awesome) then moved on to the Gorilla feeding, then to the baby elephant, the Bird Show, and then the sky-tram overlooking Sydney and the whole zoo. Go zoo big or go home.

The baby elephant was pretty special however, as it is actually Australia's first elephant born in captivity. His name is Puk Chai, which after looking up the meaning was quite dissapointed in the name... it means quite litterally 'Son'. Horrah Toronga for your baby elephant, but p.s. your naming conventions suck.

Festival of the Winds: Lets go fly a kite

Festival of the winds, hehe.

You can't tell me that you didn't laugh a little when you saw the title?!

Festival of the winds is not what every 10 year old thinks it is, it is a festival of kites as it is the most windy season here in Sydney. And by windy I don't mean cold, it was 30 degrees on Sat and Sunday this weekend, which is about 86 Fahrenheit or so. Not bad for the beginning of spring!

After heading down to Bondi beach, just a short walk down the road at an early 10am (it was already hot, so I had to get my sun-baking on early!) I was sad to see that the kites were not as plentiful as I had imagined (again like a 10 year old, when they say kite festival I immediately think A MILLION kites will be there) but luckily as the day progressed more and more kites came out.

The theme of the festival was "International" besides the hundreds of kites being flown (some professional some civilian) they had an international kite exhibit displaying kites from around the world, plus entertainment which included some folk dancing, Bolivian story telling dancers, and so much more. Plus, my personal favorite food stalls from around the world! yum!

After a day out in the sun, I spent the evening at Icebergs drinking and dancing. There was a great cover-band, and a 40 birthday going on, so it was my crowd! Lots of drunk crazy people, I even met my first Aussie celeb there, Dave Faulkner from the the Aussie Band Hoodoo Gurus, an 80's rock band! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kk3_FsqH3w (Please note, he no longer has the long flowing hair, it was short and balding...ahh would have loved to have met him 20 years ago!) so funny!

After the festival of the winds, I was quite winded, but well worth it!

Tea Party, Aussie Style...without Tea.

This was the first time I had been invited to a tea party since Kindergarten. Back then the tea was freshly steeped air, and cookies molded plastic that I may or may not have put in my mouth regardless of taste--just for effect. This time around, things were much different. Amen.

50's housewives was the attire, but besides jello there was nothing 50s about it. Ladies afternoon get-together filled with cakes, cheese, candies, brownies, tarts, and lots and lots of booze. I am starting to think that these Aussies have it all right.

I was invited to this little get-together by a co-worker who decided it would be fun to get some girls together for an afternoon of gab, snacking, and of course some libation. The setting was Rebbecca's backyard which was decorated with sweets, and doilies strung across the yard. The perfect setting for a tea party. After the wine, mojitos, sangria, and jello shots the chat flowed almost as easy as the drinks!

A perfect way to spend my Saturday afternoon on one of the first days of spring!

Jason lands in Sydey

Timing....it can certainly be a b*tch some times!

After weeks of interviewing and waiting another few weeks for each response, I didn't really give much thought to my interview with Ogilvy the day before Jason arrived (especially because they weren't even sure if they needed someone yet....) So the next day after I picked Jason up from the airport, I didn't know what to expect when my recruiter called, but as Murphy's law would have it, Ogilvy wanted me to start on Monday. Go figure.

So many of the things that I wanted to show Jason had to be squeezed into two weekends, the weeks he would get to explore the city himself, or lounge at the beach as he pleased. (Let me tell you it is very hard to work when you know your boyfriend is lounging at the beach and getting a massage while you toil away!)

But we made the most of it, and I am pretty sure I wore him out! From Bondi, Icebergs, to Sydney Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Botanical Gardens, Queen Victoria Building, Koala Park, Hunter Valley Wine Country, to the Rocks we saw Sydney at a ridiculous pace but still getting to enjoy each others company all the while. I am sure after the whirl-wind tours from me on the weekend he probably welcomed the break from me during working hours ;)

Although it was hard to see him go again, it was a great trip and I think now he has a better understanding of why I am here, and why I love Sydney so much. Hopefully the next time he comes back though we can just relax!