Good morning. It is Saturday. Coffee Cup and I are on round two. It looks as though it will be a nice day here in Central Minnesota, the sun is already shining…there really is no snow… so odd.
For today’s Saturday Snapshot I thought I would pop out a few more pictures from Australia. We did spend three days in Sydney before we boarded the cruise ship. They were not snoozy days – we were up early and exploring. Here are some random shots of that time:
I can not recall if I posted about this lady before. I know I put her on Facebook and if I did already chat about her here, sorry about that but perhaps she is worth repeating. (Honestly I am too lazy to look back through my posts this morning). In Sydney on the pier we found this lovely lady all in white paint standing as still as a statue. However, if you were say a middle grade child… she would slowly move her hand and wave you over. If the child’s parent/guardian were to take a picture of the smiling child in front of her… she would bend over the child and show her fanged teeth. Yup. It was super cool and the smiling child would not suspect until he seen the picture. Awesome.
Two things about Australia…. Tim Tam – the cookie several of you told me I had to try so I diligently purchased a bag and shared them with the group. Mmmm… they are good. The coffee. EEP. When I would order coffee in the morning at the hotel (at about $4.00 a cup!) they make it one cup at a time. I would have been happy for a good old gas station coffee but instead it was this super strong foamy brew. Don’t get me wrong… I drank it. It is coffee after all. 😉
Hmmm…. flippy bad hair. We were on a boat and it was beautiful out. Behind me, of course is the famous Sydney Opera House. From reading Bill Bryson’s book, In A Sunburned Country I learned this… Sir Eugene Goossens, the man who had started the idea of the Opera house never seen it completed. In 1956 while passing through customs he was found to be carrying a large amount of pornographic materials. Australia security pretty much said “not in our country”, and he was asked to leave… permanently. That said, Goossen never did see the Opera House completed in all of its glory.
So.. the Sydney Harbor Bridge is the world’s largest bridge – but not the longest. Once again, in Bill Bryson’s book I learned that it was meant to be the longest as well, however the bridge took longer to build than anticipated. 10 years later when the bridge was complete, it was discovered that just shortly before, the New River Gorge Bridge in Virginia had opened up and it was 10 inches longer. “Doh!”
We purchased Ferry tickets one day in Australia and tooled around on the different Ferry’s going from here to there. One of the Ferry’s went to an area where people came into the main town by Ferry. It was a very ritzy area and this is one of the homes that we passed along the way.
Another view from the ferry.
I will leave it at that for today.. more to come… more sights to share. 🙂
This afternoon my friend Amy and I will leave for the cities, putt around, and wind up at the Great Gatsby Party this evening. I am soooo excited! This is part of my birthday weekend plans (my birthday is on Monday).
On another crazy note…. yesterday I was chatting about the Polar Plunge I participated in 4 years ago. My mouth got the best of me on Facebook as I teased my cousin’s wife about her saying she would never do it again… by the end of that conversation she and I had both signed up to participate in the Plunge on February 28th in Anoka Minnesota. 😯
Ahhh well…. it is for a good cause.
If you would like to sponsor me, the proceeds go to Special Olympics
Have a super Saturday!!!
Book Journey 
We’re having a mild winter too, which makes me very happy!
Your trip sounds fantastic! That bridge doesn’t look that long in the photo to me. Shows what I know.
I thought that too Kathy, I looked it up on line to make sure I had the right bridge…lol. I believe the one behind Al and I is the one. Shows what I know too 🙂
It feels like spring here…and we are even seeing blossoms. We don’t ever have snow, and our winters are pretty mild, but this has been even more so…strange! But I’m enjoying it.
Great shots!
OOH I can not wait for flowers!!! Come on spring!
Tim Tam is from Australia? Never knew that. We have them here in Canada. Interesting photos. I need to visit Australia one day. Guess our weather is more like your home in Minnesota.
Don’t quote me… I was told to try it there… not sure if it is from there originally. I need an Australian expert 😀
I love the photos!
Thanks 😉
Hey Sheila, love the pictures. That “woman in white” is fabulous and I bet the kids loved it. OK, if you are crazy enough to go jump in again (and that plunge is nuts as far as I’m concerned), I’m happy to sponsor you. I’m delighted that Minnesota has events such as this and I’m so happy that I live in Texas and we don’t. LOL
Oh thank you Kay! I really appreciate that! We have to celebrate Minnesota somehow…the winters get long! 😀
I grew up in Anoka! I had no idea they had a polar plunge. Have a blast!
Apparently they do 🙂 I have not done one there before – last time it as in Edina. We have one locally as well but I have always gone with a group that lives in the cities.
Love the photos. Looks like you had a marvelous time.
Our winter is FREEZING, and we have a lot of snow. I guess it got pushed to the East Coast this year. 🙂
It was 30’s here yesterday – I have been running around without a coat for most of the winter.
Happy birthday – early! I love The Lady statue. The Australians have a sense of humor. Great photos! Thanks for sharing them!
Thank you Pat 🙂
You packed a lot in in three days!
I still have more to post about the three days – we visited a super cool rock formation and we spent time at an aquarium 😀
We are having a mild winter also, which I too love, BUT it’s scary for our water levels.But rain is good enough for me! I love your photos–what a fun holiday to have taken!
I know we need the moisture too…. some our worst weather in the past has been March and April so we could get it yet 🙂
That coffee looks disgusting, kind of like motor oil with foam….lol! We go to Disney once a year, and I think their coffee is so awful that I started bringing my own in a plastic container to make in our room 🙂
It was pretty….thick. 😀
Sheila, just LOVE the pics from Australia! Such memories you created 🙂 And, yes, it may be for a good cause, but you ladies are still a bit BATTY! lol Now, if you could just pass me some of that Tim Tam, I’d very much appreciate it 😀
I like Batty… I can work with Batty 😀 Virtual Tim Tam coming your way 🙂
I am so glad you had a great time on our lovely harbour. I’m sitting in my living room overlooking it right now 🙂 It’s a hot hot day here and the boats are almost so thick you could walk across them from one side of the harbour to the other.
Thanks for commenting! We had a wonderful time 😉
Oh Tim Tams are definitely Australian. I don’t think that is a private home, it looks more like a public building. Sydney Harbour is one of my very favourite places in the world, it’s so beautiful. I don’t drink coffee, but I know coffee drinkers like our coffee- I’m not sure whether you did, I hope so. Good luck for your polar plunge- I can’t imagine doing that.
Thanks Louise! The coffee was ok outside of the hotel 😀
Great pics and stories, Sheila. Have a wonderful birthday celebration. I went to my niece’s wedding a year ago in St. Paul. We stayed at an old hotel that was across the street from a park that had statues of F. Scot Fitzgerald. Had my picture taken with one 🙂 Enjoy the Gatsby party!!
I live in SE WI (about a mile from Lake Michigan). We got about a foot of snow last weekend!
Ugh snow!!! I need to do something with Scott Fitzgerald this year…. maybe with the book club.