Back in Town

Hey all,

As some of you have already seen us, we made our way back home to New Orleans. It's been great getting to see family and friends again. Of course now we're job searching so we'll see where we end up next. We've had a few interviews already but still waiting to hear back from those companies.

Some people here at home and especially in Australia have asked us why we moved there for a year. Apart from the fact that Shawn graciously received a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship and earned a master's degree, we wanted to see something different and challenge ourselves. Sometimes we get too comfortable with what we have (even if it's not that great) and allow fear to deter us from trying something new. Believe me, I was very weary about moving on the other side of the world and leaving our family, friends, dual incomes and great food behind. However, we got on the plane to Australia December 30, 2010, spent all of 2011 there and never looked back since. Well, we came back, but you know what I mean. We don't regret living there for one moment. As you can tell from our blog and pictures, living in Australia was an incredible experience filled with lots of opportunities for us to mature as people and as a married couple. We made great friends and will always have a love for the land Down Under.

Here are a few pics of us at Mardi Gras 2012 in Uptown New Orleans watching the Rex floats go by.







Please stay tuned. I've been thinking of adding some "never before seen" pictures from our year away...

Blue Mountains

The Blue Mountains are located about an hour outside of Sydney. This was our last part of our time in Australia...little sad for both of us.

After landing in Sydney, we made a brief stop at Bondi Beach on the coast, because we missed it when we visited Sydney in July. Remember those posts? You better have been following this blog ALL year long! Anyway...


If you ever make it to Sydney, we suggest that you take a few days to explore the Blue Mountains as well. That area was nice and is not a long car or train ride from the city.










We rode the steepest railway in the world too - 52 degree angle!

New Zealand - South Island Part II

In Queenstown:
This is one of the biggest tourist destinations in the world. It's well known for adventure tourism (ex. sky diving, bungee jumping, canyoning, rafting, jet boating, etc.) We didn't do any of these things in Queenstown - too expensive, and personally, I would not bungee or sky dive. We did do some nice hiking and managed to get two free gondola ride tickets to and from the top of an observatory over the town.














In Wanaka:




At Fox Glacier:
It was pretty cool seeing glaciers on our anniversary!


The glacier from above the cows!




At Franz Joseph Glacier:




Drive Along Arthur's Pass:

New Zealand - South Island Part I

This is the continuation of our visit to New Zealand which features South Island. Most people will tell you that it's the most beautiful place on Earth. Well, we haven't been everywhere in the world yet so we really cannot confirm this statement; however, South Island is filled with raw natural beauty. Yes - some of the Lord of the Rings movies were filmed here, and there were some extremely misty spots that made you think you were on the movie set.
We arrived during their summer which is way colder than any summer we've ever lived in. Brrrr! The Kiwis (New Zealanders) were cool too. Like how we would say something is "cool" or "sweet," they would say "sweet as." And we would ask sweet as what?!

In Christchurch:
This city was devastated by an earthquake almost exactly a year ago. We were in Australia watching the news unfold. Many people lost their lives and some historic buildings were ruined. It is our impression that the local economy has suffered because of the devastation. We are somewhat familiar with their feelings. Our hearts go out to them.




On the ride down to Dunedin:


A huge old tree!


Marble rocks on the beach:


In Dunedin:
This is a predominately Scottish settlement in New Zealand. Lots of sheep all around! Also, one of the Cadbury chocolate factories is here!






In Te Anau:
This is the town right before going to the Milford Sound in the Fiordland National Park along the west coast. Nice views.


At Milford Sound:
This is incredible! Lots of sea lions and dolphins were swimming and playing around our boat.

New Zealand - North Island

We went to New Zealand for just over 2 weeks and had a great time. This country has stunning views and is quite different from Australia. Nonetheless, it is fair to say that both countries have awesome natural scenery. It was a lot of driving (mostly for Shawn - thanks brave soldier!) but well worth it. We covered both main islands pretty well, but there's definitely no way we could have possibly seen everything!
This post features North Island and will be followed by a post featuring South Island.

In Auckland:
Auckland is the largest city in New Zealand boasting about 1.3 million people. It appeared to be a quiet little city.








On the Coromandel Peninsula:
Unfortunately, it was pretty rainy when we drove the peninsula that day, but we still enjoyed the sights.










In Rotorua:
We went white water rafting which was a lot of fun and attended a Moari cultural show and dinner. FYI - Moaris are the indigenous people of New Zealand. We learned a bit about their culture and ate a nice dinner. Oh yeah, and Rotorua is where there are lots of thermal springs so the town stunk like the worst rotten eggs imaginable!





The Maoris like to stick their tongues out to their enemies - Shawn is sticking his tongue out at me ;)










Lake Taupo:
We ate dinner along Lake Taupo which was beautiful.






National Park in Tongariro:
We hiked almost 20 kilometers within a day which was very rewarding minus our badly sunburned legs - ouch. We hiked up a couple of summits and saw a volcano and emerald lakes. Some of the summits still had snow on top in the summer!








































That was unique and beautiful, right?

Wellington:
This was our favorite city in the North Island. It reminded us of San Francisco being small in square mileage with steep streets and nice views of the bay. We also toured the New Zealand national museum which was very informative.










Maori canoe at the museum: