Best wishes to Angel & Gary!
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Angel's Wedding
My adorable co-worker, Angel, and her groom, Gary, got married at the Registrar's office in Adelaide this past Thursday. I've never been to a wedding ceremony at a registrar's office before so this was a first for me in any country. They will honeymoon in Fiji and have a celebration in China with their families around Christmas. Angel and Gary are good examples of the many people who arrive in Australia as international students and stay to work and eventually put their roots down.
Best wishes to Angel & Gary!
Best wishes to Angel & Gary!
Saturday, July 23, 2011
A Great New Children's Book
A great new children's book titled My First Who Dat Story was written and illustrated by our brother-in-law in Louisiana. So - this blog does not relate to Australia for once.
To all of our followers out there - please check out his website to see his new children's book and consider sharing with your family, relatives and friends!
http://www.tomweberbooks.com/my-first-who-dat-story.html
Go Tom!
To all of our followers out there - please check out his website to see his new children's book and consider sharing with your family, relatives and friends!
http://www.tomweberbooks.com/my-first-who-dat-story.html
Go Tom!
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
The Mires Take Sydney Part III
Oh, yeah...Shawn's SIFE Conference. We almost forgot about it while we were in Sydney. Nah, Shawn really did go and we loaded up on some free food. Hey, it was all going to waste!
Some of Shawn's classmates also attended the conference (students from US, Philippines, Columbia, Kenya, Cambodia, Pakistan).
Views from Sydney Tower:
Royal Botanic Gardens which is over 70 acres and right next to the Opera House:
Those are bats hanging from the tree people!
Shawn nervously feeding a wild parrot:
If you think the Opera House looks like a bunch of seashells glued together then I'm not the only one. Sydneysiders refer to each giant piece as a "sail" but I think it looks like pieces of seashells. The Opera House was designed by the Danish architect, Jorn Utzon, in 1957. It was finally completed by 1973. It ended up costing way more than budgeted (like any other project) and controversy surrounding Jorn Utzon caused him to not even be invited to the Opera House's unveiling.
On the ferry to Manly Beach:
Our midnight walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge:
One last cool shot of the Opera House to leave you with...
Some of Shawn's classmates also attended the conference (students from US, Philippines, Columbia, Kenya, Cambodia, Pakistan).
Views from Sydney Tower:
Royal Botanic Gardens which is over 70 acres and right next to the Opera House:
Those are bats hanging from the tree people!
Shawn nervously feeding a wild parrot:
If you think the Opera House looks like a bunch of seashells glued together then I'm not the only one. Sydneysiders refer to each giant piece as a "sail" but I think it looks like pieces of seashells. The Opera House was designed by the Danish architect, Jorn Utzon, in 1957. It was finally completed by 1973. It ended up costing way more than budgeted (like any other project) and controversy surrounding Jorn Utzon caused him to not even be invited to the Opera House's unveiling.
On the ferry to Manly Beach:
Our midnight walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge:
One last cool shot of the Opera House to leave you with...
The Mires Take Sydney Part II
We went on a really good three-hour walking tour of the city. It was actually free, and you were encouraged to tip based upon what you thought the tour was worth. Yes, we did give a tip because our tour guide was very informative and pleasant. Here are some pics along the way.
http://www.imfree.com.au/reviews.html
We started the tour by meeting our guide near Sydney Town Hall built from sandstone in the 1880s which is located along the main road in downtown, George Street.
Then we headed into the Queen Victoria Building which has been restored into a shopping mall. The hanging clock inside the building supposedly contains a letter from Queen Elizabeth II to the Citizens of Sydney to be opened and read by the Lord Mayor of Sydney in the year 2085. I wonder what that old lady said in the letter...hmmm
http://www.qvb.com.au/Homepage
Moving on to Hyde Park. It's a cool looking park with huge trees, a giant chess game, is home to the beautiful St. Mary's Cathedral AND is a comfortable sleeping spot for this huge St. Bernard...
Our local Sydneysider tour guide (in the bright green shirt) told us how the oldest part of the Parliament House was built as the north wing of the hospital which was referred to as the "Rum Hospital." Because Britain would not provide any funds to construct the building, Governor Macquarie negotiated a contract to build the hospital via convict labor and a monopoly on rum imports. Sweet, huh? Sweet like a New Orleans banana's foster with rum sauce! Sorry - homesickness moment!
Then Shawn was really bored with the Reserve Bank of Australia. Certainly not as exciting as the drama with the US Federal Reserve.
Erin pictured with "Bob" who was sculpted by John Seward Johnson, II, grandson of the co-founder of Johnson & Johnson. Too bad I didn't have a newspaper or hat to match, but I did have my little Coach purse!
Now on to Circular Quay which is right by the famous Sydney Harbour. We took lots of pics with the famous Opera House and we'll show more in a later blog...promise!
The oldest preserved house in Sydney located in The Rocks neighborhood. The Rocks is where most people (laborers/convicts) initially settled in Sydney. It was a crime-filled, plague-stricken place. Nowadays, it's clean until the crazy young kids drink at the pubs on Saturday nights.
The Sydney Harbour Bridge connects North Sydney to South Sydney. Tourists can pay $200 a pop to climb along the very tippy top of this bridge. Why would you pay that much to be scared out of your mind?!
A pic to end the tour with Shawn's classmate from Pakistan. Our tour guide thought it was rather humorous to see 2 Americans touring with a Pakistani. We can see his point.
http://www.imfree.com.au/reviews.html
We started the tour by meeting our guide near Sydney Town Hall built from sandstone in the 1880s which is located along the main road in downtown, George Street.
Then we headed into the Queen Victoria Building which has been restored into a shopping mall. The hanging clock inside the building supposedly contains a letter from Queen Elizabeth II to the Citizens of Sydney to be opened and read by the Lord Mayor of Sydney in the year 2085. I wonder what that old lady said in the letter...hmmm
http://www.qvb.com.au/Homepage
Moving on to Hyde Park. It's a cool looking park with huge trees, a giant chess game, is home to the beautiful St. Mary's Cathedral AND is a comfortable sleeping spot for this huge St. Bernard...
Our local Sydneysider tour guide (in the bright green shirt) told us how the oldest part of the Parliament House was built as the north wing of the hospital which was referred to as the "Rum Hospital." Because Britain would not provide any funds to construct the building, Governor Macquarie negotiated a contract to build the hospital via convict labor and a monopoly on rum imports. Sweet, huh? Sweet like a New Orleans banana's foster with rum sauce! Sorry - homesickness moment!
Then Shawn was really bored with the Reserve Bank of Australia. Certainly not as exciting as the drama with the US Federal Reserve.
Erin pictured with "Bob" who was sculpted by John Seward Johnson, II, grandson of the co-founder of Johnson & Johnson. Too bad I didn't have a newspaper or hat to match, but I did have my little Coach purse!
Now on to Circular Quay which is right by the famous Sydney Harbour. We took lots of pics with the famous Opera House and we'll show more in a later blog...promise!
The oldest preserved house in Sydney located in The Rocks neighborhood. The Rocks is where most people (laborers/convicts) initially settled in Sydney. It was a crime-filled, plague-stricken place. Nowadays, it's clean until the crazy young kids drink at the pubs on Saturday nights.
The Sydney Harbour Bridge connects North Sydney to South Sydney. Tourists can pay $200 a pop to climb along the very tippy top of this bridge. Why would you pay that much to be scared out of your mind?!
A pic to end the tour with Shawn's classmate from Pakistan. Our tour guide thought it was rather humorous to see 2 Americans touring with a Pakistani. We can see his point.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
The Mires Take Sydney Part I
If you've never been to Sydney and can afford to travel, you need to go. Maybe it's because we haven't been in the US and seen a huge city in a while or what, but we do think Sydney is pretty cool. For 2 of the 4 days we were there, it was either cloudy and/or rainy, but that's just the way it is in Australian winter. Shawn's SIFE Conference went well, and as most of you could guess, we loaded up on all of the free snacks made available to us. Someone had to eat it. Hope you enjoy our pictures and we'll include a description with each pic you see here.
Guess who was in town too? Not Russell Crowe or Nicole Kidman but Lady Gaga. Who would have thought that when we went to Sydney, we were not the most important arrivals. Lady Gaga decided to grace Sydneysiders with her lovely, wholesome and very normal presence. She was signing autographs at the Hilton where the SIFE Conference was held. Her fans were all dressed in her famous attire, including the famous Coke cans in her hair. We thought we saw her, but we think we took a pic of a fan dressed like her. Our hearts are so broken!
Shawn posing like Gaga:
Anyway, sorry to subject everyone to that. Now, on with Sydney mates!
Our hotel was near Darling Harbour in the western part of the city. The area has the IMAX Theatre (at one time, the largest in the world), a bunch of restaurants, a fish market, a casino, boat tours, and the National Maritime Museum. It also has a bridge to cross the harbor from one side to the other and is restricted to only pedestrians and a monorail.
There's more. To Be Continued...
Guess who was in town too? Not Russell Crowe or Nicole Kidman but Lady Gaga. Who would have thought that when we went to Sydney, we were not the most important arrivals. Lady Gaga decided to grace Sydneysiders with her lovely, wholesome and very normal presence. She was signing autographs at the Hilton where the SIFE Conference was held. Her fans were all dressed in her famous attire, including the famous Coke cans in her hair. We thought we saw her, but we think we took a pic of a fan dressed like her. Our hearts are so broken!
Shawn posing like Gaga:
Anyway, sorry to subject everyone to that. Now, on with Sydney mates!
Our hotel was near Darling Harbour in the western part of the city. The area has the IMAX Theatre (at one time, the largest in the world), a bunch of restaurants, a fish market, a casino, boat tours, and the National Maritime Museum. It also has a bridge to cross the harbor from one side to the other and is restricted to only pedestrians and a monorail.
There's more. To Be Continued...
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