30 Minutes in the Life: August 2023: Sydney Opera House
Posted on August 28, 2023
This blog is probably encompasses the 30 minutes, plus a few add on’s. The Sydney Opera house is an impressive sight to see. Unfortunately we timed it badly because 10 days after we left there was a light up Sydney event and the opera house looked stunning with all these lights on them. However, it is what it is. The fact that I was there makes it so much more impressive.
An unknown fact, maybe, is that I love different kinds of architecture and I have to be honest you just have to be impressed by this incredible building. In fact there was a lot of different architecture in Sydney that appealed to me.
So what is the history to the opera house. From what I have read Sir Eugene Goossens, conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra believe that “all people, regardless of their class or background, had the right to enjoy fine music”. In 1956 a competition was created for the proposed new building. In 1954 the beginning stage to support an Opera House began. In 1957, Jorn Utzon, an unknown Danish architect was announced as the winner. The estimated cost of the design would be around 3.5 million pounds It was believed that this design would become on of the greatest buildings in the world. In 1959 the construction began. Stage 1 was completed in February 1963. Stage 2 began in 1063 and took 2 years to complete. Due to a number of issue the cost of the building had now increased to 13.7 million pounds, In February 1966, after some conflict Utzon quit the project, blaming the then Minister, Davis Hughes, of forcing him out. In April 1966, a panel of Australian architects were appointed to complete the job. In 1966, Peter Hall was asked to complete the Opera House. Initially he declined, but later accepted the request. In January 1967, stage 2 was completed. Stage 3 focused on the interiors. On October 20, 1973 the Opera House was finally opened by Queen Elizabeth 11, and on September 28, 1973. the Opera House’s first productions opened. I have radically summarized the story. Credit is given to https://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/our-story/peter-hall-and-completion-opera-house for this information. There were 6 pages of interesting reading, which if you are interested in architecture and in this incredible building it is well worth visiting the website.
Sadly we did not get to go inside, we were out way to early in the morning and nothing was open, but I enjoyed every minute of this architectural masterpiece.
One of the other things I wanted to get was some images from the ferry both day time and night time.
These were taken on our return to Sydney were we headed out to Watson Bay on the Saturday evening to meet up with a cousin of mine and his family. Here are a few night shots coming back into the Harbor from the moving ferry.
These images were taken the last day of our Australian trip. We headed out to Manly via the very efficient ferry system. Although there were tourists it was a little blustery, and so most of them headed inside. I on the other hand was determined to stick it out.
Next stop will be the some of the downtown area that we got to walk through, so look out for the posts.
My friend Lupji from Lupji Photography is co-blogging with me today. Don’t forget to check his blog to see what he has been up to.
You can also find me on Facebook, and Instagram.
Stay well.
30 Minutes in the Life: Augutst 2023: Sydney
Posted on August 7, 2023
We postponed 30 Minutes in the Life last month as Lupje had a conference and since it is just the two of us blogging these days, we are open to being flexible. That said, I have been editing for the past 3 hours. Friday I spent most of the morning making a birthday cake with intricate flowers and fondant icing. It takes a while to get that all together. Saturday was a memorial service and then it was Lukie for a sleepover. We took him home after his sleep today and had enough time for a swim and hang out and then it was back home to edit. Life seemed really busy this weekend.
That said, it was back to editing our time in Sydney. These photos come from a short walk from the Oversees Passenger Terminal point along the green walk way, under the bridge, around the corner and back again. Seems short but I managed to find a lot to see.
As I have said before, is that I love the fusion of old and new. You will see it in so many pictures. I love that they have preserved the old buildings while adding in new development. We often see historical buildings torn down to make way for new and I did not get that feel in Sydney.
This is the ASN Co building and it was and is an extremely prominent building in Sydney. The Flemish styled building was designed by William Wardell. It was one of the many store houses found in the Rocks in the early years.
Walking on I came across this piece of artwork on our walk that looks like a front to a the Park Hyatt Hotel.
It was in the same area that I came across this young man sitting on a set of steps, probably listening to his phone. I used this image in yesterdays blog where we were challenged to create the Adamski effect. This probably was one of my favorite images that I created.
Moving along the walkway there were a few boats moored in a small bay area and I loved the rigging to this boat.
We arrived at Hickson Road Reserve and stopped to look back. This is just a different perspective of the Brewery, The Squires Landing and city sky line.
One thing I have to say. People were out and about running, walking, doing some form of exercise. For me, it was walking and a fair bit of it. It was amazing to be standing just below this enormous structure, The Sydney Harbor Bridge.
Across the waterway, near Milsons Point area is Luna Park, the amusement and entertainment park. I have seen some amazing pics incorporating the Opera House, the Sydney Harbor Bridge and Lunar park.
Another thing that I really loved about Sydney was the billboards showing the history of the city. There was a stretch of them where we walked. Above was the view of Millers Point from Balmain East with the Sydney Observatory in the Center c.1870
Above is the view along Sussex Street from Napoleon Street c.1890
Above, Trinity Avenue, Dawes Point, site of the present day Trinity Avenue playground c.1901.
This gave me a feel for the early days in Sydney when my grandfather would have been growing up.
Looking across and beyond the Opera House is the Royal Australian Navy Heritage Center and this large ship was looming in the background.
From what I can work out this building is the present day Arts Exchange. It was initially built between 1902-1908 for the purpose of a direct current power station. In 2015 it was restored and now houses meeting rooms and facilities along with it being a major hub for Sydney’s major festivals.
Heading back we are again looking at the Brewery and the city skyline.
I actually took this photo for our staff. We use Salesforce, USA as our platform that houses our EMR system.
The local gulls.
Again a fusion of green space, old and new. This area is the famous Rocks of Sydney. In the background you will see the Metcalfe Bond Stores which was built in the 1910’s. A feature of the building is the steel and timber columns. From what I have read there could be a gin distillery opening up there in the future.
I came across this graphic while walking along the area. The painting painted by convict artist, Thomas Watling shows two men, watching the sun rise and ship set sail on the morning tide. The board cites this painting as c1797 and goes on to share that many of the landmarks can still be identified such as Pinchgut Island (For Denison) and Kirribilli Point. The man with the telescope appears to be looking at the small hut built for the Wangal man Bennelong, on the site of what is now the Sydney Opera House.
This is a typical picture of Richard, waiting patiently for me to catch up with him. I get side tracked with what is around me.
We are back walking past the Oversees Passenger Terminal back towards Circular Quay.
While there is a lot of old in Sydney, there is also a lot of glass and I for one, would not want to be the person cleaning the windows of those Sky Scrapers.
We had a quick stop at Circular Quay to learn more about the ferry system and how it works, what the running times are and when they stop. We are going to be making use of the ferries in the coming week.
Next stop will be the Opera House, so look out for the posts.
My friend Lupji from Lupji Photography is co-blogging with me today. Don’t forget to check his blog to see what he has been up to.
You can also find me on Facebook, and Instagram.
Stay well.
Sydney and it is day 2…Sunrise over the bay
Posted on July 4, 2023
Sleep came early the previous night. 5pm and we were lights out. That does not bode well for wake up time. 3am and we are hello… it’s still dark outside. Somewhere around 4:30 Richard decides that he is going to walk down to the Opera House and go and watch the sunrise. Well, of course I am going to go, but I see no point in going all the way back to the hotel, to go all the way back virtually to the Opera House to start our day.
So off we go…… navigating our way in the semi dark, down to George Street and along to the Sydney Harbor Bridge. It’s somewhere around 5am. We are going to hang out there to watch the sun come up around the Opera House.
We stop at the end of the pier adjacent to the Sydney Harbor Bridge. The bridge is one huge piece of metal. Fascinating structure that spans the river from one side to the other. Interestingly, you can actually climb the arch of the bridge. Not something I would choose to do but I found it interesting that others would want to do that. It’s a lot of steps and I am not crazy about heights. When you stand under the bridge you really look so small. Looking across the river, you can see Luna Park, the amusement and theme park, in the distance.
One thing I do have to say about the people of Sydney, they are very health conscious. There were more people out running so early in the morning than I expected on a work day.
Sunrise is happening and there is nothing nicer than watching the day start with the sun peaking out through the clouds. OK, the setting sun is pretty awesome as well but we really did not do any of that on this trip. However, watching the sunrise over the Opera House is pretty epic. I never thought I would ever see that happen.
This morning was the culmination of a dream that has long been on our hearts. Standing in Sydney watching the sun come up was a thrill. Standing in the city of my grandfathers birth was even a bigger thrill.
Next on our agenda is the Bondi Coastal walk. So another cup of coffee and sausage roll later, yes…. I said sausage roll. Do you know when I last had a decent sausage roll? Not for a long long time, unless I made it myself. Okay I digress. With the coffee and sausage roll in hand we head back to Circular Quay to the bus that will take us to Bondi Beach. Join me as we walk along one of the beautiful coastlines of New South Wales in my next blog.
Thirty Minutes In the Life: June 2023: Given the choice of the whole world, why Australia?
Posted on June 26, 2023
It’s 30 Minutes in the Life time again, and our little group seems to have got down to 2 of us, so just a heads up my blog will be a lot longer than 30 minutes.
You may recall that during Covid (2021), Richard was diagnosed with a melanoma. Actually more than one melanoma, and I started pushing for him to make a visit to see his mom who lives with his sister in Australia. Up until now (2023) his results has been positive. He has shown signs of being NED which means no evidence diagnosed. In 2022 we were asked by Amy and Daniel to go to Macedonia. Having done that trip, Richard finally decided to he was ready to go to Australia. But only for 2 weeks. Yikes only 2 weeks…. I seriously tried to make it longer but he wasn’t budging.
Richard has not physically seen his mom since 2007. Zoom calls happen but that is not the same. He has not seen his sister and husband since 2011 when they traveled to the US. We have not seen our nieces since they were 7 years old and they are now in their 30’s. And he has not seen his brother for a number of years as well. We got to see all but his brother, who lived on the other side of Australia.
But there is also another side for me wanting to go to Australia. Both my fathers parents were born in Australia. My grandmother was born in Mackay, and his father in Chippendale, Sydney. For the longest time, I have wanted to visit Sydney. When I was in my late 20’s I asked my father to apply for an Australian passport. He was not interested. I tried to make him see that it was not for him, but for me, but he died without applying for one. In the end, we moved to the USA as Richard was offered a job there. So it was kind of surreal to be in Sydney knowing that this was the city of my grandfathers birth. In addition, his mother was born in Redfern and his father in Seven Hills. I am sure today they areas are nothing like they were back in the day of my grandfather’s youth but it was good to see something of where he had lived.
I had done a fair amount of research and come up with some plans of things I particularly wanted to see, or at least try and see them.
On map number 1, these where what I had selected to see:
- The Opera House from the Botanical Gardens near Mrs. Macquarie’s chair.
- Mrs. Macquarie’s Chair.
- The Opera House
- The Customs House (given that my grandfather was an emigrant)
- Circular Quay
- The Rocks
- Sydney Harbor Bridge
- Restaurants
- Photo spot for the bridge and the theme park across the canal
- Renewal project which is a 22 hectare waterfront precint. Shops and Restaurants, and you can catch a ferry from that point.
- Observatory
On Map number 2 these were the places I had listed to view:
12. George Street
13. Queen Victoria Building (Beautiful architecture)
14. Sydney Tower (restaurant right at the top)
15. Pitt Street Mall.
16. Hyde Park – Memorial Garden & Sculpture
17. St Mary’s Cathederal – Gothic style church.
18. Anzac Memorial
19. China Town
20. Chinese Garden of Friendship
21 Darling Harbor area
22. Restuarants.
23. The Green Line that took us back to the Hotel.
While I may not have done them all, I felt like we managed to get through quite a bit.
Sydney, Australia… I believe I fell in love over the course of 5 days.
Day One we arrived at the airport at 7am, having travelled around 32 hours from the time we left home to the time we arrived in Sydney, exhausted and sleep deprived. I do not sleep on flights and so I was surely dragging. As I mentioned in the previous blog, Australia has a long long list of what you can and cannot bring into the country. If you are planning on traveling to Australia, make sure to check out that list. Also do yourself a favor and get a doctors letter for prescription medication, they will ask for it. We did, so all was good.
Walking into the terminal there are about 8 check-in machines and people standing in line. Once you get to the machine you scan your passport, answer some questions, and it issues you with a card. You then take that card and enter it into the pass through and you by pass the immigration process. However, my card did not work. I had to go to a counter and a very friendly lady checked me through. We then had to pick up our luggage and go through border control. We had put our prescription medication into our check in luggage, so we had to dig it out and put the doctors letter with it. I feel like having shown them that, they were happy to let us go through.
Next we headed for the train. We had done some research and knew that we could use our American Express card for transportation, instead of buying one of their transportation cards and then having to top it up every time it got low. And yes there is a bank fee, but it was minimal and worth avoiding the possibility of having to leave money on a useless card. Interesting system they have there. They have a tap in and tap out system. So when you go through the station gates to get on the train you tap your credit card. Then when you get off at your station you tap your card again. That then defines your fee. It is so efficient and really works well. This system applied to all the transportation we used in Sydney. The only thing that was a little annoying about that is that I needed to have my credit card handy all the time and my wallet was in my backpack.
Our hotel, The Mercure Hotel, was situated pretty centrally and we got off at the Wynyard Station stop and walked a block to our hotel. Of course getting there at 8am means we are super early. We were unable to check in until 2pm. Fortunately we were able to drop off our luggage. That meant we were zombies going on a walk, or at least that is what it felt like. What I did not realize was our hotel was on a hill. So wherever we walked we were going downhill leaving, and uphill coming home. What to do, where to go? Seemed like the closest was Darling Harbor. So off we went and walked around. I had listed a number of places of interest on a map and Darling Harbor was one of them. We walked all over, took a wrong turn and landed up in places where I had planned to go on a different day.
It was finally close to 2pm so we headed back to the hotel, got checked in and into our rooms. We were able to have a shower, feel a little more human. I thought we would catch a nap but nope, Richard wanted to continue exploring. So off we went.
According to the New South Wales gov website “The Rocks was given its name by the members of the First Fleet, who, on 26 January, 1788, were landed on the rocky peninsula on the western side of Sydney Cove. This was the site of the first convict encampment, military camp, bakehouse and hospital.” To read more about this interesting area check out this link.
Back up the hill we headed, after missing our street, and finally to the hotel. I was super tired and ready to put my feet up. However we were also hungry and we wanted a early dinner, bed was calling.
Exhausted we decided to head back to Darling Harbor for dinner. Little did we know that the place had siesta time from around 3-5pm. That may not sound bad, except that by 5pm we were in bed, asleep.
Totally exhausted we headed back to the hotel. After the 32 hour travel, my knee was worrying me and all this walking and going up and down hills just aggravated it. I was glad to get back to the hotel. We decided to share a pizza at the hotel and then crash. The pizza was an interesting combination of cheese, pepperoni and what tasted like Worcestershire sauce or on second thoughts it may have been mango chutney. It wasn’t a bad taste but definitely different.
Sleep came super early. As I mentioned 5pm and we were both lights out. The time change and jet lag were not fun, but more about that next …..
Up next we get to watch the sunrise over the bay, explore Circular Quay and it’s surrounding area and head off to walk from Bondi Beach to Bronte.
Stay well
My friend Lupji from Lupji Photography is co-blogging with me today. Don’t forget to check his blog to see what he has been up to.
When you have to fly for 32 hours…
Posted on June 8, 2023
And can’t sleep. I discovered that traveling to Australia takes a long long time. Traveling there was longer than traveling back due to layovers and flight delays. Our first flight was 2 hours, Florida to Atlanta. Then we had a 4 hour layover. Then from Atlanta to Los Angeles was a four hour flight with a 6 hour layover. The flight from LA to Sydney, Australia was 15 hours. However, we were excited. This was our first trip to Australia and we were packing in a lot during the 12 days we would be there.
We flew Delta for most of our trip and the flight was reasonable for most of the legs, except the dinner one evening was chicken and green stuff and I have to say the green stuff was just awful and on another flight I could not cut the broccoli with the flimsy wooden knife. I gave up.
Richard was smart and he booked his seat as the window seat. That meant he got to see all the taking off and landing. However, he had to use my phone on occasions and I managed to grab the window seat on a couple of flights.
So what do you do when you can’t sleep, I watched movies. 16 of them in total over 6 flights. Here is a run down of my movie choices.
Flying to Sydney I watched the following:
A Man called Otto
I loved this movie. There is so much going on. It deals with the reality of losses in life, family, when an older person (Tom Hanks) gets laid off from their job, loneliness happens, age related issues such as grumpiness, negative thoughts and attempts of wanting to end his life. But there is the flip side of relating to an energetic, lively family that takes over his life. Warning though if suicide is a trigger this may not be for you. If you don’t want to cry on a plane, don’t watch it. That aside I highly recommend this movie.
Maybe I do
The kids finally decide to get married and invite the parents (Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon, Diane Keaton, William Macy) to meet each other. It turns out the parents probably know each other better than the children ever thought they did. Good light hearted movie to watch after the previous movie.
City of Enlightenment
Set in the 60’s or 70’s somewhere in the UK, it deals with an older woman’s relationship with a young man, all set in the surroundings of a movie theater and it’s happenings.
The Big Chill
I have seen The Big Chill before. However, this is an ageless movie and reminds me of the angst of the 80’s. Superb cast, interesting plot. A once close group of friends (JoBeth Williams, Glenn Close, Kevin Kline, William Hurt, Tom Berenger) come together for the funeral of their friend Alex. Definitely a movie worth watching again.
Primal Fear
I love Richard Gere, (who doesn’t), but Edward Norton is excellent in his role. This movie is about a defense attorney who takes a job to defend an alter boy accused of murdering the archbishop of Chicago. Dark secrets emerge and what seems like a straightforward case becomes a story with a very interesting twist.
I would definitely recommend watching the movie.
Press Play
After the seriousness of Primal Fear I really wanted to watch something light hearted. Press Play was that and more. It is the story of a love lost and the only way she can reconnect with the lost love is by pressing play on a cassette that he had made for her before he died. They find that in doing so they are able to change history a bit but not enough. The cassette is running out of songs. This movie did bring about a few tears.
Cabaret
I have watched this before but once again, Cabaret is a movie that speaks to the soul. It is about a cabaret singer who meets a British academic during the rise of the Nazi party and the collapse of the Weimar Republic. This also explores the decadence of the times, the debauchery of the small time cabaret theaters and the dehumanization of the man during this dark period. This is probably one of the best musicals I have watched. Lisa Minelli plays the role of the cabaret dancer. Added to all of that the British academic is a very young Michael York, who was probably my first movie crush back in the 70’s. Definitely worth watching this timeless movie.
Entrance into Australia was very smooth once we figured out what we were supposed to do. Stand in line, scan your passport, answer some questions and get a ticket. From there you take the ticket to the gate and it gives you access through to your luggage. Except mine did not work. So I had to go via the counter and they kept my card which gave me a panic attack when I had to declare what I was bringing in. Australia is pretty strict with what you can take in and it is good to have a doctors prescription for medications, which I did but they ask for it. No woods, no fruits, now plants, not meats and a long list of other things. If you are flying into Australia do yourself a favor and go to the Australian gov website and know what you can and cannot take in.
2,5 days later and we were heading to Melbourne. We flew Qantas internally from Sydney to Melbourne and back and they are impressive. Not only do they board front and back by within 27 minutes they had landed, disembarked, cleaned the plane, loaded the luggage, got everyone seated and were back in the air. In addition they gave us sandwiches and a can of coke zero for the internal flight. I have to say I was impressed.
Acquaman
I have to confess I am not a Jason Momoa fan, in the sense that everyone raves about him. I just don’t get it. I watched Aquaman, because I was running out of choices and wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I like movies with some kind of sci-fi, but this was not my movie. It had all the right moves, but it really did not move me. That is not to say you will not love the movie.
Movies watched on the flight home:
M3gan
M3gan is a very interesting movie on a very hot topic right now: AI. I think we all know how rapidly AI is developing and the scary side of what AI can potentially do. M3gan shows the scary side of a doll created to meet the needs of lonely children. The AI is constantly absorbing, recognizing and containing information on situations until she becomes the controller instead of being controlled. Well worth watching.
Dark Waters
Dark Waters was a court room drama, slow when it started but quickly drew me in to the horrors of POFA and the dangers of Teflon in our society. The movie deals with a dark secret that connects to one of the worlds largest corporations, Du Pont. What I did not know was that this court case ran from around 2006 to 2015 and in the end Du Pont and Chemours agreed to pay $671 million to settle a lawsuit brought about by around 3550 people who accused them of contaminating the local water supply with PFOA or C-8 as it is also know. PFAS are used in a wide range of consumer products including non stick pans which we would innocently use to cook with each day. According to the movie PFAS have now been found in the blood or people and wildlife world wide and that 99% of humans are affected by PFAS. This definitely gives one something to think about and I for one am relooking the concept of non stick products. When you think about it most things we use to cook with are non stick. According to an article I read PFAS can be found in cosmetics, furniture and food packaging as well. An older looking movie, definitely one that it thought provoking and if you have not watched it, I would highly recommend it. (Mark Ruffalo, Anne Hathaway, Tim Robbins, Bill Pullman are just some of the cast).
Don’t worry Darling
An interesting move, that made me think of the movie The Truman Show. Set in the 50’s you are exposed to the perfect community, living in perfect houses, where the woman stay home and clean, and the men all drive to work in their perfect cars. But cracks set in and what seems perfect is not so perfect after all. There is a very interesting and manipulative twist in this movie, and I would recommend you watching it. Cast is made up of Harry Styles, Florence Pugh, Olivia Wilde, Chris Pine, Gemma Chan and various others)
Her
Another operating system movie, with Joaquin Phoenix in the lead role. Lost after his divorce he starts to communicate with a operating system. This is a sensitive movie dealing with loneliness, isolation and the need to mean something to someone. If I recall correctly there was some nudity, which probably wasn’t the best of a plane situation but hey, I am not looking behind me to see who is watching me. I did catch a guy watching me get annoyed with my piece of broccoli that I could not cut with a flimsy wooden knife, so he may have watched my movie choices as well. Definitely worth watching.
Infinite Storm
I was looking for a change of pace and thought this movie may do it for me. Set on Mt Washington, an experienced hiker (Noami Watts) comes across a stranded man (Billy Howle) who is not dressed for hiking. The movie is about getting him back to ground level and the meeting up afterwards. This is based on a true story. If you enjoy battling the elements and a bit of a tear jerker ending you will enjoy this movie.
Victoria and Abdul
I really wanted to see this movie when it came out but never got to the theaters to see it. What a delightful heartwarming story of the relationship between Queen Victoria (Judi Dench) and an unknown man from India named Abdul (Ali Fazal). You have the lonely, overweight, ready to die queen and this young inexperienced, naïve young man. In addition you have the young man’s cohort (Adeel Akhtar) that travels to England with him that just adds the light hearted comedy and quips to the scene that have you chuckling. It also deals with the class difference found in the days of Queen Victoria and how it plays out when she dies. Definitely a movie to watch.
What’s eating Gilbert Grape
I chose this movie because who doesn’t like Johnny Depp. A small town movie with a lot of angst, worry and responsibility. His mother is obesely overweight. He also has a mentally impaired younger brother Annie. Kuddos to Leonardo Di Caprio for playing the role of Arnie. His role was tough and he played that part so incredibly well. Glibert (Johnny Depp) is also dealing with 2 sisters, an older cougar type woman who is bored with her older husband, and a young woman who accidently lands up in the town and forms a friendship with Gilbert. This is a very heart warming movie, dealing with real issues. Definitely recommend it if you have not seen it.
Alone together
Alone together was another lighthearted movie, with a good end. Set during Covid, this man (Jim Sturgess) and woman (Katie Holmes) find themselves renting the same house. During that stay they get emotionally involved, and then her (somewhat) ex (Derek Luke) arrives at the house to discover her staying with someone else. It was enjoyable to watch and if you are looking for some lighthearted romance, this would make a good choice. (I have to confess that I did fall asleep during this movie, not the movies fault though, and missed the snack cart that went passed. After 25 hours of flying I was hungry. Fortunately we had a delay in Atlanta so we were able to grab a meal).
Erin Brockovich
Another classic movie based on a true story of a paralegal consumer advocate, and environmental activist who was instrumental in building a case against Pacific Gas $ Electric Company. This involved the contamination of groundwater in Hinkley, California. I have to say that Julia Roberts pulled her role off in this movie. She was convincing and I thoroughly enjoyed the role she portrayed. Playing Erin Brockovich, she comes across some medical records in a real estate file. From there the movie progresses to the point of discovering a cover-up involving contaminated water. This water is causing residents to show signs of devastating illnesses. I love it when the small person is willing to take on the giant and then to win is just the sugar on the top. Much like Dark Waters it concerns me how much these big corporations are willing to hide from the public and how much they get away with. Flint (2017) is another example of toxic water crisis in Michigan If you haven’t watched it, then do so, these stories do not go away, they just keep happening in different forms.
So those were my movie choices for our 32 hour flight going to and from Sydney. If you are booking tickets, remember that you loose time traveling from the US to Australia. We left on a Monday and arrived Wednesday morning. Flying back to the US was about 30 hours due to shorter layovers, but the weird thing is that you do it all in one day. We left the hotel at 6am in the morning and arrived home at 10pm that evening.
Jet lag is the pits. Going there we were ready for bed at 5pm and after 2 weeks I was just getting to the point of sleeping at 10pm (still 2 hours earlier than my normal midnight). Coming home, I found I could not sleep. I was wide awake at 3am on Tuesday evening. Saturday (today) I crashed and slept from midnight until 2pm. Hopefully I can sleep tonight. I guess I really needed it.
When I got home the first thing I did was go to switch my computer on so that I could download my 2500 images. The computer would not boot up. Ugh ugh Ugh…. So as soon as my computer gets back to working again, I will be able to start editing my Australia images and share some of the most beautiful scenes I have seen in ages. Definitely different to living in Florida.
Stay well… more on Australia to come.
Another blue hour ending: May 2023
Posted on May 11, 2023
When you read this, I will be walking the streets of Sydney, Australia. A little bit of history, both my fathers parents were Australian born, but both families emigrated to South Africa where my grandmother and grandfather met, married and created their own family. I will not get to where my grandmother was born but I am hoping that I will be able to walk the streets of my grandfather’s birth town.
However, that is not why we are traveling there. In 2020 Richard developed a melanoma, and for the last 2.5 years he has been on immunotherapy. For a while we did not know which way it would go, but as of the last scan things looked good. But it reminded us that he has not seen his family for a good 10 years, and have not seen our nieces for over 23 years. Our nieces have their own families now. Most of all Richard will get to see his mom whom he has not seen for way to many years.
Ironically, his entire family emigrated to Australia, and mine left Australia.
While we are gone I thought I would share another beautiful sunset in the good old Florida, USA. I love silhouettes and on this particular night I managed to get a few.
I loved watching the sun go down, and last of all the blue hour after the sun sets.
I hope you are all having a fantastic day. Think of me, I already picture sore feet. We are going to be walking a lot. I have plotted out a map of Sydney and I cannot wait to see it. In addition, we plan to walk from Bondi Beach to Bronte, and on a different day catch a ferry to Manly. I also get to meet up with a cousin on my dad’s side of the family in Sydney and hopefully Melbourne and meet up with a childhood friend who will fly in from Brisbane. I joked that it seems crazy that we both have to go halfway around the world to meet up again. That is the scatterings of Africa. We are all over the world.
In addition to spending time with family in Melbourne, we will be doing the Great Ocean Road, as a 3 day road trip. I cannot wait to -Port Campbell and see the incredible rock formation. The challenge here will be that Richard hates cities and I love to walk through them and see all the architecture and beautiful buildings. He wants to walk to waterfalls. I’m not saying I don’t like that but I do want a balance of city and surroundings.
Until next time, stay well
Blue Hour: April 2023
Posted on May 1, 2023
It’s another week and another project. This week’s theme was Blue Hour. That is the period just before the sunrises or just after the sun sets. I had a couple of Saturday night but they did not count because they were in the wrong week. So it was back to Loxahatchee National Park on Tuesday evening to see what I could come up with.
Love watching the sun set on the day. It feels like an achievement of sorts. I have survived the day, and survived another day to put it honestly. I am always so conscious that time is limited now. I am at the age where things start to go wrong. I remember growing up and the folks would meet up with friends, and the conversation would be “do you remember so and so…, yes… , well they are dead”. Yikes. I have reached that age. So it is good to get out and celebrate each day.
Finally the blue hour arrived, and I got the image below. I had hoped for more clouds but it is what it is. I definitely got the blue.
As I was walking away down the embankment to the car, I turned around to see what was behind me and spotted this silhouette. I think this may be my blue hour image that I will submit.
Nature is a great place to get out and appreciate the beauty of this world. When the day is tough and the troubles are huge, find somewhere where you can just walk and appreciate the beauty around you. That is what I like to do.
Look out for more sunsets, more Macedonia pics, and Whoo Hoo, in a few days I am heading to Australia for 2 weeks. I know, I know 2 weeks is not enough, but it is all I could convince the other half into taking. Stay well until next time.
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