Leaving our home Down Under

After more than 3 years in Sydney, we finished work today (Apr 3) and are looking forward to our adventures ahead. We've been here longer than expected, but certainly not longer than we wanted. There will be so many things that we will miss about Sydney --the great pub culture with so many in close-walking distance; the ridiculously beautiful beaches and scenery that you find almost everywhere; the colourful and noisy birds that wake us up almost every morning; running down by the bay with a backdrop of the Anzac and Harbour bridges and the city slowly waking; surprisingly great coffee; wonderful bushwalks in every direction; and of course our many friends we have made along the way. Sydney is a beautiful, vibrant city and we will certainly miss living here.

Looking ahead, we've got some adventures planned. We leave next Wednesday for Perth to explore the west coast of Australia. We have heard nothing but good things and we are looking forward to swimming with dolphins, dugongs and even possibly whale sharks up in the Ningaloo Reef; watching the sun set into the ocean; some good wine in the Margaret river; and of course a bit of driving to see as much as possible. In early May we will head up to Hong Kong then travel through SE Asia for about 6 weeks --Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia and Singapore -- before coming back to Australia to explore the wondrous Catherine and Kakadu national park up near Darwin; then a final stop in the Red Centre --also known as Uluru --or Ayers Rock before we come back to Sydney for a few days. We fly back on July 4 --I'm sure by that point, we will be happy to come home for the northern hemisphere summer. Our last stop after a few weeks visiting family and friends in July will be San Diego/La Jolla. We heard that area is pretty nice as well...

The reason we wanted to have a blog was so that we could share with friends and family (who we often think of and miss dearly) where we are and what we are up to. We will try to post as mush as possible while we are traveling so stay tuned.

Until then, we wish everyone a safe and happy Easter! We will spend our last few days in Sydney dealing with the many hassles and headaches of packing and moving back across an ocean.

XOXO
Tony and Erika