Golden 25!

Well, I'm a quarter of a century old! I turned 25 on the 25th. Seeing as it was my golden birthday and my first winter birthday in 20 years, I decided it was worth taking a break from my travels to blog about. And how fitting to actually be in the town of my birth on my 25th birthday! It doesn't get much better than that! By the way, even though it is winter, it's not very cold....it just feels like a nice autumn day to me!

 In true Cronin style, Muff, Liz, David and even Wee Jock (the dog) made it a super special day for me! After being woken up with cute doggy kisses from Jock (just like my Albert would've done), I walked out of my room and was serenaded with "Happy Birthday." They had also decorated the dining room!

So pretty!

Wee Jock was very excited!

And to start off the "little girl" theme for the day, Muffy gave me cute little girly plastic jewelry and a tiara to wear! It is quite fitting that they would go with the little girl theme since the last birthday they celebrated with me was my 5th! And, those of you who know me well know that I am pretty much a little girl trapped in a 25 year old's body. ;)

So here I am with my dress up jewelry. Keep in mind...I just woke up!

I opened some cards and gifts...I got some lovely things! Muffy is going to buy me a new pair of UGG boots!!! I love the pair I have now, but they have seen better days, so I'm super excited to get a new pair. I already have an idea of what I want. My 2 choices are below...let me know which ones you like better!

Option 1

Option2

Muffy took me out to see Shrek 3 in 3D and when we returned, check out what was waiting for me!

Liz had been slaving away making me a barbie-doll cake!!!! When I was little, this was my most favorite birthday cake, so birthday after birthday, my poor mum would spend hours making my doll cake!

Close up of Barbie and the birthday banner!

Hehee, we had fun playing with Barbie's legs! Poor Barbie!

See her feet? ;)

Cutting the cake and making a wish!

Wee Jock isn't so sure about cameras, thus the somewhat frightened expression.

To continue the birthday festivities, we had a lovely dinner out at an Italian restaurant and I had a huge steak! It was yummy!

After having major problems with my eyes looking completely stoned because of the flash, Muff decided to help me out so we could have a decent photo! ;)

That's a bit better...you can tell I'm really trying to keep my eyes open!

Now Liz was not pleased with the first Barbie cake she made (it had cooked too long so it was really hard), so she made another one the next day that we could eat. It is very tasty, especially the icing. Here's Barbie # 2, candles and all!

Haha, Barbie looks like she's leading a seance!

So, as you can see, I had a wonderful 25th birthday in Canberra with the Cronins. They really went out of their way to make it special for me, their "Shanny-boo" as they call me. I am so thankful for them and I'm thankful for these 25 years on earth that I've had. I am really, truly blessed. :)

Aussie Fact of the Day: I was born at home in Canberra, in front of the fireplace! Liz had gone to get the birthing stool, so she showed up a few minutes after I was born. She keeps saying it's nice that I wasn't born in the hospital here because it was torn down some years ago. Our old house is still standing!

Kickin' it off with Melbun!

Starting off my backpacker journey on May 7, 2010, I took a packed overnight Greyhound bus from Canberra to Melbourne (8 hours), the capital of Victoria. For those of you who don't know, in their typical way of pronouncing everything differently than how it's spelled, Aussies say Melbun, not Melbourne. In Melbourne, I had the pleasure of staying with Chris and Katrina Lambert, friends of friends (thanks Norman and Nancy)! They welcomed me into their lovely home and I enjoyed getting to know them a bit. The location of their house is perfect; just a short tram ride into the city and a 5 minute walk to the beach!

Their cute house!

The Lamberts were the first of many "connections" that my friends/family had set me up with throughout my travels and let me just say, I was the recipient of so much generosity...from people who didn't even know me! You'll hear all about them in the future.

So, I have to say, I really fell in love with Melbourne. It has such a different feel than Sydney. Melb has much more of a European vibe and it's very artsy. There are so many beautiful Victorian buildings and it's a city filled with lovely gardens! The Yarra River runs through the city as well...walking along the river was one of my favorite things to do! Melb is a good-sized city, but it didn't feel overwhelming to me. And let me tell you, in my 3 days there, I walked that city up and down! Here's some of the highlights for me:

• Eureka Tower: I went up to the 88th floor of the Eureka Tower and got a wonderful view of the city!

The Tower

Hehee, my feet!

It was neat being up there while the sun was setting!

A view of the Yarra River.

I like this photo!

This is also one of my favs!

You can even post your mail up there! :)

•  Victorian architecture: I really loved the elegance of the frilly Victorian buildings. It made me feel really posh and sophisticated when walking around. ;)

Flinders Station

So pretty!

I'd like to live in this house!

Umm...can you see why I love Melb?

• Laneways: These were awesome! They are basically alleyways between tall buildings, but they are all over the city center.  Some are filled with cute eateries, others with funky eclectic shops, and some full of neat graffiti and live music. It really is like stepping into another world...it's a cool experience to stumble across one of the laneways!

This is one of the funky laneways.

• Sunset on the beach: It was really pretty! The sky was all pink and purple!

• Walking around the city: I just loved it; there's so much to see! Like I said, I could walk for hours along the Yarra River. I had 3 days of beautiful, sunny weather too, which is quite rare for Melb. Apparently, they typically go through 4 seasons in 1 day (sounds a bit similar to St. Louis weather)!

Melb has so many neat bridges!

This is Southbank...I loved this area! On Sundays, they have awesome art and craft markets.

I love the reflections on the water!

• The lovely gardens: As I said earlier, I loved all the gardens in the city! I went to 3 different gardens: the botanic gardens, Fitzroy, and Carlton.

The botanic gardens. I love the view of the buildings through the rose garden!

Carlton Gardens...I loved this fountain, hence the next few photos.

So pretty!

The conservatory in Fitzroy Gardens.

Captain Cook's Cottage

At the top of the shrine of remembrance. If you look closely, you can see my cute little nose stud...yes, I still LOVE it!

• Oh and another highlight: out of all the places I've been in Australia so far, Melb definitely has the best looking guys! :) They are everywhere! Single ladies, are you sold yet?

So, to sum it all up, my 3 days in Melbourne were fantastic and I'd love to visit again. I'm pretty sure I could live there and be happy! Up next: The Great Ocean Road tour with Groovy Grape Getaways!

Aussie Fact of the Day:  

1). "According to the RSPCA, Melbourne is the "Fox Capital" of the western world, with 6-23 foxes every square kilometer in the metropolitan area."

 2). "The first traffic lights of Australia were installed in Melbourne, on the Collins and Swanston Streets intersection."

3).  "Melbourne is the only city in the world that has five international standard sporting facilities on the fringe of its central business district." http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/facts-about-melbourne-1672.html

To read more interesting facts about Melbourne (there are lots), click on this link: Interesting facts about Melbourne

To view more photos of Melbourne, click on this link: Melbourne Photos
 

G'day...remember me?!?

Hello dear friends!

After a new pink camera, 2000 photos, 10 Aussie tours, a couple thousand miles, heaps of fabulous sunsets and sunrises, approx. 5 pounds chocolate and Tim Tams, countless Ciders and glasses of cheap red wine, beautiful scenery, incredible wildlife, the most AMAZING beaches, wonderful new friends, 1000+ smiles and laughs, poor with no money but rich with unforgettable memories of a lifetime, I'm back in Canberra!

As you can imagine, I have a TON to blog about, so through time, I'll get there eventually. And for those of you who don't know, I ended up traveling for much longer than I originally planned, which was so great! I am now back in Canberra living with the dear Cronins who are spoiling me and feeding me one amazing meal after the next. They've also given me a lovely room with a nice big bed (bigger than any bed I've ever had)! I'm about broke, so I am currently looking for a job. I'll keep you posted on that!

To give you an idea of where I have been, check out the map below and see the route I have taken! I have covered about half the country...Australia really is a big country and it's full of wilderness! It's amazing how far you can travel from one place to the next with nothing in between.

I'll go back and start from the beginning of my travels and do each trip one at a time. SO....stay tuned! :)