Fun Times in the Dorm Room

We are in the midst of a wonderful visit by our two good friends Dan and JV (the Slighterallis) who came 7700 miles around the world to stay in a dorm room. You might be wondering what happened to our penthouse with a spectacular view? It's still here but our "stuff" hasn't arrived so we've been entertaining our guests with lawn furniture and makeshift tables made out of phonebooks and thrown-away items. The Slighterallis have made this past week something to remember. I feel so lucky that they were here yesterday for my birthday too. They've inspired us to see different things and eat lots of great food in our neighborhood and beyond. I love having visitors!

They arrived last Friday evening after a couple of days of travel. Saturday was our biggest day as we walked all over Circular Quay and even went out to Manly Beach via a ferry. I was worried the day might not go so well when, in the morning as we were waiting for the train, Dan noticed he was wearing two very different socks. Despite this, the day was packed with fun and lots of sunshine. We saw huge bats in the Royal Botanical Gardens next to Circular Quay, and as Dan and JV were nearing the end of their jet-lagged day, we saw an elusive (seriously) echidna during a walk near Manly Beach. The echidna is like a cross between a porcupine, an anteater, and a platapus - it was completely oblivious to our presence. Needless to say, we probably should have split our activities up during their first day here, but we all survived and have great pictures to show for it.

Sunday was another day with lots of walking and eating. At a local market, Dan and JV got some Gozleme (a turkish crepe) and Scott and I ordered some Okonomiyaki (japanese pizza, translated literally as "what you like"). It's fun to realize there are so many yummy foods to discover still. We also wandered down to the iconic harbor-side amusement park, Luna Park, were we took silly pictures. We also dragged Dan and JV along with us while we test drove a major hooptie van (that we aren't going to buy). We meandered along the harbor and found a gorgeous park with incredible hidden pathways and luscious plants and vegetation. That was only half the day...