G'day

G’day, well-what-do-ya-know, it hasn’t been yonks but we’re start to feel less like nongs round here!

As we really start to settle in to our jobs and our lives here, we are getting used to everything (even the slang)!  It’s interesting to see the differences between Canada and Australia in the hospitality industry though.  Here if you are working for more than 6hrs you must take a 30mins break after 5hrs of work.  If you are working less then you aren’t entitled to your break.  Not only that but hourly people get paid more on the weekends, evenings and nights, as here it’s considered  extra work and you should be paid penalty pay.  What a great concept!  Especially in our industry! 

We are heading off to Sydney for a couple days, tomorrow!

If people are interested in more aussie slang check out;

http://www.australiatravelsearch.com.au/trc/slang.html

Finally getting into the CAVES!

WOW is all we can say after finally getting into a cave together today!  Now we can really understand what brings people to this wonderful place.  To see the beauty of what lies under the mountains here is astonishing.  To think that back in the 1800’s these caves were explored by people who would take days to come up from Sydney to see them, and only to see by candle light.  Our goal is to get to all into all the caves but the potholes, where you are harnessed in and repel down.  Yeah there is no way Tony or I are repelling in caves, hahaha!

Today we did the Chifley Cave: It was discovered in 1880.  The Chifley Cave was known as the Left Imperial Cave until 1952, when it was renamed in honour of the then recently-deceased former Prime Minister Ben Chifley, who grew up in nearby Bathurst. Two of the cave's chambers are decorated with coloured lights. The Chifley Cave was the first cave in the world to be lit by electric light, having been illuminated in 1880. The Jenolan Caves were the first public place in Australia to have electric lighting.  People would travel for days from Sydney to just see the lights!

gekos, kangaroos, bugs, snakes OH MY!!!

Wow...we live in the jungle.  Ok, well not completely true, but still a very mountainous tree filled reserve filled with every wild, and I mean wild animal out there.  The walk from our flat to work is about 2 mins down hill, and it feels like the rainforest part of the zoo, tree covered, hot, moist and you really have to watch your step.  The geckos and lizards are all over the place, some bearly run when you walk down the stairs.  Kangaroos are wild, and don't seem to be too bright.  They are always dead ones all over the roads.  The thing here though is that they don't take away the road kill, they just move it over on the shoulder and let it decompose there.  yeah...it leaves this really lovely smell...a cross of cow shit, pei mud, low tide in St. Andrews, smelly Cassy and dead animal.  Yeah Lovely I know.  As for the bugs, well I even have Tony killing them.  (Not that we should admit to that cause we are in a reserve so we shouldn't kill the bugs-but come on-there are beattles in our bed- we gotta kill it! hahaha) And that leaves us with the snakes....as I am sure you are all well aware Tony and I are both uber scared of snakes.  Well, lucky us, we picked the great hotel, that hosts the third deadliest snake in the world- the red belly black snake.  I am hoping ( and please cross your fingers for us!) that we will never see them around the grounds of the hotel.  Tony has already seen one, though THANK F*** he was in chef's jeep on the way back from Oberon.  They are really something we dont wanna run into...AT ALL!

Our flat is directly behind this sign.  Yes...just one of our hills!

This is our area...Jenolan is in the valley directly under this picture, this is on the top driving in our out

Ps- I have not taken these pictures they are stolen ones (SORRY we are working on our own uploading!)

Jenolan Caves...here we are!

Life in Aussie is AMAZING!  We took the 3 hr trip from Syndey to Jenolan Caves about a week and a half ago now…what a view!  Words can’t even describe the views, of the Blue Mountains, they are breath taking.  Just land, trees and forest, but all the colours are amazing!  Apparently the Blue Mountains are called that because of the oil that the eucalyptus tree let go during the summer putting a blue tinge in the air.  It’s beautiful!  We got to the hotel and Chef showed us around, and our new house!  It’s a great two bedroom apt, we share with one roomie, Wayne.  Wayne is from Korea and works at the bistro, he is nice and quiet.  We have spent since then working, and loving waking up here!  Tony is really enjoying the new kitchen, and the crew up there seem great!  And as for me, what everyone was waiting for, my job!  Well I work about everywhere in the hotel!  I have done shifts in housekeeping and in the restaurant, but I will mainly be working at the front desk.  My team is great too, all the girls are fabulous and everyone seems to love my Canadian accent! Hahaha Though sometimes we still don’t know what people are saying! 

The closest town to us is Oberon, and most of the people (if they don’t live at the hotel) are from there.  It’s a small town, but it has all the essentials. We have made a few trips there, for our essentials—food and beer.  AND…I have found an amazing product- pre-mixed Rye and Gingerales!  That’s right, they come in cooler form!  It’s fabulous! Though we are still waiting for a fridge to cool them in!  haha (our apts were just renovated so they are just getting the last of things within the next couple of weeks!)

So as for now, we are absolutely LOVING life, and LOVING it here in AUSSIE!  I will try to update more as our lives here unfold!

Sydney day two

Sorry about the lack of posting, I will work on that!

Spent our last day in Sydney touring and going to our orientation.  Though our orientation was focused on finding work in Aussie, it was still fun.  We walked around the city all day, just taking it all in.  We made our way to the famous Opera House.  It was a great day, then out of nowhere RAIN, and not just little spits of rain, like torrential down pour!  Though it didn’t put a damper on the fun we were having!  We got to check out Paddy’s Market too and it was heeps of fun, it’s such a big market that you really cant even see it all in one day.  We plan on making our way back there next time we are in town!  Right by our hostel is a great park with these amazing purple trees, and a bird that as Tony says “looks like a Canada Goose but with a huge long beck that is meant to peck you.”  Haha it was fun.  On the other side of our hostel was Chinatown, so we had a few meals there too!  Fabulous as always, and definitely will keep our cravings down til we can get back!

MADE IT!!!

Wow....we made it.  It was a very long, flight.  Starting in Toronto, when we arrived we didnt even have seats on the first flight.  Great...is what we were thinking.  but really it was GREAT!~  The lady at the desk bumped us to first class to Chicago, in the very first row, as our flight from TO was already delayed giving us only 20 mins to change flights in Chicago, including changing terminals...yeah.  I know what your thinking, yah right, Tony and Sarah running through the airport...but we did it.  Got on the flight and made it.  The flight to Los Angeles was LONG.  Tony and I didnt get seats together, and he was beside a 10year old.  hahah who had to pee like every 5 mins! haha sucker.  Once in LA we only had 15 mins til we got on our flight to SYDNEY!  The long haul we will call it.  Well it was long, but good.  Total flying time was just under 15 hours I think.  We didnt end up having anyone sitting beside us so it wasnt as bad as we thought.  Though we feel that a note to United is in order.  Please do not play the same movies that we just saw on the way from Chicago to LA!  We didnt have our own tv's either it was just one big one...but it was ok. 
Once we arrived, Nov 9, at 8am...we cleared customs asap, and it was smooth.  Nothing too much to tell them they had all our paperwork and it was easy.  We couldnt get into our hostel in the am so we just ventured out into town, trying to get as much accomplished as possible to stay awake.  We got a cell phone (though I have no idea what the number is) and finished our banking information, and got all the things we needed from the stores!  It was sunny and a high of 19C all day, so it was  great day to venture out.  We got back to teh hostel around 230 and passed out til 7pm, and then went to eat!  Turns out our hostel is right beside Chinatown...aka another Disney Land for Tony!  We LOVED IT!  Had some amazing thai food, and went back to bed.  haha oh yes we are the adventurous type! haha
Now we are off to orientation and then spending the day riding the rails in Sydney... Thursday we venture to our new home...the Jenolan Caves...now we really cant wait.  Everyone at the airport told us that it was an amazing place, and that we are super lucky to be working there!  Should be fun...stay tuned for some pictures and more updates from there!

Getting set to move...

Tony and I are just getting set and all the last minute updates needed to finish to our most exciting move yet..to AUSTRALIA! As we put together our last min trip visas, hostels bookings, etc...it's really starting to hit us!  As most of you know, we have spent the last 8 months working, living and going to school (for Tony) in Charlottetown PEI!  Where Tony finished his last semester of school at the Culinary Insititute of Canada, and passed his Red Seal! (for those who dont know it's the test he takes to become certified in his trade of cooking- Tony was able to do so already because of the years he spent working in kitchens before school as well!) While in PEI I was working at the Delta Prince Edward, as a front desk Guest Service Agent.  It was definitely a fun, exciting, busy and work filled summer, which we are very glade we did, but now we are ready for our next adventure!

So starting next week, we will both be working at the Jenolan Caves Resort which is about 2hrs 45 mins west of Sydney.  Tony will be working the their new 1.2 million dollar renovated kitchen!  And well, we are still unsure what I will be doing, but we know it will be something within the hotel, and my field of work! 
This is our new companies website of where we will be working from nov til .....;  http://www.jenolancaves.org.au/

We fly out of Toronto on Nov 7th arriving in Sydney Nov 9th in the early am!