Roses Aren't Just Red

Winter may have been inching closely towards the Southern Hemisphere during my visit, but that did not stop these roses from remaining in full bloom. These are but four of them.

Photos taken at The Rose Garden at the Royal Botanic Garden in Sydney. Not shown: the scads of office workers crashing at the Rose Garden (and the rest of the place, actually) for lunch and a little lie-down under the sun.

Please Stand By

So many pictures, so little bandwidth for uploading pictures and organizing them into albums on Picasa Web. And don't get me started on work, too, because that's coming up very, very soon.

Until then, here's a song to tide you over while waiting for the next few entries of Domestic Travel. (Yes, this video also serves as a clue for what's coming up next.)

What You Won't Do For Love, Pt. 2

Photographs taken at the Royal Botanical Garden in Sydney. 

"Dearest Mei: 

I know you love gardens. 

I know you love art.

And I know for sure that you love dogs. 

What You Won't Do For Love, Pt. 1

Most guys will come up to a woman and ask, "Is this seat taken?" But Lachlan Macquarie, on the other hand,  always made sure that his wife had the best one in the house:

The inscription:

Be it thus recorded that the road round the inside of the Government Domain called Mrs Macquaries Road so named by the Governor on account of her having originally planned it measuring 3 miles and 377 yards was finally completed on the 13th day of June 1816.

And the view, as it is now: 

Mrs. Macquarie's Chair is now part of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney. Pictures taken by yours truly. 

The Bungy-Jump: A Photographic Essay

Resolve.

Free-fall.

Uncertainty.

Rescue. 

Proof. 

Pictures taken at the Kawarau Bridge Bungy in Queenstown, NZ, operated by AJ Hackett. And contrary to what Kate Gosselin might tell you, this one is actually safer than you think. 

The Great Trans-Tasman Nommage Debate

Photo taken at the Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT) in Auckland, NZ.
(That tea-time china set, by the by? Lovely.)  

This one's for those of you scoring at home, and would rather not bring up the same old debates about Russell Crowe and Keith Urban with your Aussie and Kiwi friends.

Things You Don't Want To See at an Airport Kiosk (NSFW)

What's more disturbing: the existence of these "novelty" "items"...

Kia Ora!

Hi all luvvies! Just thought I'd check in with you since I've got some down time (and computer usage) to kill while I'm still in NZ.

In the last few days alone, I have taken in the sights...

Don't you want to know which location we're talking about here?

...made a few new friends...

Hey, it still counts if I'm in the same frame, right? 

...and, of course, encountered the finest nommages produced in this fair land.

And why do I get the feeling that I'll upset a lot of Australians with this picture?

More to come in the next few days!

On Break

Hi all:

Just wanted to let you know that both Domesticity and Domestic Travel will be on hiatus, starting on May 2 and ending on May 21, due to the upcoming trip to Australia and New Zealand. Rest assured that I will be taking tons of pictures and making notes along the way.

All general blogging activity, complete with the inevitable travel-related pictures, will resume on May 22, if not earlier. Until then, here's to a great journey ahead!

Aloha,

Meimei

You're Flying to Sydney

One last post before I go.

Since I gave New Zealand a lot of love in my last entry, I thought I'd also post about my other destination on this trip: Sydney, NSW, Australia.

Since I'll be traveling alone to Sydney, I'm already looking forward to "doing my own thing" apart from the tours I've already done. I know for sure that I'll be doing THIS on my own:



And there's more - so much more - which means I'll be taking a lot of pictures! This is going to be an adventure.