3 days, two burgers, one Gio

hello everybody.
we are now into our fourth day of honeymoon.
two days ago we got up at 6:15am, went for a little jog, came home, had breakfast.... and then went back to sleep. ;)
we originally planned to get out in the surf (i.e. i go in the surf, while liss looks beautiful on the beach), but then we felt a bit hungry so we ended up at this corner burger place by the water. i saw "the lot" as being an option, so naturally i went for that burger, bacon, cheese, tomato, lettuce, carrot, cucumber, simmered onion, beet, and fried egg goodness (naturally, we thought of you Ash). Liss, not to be outdone, seconded that motion (much to my suprise and delight). of course, we didn't want our eyes to be bigger than our tummies so we decided to split a large bowl of wedges. needless to say the bowl of wedges would have been plenty... without the burgers. huge servings. but you know what? its our honeymoon - we can do anything we want. anyways, we plundered those wedges and those burgers (photo evidence coming soon - when blogger decides to behave itself). and we felt very good about ourselves. that was until we got up and realized that maybe the surf wasn't beckoning quite so strongly and perhaps we should have another nap and let our stomachs rest a bit...

and so ended our trip to the beach. we did not eat again for nine hours.
but on the plus side we did watch Knocked Up and decided we would never eat that much ever again.

steve.

Yesterday we made our way to Sydney on the ferry from Manly to Circular Quay. It was stunning - and much more affordable than a Harbour Cruise. Upon landing on the other side, we found our trail and began walking through the city: The Rocks, one of several opal shops, and the most stunning shopping center: the Queen Victoria Building. We navigated our way to Darling Harbour, where Steve had to contain his excitement....he cannot wait to hit the aquarium here in Sydney :) (he wants me to tell you about the largest great barrier reef display in the world and the 12,000 all Australian aquatic animals.) Finally - our destination: Star City - the most over-indulgent casino/theatre/tourist trap in Sydney. Fantastic. No, we did not spend time there...just picked up our car. We are now zipping around Oz in a flashy new Toyota, Steve at the helm, and me trying desperately not to die of anxiety while I ride shotgun. :) No accidents yet, just some near-death experiences. I appreciate your prayers.

We met up with Tim Giovanelli in Crow's Nest, a lovely little spot in North Sydney (much like Kits & Kerrisdale all rolled together) It was great to catch up. He suggested we head to the beach, but we hadn't brought our "swimmers".... but that didn't stop us. Yes, Mom. Another bikini. :) we found the nearest surf shop, picked through the sale pile, and suited up in our new gear to hit the beach in Balmoral. Fish & chips pollished up our near-perfect day. (AND - my first potato cake is now behind me, Dwighty.)

Thanks so much for all the lovely notes. It's great to hear from you all. We are SO blessed.

hugs.
elissa joy watts