I’m Free Tours Sydney

Posted on December 19, 2011 by Aaron in Aaron's Blog | Comments Off

In a hot tourist destination like Sydney, the tour business is jam packed with operators offering all sorts of tours, whether they be walking tours, cycling tours, or left-handed unicycle tours of haunted city outhouses. One thing they almost all have in common is that they are expensive, with a basic walking tour usually costing at least AUD$30 and going up from there. Thus we were both surprised and delighted to find out about the I’m Free tours of Sydney, … →

Santa on the Run in Sydney

Posted on December 18, 2011 by Aaron in Aaron's Blog | Comments Off

On the morning of the 27th, Santa was running all over Darling Harbor. In fact, thousands of Santa’s were running as part of the charity Santa Fun Run, which was held right by the water in the harbor area. We decided to head down to the waterfront to see various St. Nicks prepare for their Christmas rounds by limbering up their hamstrings. Of course, we were a little bit late to the proceedings, so the Santa run was predominantly a … →

Found in Sydney: Slurpee!

Posted on December 17, 2011 by Aaron in Aaron's Blog | Comments Off

To my American readers, this will not seem particularly amazing, but for someone has spent 7 years looking at the barren wasteland of Slurpee-less 7-11s that exist all over Japan, being able to finally enjoy the frozen joy of this treat, was amazing. Plus, flavors never before imagined beconning every week! I’m particularly a fan of the fact that the pink of the Slurpee seems to be almost richer than that of the printed cup.

Sydney: (Not Quite) First Impressions

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Aaron in Aaron's Blog | 2 Comments

So while I will be trying to give my first impressions for all of the places we visit, having been to Sydney about 15 years ago, I can’t quite claim this to be a first impression. Instead, just think of it as something slightly tempered by youthful, past experience. Be that as it may, it felt good to be back in the Habour City (notice that’s “Harbour” with the extra British, emperial “u” added in). It makes sense that this … →

A Trip to New Zealand’s Far North

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Aaron in Aaron's Blog | 1 Comment

The northern part of New Zealand’s North Island is known reverently as the Far North. To those of us from the States, it is not, geographically speaking, that far (about 400 kilometers or so to the northern tip at Cape Reinga), but in a psychological sense, it feels very far. In a country of only about 4 million people, with a third living in the South Island and another 1.2 million stuck in Auckland, the north is a place where … →