Australia 2015

If you aren't familiar with its geography, open a new window to see a map of Australia

I took my husband on a two-month vacation to Australia. I lived in Australia back in the early 1970s, and had been back for a visit in 2012 (see lots of photos of Sydney from 2012 here), but this was my husband's first time in this remarkable country. It was also the longest we've ever been away from home and the planning was extensive. From booking all the flights we needed to carry us to our chosen destinations to selecting all our different vacation rentals, it took me about 10 months to prepare us fully for the trip. I limited the trip to three regions I was particularly interested in visiting because I had old friends I wanted to see in each place: Sydney, Byron Bay, and Cairns.

We flew to Sydney in mid-March, where we had 12 days to explore the city and visit with old friends there while we recovered from jet lag and adjusted to the time difference between west-coast California and east-coast Australia.

The Sydney Opera House with the sun rising behind it. Love how it looks like the top of Lisa Simpson's head.

David, on a ferry with Sydney's iconic Luna Park entrance behind him

An ibis by a fountain in Sydney's Potts Point