Monday July 14th

I have lots of time to ponder what I would write for today because of the train ride. I decided to also let you know of my thoughts on Australia!

• Everything is mucho expensive! A dollar "McChicken" at McDonald's cost $4!! But I do have to remind myself that minimum wage is $21!!!
• Some people here have very strong accents. Sometimes I can't even understand them!
• You can bargain for stuff in the mall. I've realized Taylor is very good at it!
• People can tell that we're from America. Except for yesterday, I had a scarf around my head and some thought I was from Russia!! How funny??
• Everyone is very polite and friendly!
• Soda doesn't taste the same. A sprite in America tastes different than a Sprite here. And they don't even know what root beer is. And after much searching, Fr. Daren found a Dr. Pepper in a British Shop in the mall.
• They have NO RANCH DRESSING!!
• They have an Aldi's and an IGA!
• They put beets on everything!! GROSS!
• David likes to talk like he's from Australia!! It's very funny!
• People wear leggings for pants.
• Oh, and people aren't used to tall guys! Cause this lady had to take a picture of Fudge because he is sooo tall!

OK- now for Monday, July 14th!

20 of us left for the Blue Mountains this morning at 7:30. We took 2 trains there. Once we arrived, we ate lunch. Taylor and I just got a loaf of bread, but it was very filling and delicious! We were in the town of Katoomba. It was a small town with lots of big hills!! We walked about a mile to get to the mountains. Once we got there, we hiked up and down 900 plus steps. My knees were shaking by the end of it all. The view was so pretty, it was worth it. One the way back up the mountain, we rode a type of train/roller coaster. It was 52 degree angle!! Very steep!! For the way back into town, almost everyone took the trolley back. Fr. Chris, Taylor, and I enjoyed the "hike" back. We stopped at a small cafe for midday meal. I had pancakes with strawberries; Fr. Chris got Eggs Benedict; and Taylor had some kind of bacon/pineapple sandwich. Most of the boys went to Domino's for a $5.95 pizza. They like the original food where they can't go wrong. They definitely don't like to try new things. Either that or they want as much food for as little money!! Fr. Daren spent most of his time in a bookstore. It was extremely hard to get him out of there!! :) We eventually caught the train back to Sydney. At 7:00 we went to Fr. Daren's room for mass. Then we discussed EVERYTHING! Well, just about. Food and WYD stuff. We all split up afterwards. A lot of us went to the mall to email/blog back home.

SPECIAL FEATURE!!

Everyone's favorite part of the trip so far...

• John Kay- going to Hawaii and the beach
• Peggy English- snorkeling; but she kept getting scared taht the fish were going to touch her!!
• Allie English and Kaitlyn Parsons- they both enjoy hanging out with everyone at night. Oh, and by the way... we have two "Allison Marie's" on the trip..
• Brett Seagle- Going to the Great Barrier Reef; jumping off of the cliffs with the boys (he's just a big boy himself!)
• Andrew Grunloh- snorkeling
• Taylor Worman- cliff jumping and the Great Barrier Reef.

Well, that's all for now!!

Make sure to comment!!