This was no ordinary Easter!!

This was no ordinary Easter!!!!

Easter weekend in Australia spanned 5 days including Good Friday thru Easter Monday which happens to fall on Anzac day (http://www.awm.gov.au/commemoration/anzac/) so work, including the banks resumed work on Wednesday!

My 5 day holiday, from my holiday, was choc a block full of Aussie-ness I had never dreamed of..starting with Good Friday...

The Sydney Royal Easter Show (http://www.eastershow.com.au) I had the blessing to see the most georgous chickens I had ever seen fluffy white ones, black ones, spotted ones, Roosters with their herim and all being judged...Alpacas wearing coats because they had not been judged yet, cows being washed and sheered for their big parade, horses of all types, but the one thing took away from the animal portion is if your going to be a farm animal in Australia make sure to make it to the easter show...these are seriously loved animals!

The TImber Chopping was a highlight! With a packed audience the Timber Choppers plowed their shinny axes into the pole then logged platforms into the pole to stand on to reach the next stage til they reached the top to be able to chop off the top 3 feet...thrilling event, so much so we stayed for the next one. The Senior division, they stood on a log with feet separated until they successfully chopped clear through the log. Unfortunately 2 men had 'bum wood' and were unable to complete the event, I loved they blamed it on the log and not the aging seniors...65+.

The Carnival with the fastest rides ive ever seen were a mere blimp on the radar for me. Mostly i was amazed that $34 gets you into the event where everything cost money beyond the gate. Including 'show bags' which is a craze among the fair goes young and old. Show bags are plastic bags manufactured by commercial companies with various items in it ranging from chocolates to plastic toy guns and the prices range from $5 and up!

My true highlight was the chickens or my blender I bought...yes you too can buy blenders, singing meditation bowls or $12k mattresses!!!

Kangaroo Valley
Shorty, Jamie Brown and I headed down for a georgous drive to Kangaroo Valley, we left the rainy Sydney behind and headed for blue sky. Its a hilly landscape that runs into the gorgeous coast where paragliders and cliff jumpers with parachuttes run and jump off the headlands. Easter monring we woke with no easter bonnets or easter eggs in sight...seems that Easter is a little more low key.

Anzac Day (http://www.awm.gov.au/commemoration/anzac/)
A day all Australians celebrate the fallen Vetrans. All around Australia they have dawn services where they honor the fallen soilders then then head off to pubs where they are able to play/gamble for one day only a game which the soilders played in the trenches called 2UP. Bars are packed to the eye balls overflowing into the rain. We met up with friends at the Australian Hotel where i began my education. They serve KB beer which has been discontinued and is produced just for the holiday, nostaligic for even the kids of parents who induldged. It was my mission of the day to take a photograph of vetran with the most metals. They display metals they won as well as they fathers, brothers or uncles. Seems i got too caught up in 2UP and KB I never got my photograph.

My Easter holiday was filled with my favorite Australians showing me their favorite Australian traditions. I was in awe mostly about how passionate Australians are about Australia and this is not only a specific social group the passion scanned the spectrum. Being a country where the population is just nearly the size of California they stay loyal and tight, I was touched by the enthusiam.

I am happy to be here although I'm longing for spring days in Venice California and New York City as we are shifting into winter and 5.30 sunests! I will post more pictures separately as the blog template is not allowing me to insert pictures! Stay tuned!