life of a cruise ship nurse: sydney sail away, australia

sydney sail-away might have to be done in multiple posts as well.  so many great pics!

 scenes of downtown sydney. i absolutely love big cities. there is something so magical about them. look at all of those cranes.

 before coming to sydney, i had no idea that they had a space needle similar to seattle.

 a view of the harbor bridge from the ship

 australian flags atop the bridge

 another view of the bridge

people can climb the top of the bridge.  i think they are insane!  they are strapped in with a halter and then they hike.  i heard it is like $400 usd to do this.  absolutely insane! i am terrified of heights.  you could not pay me to do that!

 the bridge and the opera house. what a view.  i could never tire of this. i love sydney!

 that crazy clown face amusement park again. i really do love it.

 luna park aka crazy clown face park.

 one last shot of the harbor bridge with the sun setting.  we are off on our adventure to the south pacific!

 the sun setting on the city and the opera house.

 a farewell shot of the sydney opera house. see you in 2 weeks!

life of a cruise ship nurse: sydney, australia part 3

sydney, australia part 3. i could not choose which photos to include. hence 3 parts to sydney. hopefully the 3rd one is the last.

the sydney hospital.  of course i found the hospital.  i can't  help it. no matter where go in the world, i always find the hospital or take pics of the ambulances or fire trucks.  it is a part of me. 

 st james church, sydney. across from hyde park

 this is st mary's cathedral in sydney. it is stunning.  it is huge!  i took this pic from hyde park

 st mary's cathedral

 despite it being fall here in sydney, the flowers are stunning and in full bloom in hyde park.  this pic of st mary's cathedral turned out gorgeous.  it is so spectacular!

 space needle.

 we happened to be in sydney during mardi gras.  we went to the parade.  there were literally hundreds of thousands of people at the parade.  i could not even see the parade.  it was crazy.  it is always fun to attend local events when you are traveling. although we did not stay long, i could not see a thing!

big coke billboard.  i love diet coke.  it is my favorite thing to drink.  i take a coke pic everywhere i find one.

life of a cruise ship nurse: sydney, australia part 2

sydney, australia part 2.  unfortunately this might take 12 segments.  hopefully not. but i'm not promising anything.

 the sydney harbor bridge.  i can't get enough of it. 

 in the heart of sydney across from the harbor bridge and next to the restaurant that is next to the sydney opera house is this charming little staircase leading to who knows where because i didn't climb it. but i love it.  it is fall in sydney.  crazy that it is autumn here and heading into spring back home. i love to travel and see the world.  it is simply amazing!

 the sydney opera house is an architectural marvel.  look at it!  so cool!

 scary clown face amusement park that is next to the harbor bridge on the other side of sydney. more pics of scary clown face to come.  eek

more scary clown face.  who does that?  an amusement park with a scary clown face?  this is the stuff nightmares are made of. i love it. it just screams sydney!

 birds in sydney are a lucky bunch!  i mean, look at that view! plus all the yummy seafood that is right at their feet. seriously though, they were fun to watch

 the next bunch are some close-up's of the opera house.  i just love the design. i think it is beautiful!

 multiple buildings make up the sydney opera house

 a view of the harbor bridge

 another view of the opera house and the harbor bridge. i couldn't decide which one i liked the most.  my blog equals 10 pics of the opera house and harbor bridge

 looks like they are currently doing some work on the opera house.  i swear, every time i am traveling to a famous site, inevitably they are doing construction on the location i would like to photograph. humph.

 harbor bridge through the trees of the royal botanic garden

 the opera house through the trees of the royal botanic garden

 and now we are heading into the beautiful royal botanic garden.

friendly bird we met at the entrance 

 view of the city from inside the gardens. it was so green and so gorgeous!

the fallen dragon tree in the botanic garden

the government house. looks so dreamy.  i can't imagine government being handled here.  it looks more like a princess should be walking the grounds

 the sydney government house.  it looks like a castle.

 sundial in the park. it was too cloudy to put it to work today

arthur phillips statue with the city in the background.  i love that there are palm trees with a huge city right there.  what a great place to explore!

life of a cruise ship nurse: Sydney, Australia part 1

my experiences in sydney will be told in multiple parts.  mostly because i cannot decide which pictures to cut.

 i made it to sydney after the 15 hour flight from LA ready to explore the city. of course, it was raining. i was not about to let a little water falling from the sky ruin my day.  rain or shine, here i come! i took the train from my hotel to the city.

 and, i got off at the wrong stop.  i mean, it's not my fault that the train conductor does not announce the stops here like they do in other major cities!!!  oh well, more exploring for me!

 when i got out of the subway, this is the first thing i saw!  the sydney harbor bridge!! i have waited my whole life to come here!

 the sydney opera house was the next thing i looked for.  two iconic landmarks in one minute.  amazing. 

 today happens to be a mardi gras parade in sydney.  there are banners and signs everywhere!

 selfie with the sydney opera house. i was there!

 i love old phone booths. they are practically obsolete, but sydney still has a few.

 planter box

 we decided to walk across the harbor bridge.  there are some amazing views from up there. namely, the sydney opera house.

 a close up of the opera house.  it is a unique building.

 a view of downtown from the bridge

the park to the right of the opera house is the royal botanic gardens.  they are spectacular!  it is a huge green space in the middle of the city.  i loved it. 

another view of the harbor bridge.

The doggy diaries: Mama's famous German chocolate cookies

1 box German chocolate cake mix
2 eggs

2/3 cup butter flavored crisco (this is important as it makes the cookies absolutely delicious!  if you don't like butter, use regular shortening.....but you are missing out!)

Preheat oven to 350. Combine cake mix, eggs and shortening. Roll into little balls and place on cookie sheet. 

Bake for 8 minutes. Let cool.

I usually double the cookie recipe

For the frosting:

1-12 oz can evaporated milk
1.5 cups sugar
3/4 cups butter
4 egg yolks slightly beaten
1.5 teaspoons mexican vanilla (this is super important.  vanilla extract is NOT good enough. :)
1-7 oz package coconut (I add more, which is my preference)
1.5 cups chopped pecans

Place eggs, sugar, butter, milk, and vanilla in large saucepan
Stirring constantly, cook on medium heat for 12 minutes or until thickened and golden brown
Remove from heat
Add coconut and pecans
Cool to room temperature
Frost one cookie and then top with another cookie.