Wine Tasting?...

...Try wine guzzling! In the last few days of my trip I finally got around to the day trip to Hunter Valley and had an amazing time. We started off the trip with a brief visit to a wildlife park for more closeups with koalas and kangaroos. Unfortunately, it was also pouring down rain, so I spent most of the time in the snake and spider exhibits, purely for the fact that they were indoors. I didn't feel too slighted, however, since I had already experienced the koala cuddling and kangaroo feeding this October.

After the wildlife park, it was another hour-long drive to Hunter Valley during which time I got to know my fellow passengers - a fun mix of people. There were two older English couples, a Swedish mother/daughter pair, a French Canadian girl, a Canadian guy who has been living in Hong Kong for 10 years and was accompanied by his Chinese girlfriend, and 3 girls from San Francisco. Those three girls and I got along like a house on fire! They all worked in advertising and were just a few years younger than me.

The first winery pulled out a list of 10 wines and our host told us we would be tasting all of them. Then he poured the first tasting - approximately 1/4 of a wine glass! Needless to say, by the end of that winery our group was fast friends!

Then off to the next winery, which was very unusual as it was capped off with a chili-infused schnapps shot. There was no sparing in chili, as you can see in the photo up top! Then a quick lunch (thank goodness - we needed to sop up the wine and schnapps) and off to winery #3. It was odd to be there, as this winery (Drayton's) was just in the news a few weeks ago. A shipment of ethanol or amonium (I'm not sure which as I've heard conflicting stories) had been delivered and apparently had a leak which was sparked by a welder working in the building. The entire building exploded, killing the welder and the winemaker, who was also the owners' son. A third man is still in the hospital. The twisted remains of wine vats, etc. were stacked outside which sobered us all up for a bit. It was hard to enjoy our trip there too much, but we knew it was important to continue to feed their income.

One last winery and another 6 tastings before we stopped at the Smelly Cheese Shop for tastings of a different sort and a 2 hour trip back to Sydney!

I spent the following weekend with the San Francisco girls (Team America, as we were dubbed on the Hunter Valley trip) and had a fanstastic time. Saturday was spent at Maurubra Beach, then at a harborside restaurant in Watson's Bay for a birthday party before ending the night with a water taxi to Circular Quay and a few hours at the Opera Bar, one level below the Opera House and overlooking the water. So I got my fill of water views that day. I was glad the girls were heading off to travel the East Coast a few days later as it would have been much harder for me to leave Sydney otherwise! San Francisco is one place I should have been but never have, so I'll have to save that until after they return!

At this moment I am in the Sydney airport, awaiting my flight to Tokyo and then on to Chicago. It will be another 36 hours before I arrive however... two 12 hour flights and a 12 hour layover. I'm glad to have the break in between and that it's long enough to get into the city, especially now that I'm somewhat familiar with the subway system.

I can't believe this trip has finally drawn to a close. It finally hit me today and I'm still in shock. So I'll have to wait until I get home to let you know how I feel about it all!