U Is for Uluru/Ayers Rock

 

U is for Uluru/Ayers Rock

For most of the  A to Z Bloggers the April Challenge has ended, but Buttercupland is bringing up the rear. We're posting about U -- Uluru -- today and we'll posting "Z" tomorrow and a giveaway. 

Uluru is a sandstone monolith, near the center of Australia in the Southern part of the Northern Territory. This extraordinary site, sacred to the Aboriginal people of the area, the Anangu. It is a World Heritage site and one of the most recognized natural landmarks of Australia. 

Uluru by day

When I was planning my trip to Australia (2018) I wanted to make sure that Uluru was one of the stops on the itinerary. It's not a quick trip. Australia is a big, big country and Uluru is in the center of a country that's larger than the United States (by 1%). My group flew to Alice Springs and then drove the 208 miles to Uluru. It was a fascinating drive with scenery that was awesome and the biggest, fluffiest clouds ever. 

The site was first named Ayers Rock in 1873 after the then Chief Secretary of South Australia, Sir Henry Ayers. In 1993 a dual naming policy was established that allowed Aboriginal names to be added to established names and in 2002 Uluru/Ayers Rock became the official name. 

Sunset at Uluru

 

 I'm not quite sure where April went. One day we were starting out with A Is for Alaska and in the blink of an eye we're about to visit "Z." In the interim the flowers and trees have bloomed and Passover was celebrated. I've been part of two major celebrations, a wonderful family wedding and an 80th birthday celebration. And next week, after a year of looking forward, we're off to Africa. 

As ever, thanks for visiting and have a terrific Thursday. 

Q Is for Queensland (and R Is for Great Barrier Reef)

 

Welcome to Queensland, Australia

I loved my visit to Australia in 2018. What a fabulous place to visit, with amazing natural beauty, great coffee, the friendliest people and koalas. If the flights from New York weren't so long, I'd be back there every year. I could write about everywhere I went in Australia -- and may just choose one other place --  but Queensland, the state in northeastern Australia  is an easy pick. 

My tour group spent three days in Queensland and we were based in Cairns. One of our days we visited the Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest coral reef system, composed of over 900 islands and ten per cent of the earth's coral reef systems. It was an extraordinary experience to go below the water in a tiny submerged vessel -- not a true submarine -- and see the coral and the sea life around it. The Great Barrier Reef, as is every reef,  is under pressure from climate change, coastal development and illegal fishing. 

A high point of my visit to Queensland was a day spent in Kuranda and the Kuranda Koala Gardens. I know there are people who will laugh at my choice of activity, but I'd been eager to cuddle a koala since I started planning the trip to Australia. When I realized it was not only possible, but part of our itinerary, I was 100% on board. There was a charge for this, but I think it's some of the best spent vacation money of my life, and I made the most of it. One of my travel buddies was kind enough to document the entire two minutes I spent with "my" koala, who I think of as KiKi Koala. 

First contact with KiKi. She is not enthusiastic. 

I'm thrilled. KiKi is less so.

Buttercup and KiKi

I've made the bold decision to skip L, M, N, S and T and go directly to U for our next A to Z Blogging Challenge post. U is today's letter and I will do the post for U on Sunday, when we'll be returning to Australia and another extraordinary location. I'm at a family wedding for the next few days, but I'll be back on Sunday and eager to complete the Challenge next week. 

I hope you've enjoyed our visit to Queensland today and will rejoin the tour for more stops next week. Appreciate the visits and comments very much!

As ever, thanks for visiting and big koala hugs!

Kind Hearts

 

Are Healthier Hearts!

This wonderful wall mural in Bondi Beach, Australia caught my eye while I was in Australia in 2018. I thought of it after reading this fabulous post by my dear blogger buddy The Frog and PenguInn. The post was about Random Acts of Kindness Day, which was celebrated on Monday, February 17. I'm a little late to the celebration, but as our bloggy buddy wrote, "It's never too late to celebrate kindness."  

While I was thinking about writing this post the words "kind hearts" came to mind. I did a lot of poking around on line and found that literally kind deeds help our hearts. Really! There were a number of articles, but I found this one, The Science of Kindness, on the University Hospitals (Cleveland) website to have a great set of information. There is both a podcast and the transcript of the podcast and though it may seem lengthy there was great information. The summation really caught my attention. 

"The simple human act of kindness has numerous health benefits. It can help you experience fewer aches and pain and lower your blood pressure. It can protect your overall health twice as much as aspirin protects against heart disease. It’s free, widely available and has no side effects."

I'm not a physician and I'm not beginning to suggest tossing away your medications, but I am prescribing random acts of kindness. 

On a different note, it's been a cold and windy while in New York City. I didn't make plans to go away and I certainly will give it a lot more thought for next winter. But in the meantime let's take a virtual trip to Australia where it's summer. Sounds good to me. 

Even an overcast day on Bondi Beach is looking good right now. 

View of Sydney from the harbor

The iconic Sydney Opera House 

I hope these memories of Sydney have made these chilly winter days feel a little warmer. I know they have for me. Is anyone else having warm weather dreams? 

As ever, thanks for visiting and keep cozy! 

    

Gone to Melbourne in My Mind

 

When I visited Melbourne in 2018, I looked out of my

 hotel window one morning and this was what I saw. 

It was cold and snowy in Manhattan today and my mind turned to my 2018 trip to Australia. I was going to post pictures from different places I visited, but I didn't get beyond my first stop in Melbourne. What a beautiful city! When I first started planning the trip, I didn't know very much about Melbourne, but it was a perfect introduction to Australia and I am so glad that I spent a few days there recovering from jet lag, before joining the more hectic tour  of Australia.    

The Australian Open was going on during my visit to Melbourne and this viewing area in Federation Square, a wonderful area of museums, cafes and this fabulous area fitted with grass and chairs for tennis viewing, was just a few blocks from where I was staying. The temperature was remarkably moderate for January, which is summer in Australia, and I visited here several times. 

An alley way near my hotel with wild and wacky street art

My visit to Melbourne was made especially meaningful because I had the opportunity to visit my blog buddy, Little Wren, while I was there. Wren isn't in Melbourne very often, but our visits coincided and we had a wonderful visit together. We chatted, book shopped and had lunch in one of Wren's favorite places, Chicken or the Egg. This beautiful bowl was as delicious as it looked. 

No surprise, but I drank coffee all over Australia, and this beautiful flat white (espresso with steamed milk) caught my heart on my first full day in Melbourne. It was the first of quite a few that I would drink in Australia, a country that knows how to make a very good cup of coffee. 

January 26 is Australia Day, the Australian National holiday, and though it's well over in Melbourne, we still have a little more time to give a cheer for Australia. I'm not planning any major trips these days, but if and when travel becomes feasible, I'd love a return trip. 

Though I was primed for major snow this morning and had no intention of going out, the  snow pretty much fizzled away by the afternoon. After a very leisurely morning and another episode of Bridgerton, I got myself out for a trip to the drugstore and a walk in the neighborhood. I spent some time prepping in the kitchen while listening to an audiobook, my new pastime. Right now I'm enjoying "The Beloved World of Sonia Sotomayor," by Justice Sotomayor. Read by the Justice, it's an adaptation from her memoir for young people. I'm finding audiobooks are great company when I'm working in the kitchen and I'm really enjoying her stories of growing up in the Bronx. What are you reading/listening to?

As ever, thanks for visiting and keep cozy.

Q Is for Queensland (Australia)

We're spending Earth Day 2020 in Queensland at the Great Barrier Reef

When I started doing the A to Z Challenge at the beginning of the month I had an idea of the stops on our journey, but not what day I'd be doing each post. I'm delighted to feature one of the great natural wonders of the world, the Great Barrier Reef, on Earth Day 2020. The reef stretches over 1800 miles parallel to the coast of the Australian state of Queensland. It's larger than the Great Wall of China and the same length as the distance from New York City to Denver. It's the world's largest collection of coral, composed of over 400 different types of coral. Unfortunately the Reef has been damaged by warmer ocean temperatures and runoffs of sediment, as well as poorly managed tourism. A toast to the health of the Reef and the ocean that surrounds it! 

I made my visit to the Great Barrier Reef during a stay in Cairns, a city in the north of Queensland. One of my favorite memories of Cairns is eating dinner at the Cairns Esplanade Lagoon. This is a wonderful picnic and swimming area built directly on the beach. It was lively and a lot of fun and K and I enjoyed sharing our picnic table with a family from Cairns. 

If you look carefully to the top left you can see the fruit bats that are also Queensland residents

After my day visiting the Great Barrier Reef my group spent the day in Kuranda. We traveled via the Kuranda Scenic Railway through a mountain rain forest, which is part of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area.

   

On our way to a mountain rain forest and the town of Kuranda

Enjoyed this mural at the visitor center in Kuranda. Kuranda is only a town of 3,000 people, 

but I found it a fascinating place to visit. 

There is nothing like "cuddling a koala" at the Kuranda Koala Gardens. It was a very quick cuddle in order to keep my friend, Kiki, from getting tired, but it's an extraordinary memory.  There is a Government Code of Practice that's followed to keep the koalas healthy. 

Aren't you glad you brought your bathing suit and sunscreen for our day out of doors? Tomorrow we're flying over 9,000 miles to return to Europe to visit our next wonder of the world.  It's a twenty-four hour trip, but traveling via blog we can relax at home in our leggings and t-shirts. 

I've settled into my new not-so-normal: blogging, reading, cooking -- can't wait to eat out again --  cleaning the kitchen after cooking -- and walking (wearing a mask) around the neighborhood. I've kept up with my Weight Watchers workshops and synagogue activities via Zoom and my college class with our Facebook group.  I haven't taken up any new hobbies, but I am beginning to look for a class I can take online. I'm making every effort not to think about how long this phase of staying in will last. I don't think of myself as a senior, but I am and I need to be thoughtful about my activities.

As ever, thanks for visiting and take good care. Much love and wash your hands! 

Happy Birthday, Dear K

Sunset on the St. Lawrence River

We're ending January with a birthday celebration. Today is my dear, dear friend K's birthday. We met the first week of college in September 1968 and we've been talking and laughing ever since. We lived on the same hall and one of us wandered into the other's room and as they say, the rest is a wonderful history. I cannot imagine my life without K's friendship. The view above is K's view across the St. Lawrence River to Brockville, Ontario. It's (really) chilly in the winter, but once the temperature rises, there are few places I enjoy visiting more. 

One of the great pleasures of these last few years has been traveling with K. We had a great trip as a retirement celebration in 2015 to Japan. 

 This was one of our stops on the Philosopher's Path in Kyoto.

We learned to ride the subway in Tokyo 

There were naysayers who told us not to attempt the subway in Tokyo. But a museum was calling our names and off we went. I'm still grateful for the people who observed two confused tourists and gave us directions. 

Downtown Melbourne, seen from the Shrine of Remembrance

I think our greatest adventure was our trip to Australia in 2018. We enjoyed every place we visited, but Melbourne was a particular favorite. We spent a few extra days here before we joined our tour and we were able to get to know this fabulous city in more depth, and we loved it!

All of our adventures don't involve flying thousands of miles. We've had great times in Ottawa. Our trips always include the National Gallery of Canada -- the highlight for our trip in August was a Gauguin show -- bookstore browsing and memorable meals. One of our delicious treats on our latest visit was "smoked meat," marinated brisket, at the legendary Dunn's.

These are just a few high points in over fifty years of friendship. A toast to your birthday, dear K. and a toast to our friendship. Here's to many, many more years of good health, happiness, travel and quiet times watching the river flow by.

It's time to bid farewell to January, 2020. Over the weekend I'll be blogging about Pink Saturday and No-Spending January. Many thanks to everyone who visited and commented over the last month and a big welcome to the new citizens of Buttercupland. 

As ever, thanks for visiting and have a cozy weekend. 

My Heart and Prayers Are in Australia

With my koala buddy, KiKi

Exactly two years ago, I was getting ready for the trip of a lifetime. I was about set off for almost three weeks in Australia. I planned to join a tour for two of those weeks and also spend time independently in Melbourne and Sydney.  The trip surpassed my expectations. I got to cuddle a koala, see sights of extraordinary beauty and spend time with my bloggy buddy, Little Wandering Wren in Melbourne. 

I am beyond heartbroken at the scenes of devastation throughout Australia. More than twelve million acres have been scorched and hundreds of thousands of animals have died. I know that this isn't the usual happy post of Buttercupland, but the situation so moved my heart I want to make my contribution to a place that welcomed me so completely. 

  I was so excited to see a wallaby in the area outside of Melbourne.

I reached out to friends I made while I was there for a suggestion for donations. My buddies at Chicken or The Egg suggested WIRES, Australian Wildlife Information and Rescue Services. I am not fundraising, but I know in times of disaster we often look for credible organizations to contribute to and this group is doing great work. 

On a completely different note, I'm doing well with No-Spending January. My only expense for today was $1.09 for coffee at 7-11. I also comparative shopped yogurt in the neighborhood and found the least expensive place was my local Walgreen's where it was $1.49 vs. $2.29 at the grocery down the street.  

Total saving on January 5: $30.89

Tomorrow morning I'm leaving for my first trip of 2020, a quick visit to Vermont to see my dear friends, K and J. The airport presents unique challenges for No-Spending. Coffee is twice the price of anywhere else and the same for food. I'm not going to go hungry, but I will look around for good value. I downloaded several library books to my Kindle, so I won't be tempted by books or magazines.

I don't plan to post while I'm away, but will be posting "Vermont in Winter" on my Instagram page. If you would like to follow, here is the link, buttercupnyc.

As ever, thanks for visiting and wishes for a great week!

F Is for Flat White

Sydney, Australia on a cloudy summer morning, January 2018

 

When I joined my tour in Sydney last winter I mentioned to our incomparable tour guide, Matt, that I was a fan of coffee. He assured me he would guide me in every stop on our trip, and added that I needed to start drinking "flat whites." I had no idea what he was recommending. I soon found out and across and up and down Australia I drank flat whites. 

 



  A flat white in Bondi Beach

 

A flat white consists of espresso and microfoam, steamed milk with small, fine bubbles. Its close relative is the latte, but it has less milk and more coffee. It also has characteristics of the cappuccino, but with less foam. I assumed that the flat white was of Australian origin, but there is a debate between Australia and New Zealand as to which country can claim the flat white. As I am not a coffee historian as yet, I leave this issue to those more familiar with the historical setting. As a coffee drinker I came to enjoy it very much and will always be appreciative to Matt for this recommendation. I had hoped to keep drinking flat whites when I came home from Australia, but with a very few exceptions, I was disappointed and have returned to my more familiar cappuccino when I want a treat. 

 

 Bondi Beach Graffiti Wall

 



Bondi Beach is an iconic stop for visitors to Sydney. Only five miles from the Central Business District it is the place envisioned with the words "Australian surfing." I was especially taken with the Graffiti Wall which separates the beach from the town. My tour group spent an idyllic hour here, walking along the empty morning beach and then enjoying our coffee time. As a side note, there wasn't a stop when we didn't enjoy our coffee time in Australia. There was terrific coffee everywhere we went. Thank you, Australia!

 

I'm happy we're getting around the world with our A to Z Blogging adventure this year. I'm also happy to be joining my Pink Saturday friends this week, too. What are you happy about this week? 

 

We're returning to New York tomorrow for "G" and one of my favorite local places. I hope you will join us. As ever, thanks for visiting and let's have a cup of coffee!



Pink Saturday Giveaway Winners

Sunday morning, Sydney Australia

 February 3, 2018

 

Exactly a year ago I was drinking coffee at a Georgie Boy, a great coffee bar in Sydney, Australia, 9,929 miles from home. Not surprisingly this morning I was also drinking coffee, but at Bagel Etc. on Broadway, Manhattan, about a mile from home. It's been a great visit back to Sydney via photographs and memories and this is the last of our virtual travels there, at least for this year.

It's time to announce the winners of the Buttercupland Tenth blogaversary giveaway. Lisa D', you are the winner of a coffee gift card. It's your choice of a ten dollar gift card at either Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks. Our book prize winner is my blogger buddy, What's New at My House. I will be in touch to follow up with both of you. Thanks to all for being part of the Buttercupland family and congratulations to our two winners!

It was really balmy today with a high of 51 degrees. Loved being outside and loved the feel of the air. No hat, no gloves and no boots was very sweet, too. I did a few errands, met my friend J for coffee and enjoyed my mile + outside.

I'm also happy to begin the week joining my Pink Saturday blog friends. The weather looks to be kinder this week and I'm looking forward to being outside. I'm still taking it easy, but I am adding a class at my synagogue one night a week this month. I've been reading more -- a great mystery to share in the next few days -- and doing some decluttering. But I'll be happy and very grateful when recovery is behind me and I'm back to my expeditions around New York City.

As ever, thanks for visiting and take care! 

The World According to Alice Springs

When you're in Alice Springs, Australia...

 

I enjoyed virtually visiting Cairns so much yesterday, I decided to extend my "visit" to Australia with a trip today to the geographic center of the country, Alice Springs. Known as "the Alice" it's a town of 25,000 people and a great introduction to our visit to the Outback. I noted that New York City was missing from the sign above and just learned that it's 10,445 miles from where I am right now to the Alice. I knew it was a long trip and I wanted to make sure I got there when I had the opportunity.

 

 

The view from the ANZAC Hill Memorial, honoring soldiers from

Australia and New Zealand, who died in World War I

 

This was one of our stops during the visit to Alice Springs. It was also my first introduction to the magnificent clouds and sky over this area of Australia. I never grew tired of admiring the skyscape, which was beautiful and endless.

 

 

 I've been to Big Sky country in the western United States, but while beautiful, nothing compared to the skies over the Australian outback. I know there are those who will disagree with me, and I respect your opinions, but I really didn't know clouds at all until my visit to Australia.

 

Our visit to Alice Springs wouldn't be complete without a photograph of the main shopping area. K and I had a delicious lunch, bought gifts to bring home and enjoyed window shopping, too. I don't remember the temperature last year, but tomorrow -- it's already January 28 in Australia -- the high for Alice Springs is predicted for 98 degrees. Right now it's a balmy 71 degrees, but that will change quickly.

 

Am I missing Australia? Yes!

 

I think we may return to Australia a few more times this week. When I looked over my posts during and after the trip I feel as though I skipped so many interesting places that I'd really like to share. A second reason is that I'm not out taking many photographs while I'm more limited in my travels around New York City. And third, I love returning to Australia, even if it's just via my photographs.

 

Today has been a balmy (for January) day in New York. We're not close to Alice Springs low of 71, but I enjoyed my one mile walk at 47 degrees. We're looking at colder weather later in the week, so I'm making the most of sunshine and not having to wear a hat.

 

As ever, thanks for visiting and thanks for traveling to Alice Springs with me.   



Pink Saturday Celebrates Australia Day

 

It's actually Sunday in Sydney and the celebration for Australia Day has finished...

 

...But in New York City it's Saturday night and we're still celebrating with our Pink Saturday buddies. Australia Day is the official National Day of Australia. Last year I was in Australia on January 26, enjoying one of the best trips ever. I hadn't realized that today is Australia Day until I got a text from my travel buddy, K., reminding  me. I've pulled together some of my favorite pictures of our visit to say Congratulations to Australia. 

 

Besides the photograph of Sydney shown above I've chosen pictures from our visit to Cairns, which is the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. The Great Barrier Reef includes over 3,000 individual reef systems and our day spent at sea there was an extraordinary experience. 

 

   

This is not the Great Barrier Reef, but a wonderful park on the ocean in Cairns. K and I discovered it on a walk the first night we were in Cairns and made it our dinner stop for the next two nights. We joined, what seemed like, every family in Cairns enjoying this extraordinary venue. It was the perfect place to enjoy a picnic by the ocean. In the background are bats, which came out every evening at sundown.

 

I would be remiss to omit the coffee of Australia, and one of my favorite places was in Cairns. The coffee shop was Bang & Grind and I only wish I could have been there long enough to complete my frequent visitor card. I was introduced to one of Australia's favorite ways to drink coffee during my visit, the flat white, which is espresso with microfoam. This delicious way to drink coffee got me through jet lag very nicely. 

 

This poster, from Bang & Grind, was a handy reference tool for the rest of my visit. 

 

Kiki and me, one of the best moments of 2018.

 

In a trip that held as many great times as the visit to Australia it's difficult to choose a best moment. The Sydney Opera House, the views in the outback and the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne come to mind immediately. But for single best moment my minute with Kiki the Koala, at an animal park in the hills above Cairns, is the winner. Meeting Kiki was a once in a lifetime experience, and this is one of my favorite pictures of all of my travels.

 

I hope you've enjoyed our visit to Australia and getting to know Cairns. Do you have a favorite memory from your travels?

 

I'm doing well, but I think in an effort to enjoy a few relatively warm winter days, I may have overdone my exercise. I took it much easier today and will do the same tomorrow. I start outpatient physical therapy on Monday and want to be able to take advantage of my session. 

 

As ever, thanks for visiting and take good care. Keep cozy! 







Pink Saturday Goes to Bondi Beach

This is good advice every week, but especially at the end of this week.

This mural by the wonderful Amy Peel is part of the Bondi Beach Graffiti Wall

The weather outside is frightful and my fantasy that I wouldn't see snow again this winter has now joined fantasies past, gone in a drift of snowflakes. Since I'm in no mood for hats, boots and scarves I'm proposing a Pink Saturday  getaway to perhaps the most famous beach in Australia, Bondi Beach. Bondi Beach -- from the aboriginal word for water breaking over rocks -- is in a suburb of Sydney and only four miles from the center of Sydney.    
 

The day that our group visited was rainy and overcast, but the sky and beach were lovely. It was only 9:00 in the morning so it was still quite empty.  

There was no activity in the water when I was there, but cloudy skies didn't deter these two surfers from coming to the beach.

One of my favorite parts of my visit was seeing the Bondi Beach Graffiti Wall. The art is constantly changing and I would love to be able to return to see the next set of murals. I took a lot of pictures here, so expect that a few more of my favorites will be featured.
 

Hello, Sun! Can't wait to see you again.

 

 

I hope you're still enjoying our visits to Australia. I have several more ideas for posts that I hope to do during February. Life in most aspects is returning to real life with walking, the gym, laundry, cooking and the Olympics. Alas, sleeping is not quite where it should be, but I'm optimistic I will turn a corner this week.

 

As ever, thanks for visiting and have a great weekend! 

 



Would Kiki/Tas/Roo Be Happy?

Does this cute-as-can-be koala want to live in New York City?

One of the questions I was asked a number of times was "Can you/will you bring home a koala?"  Forgetting the fact that koalas are endangered and have a protected status in Australia -- which eliminates the possibility of bringing Kiki and friends to New York -- I asked a different question, "Would Kiki be happy living in a New York apartment?" Sadly, I don't think Kiki would be happy in my apartment.

Kiki and friends -- these pictures were taken at Featherdale Wildlife Park outside of Sydney -- live in large enclosures and spend most of the time sleeping in trees. I do have high ceilings, but keeping alive the trees that Kiki prefers would be more than a full-time job, especially for me who has trouble keeping the simplest house plant alive. Kiki's menu includes a variety of gum tree leaves, narrow- leaved peppermint and southern mahogany, all in short supply in local pet stores. Even after I converted my apartment to a koala habitat, I think Kiki might miss her koala friends. I've read enough Mr. Popper's Penguins/Paddington to entertain the thought of bringing a koala home, but have decided the practical -- could I also turn out to be allergic to koalas with more exposure to them? -- has to prevail.

One of the signs at Featherdale. I turned left for the koalas, of course!

I was at Featherdale in time for penguin feeding. One of our excursions from Melbourne was a visit to Phillip Island to see the little penguins. No pictures were permitted, so I was very pleased to get this photograph to share. 

An unexpected favorite of mine was the Tasmanian Devil. This hyperactive carnivorous marsupial would definitely not be happy in an apartment, and I don't think he would make a good house guest.
 

I would be remiss not to include a picture of kangaroos. This was my only kangaroo sighting outside of the wildlife parks we went to. I definitely don't think Roo would be happy in my apartment, even with frequent walks outside. Roos need a lot of room to jump. 

 

But I did bring home a new friend, Ophelia, who is actually about the size of a little penguin. Ophelia is a perfect addition to the crew. She needs no special diet, enjoys dressing up and is very friendly. She ably assisted Pep and Opus in choosing the winner of the Blogaversary giveaway, Susie at She Junks. Susie, I will be in touch with you to send you a surprise from the Outback. Congratulations!

I hope you've enjoyed our time with Kiki, Tas and my roo friends as much as I have. Happy early Valentine wishes! We'll be back with a bigger celebration tomorrow.

As ever, thanks for visiting and take good care!