Graduation + Vacation

It's official!  I recently attended my graduation ceremony at the University of Western Australia in Perth, Western Australia (WA) and really enjoyed my stay there. My travel buddy said that the architecture in WA reminded her a lot of the architecture in Europe.  I haven't been to Europe, but I have a feeling that if I was so entranced by the designs in WA, then Europe's architectural marvels would surely keep me in awe.

I forgot where this was, exactly.

fire station near our serviced apartment

While there, one of the best decisions we made was to join a tour, specifically one organized by Out & About Wine Tours. We went on the Swan Valley Winery Experience Tour and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  While I have never been on a wine tour before, my travel buddy has -- and she said that this was the best tour she's ever been on.

Free magnet!

vineyard

Cheese, cheese, and even more cheese!  Yummy!

We also decided to stop over at Hong Kong for a few days before heading back home.  Since my travel buddy isn't big on sightseeing and is more of a shopper, I trooped over to Ngong Ping by my lonesome to see the gigantic bronze buddha.  I was quite disappointed though that the 360 Cable Car was under repair!!!  Oh well, quite an adventure looking for the bus that went that way, but well worth it.  I climbed up all 200 plus steps!  Yay!

What!?! Closed!?!  I was so excited to ride the scenic cable car!  Oh well, this will not stop me.

Challenge accepted.

statues not seen from the bottom but still relatively large

Buddha, bless me.

I much prefer sightseeing over shopping.  I do not mind blowing my money if it's to go see something out of the ordinary or if it's to experience something new.  I hardly did any computations when I went on the tour and visited the gigantic buddha.  Hehe.