I recently had the great pleasure of traveling to Australia for business with Thad and fortunately had the chance to take in a lot of the excellent culture and natural beauty of the country.  The trip really couldn't have been more of a success overall thanks to the great meetings, the friendly people and the places they recommended visiting.  Matt and Thad also did an outstanding job of organizing the trip!

The goal of the trip was to kickoff a project with a new client and meet new potential clients as well as other partners we have in Australia.  We travelled to both Melbourne and Sydney in the week we were there.  Overall, the lengthy plane trip across the Pacific was much better than I expected and I discovered that the route between Melbourne and Sydney is actually the most-trafficked in the world (some flights leaving every 15 minutes during commuter hours!)

In both cities we were fortunate enough to be meeting with fantastic people who took the time to show us the sights of the city--both tourist hotspots as well as hidden gems.  Everything from Bondi beach in Sydney, to the waterfront and Diagon Alley-esque teashops in Melbourne to the Blue Mountains.

Thad and I had the chance to watch A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Sydney Opera House.  The Opera version of it was much raunchier than other versions I've seen but overall the experience was quite enjoyable.

Unfortunately, most of the wildlife that I saw was in the admittedly excellent miniature zoos and aquariams in Sydney harbor.  However, I did get the chance to take the train from Sydney to the Blue Mountains and spend an entire day hiking on the trails which take you from excellent mountain views to hundreds of cascades and large waterfalls.

Everyone's hospitality was in Australia was greatly appreciated and I look forward to returning soon.