It’s half 3 in the morning and I’m up writing my blog! I’ve drunk far too many energy drinks to go to sleep just yet…figured I might as well make use of my sleeplessness. I have now been up for over 23 hours and I’m amazed I have the functionality to type this. Whatever, let’s catch you up on Sydney!
I arrived in Sydney after a few days in Adelaide. I’m not even going to write much about Adelaide as I really didn’t do much! I sorted out my American leg of the trip, slept a lot, ate a lot of chocolate and had some good downtime, which was actually well needed. It was a pretty boring city if I’m honest, in my opinion a very shit, sleepy and small version of London. Anyway, that was Adelaide – I told you, nothing to blog about. Sydney, however, is a completely different story.
I arrived just gone 3pm and Jess had just finished work, so she met me at the train station. We went straight back to her apartment, which has a great view of Darling Harbour. Dumping all my stuff there, we proceeded to walk to Circular Quay, that famous place with an opera house and a bridge. We had a wander around, had a few drinks in the Opera House bar, and then our stomachs decided it was time for dinner. Walking back, we stumbled across a Wagamamas…just what the doctor ordered. Now, they don’t have Wagas in Canada so Jess was in for a culinary treat. It was so good to catch up, even though it felt like we hadn’t been apart for a month or so!!
Jess had to work the next day, so I had a good sleep then went to sample the sights of Sydney. First up was breakfast in Darling Harbour, I’m ashamed to say it was Subway! I then went for a short walk to Circular Quay where I figured that the Botanical Gardens should be sampled…after all this was my 3rd trip to Sydney and I still hadn’t seen them. All I can say is that they are stunning. I’m no gardener, and barely take any appreciation of flowers, as I’m sure my mum can confirm!! The gardens are spectacular to waste a day wandering around, they encompass part of the harbour, with amazing views and just very peaceful. The lunchtime CBD runners were out in force, so you had to watch where you walked if you didn’t want to get caught in a stampede. Nevertheless it was a pleasurable experience..
After my morning stroll round the gardens, I figured it was time to see the Opera House properly. I would have loved to have seen a play or concert there, but with tickets at extortionate prices my broke backpacker funds would not allow it. Instead, I settled for a guided tour round the various stages and theatres housed by one of the most famous buildings in the world. It was definitely worth the money, as I saw some architechtually incredible rooms, and gained some interesting facts about the building and the performances they put on. Mesh has to be put over the orchestra pit in the opera room as during a production of Carmen, the director wanted live chickens on stage to authenticise the performance. However, the chickens became alarmed, ran out their cage and fell down onto an unsuspecting cello player. So, the mesh was put in place!
The following day I took a ferry to Manly Beach. It’s so famous, and with a fantastic name so i decided it was worth a trip. The ferry ride was great, relatively cheap (at $6 something) and gave outstanding views of the Sydney skyline. It was also nice to be on a boat, especially as I had missed out on Airlie Beach (not quite the same, but a girl can try!). Manly was enjoyable, a pretty beach and some nice shops. Also a great little shop where you can just buy a slice of delectable pizza. I really enjoyed my time on Manly, even if a lot of it was spent reading my book.
Tuesday evening is Bingo evening. Jess and I walked half an hour to the bar where bingo was being played. If you got a yeehaa (a full line for those of you not in the know) you won a free jug of beer. A bingo meant a meat platter was yours. Our table won 3 meat platters and a jug between us. It was Jess, her 2 friends Beau and Jay, and myself. I won one of the meat platters, one of the proudest moments of Australia, hahaha. It was very impressive actually, 2 gorgeous steaks, a few lamb chops and about 6 sausages. That was going to feed us for a while, you really appreciate stuff like that when you’re trying to live off about $15 a day!!
Wednesday was the day I had set aside to go to Palm Beach, where they film Home and Away. It was 29 degrees that day, perfect as it had been slightly chilly. I went out in a bikini and shorts, a first in about a week! The bus journey out there was better than I thought, it took an hour and a half but gave some incredible views of the Sydney coastline. I wish I’d taken a few pictures through the bus window but someone had graffiteed over it unfortunately. The beach was warm and it felt so good to have my feet squidge through warm sand again. I wandered up the beach to where I saw familiar flags from my many years of Home and Away watching. They were filming, as per usual.
I got to meet a few of the cast, see the whole shebang as far as production goes and grabbed a bite to eat in the Summer Bay Surf Club! Unfortunately no Alf Stewart or Irene but I guess you can’t have it all. It was great fun to watch the filming for a bit, until I felt my feet take me towards the rock pool at the other end of the beach. It’s a natural pool cut into the rocks and filled with the sea water. Good swim, even if the water was a little nippy. I got out and sunbathed myself dry – I forgot to take my towel – when all of a sudden it became very overcast and I ran for shelter just as the heavens opened! Thankfully a bus was waiting so on I hopped and made the hour and a half journey back to good ole Sydney centre.
That evening Jess and I met up with 2 of her Canadian friends from home, and we went out to Darling Harbour’s Starbucks. Never has a skinny latte tasted so good, especially after 3 months of not having one! We wanted to go see an Imax movie but nothing worth seeing was on, so we were typical reprobates and wandered around the harbour, talking, laughing, taking pictures and occasionally jumping onto railings. It was a pleasant evening.
Thursday was a day of washing, showering and packing! I had to get ready to say my farewells to the country that had become my home for the past 5 months. It was a highly emotional day, and I struggled to come to terms with the fact that I was leaving all these amazing people and places behind, but I took comfort in the fact that I was taking away some unbelievable memories and good times. After my morning of organising it was time to head to Bondi Beach. Surely, no trip to the Sydney area is complete without heading out to the infamous Bondi. I obviously had picked a bad day to go as the weather had turned, meaning it was windy and cold. Nevertheless, I enjoyed a stroll along the beach, and a delectable chocolate and hazelnut strudel…my tummy’s grumbling just thinking about it.
I’ve officially been awake 24 hours! I’m not sure if this is a good thing. As you can tell, I have energy as I just keep writing and writing. Might as well catch you up on my first evening in Auckland while I’m at it.
So, I landed, caught the bus to my hostel. It’s in a great location, just off Queen Street the main street in Auckland. I checked in, went and got some food and then just started exploring. I got chatting to a random in the hostel, and we went out to the supermarket which has a funny name which I can’t remember off the top of my head. I’ll let you know in a later post!! I met up with Helen Gordon about 10pm. It was so good to see her after about a year and half. She’s definitely grown up, and we had so much to catch up on. We headed to the bar right next door to my hostel. We met her gay friend Tristan there, and I’m going to see his drag act in a week’s time. Tomorrow evening is a party for one of Helen’s friends which should be fun. It’s nice to have a group to slot straight into, and it’s so good to see that girl. A lot of catching up was done and before we knew it we were kicked out the bar as it was closing.
Instead of going home like sensible people we figured it was time to head to Globe Bar. This is where Helen’s boyfriend is working as 2IC. Of course, we get free entry and free drinks and that girl seems to know all the staff in there! It was good to meet some of the locals and her friends and we kept chatting and chatting and before we knew it that place was closed too! At about 3.20 we figure it’s maybe time to go home, as tomorrow night will be a big one too. Ahh well, I haven’t been out in over a month, it’s obviously catch up time!!!
Ok, I figure I definitely should get some sleep. I’ve written yet another essay, so I apologise!! 3 A-4 pages worth of writing I think is a record for my blog…maybe it will getbeaten, who knows?! Ok, sleep time ….zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Peace and love xx
No comments:
Post a Comment