The next morning after checking out, downloading photos and lugging my backpack across town I arrived at the Goldsborough Appartments in Darling Harbour. Happy to be in a rather less sordid area of town, I was very excited about seeing my parents. Come 1pm they arrived, jet lagged after 3 days of travelling by plane via Dubai. It was really strange to meet them in Sydney after such a long time but so awesome. Em arrived after mega download session and we hit Darling Harbour for lunch. Hadn't been to Darling Harbour before and so it was interesting to see. It reminded me of Port Solent in the south of England, with lots of bars and restaurants, an Imax cinema, aquarium and zoo. After lunch, we went back to the appartment, moved our stuff in, got supplies, Dad had a nap and we went out into the city for dinner. Having tried the 360 bar and been turned away because Em and I had 'thongs' on, we went off in disgust to Circular Quay to show my parents the Opera House. Here we tucked into a mega sea food platter with a view of the harbour and the opera house. We all decided that the O.H. was decidedly smaller than we had imagined but still quite impressive, if yes, a little stained by pollution. Well stuffed, we went back to the appartment, parents passed out and Em and I had a swim in the appartment block pool.
Unfortunately on the Sunday, the time had come to say goodbye to Emma who was flying to Hong Kong for her last few days before returning to Blighty for Christmas. It was very weird saying goodbye to her as she boarded the shuttle bus after so many good times. Sure we'll have many fun times at A&O ahead of us! Heading out to the city, my parents and I walked around the botanical gardens and Macquarie's Chair before lunch at the harbour and the afternoon Sunday markets at the Rocks. Unfortunately it was shutting and raining but the market area had lots of interesting crafty aussie things to see. Returning to the appartment, Dad went to sleep, still majorly jetlagged, Mum and I head out for some Moroccan food which was lovely.
Monday consisted of a trip to Manly on the ferry, had a swim in the v cold sea, sat on the beach, had some exciting chocolate frappe concoction at the Max Bremner Chocolate Shop place which is a chocoholic's heaven, unlike anything I'd seen, even beat Bar Chocolat in Bristol and that's saying something. We returned to Darling Harbour by ferry and went to the acquarium. Even after seeing the real deal at the Great Barrier Reef, this acquarium was stunning. We were particularly wowed by the sea horses and water dragons which I've never seen anything like before in my life and the shark tunnel which had massive stingrays (poor Steve Irwin) and turtles swimming overhead. Everyone in the tunnels were mesmerised and rightly so. WOW.
We finished off a fantastic day with steak and wine.
Tuesday: the Blue Mountains. After a 2 hour train journey out of Sydney we arrived at this beautiful national park and got a bus ticket for the Explorer Bus where you can get on and off at different stops wherever you like. The Explorer Bus was an old London red bus and had comedy drivers giving commentaries, sadly unlike the grumpy UK bus drivers. After hairy train journeys down valley slopes to the tune of Indiana Jones, little walks around and beautiful blueish panoramas we had a scary Devonshire cream tea in a shop full of teapots, not unlike something out of Little Britain and we caught the train back to Sydney, pleased and bemused.
Sunday 20 January 2008
Saturday 12 January 2008
Adieu to Emma
So after an early morning Greyhound bus trip to Noosa, we arrived at this quiet and relaxed seaside town/resort with beautiful national park beaches. Here we did laundry, had some lunch and then fell asleep on the beach and then had a swim, eyes alert for sharks. The evening brought a quick dinner and then Elizabeth the Golden Age, great Cate but a bit too Hollywood.
The next day we grabbed another Greyhound to Byron Bay where we checked into the YHA and wandered around the town. Really cool place, hippyish with lots of jewelery and surf shops. That afternoon we hung out at the beach people watching. I think this was probably my favourite hang out beach in East Australia, big and beautiful with white sand. The following day we went to a local shop owned by a Brit who has been in Australia for ages. Here he sold us blank didgeridoos which we then spent 3 hours painting on his patio with our own aboriginal designs. Not that authentic but a hell of a lot of fun. Quite relaxing. The guy seemed v enthusiastic about the fact we were British and kept offering us tea and telling people who came into the shop.
That afternoon we got some food, went to the beach and had a swim. Byron Bay had lots of stories in its newspapers about an unusual infestation of sharks so we stood there, uneasy and watching the waves carefully. Weirdest swimming experience, no one was in the sea beyond their thighs. Anyway, that evening we had a great dinner and wandered around yet again. Planning to up and leave the next day again, we discovered the greyhound to Sydney wasn't until the evening so we gained an extra day of sleep and hanging out. We again explored the shops and beach with a fruit platter (bag of fruit from grocery store) and our goon we had left over from Fraser Island in a plastic bottle. We are nothing if not classy. Oh goon for those who don't know is like the box wine you get in the UK. The Aussies like to goon it up quite cheaply and quite regularly.
So we got on the greyhound and set off for Sydney, really the buses in Australia are nowhere near as cool as the Bingo, tv, meal abundant Argentine buses but we attempted to sleep and arrived in Port Jackson at 7am. Checked into the Pink House hostel, bit skanky and pretty much decided to move then and there the following morning. Wandered around Sydney, went through the domain to Circular Quay and then to the Rocks where we pottered around the galleries and shops there after an Italian lunch. In the afternoon we went to the Opera House where we had a couple of glasses of Sauvignon Blanc at the Opera Bar. A really cool bar, reminiscent of the South Bank in London and with the most spectacular view. The Opera House is stunning but slightly more yellow than I thought it would be!
That evening we went back for a snack and caught the end of the Thomas Crown Affair, quite tired by that point it was a perfect end to the day. The next day we caught the ferry to Manly where there is a beautiful friendly family beach and not as crowded as Bondi. Really the Sydneysiders are so lucky to have a beautifully situated city with stunning beaches so nearby. My friend Rosie, my French Horn playing bud from school, is currently there being a doctor so she came to meet us and we spent the day catching up on the beach. In the evening Rohan, from Narrabeen north of Sydney, who we met in Wellington, came to meet us and showed us around Manly.
Being a local, he took us to unknown places like North Head where there was a beautiful view of Sydney harbour and is a site for sordid love affairs (think we scared off one or two by making loud remarks about their cheating and lying scoundrelness ha ha). Then we went to another tucked away cove and hung out there and then head back to Manly where Rohan left us and we had a curry (damn good one at that). Leaving Rosie, not knowing when I would see her again as she's staying for another 18 months probably, we headed back to Sydney.
The next day we wandered around the centre of town, the Queen Victoria Building, the shops, Chinatown, Paddy's Market, the Spanish quarter (more like eighth, pretty tiny) and then went to meet Johnny for a drink at the opera house, another A&Oer passing through on his travels. That evening we had a lovely Italian meal in the Rocks and went back.
So, Friday, the final day with Emma, we wandered around, had a great chocolate snack at the Lindt cafe, of which there are 3 in Sydney and none elsewhere in the world and then after such a strenuous start to the day we went for a lie down in the Botanical Gardens. Generally we had begun to slow down and just enjoy our last days together travelling in Sydney. That evening, we bought a bottle of wine back in Kings Cross, Red light district of Sydney and location of the new hostel, Eva's, and we made our last meal of veggie slop to eat on the roof terrace. After that we went out for a glass of wine in Kings Cross and people watched as prostitutes and women dressed like prostitutes wandered around. Interesting night out. Back at the hostel, after a chat with a German lady about her travels, we had our last cup of tea before bed.
Unfortunately sleeping wasn't often on the cards at Eva's as the 6bed dorm had some Brits who obviously had been there a while, working probably, who came in and out throughout the early hours, one woman with a different chap each night and she wasn't exactly quiet(!). But without wanting to sound like a grandma, it was all good fun (for them anyway) and that but Em and I were relieved that it would probably be our last night in a dorm as we were to move to the appartment with my parents in Darling Harbour the following day. We fell asleep, Emma considering Hong Kong, her final stage and me excited about seeing the parental unit after 6 months.
The next day we grabbed another Greyhound to Byron Bay where we checked into the YHA and wandered around the town. Really cool place, hippyish with lots of jewelery and surf shops. That afternoon we hung out at the beach people watching. I think this was probably my favourite hang out beach in East Australia, big and beautiful with white sand. The following day we went to a local shop owned by a Brit who has been in Australia for ages. Here he sold us blank didgeridoos which we then spent 3 hours painting on his patio with our own aboriginal designs. Not that authentic but a hell of a lot of fun. Quite relaxing. The guy seemed v enthusiastic about the fact we were British and kept offering us tea and telling people who came into the shop.
That afternoon we got some food, went to the beach and had a swim. Byron Bay had lots of stories in its newspapers about an unusual infestation of sharks so we stood there, uneasy and watching the waves carefully. Weirdest swimming experience, no one was in the sea beyond their thighs. Anyway, that evening we had a great dinner and wandered around yet again. Planning to up and leave the next day again, we discovered the greyhound to Sydney wasn't until the evening so we gained an extra day of sleep and hanging out. We again explored the shops and beach with a fruit platter (bag of fruit from grocery store) and our goon we had left over from Fraser Island in a plastic bottle. We are nothing if not classy. Oh goon for those who don't know is like the box wine you get in the UK. The Aussies like to goon it up quite cheaply and quite regularly.
So we got on the greyhound and set off for Sydney, really the buses in Australia are nowhere near as cool as the Bingo, tv, meal abundant Argentine buses but we attempted to sleep and arrived in Port Jackson at 7am. Checked into the Pink House hostel, bit skanky and pretty much decided to move then and there the following morning. Wandered around Sydney, went through the domain to Circular Quay and then to the Rocks where we pottered around the galleries and shops there after an Italian lunch. In the afternoon we went to the Opera House where we had a couple of glasses of Sauvignon Blanc at the Opera Bar. A really cool bar, reminiscent of the South Bank in London and with the most spectacular view. The Opera House is stunning but slightly more yellow than I thought it would be!
That evening we went back for a snack and caught the end of the Thomas Crown Affair, quite tired by that point it was a perfect end to the day. The next day we caught the ferry to Manly where there is a beautiful friendly family beach and not as crowded as Bondi. Really the Sydneysiders are so lucky to have a beautifully situated city with stunning beaches so nearby. My friend Rosie, my French Horn playing bud from school, is currently there being a doctor so she came to meet us and we spent the day catching up on the beach. In the evening Rohan, from Narrabeen north of Sydney, who we met in Wellington, came to meet us and showed us around Manly.
Being a local, he took us to unknown places like North Head where there was a beautiful view of Sydney harbour and is a site for sordid love affairs (think we scared off one or two by making loud remarks about their cheating and lying scoundrelness ha ha). Then we went to another tucked away cove and hung out there and then head back to Manly where Rohan left us and we had a curry (damn good one at that). Leaving Rosie, not knowing when I would see her again as she's staying for another 18 months probably, we headed back to Sydney.
The next day we wandered around the centre of town, the Queen Victoria Building, the shops, Chinatown, Paddy's Market, the Spanish quarter (more like eighth, pretty tiny) and then went to meet Johnny for a drink at the opera house, another A&Oer passing through on his travels. That evening we had a lovely Italian meal in the Rocks and went back.
So, Friday, the final day with Emma, we wandered around, had a great chocolate snack at the Lindt cafe, of which there are 3 in Sydney and none elsewhere in the world and then after such a strenuous start to the day we went for a lie down in the Botanical Gardens. Generally we had begun to slow down and just enjoy our last days together travelling in Sydney. That evening, we bought a bottle of wine back in Kings Cross, Red light district of Sydney and location of the new hostel, Eva's, and we made our last meal of veggie slop to eat on the roof terrace. After that we went out for a glass of wine in Kings Cross and people watched as prostitutes and women dressed like prostitutes wandered around. Interesting night out. Back at the hostel, after a chat with a German lady about her travels, we had our last cup of tea before bed.
Unfortunately sleeping wasn't often on the cards at Eva's as the 6bed dorm had some Brits who obviously had been there a while, working probably, who came in and out throughout the early hours, one woman with a different chap each night and she wasn't exactly quiet(!). But without wanting to sound like a grandma, it was all good fun (for them anyway) and that but Em and I were relieved that it would probably be our last night in a dorm as we were to move to the appartment with my parents in Darling Harbour the following day. We fell asleep, Emma considering Hong Kong, her final stage and me excited about seeing the parental unit after 6 months.
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