Another another appalling flight courtesy of Air Pacific we arrived late in Sydney ready to have the time of our lives! Especially after a very slow and relaxed Fiji. We had our own little welcome party waiting for us at the airport in the form of Amelia's friends from Luton, Marie and Lee and a 'Welcome to Australia' helium balloon! We were immediately won over by Australian public transport ... double decker trains!! Some may say we are easily impressed!! We headed back to Marie and Lee's flat in Glebe, 10 minutes from Sydney Central and a very nice area with lots going on. Had a good catch up and explored what would be our home for the next two weeks (thanks guys!). Weather was 37degrees when we got off the plane but we soon felt right at home when the thunder and rain arrived! We finally see a glimpse of Christmas in the flat with Marie's beautifully decorated tree, complete with fairy lights! Spent the first couple of days doing the tourist things and sorting out all our paperwork, lots achieved though. Here are some of the highlights; * First views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House * Lunch at Darling Harbour * Exploring the City Centre * Dirty Dancing musical starring Libby Kennedy from Neighbours, brilliant! * Lorraine went to the aquarium with Rachel, Clare & co. We got very well aqauinted with the Broadway Shopping Centre in Glebe, possibly visiting it every day! Lorraine had her tarot cards read which told her some very interesting things about the year to come, we'll have to let you know if any of it comes true! Christmas Eve earnt us our first proper night out. After many 'Lorraine sized' vodkas (ie. MASSIVE!) at the flat we found a bar in Paddington that occupied us until we headed to the nearby 'Good Bar'. Sadly we can't remember much of the night but we think fun was had by all ... maybe too much vodka was had though! Christmas Day and Santa bought us all nasty hangovers, no doubt to remind us why you shouldn't drink so much on Christmas Eve!! After a very slow morning opening our Secret Santa stockings and eating most of our picnic food (seeings the weather had cancelled that out!) we decided the grey skies would not prevent us from getting to Bondi Beach. Everyone else seemed to have the same idea as well so we joined our fellow British revellers wandering the streets. Bad planning and lack of picnic food led us to the golden arches for our Christmas Day lunch, which needless to say did not compare to our mum's home-cooked turkey! Ended the day in true Xmas Day spirit ... watching Home Alone, eating too many chocolates and pringles and falling asleep infront of the telly! Boxing Day was a little more active as we were treated to a day on the Emma and Mark tourbus, Lorraine's floor manager from work & Australian husband. Squeezed a lot in, including:- * Bondi Beach Markets - lots to see and buy! * Start of the Sydney - Hobart Yacht Race * The Water Tank Lookout - Views of the entire Sydney Skyline, Harbour * Balmoral Beach - Amazing fish & Chips on the seafront * Palm Beach - Where Home & Away is filmed, ice-cream at the Surf Club * Back to Mark's Parents for Monopoly and Dinner, Lorraine won! After Christmas we squeezed in a few more touristy things including riding the city monorail, an open top sightseeing bus (on a very windy day!), the Botanical Gardens and spent almost a whole day changing our flights to New Zealand - not as easy as we had thought, or rather the travel agent had led us to believe! Had a great time at a local Spanish restaurant in Glebe and enjoyed Paella and flamenco dancing, especially when Lee joined in!! New Year's Eve we welcomed our friend Meg from Melbourne, who we met in America last year. After much painful deliberation we decided to part for the night and Lorraine spent it with friends from home in a bar on the harbour and Amelia in a park with Marie, Lee and Meg from Melbourne. Read our seperate accounts! Amelia's New Year:- Armed with a brimming picnic, ipod and blanket we headed down to the lawns next to the Opera House at about 1.30pm. We had expected massive crowds but it wasn't too busy so we got a brilliant spot facing the bridge with the Opera House on our left. It was a hot day but we got through it with supplies of ice cream! The day seemed to go really quickly and the first set of fireworks started at 9pm, after a minutes silence for the Tsunami victims. The displays were brilliant, going off either side of the bridge (although the bridge wasn't included) and warmed us all up for the big one at 12. As night drew on we indulged in a few bottles of champers and chocolate dipped strawberries (and who said you can't get class in a park!), by 12 we were ready for celebration and the bridge fireworks certainly did not dissapoint. You can't really describe the scale of the fireworks but it was an amazing, once in a lifetime experience and one that I will remember forever. Had a fun 1hr walk home with the masses and passed out in bed soon after!! Can't wait to see what 2005 brings! Lorraine's New Year:- After meeting Meg from the airport we went our seperate ways, I headed off to Burwood to meet Rach, Clare, Sam, Rich and co. to start our day of fun! After a good catch up, some vino and a delay as the boys did their hair we headed into Sydney via campervan then train! At Sydney Cove we met Han and James (more lovely mates from home), Rachs' parents Lesley and Steve even met us, we practically filled the whole bar! We excitedly had a little look around the harbour then headed onto Cruise Bar, quite slinky for us backpackers! With funky music, atmosphere and fantasric views of the harbour, opera house and well half of the bridge we watch in awe and added in personal sound effects to both the 9pm and midnight fireworks, amazed by the colours and reflection all around the harbours water and buildings I must agree the views were overwhelming and definately recommended, perhaps next year we'll all be on the $500 yacht! Unfortunatley weren't signaled for the minute silence, but wished a happier new year to the victims. After many attempts to pass on new year wishes over clogged phone lines we trundeld home with smiles and aching feet. New Year's day thankfully did not bring hangovers as bad as Christmas! We spent the day at the local pool enjoying some sun and sharing some New Year greetings with those in England - Amelia's brother Scott may just be receving his bill and be getting a nasty shock, but nice to speak to all of your friends Scott! The evening was a bit of a treat for us as we had booked a 3hr cruise on the Sydney Showboat. After turning up at the wrong harbour we just made it for boarding and were treated (possibly!) to a 60yr old Australian Tommy Cooper wannabe - and yes, just as bad as he sounds! Had an amazing 3 course meal including kangaroo salad, salmon, chicken with tagliatelle and some scrummy desserts (see the picture in the albumn!). After dinner the showgirls and singer performed songs and dances from around the world. Toward the end we made an exit to the top deck of the boat and shared a moment as we sailed under the harbour bridge which was lit up and the New Year's ball, which performed better than it had the night before with flashing lights and changing colours. Our first stint in Sydney came to a close and we began preparations for a road trip up the east coast. We'll be back in Sydney though, and we've got many more things to see and do yet ........ Lorraine has a list!!