Wow! This city has so much going on, and I love that there are so many beaches and water everywhere, you need it in the heat and it is so gorgeous! Really nice to just go and chill out on the beach for the day/afternoon as a hang over cure! My first day in Sydney I walked loads, got the bus to Circular Quay and went to the Opera house and the surrounding area. It was pretty cloudy to start with but then it cleared up and looked even more stunning, I think I took a pic of the opera house in the cloudiness and it just doesnt look as good but it was being there! I then walked up through 'The Rocks' which is a really nice shopping area with lots of really nice cafes, shops and resturants! I went and had an Iced Chocolate (we really dont have them at home like they do here! they are amazing!) in a little garden cafe called Gumnut Cafe (I think) it was so pretty (apart from the caterpiller walking over my toes and scaring me half to death cos I though it was a spider!) Dont worry I didnt make a scene! Much! hehe! :) Then I went up to a place called Observatory hill which had an amzing view of the harbour and was very peaceful. From there I carried on through the Rocks, around to Darling Harbour which is pretty cool and very trendy looking bars! I know I've already said this but the beaches are so good here! The first one I went to in Sydney was Coogee beach which was lovely, lots of nice little shops and and bustling little beach! When Lauras sister Emily came to stay we walked from Coogee to Bondi beach along the cliff, it was beautiful and there were lots of little bays along the way. There was also an exhabition along the way called Sculputures by the Sea, or in the Sand or something like that, but it was all these funky works of art, like a massive fried egg in the sand, a hammock made of tea spoons, copper angel wings on the cliff edge...... really nice, got a little sunburnt that day tho, not to bad! Ohg but it the pics u will see how very orange my hair looks, a minor hair dye situation which i cant really afford to change back but im getting used to it and think its going darker anyway! its not too bad! just noice, differnt, unewsual! :) Bondi is really cool, I got the impression it was a very fashionalbe place, lots of gorgeous people with funky cars etc! we had lunch by the beach there and also went out to a place called 'The Eastern' where Laura meet the 2205 Australian Big Brother winner which was very excited for her! he he! I put my fabulous photography skills to good use and got a pic of them which is worthy of being framed in houses across the country! :) That was a crazy night with lots of crazy pics of the two of us which I really like! he he! not nice pics, crazy, showed how much fun we were having! lol! :) The next day we went to my fav beach in Sydney, Maroubra Beach, its got massive waves and a pretty little headland and doesnt really feel too much like a city beach! Was really cool to swim there but ther was a massive rip in the sea so I didnt stay out for long, thought the waves were about to engulf me and didnt trust my swimming skills! was so much fun tho diving under the waves and trying to let them carry into shore! I also found time to discover some markets in Sydney, Paddington market was really nice, kinda like Portobella but I think Portobella is much better, still was a really nice place to wander round and look at all the different crafty/arty things so I enjoyed it! That day I decided to walk back from the centre to Lauras house which was about an hour, my flip flops gave me a blister but I had fun! lol! One day I managed to get onto a Bridge Climb tour which was amazing! There is a really good set up there and you get to wear these jump suit things (No not like the infamous army print one that probably is still in my wardrobe somewhere!) and all these little gadgety things get attched to the suit, hankeys (cos obviously i became emotional at the bautiful views!) hats, jumpers and a roller thing to attach you to the bridge and let you walk at the same time! amazing! :) It wasnt scary at all, in fact its not really that high up, most of the buildings in Sydney are twice as high as the bridge, well some anyway. The guide was really good and she had some great stories about when they built the bridge. Here is one of the stories..... There was a guy called Vincent Kelly who came over from Ireland to work on the highway part of the bridge, one day he fell from the highway into the water, in the 3 seconds that he was falling he managed to get himself into a pindrop position so the impact didnt kill him but just knocked him out. Luckly a boat was passing and pulled him out of the water, when the realised he was still alive they rushed him to hospital where doctors were astounded to only find brusing, concusion adn a couple of broken ribs! In disbelief they examined further and found that the impact of the water had torn the soles of his boots off and the rest of the boots were wedged round his thighs! He wasnt meant to go back to work for 7weeks but ended going back just 2weeks after falling from the Sydney Harbour Bridge! Theres another good story about the Riviter, the cather and the baker but just ask me about ti if you wanna know! he he! sorry getting tired of typing! I also spent a morning in Newtown which is the area where Laura goes to Uni, Sydney Uni, it wasnt the nicest place but had good shopiing and coll lil retro shops and the Uni is really stunning, very grand oldish looking bulidings. And went for a harbour cruise as well. I also had my first huntsman spider experiance! There was one in the bathroom and everyone else had gone to bed so i v v v v quikly closed the door and ran to bed! argh! they are completly harmless jus massive and hairy! urgh! My last day in Sydney, Laura and I took a picnic to Hyde Park and chilled out for a bit and went to see Centre Point Tower and we went to The Australian Museum, felt so silly because went went in around mid day and eventually got kicked out at closing time, 5hours later!!! It was so interesting, there was loadsa skeletons and Austalian bugs and Lots of this about Indigenous Austalians. Sydney has been amazing, such a friendly place with a fab atmosphere. Hope you are all well, much love and hugs to everyone xx