Christmas Day was spent on Bondi Beach, apparently THE best place to go and celebrate the day! After a cup of tea made by Sean (one of the Irish guys sharing the house) we all got ready and went to the beach. We went there on the bus, as all the taxis were fully booked days ahead. Everyone was going to the beach and the atmosphere was electric! When we arrived at Bondi we were surprised to see that it was absolutely deserted. According to people who spent Christmas here last year, you couldn't see the sand for people! The weather was dull, but our spirits certainly were not! We made the most of it and settled down. We built seats in the sand and sat there just taking everything in and watching the silly things that other people were doing!! World famous DJ, Judge Jules was playing on the beach, and we could hear the music from miles around. I spotted a guy with tin foil wrapped around him and was just about to take a photo when he approached me. We got talking and it just so happens that he lived two roads away from me when we lived in Four Oaks! My Christmas lunch consisted of a tuna sandwich and a fruit salad, which wasn't anything compared to Mum's or Granny's suberb Christmas roast! Believe it or not I was thinking of you lot tucking into your Roast turkey back at home you lucky bunch. We spent the evening crashed out on the sofa, watching a film and talking about the day's events. This was definately nothing like the Christmas we have at home. When I spoke to Mother on the phone on Christmas day I was missing her so much that it made me thing about the festive season back at home and I had a good old sob. 26/12/04 Boxing Day Today we went to Macquarie Point which is located on the egde of the Botanical Gardens, to the east of the Harbour. From here, the Opera House and Harbour bridge are in full view. I think this is where we are going to observe the New Years Eve fireworks which will be set off from the bridge! 28/12/04 Sarah and Leanne arrived in Sydney and all four of us squeezed into the small room. We spent most of the day in Bondi which was still overcast from Christmas. We went out in the evening to Scubar, where we met some guys from London and to finish the night we all went onto Kings Cross. 01/01/05 We spent NYE in Embarkation Park in Sydney. The view wasn't the best but we still got to see the fireworks. The disco ball was a huge disaster. It cost 6 million pounds to construct and was meant to move down on a huge hydraulic arm to end the fireworks. The planners had a practice run and it wouldn't move, so they thought they'd just keep it up there! NY was mad and funny and the best ever! After the fireworks we went round Kings Cross and then back home to our cots! 02/01/05 Sarah and I went to Manly on the ferry, taking loads of photos of the Opera House on the way through. The beach was lovely but the weather was dull so we couldn't enjoy it to the max. The second time I went with Leanne was brill because the sun was shining! 06/01/05 Martin, (one of my brother's friends) Leanne, Andy and I went to the Blue Mountains and went on the steepest railways in the world... so there!!!!! 10/01/05 Today we went to Palm Beach where the Australian soap Home and Away is set. The beach is amazing and the area is very affluent. At 9:45 in the evening we climbed Sydney Habour Bridge! The first part of the climb was very scary, but the view at the top definately made up for it! The Opera House was lit up and Circular Quay looked beautiful. All the skyscrapers were lit up and the pictures (see photo album) were magnificent!