G'Day!

So as you all probably realise I'm now in Australia! My flight was an overnight one and I was lucky enough to get two seats on the plane so managed to snooze a bit. I landed at the ungodly time of 6:30am, and got myself through immigration and customs (no nothing to declare being filmed sadly) and found ma and Ali in the arrivals hall.

We drove back to Ali's, who lives in a suburb to the west of Sydney and I got showered and put my shorts on, to which Ali sent me back to put some trousers on. Boy am I glad she did! We headed up to see the blue mountains which were very beautiful but it was FREEZING! Coming from Japan in 36 degree heat and humidity to 6 degrees with wind was a bit of a shock to the system.. We stopped for pies to warm up and headed back, when we saw snow!! I have to say I really wasn't expecting to see snow in Australia!! We got back to Ali's and warmed up with some wine and got hooked on the Paralympic rugby. As you do.

The next day after an epic sleep which I think I needed, we all headed to the North Shore to a church fete Ali's sister was working at, and had devon cream teas. As you do. (Holly, you will be pleased to hear they got the jam and cream the right way round) We then headed to a really lovely pub in Newport and had some lunch by the harbour in the sunshine which was lovely. We ventured back home and continued our routine of wine and wheelchair rugby again. Think I've actually watched more Paralympics than normal Olympics but really enjoyed it!

The following day we got the train into the city and exercised our rights as tourists by seeing Sydney harbour and the opera house. We also had a wander around the rocks, which is the oldest area of Sydney. We were lucky with the weather too, although I was still in thick tights when everyone else is in shorts, I'm sure I'll get used to the temp difference soon.. I hope!

The next day saw us stay locally, visiting the reject shop and westfield (they really are everywhere) and then I got to experience the Australian healthcare system, as an insect bite I got in Japan had got badly infected. $74 later and I had a course of antibiotics in my bag. In the evening Ali's stepson, his wife and their seven month old baby Hunter came over for dinner. Hunter was soooo cute, makes me miss Elsie even more if that's possible. It was also really nice to have a family meal at a table, feels like a long time since I've had a scenario like that. Ali was definitely making me feel at home there.

The day after Ali was feeling poorly so ma and I did what any normal people would do in Australia. Visit a Saki factory. We were the only people on the tour and it was actually very interesting, all be it a bit of a bizarre way to spend an afternoon. Even more so after just coming from Japan. After 2 hours I think I know all I need to know about Saki for the foreseeable future..

My last day with Ma and Ali came, and I bid farewell to Cooper the dog. I'm going to miss him! We headed over the north shore and picked up Ali's sister, and then drove to Newport for some lunch in the sunshine as it was a lovely day again. After lunch we took a drive to palm beach and saw the awesome views along the way. Soon it was time for me to bid farewell, and Ali dropped me at a nearby train station and I headed to the airport to meet Jo's flight.

It was so great to see Jo! We headed to the apartment Jo's mum had kindly booked for us for two nights as a leaving present, and it was incredible! Honestly feel like we've been living the high life. Better not get too used to it hey! We missioned out for a little walk and found a Mexican for burritos and frozen margs, then picked up some supplies on the way home, including a box of wine to last us the two nights we were staying. Back at the apartment we sat on our balcony admiring the view and catching up on the 10 weeks since we last saw each other over many glasses of wine. It was only the following night when we went to fill our glasses that we realised we had basically drunk the whole thing! Whoops! But welcome to Australia Jo!

Jo successfully managed to sleep without jet lag (wine probably helped) and we got ourselves up and out the apartment, although the weather was looking very overcast and windy. We walked around exploring, venturing through china town and all the way up to Sydney harbour. By the time we reached the bridge the heavens opened and the rain was coming down hard, so we took refuge in a café and had a late lunch hoping it was ease up. Of course it didn't. We decided to invest in an umbrella between us and headed over to the Opera house, I'm glad I got to see it in the sunshine earlier in the week as it wasn't quite the same when the weather was so bad!

From there we started the walk home but on a different route and got to see Hyde Park which as cheesy English people we thought was amusing, and the main central hub of Sydney. We were shattered from walking all day when we got back and went downstairs to the pool and spa in our apartment building. Like I said, High life. We decided to make the most of the apartment whilst we had it instead of going out, so I used the washer and dryer we had (spoilt) and we sat in our pj's drinking tea and watching the television together. Bliss!

We are now off to Melbourne for 4 days to stay with Jo's cousins, and we're excited to see a different city. Let's hope it isn't raining there!

Lots of love to everyone. Miss you all! xx