11/03/11

Day 1- We were ableto check in straight away to our rooms which was good but because of the buyness in the whole of Sydney we were in separate rooms. I was in an eight bed girls dorm with no attached bathroom and Scott had somehow managed to get himself a 4 bed mixed dorm with an en suite and air con! Talk about rags and riches! Once dumped my bags off in my room I went up to Scotts where the reception man came in and askked if there was a leak in the room, to which Scott replied there are some potatoes under the bed! haha! So helpful! enough time wasted sitting down it was time to explore Sydney! We started off by consuming our breakfast/lunch in one at a chinese shop which had all sorts of breaded varieties with fillings in them. I had a pork something or other and Scott had a bacon something or other. He was in breaded heaven! It was now raining outside ( it reminded us of our fun trip in Brisbane) so we decided to find some temporary entertainment in the dry! We went into a huge indoor market (Paddy's market) I swear we were the only people there not to be chinese! From our trip so far we have come to the conclusion that they are going to take over the world! Back to the market it was full of lierally everything apart from the kitchen sink. A good half of the floor was filled with fruit stands, stand after stand of the same thing! It was enough to confuse Scott and mesmorise him. We then took a walk down to Darling Harbour passing some huge lego sculptures whilst there. We liked Darling Harbour, well for its chilledness and to look at anyway! (lots of nice expensive restaurants we could only look at the menus for!) But being explorers on our first day in Sydney, we don't do chilled, so we got a jog on, and walked from Darling Harbour, 30minutes to the edge of Sydney Harbour Bridge, walking up some hench hills and steps to get a good view. We were the wrong side to see the opera house though. So we looked at the view up the river. As we were standing there minding our own business, a wedding party came up the hill from the entrance to Sydney Harbour ridge so we stood and watched. For a minute we thought they were classy having their photo taken with nice views by the bridge. Then we saw the wedding car and we thought "chavs". A lovely black humma limo was their mode of transport. We then walked onto the harbour bridge via the waterfountain, it was the first one we had seen all day and we were rather dry mouthed! We peered over the wall on tippy toes to see the opera house (must have looked like we were spies or something!) That was all I was allowed to see of the opera house as Scott said we had to wait and see it tomorrow- its not like we're in Brisbane though-theres stacks to do here! So instead we walked into a department store in a mall which was one of a million malls they have in Sydney! Scott found a pair of trainers he wanted, I made sure he put them down quick when we looked at the price tag- $169.99! He was in heaven though- my heaven would be chocolate, his would be sports clothes/trainers! Talking of chocolate,w e then shared a cookies and cream milkshake whilst Scott had a muffin to fill him up until dinner. We bought some sausages to have with rice for dinner, all 8 of them were then cooked when we got back. Scott had 5 of them- quite an overdose of sausages really for one dinner! After washing up, we went our separate ways, just like we'd had an arguement and I went to my room for bed and Scott went to his delux room. I had a banging headache- night all!Day 2- We woke at 7.30am and had our museli and wheetbix (they have missed out the a in the middle over here-silly billy's!) to make us full of beans. We walked the scenic way to the opera house via the local parks. Hyde Park was the first one we came to, it had fountaisn and a very nice looking churchy thing in the middle of it. Scott being th adult sat his legs either side of the fountain so it gave the peeing effect...mature- just as he wanted me to photograph it for you guys to see the fountain stopped- a blessing in disguise probably" We then walked through the botanical gardens which were full of plants and wildlife. Scott rather enjoyed smelling the plantlife...as exciting as the smell of plants was, we then came accross something a little more exciting...we found some huuuge vampire bats which made the bats at home look iny and pathetic. They were all hanging from the trees in their hundreds. They all had hairy faces and made a right racket in a mexican wave sort of way. We had to dodge all the poo on the floor and dodge the trees aswell- well Scott especially as bat poo looked worse than bird poo and we know how much the wildlife likes Scott here! W continued on to Mrs McGuires chair it was called which we later realised was a group of rocks. So whilst we took photos of the awesome view overlooking the opera house and the harbour bridge from a distance, a group of chinese poeple had their photos in front of a rock! It confused us a little but then we've noticed how they always take photos of things we wouldn't. We then walked along the front towards the opera house- it was only $215 for a behind the scenes tour there- so we decided we would just view it from the outside! So we walked up to it, around it, and underneath it. By this point there were no fountains to be seen anywhere. So I just had to stay gasping. We walked to the nearest food court on the map and had some chinese which came to $12 for both of our lunches- a treat for us! It was definatly worth it! On the way out we got givena free sample of green tea iced tea which was surprisingly rather tasty- I was just grumpy that U only got half a cup as ut was the end of a bottle. This was not enough to quench my thirst though! Whilst in the mall we then looked round the chocolate department stores, it was only a look though as chocolate is probably valued at the same price as gold I swear! At a belgium chocolate stand it was %105 per 1kg you bought. Even the cheapest whole easter egg was around $10 in price. This saddened up immensly! Could someone at home please send us some chocolate over! Gawping at the chocolate got rudely interupted by Scott needing the loo so I laughed as I watched him run there, and I ran behind making drip noises-mature I know! We then walked into a belgium chocolate famous shop and whilst salavating over the chocolate got asked if we wanted a seat. We thought it best that we checked the menu before accepting- good job we did as it was $11for the cheapest milkshake-lordy meeee! We would have to take out a loan. We made a risk exit out the shop and walked back towards the harbour bridge going through The Rocks market. They had some awesome things there which we couldn't afford or fit in our bags. So we took down all the web sites and checked they delivered to the UK so that when we have money one day we can then buy lots! Scott got all excited thinking he saw a crepe stand and was already deciding what he wanted on it...when we got there however these yummy crepes had turned into turkish pancakes, flavoured with cheese and spinach. You should have seen Scotts face...he threw a strop! We walked back towards the hill we walked up yesterday where we saw the wedding. In between passing the oldest church in Sydney and getting to the observatory on the hill we saw 14 wedding parties wanting their wedding photos to be taken by the harbour bridge. You should have seen the brides faces when they saw the queue for the photos in their preferred spot-face like a smacked arse! And I bet their day got even better when a few of the wedding parties had the same colour scheme- could have got really b****y! We had only come back to this spot origionally as we knew there was a water fountain here, but we found ourselves sitting down and watching this entertainment. There were some really questionable locations that the photographers chose - who would want their photograph backgrounds to consist of a stone wall and a roadsign! I would be mighty annoyed! 30minutes of entertainment later and we decided to make our way back to base via Woolworths for some cheap on offer milky bar chocolate, and then to Coles to get a half price lasagne for the two of us accompanied by garlic bread! Which I very kindly cooked after Scott cooked yesterdays dinner. Mine involved lots of skill putting them both in the microwave and getting then out again!Day 3- We got up at 7am to Skype the parents and sisters at home, and Scott went for a run along the river front which overlooked the opera house and bridge- not a bad view I'd say-just wish we had something like that at home...as good as Brighton pier is! Before heading to the ferry port for Manly, we went via the Greyhound office to book a return trip to Melbourne-everyone we had spoken to were astounded we wern't initially going, so we gave in and decided to go see what we would have been missing! Flying was unfortunatly too expensive so we are going to have to sit out 12hours on the bus each way-still on the plus it saves 2 nights accomodation. On the minus I reckoned we would be awake all night long! Hhmm. On the way down to the Port we bumped into (not literally) the Swedish couple and caught up with life, places been etc etc! We have decided if we ever go thee we shall call ourselved Heidi and Bjorn! Anyway...so we walked 30mins down the road and we pegged it and made it on the ferry jist as the gates were closing-timing! Crammed onto the and shared 1 and a half seats- yep I was half sitting in the hole between the seats- comfortable. To save ourselves from bum numbness we alternated going out on deck- I loved seeing the view of the city from the boat and Scott loved admiring a pirate like ship we passed! 30minutes later and we piled off the boat, people really have no clue when walking and either stopped infront of us or cut us up! Scott got walkway rage haha! We started walking along the scenic walkway to see the sights manly had to offer. I was still suffering from the mileage we did the day before...in flip flops...they make your body feel far worse I swear after walking. So every 100m I found the nearest bench and plonked myself down for 10mins! We turned around and walked to the nearest beach via the pizza stand and sat down. The beach was rammed full of people so we didn't stay too long- couldnt face sunbathing sitting on top of other people almost! So we wandered round the headland to the apparent prettiest beach according to the lonely planet book. Twas lovely and picturesque but a little beauty was taken away as this beach too was rammed! We headed back on the path towards to Ferry Port via the Aldi there. The lane walking back towards it had a lane divider so people wouldn't bump into each other walking in opposite directions. Most people mastered this...but it became apparent that the chinese just wern't capable of sticking to one side of the path- one group alone took up the entire width of the bloody path! Scott decided we would walk the rest of the way back up a hill and through a residentual area to a change in scenery- think I preferred the sea and the annoying chinese route than this one! Once back at the ferry port we went into Aldi and bought a 2 litre carton of orange and mango juice and some half price milka-yay! Though we soon realised the OJ was going to be problematic as it didn't have a screw top. Once on the boat we then between us tried to pour it into the water bottle, Scott went for the slow and steady approach which ended up spilling all over our shorts-mmm stickyness but nothing that a wet wipe couldn't fix! We found the fast pouring approach had greater success-my good idea! Once back on the other side we couldn't be bothered to get in a long queue for the loo's, so we paid the price, powerwalking in search of a shopping mall- why is it they all disappear when you want one. On the journey there, Scott once again fell out with the pavements and fell over when walking down it, waterbottle went flying and he sat on the curb with a sad face-oh dear! He has now been renamed bambi for the rest of the day! Once finding a toilet we then searched for a Coles so we could buy our $3 lasagne and a garlic bread! Day 4- We had to wake up at the crack of dawn (6.30am) and skip breakfast so we could head to the station to get the 7.21am train which took 2hours to get to Katoomba! The two chinese girls in front of us took ages at the ticket office as they didn't understand the concept of swiping your card and entering your pin when it came to payment! Apparently they were going to the same place as us so the ticket guy told us to follow them...we wern't sure whether this would be a good idea or not as we wanted to go to the correct platform! Thankfully they took us to the right place though and we hopped straight on the train! Their seats are awesome, if you don't like the sight of someone infront of you you can just push the chair and it moves to face the other way! We watched lots of people doing it so hopefully you wouldn't take offence too easily if someone did that to you! haha! We arrived just before 9.30am and we got our tickets for a hop on hop off trolley bus, which takes you all around the blue mountains and you hop off at a stop and you can walk to the next one and the bus picks you up an hour or two later! After sharing a pizza subway for breakfast we for on the express bus all the way to stop 21- three sisters, as the lady thought it would be stormy come the afternon and the three sisters are what the blue mountains are famous for! We took our pictures of the view, now you see it, literally 30seconds later - now you don't! Mist came along and completely covered the entire view infront, an now you wouldn't know what was there apart from a sheer drop! So we decided to move on and walk to Katoomba falls- whcih said was an hours walk away. We soon realised after walking why it allowed longer time than actually needed- because the walks here were full of millions of steps up, down, up, down, huge steps, small steps, narrow steps, wide steps, and slippery steps! So really just full of all sorts of steps! We hiked on like troopers though and walked out of the mist and to viewpoints and waterfalls. Twice on this walk we had chinese people stop and ask us how ou get to places- they had a bloody map and we didn't and we still knew where to go! Funnily enough you follow the one path and use the signs to guide you to where you want to go. We didn't say this though, we just pointed them in the right direction! Back on the bus and we were going to get off at the chocolate shop but as we were, we were told it was expensive, so we sat back down on the bus-haha and went to the next town- Leura where we brisky walked through the town as we were more excited about having a voucher for a half price cream tea! We had been craving one since we got here so to finally have one was a good feeling- we savoured every mouthful, as the taste was much different to that of toast, porridge, pasta, and cheap chocolate! We came out of the tea rooms looking quite pleased with ourselves! The tearoom was also famous for owning the largest teapot collection in the world- the place was utterly cluttered with them. Back on the bus where we were then dropped off at Gordon Falls after a tour of all the places we didn't want to get off at. This included the resorts, gardens, a park, and a golf club. (not too sure why we'd particularly want to stop at those stops, we're not rich enough to go to a resort, we would take more than a day to complete a round of golf we're that rubbish! And the gardens cost to go and see-we've spent enough on the trip already!) As we got off the us the driver told us not to walk all the way to echo falls-three sisters, but to take the path up to the road just before half way through the walk. (50mins) After seeing Gordon Falls, we walked towards Leura Cascades. Once again we passed a chinese family walking in the other direction who wanted to know where Leura Cascades were. When we told them it was in the direction we were walking, they looked really confused. 10m on and there was a sign showing it. When Scott ran back to tell them they responded "we've been there" in a chinese tone, which then really confused us! We stared at them in dismay before walking off. Although the Chinese are taking over the world, they have no common sense at all, and their map reading skills are truly s***e! So continuing on, apart from the waterfalls there was nothing else to look at as the mist had caught up with us and blocked all the views- which kind of defeated the object of the walk, but the steps, more steps and a logn walk was doing us good! 3 whole hours later and a whole lot of singing and reminising of school day programmes such as Arthur we arrived at Three Sisters...well we arrived after passing yet another...you've guessed it...chinese group who wanted to know how to get to Leura town centre, we told them it was a 2 hour walk and a half an hour bus ride away from where we'd come from, so they said they would take the road path, which was still a 2hour way away and a hlaf an hour bus ride! We still couldn't see the Three Sisters and even at a look out point right next to them you could only just make out one sister! Back on the bus to the station where we killed the half an hour wait by going to the supermarket and buying double coated Tim Tams oh and some lettace to go with dinner! On the train back we had to put up with an ongoing commentary of a drunk homeless guy yelling abuse at some German girls and some school children. Something about when he was their age you were lucky not to die or something and they should be in the pub by now to keep out of troule...doesn't wuite make sense but this kind of chat went on for over an hour. He then started on the german girls telling them to speak English and to go back to their own country-lordy me! Scott told me not to look and to keep writing the blog...so I did! We ordered a cheap domino's pizza to share when back for dinner-yummy! before having an early night I decided I needed a good nights sleep as the light went on and off all night in my room with people coming in and out- so I hardly slept at all the last 3nights. So me and Scott top and tailed in a tiny single bed sharing the room with an older American couple and a German guy. Was a little crampled but a better nights sleep all the same!Day 5- We lyed in until just after9am, as Scott was preparing himself incase he had a sleepless night on the coach to Melbourne! We changed and went and had our wheetbix and museli and Scott's 4 slices of toast! We have decided when we come back here, we're going to do what everyone else does and make sandwiches for lunch using the breakfast bread- much needed as we are out of money for Australia so need to scrounge around for the next 10days! We beautified ourselves before checking out. We then started our task for the day which was to wash Scotts entire wardrobe as it ponged a little. I was in charge of washing his delicates (lucky me-really wish we had rubber gloves!) and Scott was in charge of rinsing and wrenching out his clothes and putting them on a drying rack! Good little system we had going...we seemed to be the only people not using the washing machine and dryer and one lady asked us why we wern't using them! Those $6 could easily buy us a dinner or two so thats why! We just had to have dried out hands as a result! We then plonked ourselved down on a sofa and watched some telly and sat on the internet! At lunch time we decided to go in search of food! Back to the nice cheap chinese sandwich like shop fot a tuna something or toher and a chocolate horn. (like a chocolate croissant but in the shape of a horn!) we we then walked down to Darling Harbour so we could eat with a view! Whilst eating, alittle train with lint chocolate cafe this way passed us and Scott wanted to follow it. It was then our mission for the way to find it once we'd finished having a sit down! Scott had thought that because it was cloudy outside today it meant it eas cold outside, so as soon as the sun came out a little Scott got hot in his long sleeve top so we had to move to the shade and chill! Before we knew it, it was 3.30pm so after walking through a shopping mall in search of the lint cafe- we crossed over the bridge andto look at the range of shops and cafes we hadn't window shopped in yet! It was by here by chance we found the lint cafe-wahooooo! The menu looked awesome but a milkshake was still $8 and a waffle was $18 so we decided to wait and see if we had any cash left by the end of Australia! It's depressing window shopping! We went back to the hostel via Coles to buy some moisturiser as we both seem to have wrinkly feet abd Scott has really dry hands- so we hoped these problems could be sorted quickly! It was $5.90 pizza deal again at Domino's so we goto ne to share for dinner and Scott had some of his $0.49 noodles! We got the Greyhound bus at 8pm! We had some strange ones on it-an old fat man who wasn't all with it and had falled asleep and started severely dribling within minutes. Me and Scott felt sorry for the poor guy who sat next to him, he had half seat and a crazy starey dribbly bloke leaning on him! Then we had a horrible old man sitting infront who put the seat back and crushed Scott's knees and when we asked nicely if he would move it forward he said no and swore at Scott! Revenge was on the cards- I really wanted to shake his chair all 12 hours to Melbourne to make him regret being a dickhead! Thankfully he got of at Camberra 5hours into the journey!