CHRISTMAS IN SYDNEY....

Very excited on Tuesday 23rd December at approximately 5pm we arrived in Sydney!! After making once again the same silly mistake of not booking accommodation in advance we would have been stranded if it wasnt for our lovely friends from England Tim and Chris!! Like Knights in shining armour they came to meet us off the bus and carried our now very heavy backpacks on and off the bus, up a very steep hill...all the way to CoogeeBeach which would be our lovely new home for the next week! Needless to say we were extremely grateful and really pleased to see some friendly faces!! That night we were all pretty shattered and decided to chill - off to the video shop it was and the perfect film choice in time for christmas - Home Alone 2! (we have since hiring this watched it more than 3 times!) What with the festive film, the tree lit up in the corner and the delicious indian take away we were feeling very settled and more than ready for our adventures in Sydney to begin!!!

CHRISTMAS EVE...Coogee Town itself is a gorgeous little beach town with quirky cafes and bars all over. Down by the beach there is a huge stretch of grass where people play frisbee and rustle up dinner on the communal bbq's! What a life!However we had things to do - Christmas Eve and like a typical man we still had shopping to do! We took a taxing walk to the next town so we could pick up a present for the house (a new kettle as there one had just broken) and of course some christmas chocs! After the not so pleasant lady in the phone shop informed us that we needed our passports to buy a sim card we headed back to the flat to pick them up and then hopped on a bus to Sydney city centre to pick up some more bits! We had decided to buy each other a little gift so that we each had something to open on christmas day...Jem picked out a Roxy purse but sadly the Billabong flip flops Katie had set her heart on had sold out in her size so she came home empty handed! (Jem did buy her some chocs so that she had something under the tree though!) Finally we both successfully purchased sim cards and so were looking forward to calling home!

We had literally minutes back at the flat to get ready and have our soupa noodles (very nutricious.. not!) before we were off out again to start to the xmas eve antics! Our mummys got a quick call which was fantastic and we were set for the night. We were meeting with one of Katies family friends Matt Jacobs whos she hadn't seen for 10 years! It was a bit of a goose chase around the centre but we finally caught up in Kings Cross, it was so lovely to catch up with Matt after so much time and apart from being a bit more mature he hadn't changed at all- still the same old Matt! we kindly got invited back to Matt and his girlfriends apartment with the rest of their friends and were delighted to take up the offer- especially when we saw how lush it was! About 12 storeys high the apartment overlooked the city and had a gorgeous Christmas tree, balcony and open Kitchen to entertain the guests! We had lots of wine and nibbles and got the goss on what it was like to live in such a beautiful city!Not wanting the evening to end when we arrived back in Coogee beach luckily Tim and Chris were still partying in the local bar- the Coogee Bay Hotel! We wasted no time in having a boogie and seeing in Christmas day into the early hours- and what else would we do when we got home other than watch Home Alone 2 just to make sure the Christmas spirit wouldnt die! :o)

CHRISTMAS DAY......A very very different way to wake up on Christmas morning to say the least! Not rising until 10am for a start was unlike us both normally bouncing out of bed at the crack of dawn in the anticipation of Santas visit! We all sat round in the living room and Tim and his friends all opened their secret santa prezzies which was pretty funny to watch as some very random gifts were given! Me and katie unwrapped our gifts to each other and one of the guys cooked everyone who was up for it a lovely fry up! Outside was a little cloudy to start with which worried us and we were struggling to believe that this was December 25th!!!Ready to experience Christmas Day on Bondi beach we took a bus and were soon in amongst hundreds of other travellers with the same idea! We had tickets so were permitted to go into the festival area which had bars, live music and our free lunch! This was definitely the worst christmas dinner imaginable - a roguey piece of chicken on the bone with a bit of salad plonked on the side!! So much for shrimps on the barby!!! We were definitely craving Mummies Roast dinners more than ever!!! With Happy hour sadly over and the bar absolutley heaving we snuck off to a local bar for a few ciders! Chilling in the beer garden with the sun now beaming it was beginning to be a great christmas day! We headed back to the pavillion to meet up with Brummy Dan, Fran and Paul and a few other people from the Oz bus - we hit the dance floor and sipped beer and sparkling wine basically, whatever was cheapest at the time! Next up we deemed it time for a swim in the ocean! It just had to be done christmas day on the beach! The waves were pretty awesome especially when a little tipsy wearing santa hats - luckily Paul was on call to keep an eye on us girlies checking we were all safe and above water!!hehe. Back to the tent it was to make the most of the end of the evening...the Djs were wicked and really had the crowd going, the atmosphere was really great and everyone was in high spirits (as you will probably be able to tell in our videos!)!!!!

Once the last set had finished we did our kisses goodbye and headed back to Coogee where Tim and Chris had spent the day with their friends (another xmas hotspot for the travellers) the place was absolutely trashed with BBQ's and beer bottles- everyone obvisouly had a great day! It was so nice to be surrounded by people for the majority of the day and we had a good laugh until we had to take it back to the flat after the policeman started clearing everyone off and making it an alcohol free zone! The flat was ram packed with people- (the place to be!) But gradually we began to feel very sleepy and sneaked off to the bedroom with a cup of tea and mince pie in tow- delicious! (If a little burned- Katie learnt 1 mintue in the microwave was a little too long oops!) A very alternative Christmas day but an experience none the least and a great day had by all!!!

BOXING DAY.....Today was yet again another day to look forward to- we are very lucky to have some amazing contacts here in Oz as today we were visiting Sue, Tony, Mel, Craig and Gavin Skeels (Katies old neighbours and family friends back in England.) They could not have been more generous- we were treated like princesses in a 5 star Hotel! After Tony kindly picked us up and took us to their beautiful home we celebrated with a glass of wine and was soon planning a girly shopping trip to the local Mall! It was honestly such a lovely day- we had a scrumptious noodle lunch in the classy food court and a little shop and then headed back for some serious comfort- sinking into the sofa with a chic flick and a cuppa... we were in our element!

There was a looming anticipation that could await no longer- our mummy's and Daddy's had sent us each a christmas package and we were more than eager to open our first real presents this Christmas! There were some lovely gifts- including a much needed Heat Magazine, nail varnish (we've had the same on for a month!!) jewellery and most embarassingly Frilly knickers- they just kept coming- don't think Tony could believe his eyes haha!! Thanks so much, we loved them all!!!!

Later that evening after generously being invited to stay we all sat round the dinner table over scrummy bubble and squeak and yes wait for it... Turkey! Yay! We definitely felt more christmassy today and really enjoyed being around a family reminding us of being at home- exactly what we needed. With home made mince pies and Chrismtas pud to round off the dinner it was time for some exercise in the form of the Wii! Hilarious- I think we must have been out of practice because we were put to shame by the Skeels family!!

Needless to say we slept like babies in most definitely the comfiest double bed of our entire trip and we were even awoken with a cup of tea!! After breakfast we sadly had to say our goodbyes but we would like to thank Sue, Tony and family SO much for their humble generousity and letting us be part of their family for a day... we shall always remember your hospitality and it really made our christmas!!

Wow... can you believe it- we are up to date like we promised!! Just having a chill out day today but soon to come- Tourists in Sydney and New Year Celebrations Woop WOOP!! Until Next time........