Currency:
Australian Dollar

Highlights:
Getting to check out our future country, catching up with mates, Green Day

SOLD

V and I looked at each other and both uttered the same word. Sold on the idea of living in Sydney. Sydney really does have it all - the sunshine, the beaches, the culture, the lifestyle, the list goes on... Plus you get to catch a ferry to work :) People have asked Shaun and me so many times why, without ever having seen the country previously, we came to decide that Sydney would be the place for us and one of the main reasons was that we had always imagined it to be a good mixture of the US (opportunities) and South Africa (culture) - and it does seem to be - with the main benefit of being in one of the best settings in the world. I think Lonely Planet sums it up fairly well with the below description:

"If the world were a catwalk, Sydney would be its celebrity model. Sparkling in the sunshine, this city if full of gleaming skyline, lush parklands, refined inhabitants and zany neighbourhoods - all centred on a gorgeous and curvaceous harbour. It exudes optimism, hedonism and a carefree style that's way too full of itself, but needs - and offers- no excuses. Style over substance? Maybe. Unrefined edges? So what. After Sydney casts her spell, you won't even care."

For those interested, below is a map of the layout of Sydney so it makes the places we mention below easier to locate:
http://www.welt-atlas.de/datenbank/karten/karte-3-63.gif

Day 1 - A long day of travelling

We arrived late Wednesday night after a mammoth day of travelling (Tahiti to Auckland, Auckland to Brisbane, Brisbane to Sydney) - a full day of airplane food is not good! So by the time Lauren (a friend of mine from high school) and her husband Ryan picked us up at Sydney airport, we had managed to lose a whole day and were rivaling our previous stay-awake record of 29 hours. They kicked into tour guide mode and pointed out a few spots on the way back to their place in Rose Bay (east side) such as the cricket and rugby grounds that no doubt we will be frequenting in the future. Then it was time for some much-needed tea and choc and a quick catch-up before hitting the hay.

Day 2 - Admin day, dinner in the city

Lauren and Ryan have a great spot right on the bay with a superb view overlooking the harbour bridge so although they had given us many great tourist adventure ideas, we were very content to sit inside for the day checking out the view and drinking copious amounts of tea (Georgie - you would have been proud) whilst getting all our admin done. We did take a break to walk into their little village with the main incentive being going to the South African store (Bianca's) where we could satisfy our biltong craving. We were also very excited to find Frito's and all sorts of South African chips there - however, we later discovered this is not such a rarity as the local grocery store, Franklin's, also stocks these and other South African products as they are owned by Pick 'n Pay - result!

I'll mention one of the negative things about Sydney here (just to show I'm not completely biased). Lauren and Ryan had warned us about everything looking 'older' in Australia and they were really correct - I had heard this before about Australia and just assumed it was in the smaller cities like Perth but it's not - one really does feel like one is stepping back in time in most of the neighbourhoods as the houses and apartments are usually older buildings and the store fronts look like South Africa in the 80's. But of course on the flip positive side, the crime levels are like the olden days too :) Another observation was that although Sydney is a big city, it's not 'flashy' - which, for me, is a big positive. Nobody seems to care much about what you do or how much money you make - and this was backed up by a few people we spoke to who have been living there for a while. People also just all seem to be so 'chilled' in general - for example, we were amazed that nobody made mention of the recession while we were there, but apparently not much stresses them out!

That evening, Shaun and I ventured out alone on public transport for the first time as we caught the ferry from Rose Bay into the city. And of course totally fell in love with this mode of transport! It sure beats being crammed up underneath someone's smelly armpit on the tube or being stuck in bumper-to-bumper road traffic! But our feelings are also 'scientifically' backed up as apparently a survey was conducted recently in Sydney and it found that the happiest workers are those who catch the ferry into work each day.

Ryan met us when we arrived into Circular Quay and escorted us to our first stop where we met up with Lauren- the Shangri La hotel which offers incredible almost-360-degree views over Sydney. To give you an idea of how popular this view is, tickets for New Years are $600! We then walked over to another must-stop place, the Opera Bar which is right next to the Opera House. We met up with some of their Aussie mates, Natalie and Ben, who had just returned from their honeymoon in South Africa so it was great to share some South African anecdotes over a few beers.

Dinner that evening was at Max's Pizza on Victoria Street in Paddington (a very viby part of the city). It was lovely to then have a proper catch up with Lauren and Ryan as we hadn't seen them since their wedding 2 years ago. After a divine dinner of pizza, salad, vino and beers (Shaun loved Ryan's recommendation from Perth - Little Creatures), Lauren insisted that we try what looked like some of the best ice cream ever from a place nearby - the white chocolate ice cream was a hit!

You can see our photos here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=360360&id=713415257&l=4e5f1fe7d5

Day 3 - Bondi to Coogee walk, Green Day

It was an early start on Friday as Lauren and Ryan were packing up to go back to SA that day for holidays and we went into the city with Lauren early before work to meet up with Jo for some breakfast in Darlinghurst. Jo also went to high school with Lauren and me and Shaun and I were moving over to stay with Jo and her boyfriend Jean. We were then introduced to the wonders of 'flat white' coffee (regular coffee with milk as opposed to a 'tall black' which is coffee without milk) and 'turkish' bread (a special type of bread that toasts really well and tastes as good as it is fattening!).

After dropping our bags off in Jo's car, Shaun and I mastered our second form of public transport, the train, and headed for our first adventure of the day - the Bondi to Coogee walk which is a well-known walk (loved by locals and tourists alike) that runs along the beach and cliffs between Bondi beach and Coogee beach. We had heard from so many different people that Bondi is overrated so I don't think either of us were expecting much and we were really surprised to find the beach is gorgeous! I can understand people being disappointed with the town itself as it's not that exciting but the beach makes up for it. Clear blue-green waves and a long white sand beach greeted us and it was packed with sunbathers, swimmers and surfers all making the most of another beautiful Sydney day.

This was probably one of the things we were happiest to be wrong about in terms of expectations in Sydney - we were expecting the beaches in the city to be average and to improve only when you left the city but we were so wrong. All the beaches we came across (eastern and northern) were all really beautiful - the colour of the water especially overwhelmed us as you could see to the bottom at all of them.

Neither Shaun nor I are big walkers but we absolutely loved this walk as the beautiful scenery definitely distracts one from realizing one if walking up hills. There are a few different beaches along the way (Tamarama - my fave, Bronte, Clovelly, Gordon's Bay - great snorkelling, Coogee) - each with its own character. We also loved that most of the beaches here have pools alongside them where you can do laps or the kids can play.

Along the walk was when our saddest realization about Sydney hit though - we were expecting it to be expensive but didn't realize to what extent - houses and the general cost of living is really costly (I want to say even more so than London in terms of comparing levels of disposable income). So Shaun and my dream of having a beach house is little further away than we would like - but at least we can live within reach of the amazing beaches.

After the walk, we jumped on a bus and then a train back to the city (we had a quick stop in Bondi Junction on the way and thought of Georgie as there were great shops there). Another thing we didn't realize here was how good the public transport system is and how majority of people use it rather than driving.

Jo then took us back to her place in Neutral Nay (north side) and we got ready for the Green Day concert. Jo and Jean live close to the ferry so Shaun and I took a lovely stroll down there after we had quickly showered up (Jo had gone back to finish up at work) - and this is when I realized I had left my day travel ticket at Jo's place (blonde moment #1 as it meant a long walk back for me while Shaun went on to meet everyone - blonde moment #2 shortly ensued as I had forgotten to take note of the number of Jo's apartment so went around looking like I was breaking into several different places until Jo texted me the correct number!).

We met up with another old high school friend, Nikki, at the Opera Bar as well as the other remaining part of our travelling family, Al and V (Georgie is now sadly back in London). Jo and Jean also took off from work early so we all enjoyed a few beers in the sunshine (I know I keep mentioning the sunshine but really, it's great!) in preparation for the concert. It was then onward and upward to Olympic Park where the concert was being held. We got to see some of the remnants from the 2000 Olympics before being herded in with the masses (the concert was sold out).

At this stage, I was starting to feel shattered as the day started to catch up with me and I was a little worried about surviving an entire concert. But I needn't have been concerned as from the moment Green Day stepped on the stage, I forgot the word tired (Jet was the opening band but we listened to them from while fueling up on drinks and snacks outside). What a performance! I don't think I've ever seen someone with as much energy as the lead singer, Billie Joe Armstrong. He did not stop running up and down on stage and had such a magnetic way of engaging the audience that we were all jumping up and down from the get go and didn't really stop until the end. Loved, loved, loved it!

It was such a pleasure getting home too. Olympics Park's position in respect to the city is comparable to that of Wembley in London - yet we were able to step straight on a train as we left that wasn't rammed with people. After that, it was an easy bus trip home. It was quite funny as a lot of people in Sydney have been advising us not to live too far from the city centre when we move here to avoid a hectic commute - we quickly came to learn though that their idea of hectic is a lot different to ours as they consider anything over 15 mins to be tough - lol!

You can see our photos here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=360362&id=713415257&l=fcdc9fbcdf

Day 4 - Northern Beaches, Christmas party

We have our friend Mike Towndrow to thank for initially planting the seed in our head about the northern beaches (beaches north of Manly). We were eager to check them out so instead of doing tourist activities, we asked Jo and Jean to give us a tour of these places which they did a great job of. After our breakfast of coffee (flat white of course) and banana bread (this is also really popular here much to Shaun's delight), Jean drove us out to Avalon (a few beaches away from Manly). We stopped to admire the view over another impressive beach and met up with Al and V (who had borrowed a car from their friend Michelle).

We then drove back down toward Manly, passing through Newtown, and stopped in Dee Why to have lunch after a walk on the beach. I'd say Dee Why has a Ramsgate-size feel to it - lovely beach town but perhaps a little too small for us right now as it's made up of a few restaurants and shops along the beach (although the more vibrant Manly is within short reach). Next stop was a great viewpoint between Curl Curl and Freshwater beaches. At the viewpoint, there was also a statue dedicated to the guy who started surfing in Australia at Freshwater beach, Duke Paoa Kahanamoku. (Note - I haven't gone on individually about these beaches as: a) I'm probably becoming annoying singing the Aussie beach praises and b) the pictures speak for themselves). We decided to save Manly to explore the next day as it was time to get home to prepare for our first Christmas dinner - yay - hosted by Jo and Jean.

Jo did an excellent job and had everything all perfectly planned - hired tables delivered already, veggies bought pre-cut and turkey deboned. But she needed it to be so planned as she was hosting 19 people - yep, not scared! Shaun and I had a limited role in setting the table while Jo slaved away in the kitchen and by 6pm, we were ready to welcome the first guests. It was great to meet their group of friends that I have heard Jo talk about for so long (Jo and Jean have been in Sydney for 3 years) - a lovely mixed group of people - Craig and Willem (Saffas), Rosie and Damon (Aussies), Suzy (Aussie) and Aiden (Scottish), Tina (Aussie) and Steve (British), Michelle (Aussie) and Brenton (Saffa - and went to school with Shaun and me), Brooke (Aussie) and Laura (Canadian) - and of course Al and V.

Jo really went out of her way to look after us as not only did she do all the tour guide stuff for us, she also got us all sorts of delicious alcohol (beers for the boys and Savs and champagne for the girls) - and she kindly did our Secret Santa shopping for us. After pre-drinks, we sat down to enjoy the gourmet meal and it really started to feel like Christmas for the first time with all the pulling of crackers, Christmas hats and way too much being eaten and drunk!

You can view our photos here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=360352&id=713415257&l=b1d3dd1ec8

Day 5 - Manly

Shaun and I enjoyed a sleep-in on Sunday morning but Jo and Jean put us to shame as they were up early running and going to gym (all the people that we came across since we have been here seem to maintain such a healthy lifestyle mostly revolving around outdoor activities which we just loved). After that, Jo, Shaun and I did a lovely walk to Cremorne Point where we caught the ferry across to Circular Quay so we could take the scenic ferry across to Manly (Jean met us there later by car).

Manly is awesome! It's a decent size beach town and after stepping off the ferry, you feel a million miles out of the city (even though it's only 30 mins by boat - 17 mins if you catch the faster River Cat during the week). We probably saw it at its worst time in terms of busyness being a Sunday and Christmas holidays - and it still wasn't an uncomfortable busy. It reminded me from the get go of Margate so I was immediately in love! There was a very mixed crowd there too - tourists, locals, families, young people, etc.

After a little perusing of the surf stores, we hit the beach and got a good few hours of sun and swimming in. Shaun and I then took a little walk along the promenade to check out the homes and could definitely see ourselves in one of those penthouses one day (think big!). Lunch was massive burgers from 'Burger Me' and it was then on to meet other mates at the Bavarian Bier Café right on the wharf. We had invited everyone else that we know in Sydney that we hadn't seen yet but unfortunately most weren't able to make it as they were either back in SA or had a previous engagement. But we did end up with a great group - Hennie (who runs the K2 office here - Shaun's company), Yvette (one of Shaun's old London mates), Carol (friend of Al and V's), Jo and Jean, Al and V and us. Justin (hockey mate of Shaun's) also stopped by to say hi. The wine and beer were flowing in the sunshine again - a little Sunday afternoon activity that we could definitely get used to!

That evening Jo and Jean indulged us as they had heard that one of the things we miss about London is our Sunday evening sessions of Nando's and a movie. So Nando's and a movie it was - Nando's are everywhere here which is again a good sign!

You can see our photos here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=360355&id=713415257&l=1267c06ee5

That concluded our introductory Sydney trip as we headed out to Brisbane the next day. V, Al, Shaun and me are all as excited as each other about moving to Syndey ASAP - just need to save some mullah first! As my last bit of propaganda about Sydney though, I'd like to mention that it really does have something for everyone - obviously our main interest are the beaches but I think all of our friends that have been out here to visit have fallen in love with the city for different reasons. For example, I know for our friend Pitman it was the swanky night clubs like the Ivy and for many people, it's the friendliness of the people. So if you're thinking about it (for holiday or living), do yourself a favour and get there… now- it will be worth it! And then we can all move to and live in Sydney together - yay!

Cheers,
Lara + Leise