We arrived in Sydney in the afternoon and headed straight to the hostel. We went for a walk around Kings Cross and treated ourselves to a dinner of the Australian national dish to mark our arrival - pie and mash! As it was then getting late, we hung around the hostel speaking to the other tenants (they are tenants there - everyone has jobs), watched a film and went to bed. We decided to keep any real sightseeing for the next day.

We headed out early and walked the length and breadth of Sydney. We walked through the botanical gardens to start with where we had a very lengthy conversation with a Welshman who had been living in Sydney for the last 50 years. Sarah also got to see the Australian native birds for the first time when we saw cockatoos nesting in a tree.

From there we carried on along the harbour path where we had a great view of the Sydney Opera House. This was Sarah's first time in seeing it, so she was understandably excited, but Tom had seen it before and was equally as excited - it's just such a spectacular building! We loitered around taking pictures until moving slightly further around the harbour and taking in the harbour bridge as well. After another extended photo session we had decided that we would go for some lunch and then walk across the bridge to take in the view from the other side.

We had lunch in The Rocks (the oldest part of Sydney) and continued around the harbour until we were able to climb the steps up to the bridge walkway and head across. The views from the other side were even more spectacular and was an excellent way to take in the views Sydney has to offer.

After that, we continued walking around the city, taking in the other building and generally seeing more of the city itself. After walking several miles, we decided to head back to the hostel and get ready for our evenings entertainment - an evening with Tom's cousin Emma!

Emma picked us up and drove us out to Bondi for a meal. We went for the most amazing meal of steak and ribs. Sarah had been worried at this as she had worn a white top, but never fear, they provided bibs! From there we headed out into Bondi for some drinks and went to a couple of bars around the town. We were even introduced to one of the stars of Home and Away at one point! It was just a shame we didn't know who she was...

We woke up with slightly sore heads, but ready for the day Emma had planned for us. We picked up our towels and headed out to Watson's Bay to spend a day on the beach. We set out our towels, soaked up the sun and splashed around in the sea. The beach had great views of the city and it was a fantastic spot to spend a day. We had fish and chips on the seafront and then had a walk around to the entrance of the harbour. Mid-afternoon it got a bit too hot so we retreated back to the city to get ready for Emma's second planned activity of the day and one that Tom was particularly excited by; the open air cinema screening of Top Gun!

The film was excellent as always, but the setting made it even better. We were just off Bondi beach with the field being set out with bean bags, hammocks and deck chairs to enjoy. We claimed out spot with a rather fetching blanket and settled in for an excellent nights entertainment.

Sunday morning we decided to give Emma the morning off and headed back into the city to see a bit more of what Sydney has to offer. We walked around the shopping district and headed out to Darling Harbour where we had lunch. We then received a call from Emma that there was a wine festival going on so we ran across town to meet her. With our penny pinching in Australia, we didn't partake in any wine tasting, but we couldn't resist ordering a cheese board which we happily devoured sat on the grass in Hyde Park.

That evening, we decided it would be nice to carry on our Sydney walkathon, but to do it at night. We retraced our steps and took in the bridge and the opera house in the darkness. They are even more impressive at night and we spent a couple of hours walking around the Circular Quay area enjoying the sights and taking an abundance of bad photographs. With tiredness getting the better of us, we headed back for an early night as we had to be up particularly early for our final full day in the Sydney area and our tour to the Blue Mountains.

Our driver picked us up, and after an hour of hotel pick-ups we were on our way. Our first stop was Flat Rock where you could look out over the Blue Mountains. Its a pretty spectacular view and we were lucky with the weather. We then headed around the ridge to have a look at the Three Sisters. These are three rocks that sit by themselves next to each other and are particularly significant in Aboriginal culture.

After lunch we headed off on a rainforest walk, which was where the weather started to turn. A massive storm rolled in and it was the most torrential rain we have seen in a long time. This didn't make easy walking, especially in flip flops! However, after about fifteen minutes the storm passed and we were able to continue. We carried on the walk and heard a roar through the trees. The storm had dumped so much water that Katoomba falls had changed from its usual trickle to a far more impressive sight!

Once we reached the bottom of the valley, we decided to get the train back up. Not because it was particularly challenging, but because the train back up is the steepest in the world. We got into the train basically lying down, and ended up feeling like we were going to fall out. When they say it's steep, they mean it. It was a fantastic experience and one we would definitely recommend!

After that we headed back into Sydney to say goodbye to Emma and pack our bags ready for our flight to Alice Springs early the next day.

We had a fantastic time in Sydney and Emma really spoilt us while we were here. It was great to spend time with her and take time out from travelling to enjoy a bit of 'normal' life again.