Surf Camp - Sydney

Day 1

Up at 6.30 for breakfast, then got on the bus for a day of travelling to Sydney. Luckily the journey went fairly quickly and we were kept entertained watching DVD's. Trigger invited us to his house in Tamworth for a few days which we would have accepted but we had already made plans to meet Nickys friends in Sydney in the morning. The bus arrived in Sydney at 5pm and got the train to Wez's (Charlottes university friend who's house we are staying at whilst in Sydney). After chatting to Wez and his housemate Alex we went back into the city (10mins on train) to meet our Oz experience group for some food and drinks

Had a lie in today then got the train to Darling Harbour where we met Pat and Family (Nickys friends from work). Spend most of the afternoon sat chatting at the harbour before meeting Rachel and Sarah (Newcastle girls) for a pre night out drink. Went back to Wez's to get ready, picking some up some supplies of malibu and vodka on route to drink before going out. We met Pat and family in the city and headed to the pub for a few drinks for a couple of hours before they had to head off because of there early morning flight the following day (really good to see them and catch up). As the night was still young we met up with the Newcastle girls for more drinks and drunken antics before moving onto a club to bust out some moves. Met a guy from surfers paradise who bought us a number of drinks. Wez came to the club to meet us where we had a little dance before getting a taxi home - very drunk! Arrived back at the flat at 3am and dived on Alex who was still awake playing on the computer. Unfortunately we must have made quite a bit of noise because Mrs Wong from downstairs came up complaining saying that 'it wasn't working hours'! Woops.

As we woke up with a hangover again we have decided to have an alcohol detox for the next week. Today it was raining (again) so we went on the internet and then a wander around Paddys market. Decided to have a hair cut as split ends were starting to show! After our homemade chicken curry we went back to the city to get into the Christmas spirit and watch the Sydney Christmas lights be turned on and sing a few Christmas carols.

Got some free passes to the gym - Fitness First so spent a couple of hours in the gym this morning. After lunch we went for a walk around Circular Quay, The Rocks and Botanical Gardens before wandering around the Opera House where they were setting up for Sundays final of Australian Idol. After tea we went back into the city to meet Trigger, who had returned from Tamworth - his home town, for some drinks in the Oz Experience flat. After this we went to meet the Newcastle girls in a club to say our good-byes as they were leaving for Melbourne the following day and would be back in cold England before we got there. On route home we were kept entertained by a couple of weirdo's on the train - one a big issue seller and the other an ex-convict chatting about the face cream in prison being better than the expensive stuff sold on the streets.

As it was raining (AGAIN!) we cleaned the boys flat for them before going for a run. Headed into the city for a walk around some city shops and then went to Paddys market to stock up on the weeks fruit and vegetables - very cheap. Surfed the internet before heading back to the flat for tea and a quite night in with a dvd. However, when Wez and his friends came back from cricket and informed us they were heading into town we couldn't refuse a Saturday night out in the big city - Detox over (that lasted long!). After drinking games in the flat we got a taxi to Darling Harbour where we partied in a club. Arrived home at silly o'clock - very drunk.

The sun is shining! Got up this morning and went into town to watch the Christmas parade and then went to Darling Harbour for lunch. As we were enjoying our tuna sandwiches there were seagulls flying around and Nicky mentioned how she thought she was going to get sh*t on, Charlotte replied 'its already happened to me in Airlie beach' but as she finished this sentence a seagull sh*t on her again! Not knowing whether to laugh or cry she stormed to the toilet to wash her top. We laughed about it afterwards but at the time it wasn't funny (although Nicky giggled). Got a ferry to Circular Quay where we went on a jet boat for 30minutes around the harbor - good fun and got very wet. Went early to the park to get a good spot to watch Australian idol which we managed to succeed in doing but unfortunately got moved 30 minutes later. Met Jenny and Sandy and stayed around the park until the show started at 7.30. Couldn't really see much but could hear the singing. We moved down nearer the Opera house to watch an amazing firework display before getting the train home.

Went for a run, had breakfast and although it was a little cloudy we decided to get the train/bus to Bondi beach where we spend the afternoon sleeping. Missed our stop on the bus home so ended up getting off a circular quay where we noticed a commotion and lots of people hanging around. As we got closer there was a red carpet event which we were informed David Beckham was attending. Despite looking worse for wear in our bikinis and shorts after a day on the beach we managed to blag two wristbands which allowed us access to the front barrier of the red carpet! TV cameras were everywhere and we were not looking particularly fetching but Beckham was arriving in under an hour and we were in the best spot. Other celebrities walked down the red carpet including Ian Thorpe (Olympic gold medal swimmer), Sally (from Home and Away), Juniniho (Brazilian and Middlesborough footballer) and Jason Donovan (need we explain). Anyway, more importantly the LA Galaxy team arrived in Limos and last to get out was the man himself%u2026. Mr David Beckham!!! The crowd went wild and we must admit we got involved ourselves screaming his name. He took his time giving interviews and greeting the crowd and his approached near us he came over for photos. Charlotte couldn't resist asking 'could I have a kiss?' to which he casually replied 'yeah sure' and leant over for a kiss. Not wanting to miss out Nicky also asked for a kiss and he didn't disappoint and as he leant over she told him he was a United legend to which he grinned. Other girls in the crowd were very jealous and we felt extremely proud of ourselves. If its possible Beckham is fitter in person than on the tv - blood gorgeous. High on life we bounced back to our flat for some tea and boast to the boys that we had just kissed David Beckham.

Updated: 12.12.07
Ok, since our David Beckham encounter we have spent the last few weeks chilling and exploring Sydney. Since some of our days havent been particularly as eventful as the rest of our trip we have summarized our time in Sydney below:
* Nicky did the Sydney Harbour bridge walk (Charlotte had already done it last year). She loved this and the views were amazing, luckily the sun was also shining which has been rare here.
* Spent a day at Manly beach and hired surf boards
* Due to thunder storms we spent a few nights in Wez and Alex flat watching DVD
* Shopped in SydneYS city centre
* On one of the rainy days we got on a random train and explored outer Sydney. Ended up in a small town called Burwood where we found a shopping centre and got our makeup done for our evening out. We played drinking games in the flat and went out in Kings Cross - good night, got in when it was getting light
* Spent a day at Coogee beach
* Went up the sky tower to see amazing views of Sydney at night. Also got an OZ trek was included with the sky tower this was a 3d animation show of Australian sights in a moving cinema
* Shopped at Paddys market at the weekends for our weekly fruit and veg which we used to concoct some delicious meals
* nICKYvisited the Aquarium (Charlotte had already done this last year as well). Big big sharks!!
* Spent a few days at Bondi
* Started the coastal walk from Bondi to Coogee but got caught halfway in a storm so had to get the bus home
* Visited Palm beach (known to most as Summer Bay) where home and away is filmed
* Spent time chilling at Darling Harbour and Circular Quay watching the world go by. This city is always busy and there is never a dull moment.
* Spent a lot of time traveling on the trains to and from North Sydney (Wez and Alex flat) which have been really convenient. Also met some strange people on our journeys which kept us entertained
* Went to Torongo National Park for a wander around
* Visited two little town known as Balmain and Mossmon
* Treated ourselves to a meal at Darling Harbour which was yummy followed by drinks at the rocks
ON our final day in Sydney we managed to get to the Blue Mountains. Tried to go a couple of days earlier but half way there we got off the OZ experience tour bus because of horrendous thunder storms and flooding rain the clouds were so low we wouldnt have seen a thing. Luckily today the weather was cloudy in the morning but cleared up in the afternoon allowing us to see the 3 sister rock formations, spectacular waterfalls in the rainforest and travel on the worlds steepest railway
So the past 3 weeks in Sydney have been really enjoyable, we really like this busy city. It has been nice staying with Wez and Alex and having a base camp in which we could spend longer than a few nights. The weather here has been very changeable which hindered some of our plans (bloody weather stopped us going to the beach!!) and kept us on our toes thinking of things to do. Now getting the bus to Canberra where we will spend the next few days before flying to Melbourne.