03/07/2012

I know what you're probably thinking "He's been out AGAIN?!" but bear with me on this one.

On Monday, we went for a walk around the botanical gardens and the opera house, I haven't gone a day so far without seeing it, but every time a different view, we walked round the front today and to the Jet boat for our spin around the harbour. I have one thing to say about that: It was awesome! The crazy spins, sudden turns and zig-zagging around Sydney Harbour was insane. Sitting on the side near the back was probably a mistake though, I got absolutely soaked. Every spin, I made sure I had my hands up. The walks have been good to get to know the girls who only arrived on Sunday, and the guys we hadn't really met yet. But nothing would help us get to know each other better than a night on the tiles... Dressed as women. Hit the goon, hit the club for free drinks, and technically, we got paid $40 in drinks to dress up. Unfortunately, the competition of best dressed male as female wasn't on, so the make-up really was unnecessary. We got back in when Scarys closed, and apparently someone (who is definitely not called Steve) got everyone back out after a change of clothes. Believe me, I suffered for that today and won't be repeating that mistake again soon. Just a quick side note, even if Guinness is $6 for a pint (YES A PINT!), and even if it is an Irish bar, it doesn't necessarily mean it tastes good. So yeh, 2 hours sleep really didn't do me any good. I think the hangover, coupled with what the OzIntro guys keep saying, has made me realise that no, going out and pissing it up is not the way forward for travelling. Every 4 beers is a night's stay in a hostel. So from now on, I won't be wasting my money on boozing it up! It's been a fun first week, but it's different to being in the UK and the sooner I change, the better. So! Moving on from that! The day started with sorting out our bank stuff, followed by a talk about everything OzIntro help us with and where to work etc. It was a struggle, but the Aquarium was after, so we all saw the stuff we'll be swimming with on Thursday. After the aquarium I went to bed for a few hours. But when I woke up, a quick walk down the road to 'Pie Face' the Australian version of Gregs which just does pies and sausage rolls, it was amazing. I scoffed mine in record time and now, at 9pm, I'm finally feeling better. So what I said earlier isn't just a "I'm never drinking again" style thing.

Well, that's that up until now! The OzIntro guys are awesome and really helpful and informative, everyone on my group is fun, interesting, up for a laugh and most of all keen for banter. So it's all going good so far!

04/07/2012

Today was the Zooooooo! But I'll start by talking about last night. After the nap, pie face and writing the blog, I went out on the piss. Ha, could you imagine? No, I went out into the city to take some photos, most of the group were going up to the opera house and I really couldn't be arsed. Also, I figured a bit of alone time would be nice. Gives me the chance to take pictures without worrying about people wanting me to hurry up. Buuuuut, there's this horrible thing that happens when living in a hostel: You see people you've met and tell them what you're doing, and they end up inviting themselves along. That said; Anna coming along for the walk was actually pretty nice. Walked bloody miles up and around the Botonical gardens, back around to The Rocks Centre and down. 2 hours later, had a cheeky bit of midnight steak and hit the hay.

So that was last night, back to today; Today was the Zooooooo! I'll start with the low points: It rained and my camera ran out of batteries. =( However, the high points by far outweigh the bad. The bird and Seal shows were insane! The stuff those animals are trained to do is ridiculous when you think you struggle to teach a dog to 'lie down'! The best part of the day though had to be the impromtue elephant show. The trainer was commanding the elephant 'John' to move some logs around, handing him rope with a slipknot on and getting him to tie it on and drag it. It was a lot better in real life, but I'll try to get hold of one of the videos the guys took. Another low point, I dopped my chips. But it was my fault, I was eyeing up a fit blonde in the land train. And yes, she did see me, and laugh. Moving on! Tonight is the State of Origins final, New South Wales VS Queensland. Going out to watch the match, have a couple and hopefully practice a bit of self control and go to bed early. More on that story in the next blog! Oh and more on my travel plans too! Should be more final after a bit of internet research and logical thinking.