Hello again lovely people!
Sorry for the delay in updating, I've been on the move every few days for the last few weeks; I can't believe that today is my last day in Australia! I'm really looking forward to New Zealand but am soooo not ready to leave here yet! It has probably only been in the last 6 weeks or so that I've begun to feel so at home here, God I'm going to miss Smith's crisps, their Milky Ways (best ever - especially when melted), living in shorts and T-shirts, Coles, walking around barefoot, 'pots' of drink, the sunshine, the beaches, the rainforests, the general 'working to live' (rather than the other way around!) attitude and hearing 'How you going?' a thousand times a day……nooooooo - more time please!
Anyway will just quickly update you on Sydney (seems like so long ago now!).
I was so frigging pleased with myself as I had finally managed to get Matt into a hostel; we were in Sydney just after the new year so everything was booked up - he had no choice. Thankfully the Gods had favoured my decision and we were staying in the nicest hostel that I've ever stayed in; Bounce - brand new, completely clean and we were sharing a room with two really chilled French and Japanese couples so no problems there!
The weather was beautiful on our first day so we took advantage and saw all of the 'must-see' sights. It's so strange to actually stand in front of some of the most iconic Australian landmarks after seeing them on TV or in photos etc for years. We had quite a full-on day in the end seeing, Hyde Park, the city centre, the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge or the 'coat hanger' as it's known (which we walked halfway across), the Royal Botanic Gardens, The Rocks (a cool little area near the bridge which was a site of depravation during the first years of colonisation but is now a very picturesque little spot housing cafes, bars, live music and, when we were there, a lovely little market) and the very modern Darling Harbour. People always compare Sydney with Melbourne but they are such different cities, Sydney seemed very modern and almost quite flashy to me whereas Melbourne has a slightly edgier appeal. Both must-sees though.
The next day was my 24th Birthday (eek - old) and we took the train out to Bondi to meet up with Becki and Darren….soooooooooooo lovely to see them. The weather wasn't great so we didn't really see the famous beach in it's best light but we had a fun day having dinner and drinks etc and then going to see Becki and Darren's apartment in Bondi Junction. As it was still just after Christmas Becki had the fireplace made up with cards, stockings and photos etc - anyone who knows her will not be surprised by this; she loves to décorate, ha. So nice to see her after four months, I made the most of it as it's going to be quite a while until the next time!
We had a whole day to kill after checking out of the hostel on our last day, luckily those clever people at Vodafone had arranged for the Ashes to be screened in a park in the harbour. Special little seats and everything; the sun also came out again for us, not a bad way to waste a day.
That evening we made the 12 and half hour bus journey to what would be, without doubt, my favourite place in Australia; Byron Bay. I could happily live there for the rest of my life but will tell you about this the next time I get online. I also have particularly happy memories of the place as although Matt had to leave from there again (this globe-trotting has taken quite a toll on his savings, ha) we got engaged on our last night there together! We were walking along the beach and he took me to our favourite spot and popped the question!!! Perfect. He's only been gone two weeks (which already feels like forever ) but we know we have quite a while until we see each other again.
Anyway hope that you're all well, keep the emails coming, miss you all lots.
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