Having left Melbourne a little sad because we didn't get to spend enough time there and i was going to miss Cathryn so much i wasn't totally looking fwd to moving on AGAIN......... kind of seeing a pattern here , are you? But i was excited to be seeing James and Torie ( Haven't seen James for 4 years, he used to work for me at the FSA for those of you who don't know who he is. But most of you do because he was a bl**dy character. Anyhow we arrived in Sydney around 8pm on Monday 16th Feb, James picked us up and showed us the harbour bridge and the opera house on the way home as well as the local 'Fitness First' and various other places close to the house in North Sydney- which is in a brilliant location. Its 10 mains on bus from the city and the bus is less than a 1 min walk away with buses very frequently, every 10 - 20 mins! It is right opposite the Oval and a lovely big park which hides and blocks out all the free way noise, but you see the harbour and opera house from here, its a brilliant picnic spot. Next to the Oval is also the spotlight cinema( an outside cinema) and its even walking distance to 'The Oaks' in Neutral Bay - fab,fab,fab. When we arrived at the house Tors had prepared dinner for us so we all sat down and caught up and had a feast. Was lovely, tHEY BOTH MADE US FEEL SO AT HOME THE WHOLE TIME WE WERE THERE.

We spent a few day chilling out and going to the gym. Its nice to be in someone's house again where we can unpack our clothes, not live out a bag. And buy proper food for the cupboards. And have a cuppa when ever we feel like one. And shower without wearing flop flops. And sit around chilling in our pj's. On the Tues night after we arrived we met one of Anna's friends at Darling Harbour for a drink as they were in sydney for a week and were heading back to Perth the following day. It was a quiet but nice evening, the weather was a bit rubbish though - it wasn't raining but it had been and it was windy

Met up with Steve and James on the Thurs, a couple of the Iris lads i met on the 2 day river crossing into Laos. They have been in sydney since just before Xmas. They showed us around the City a bit and we had a couple of drinks. The following day we went to Manly beach on the ferry with them. It was a gorgeous day for it. The ferry crossing takes 1/2 hour and it goes every half hour. there are 2 ferries continually crossing the harbour all day as there are a lot of city workers that live on Manly. While we were sunbathing on the beach, the shark alarm went off as sharks had been spotted in the sea, everyone had to get out of the water. It was all very exciting but im afraid to say Anna and I didn't see any sharks that day. However there were 6 people stung by blue jelly fish also.....not a great day out so far hay! We also burnt as the sun was so strong, but with the breeze and all the commotion of the jellyfish and shark infested waters we were to busy to worry about sun cream. In traditional Irish style we had a couple of drinks when we were back in the city and then Ann's and I headed home to a lovely meal cooked by Torsa again xxxxxxx

Now on the Saturday Julie Torney ( yes some of you work lot will remember her) showed us around the Northern beaches. She took us away from the hustle and bustle of the city and all the touristy goings on of Manly and Bondi! We had a brilliant day driving around the Northern shore line but the only draw back was that it was raining half the time so we couldn't get out and look around, but we did where we could and we made it all the way up to Palm Beach - where they film Home and Away so that kept Anna happy!!!!! We had a crazy night out with Steve, James and their flat mates Anna and Sofia. Got in at 6am and was up again at 10am on Sunday!!! God knows why....i went for a lovely walk in the sunshine to neutral Bay and found the famous 'Oaks' Pub - im going to arrange a sunday session here for next wk i think. James and Tors had a BBQ on the sunday eve and some of there friends came over, we got to meet them and we had an enjoyable relaxing evening.

We went on an arranged tour with Steve to the Blue Mountains on the Monday and were really lucky with the weather, apparently its the first day it hasn't rained up there for a week or so. But we almost didn't make it, the tour company we went with had a transport problem and were really badly organised. so we got transferred onto another tour companies tour which was actually an better more expensive tour, so we did well in the end. We saw some amazing views. God they was magnificent. The pictures in no way do them an ounce of justice. The clouds were all fluffy and the sky the nicest shade of blue. It was so worth travelling all that way to see. We went to different view points around the valleys and saw some truly magical things. There was a very big bush fire there about 6 years ago and from the top of the valley you can see the path in which the fire went from the dead tree tops! Learn a lot of things about trees, such as there are over 700 types of eucalyptus tress in the world and koalas can only live off 12 of them! Then we arrived back in the city via the Anzac bridge we asked the tour guide if we could jump out at Darling Harbour rather than the city, he kindly did so and Steve, Anna and I decided to go to the largest IMAX screen in the world!!! to see Batman ( iv seen the film twice before but wanted to see an action movie on the biggest screen in the world) It was so good, you are so close to the screen, it takes a while while to adjust to it but after that it is really good. So glad i did that to.

James had been talking about taking us out to dinner at his favourite restaurant for days and asked us to give him an evening we could do,as he would have to book a table but he said the weather had to be good...... I asked what the restaurant was called and apparently its the restaurant with no name!!!!!! We had a few laughs about how he could contact them if it didn't have a name, you couldn't ring 1234 and get the number. He said his their best customer and not many people know about it, its quite exclusive. So we were intrigued now! Anyway Tuesday evening arrived and we didn't know what to wear. Anna was in her pj's and asked Torie what she should wear and Tor's said she should just wear when she had on !!!!! we did laugh. Anyway so we dressed casual and Tors said its BYO so grabbed a couple of bottles of wine and some glasses! James told Tors to pick up the blanket as it gets cold in the restaurant, they haven't quite got the air conditioning right! Anna and I were giving each other dodgy looks and grabbed out jumpers. We left in the car and when we'd been in the car 10 mins Tors said where are we going this isnt the right way. James explained our reservation wasn't until 7pm so we had 6 mins to waste so he showed us Luna Park and the swimming pool. I suggested us parking in that time because the roads looked busy and he said that that wasn't a problem because the restaurant had valet parking. Then we drove back up the road and Tor's got out! Very strange. James said Tor's just had to do something and while she was gone he would show us the prime ministers sydney home! It was massive and right on the harbour opposite the opera house. Then we collected Tor's again - who had 4 pizza boxes in her arms! That's when i got it ! we were having a picnic! So James drives down this esplinade on the northern side of the harbour and his spot ' the restaurant with no name' it was right opposite the harbour bridge and the opera house,slap bang in-between them both. We sat on the blanket and ate pizza and drank wine. It was very lovely. There was nobody else there either. People tended to do the same thing but on the other side of the bridge where you couldn't really see it because they were sitting right on top of it. We sat and watched the sun set, it was very romantic for the 4 of us to share !!!!!! lol

Spent a day on Bondi beach and burnt again! The sun is so strong here, must learn. We took sandwiches with us and when we ate them we became surrounded by seagulls. The were hovering everywhere around and one even came flying in at me and nearly took my food off me! cheeky things. We met Nicholas ( a friend of mine, who i used to work with 6 years ago in London) who took us for a drink at the Opera Bar and then went for dinner in darlinghurst at a beautiful little italian where everything is homemade and it was all gorgeous food. He then took us for ice cream at the best place in sydney and it was delicious. We had a nightcap across the road and then headed home. We just missed a bus back so got a cab and was stuck in traffic for absolute ages because there was meant to be road works but i think they just decided to close 2 lanes! $34 later we were home. But it was a lovely evening. We got to see another suburb of syders and catch us with an old friend so it was worth it.

We spent an afternoon climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge which was really quite spectacular. We were unsure if the weather was going to hold out for us but we continue to have luck on our side when we really need it and we actually had pretty perfect weather for a bridge climb, it wasn't to hot or to cold! The whole bridge climb experience lasted about 4 hours from start to finish and the time whizzed by. We arrived and watched a brief video before being breathalysed! yes that's right you are NOT allowed to climb the bridge if you have an a a blood-alcohol reading of 0.05% or higher. Steve was very lucky he passed for 2 reasons. 1) his Irish! i don't really need to elaborate there do i, and 2) he went on a tour of the Hunter Valley wineries the previous day! did i mention that he was irish.......... Anyway we then got kitted up in the very sexy all in one suits. We then had a practice climb before setting out and climbing to the highest point of the bridge which is the half way, marked with the Australian Flag. The views were impressive and some even sensational. You can not take anything on the climb at all, we had to leave watches, cameras, bracellets, bobby pins, all sorts behind.. Anna and I even left our clothes behind! The guide said it might get hot and/or cold on the walk so we decided to climb solely in our jump suit.....god help anyone who may have to help out if we were in an accident! lol! We got a jumper attached to the harness anyway if we got cold up there. Then we got given radio headset so that the guide could talk to us and give us a cometory about the bridge....and i was captured by the stories the guide told from the very first step to the last ...there were 1438 steps!!!!!!! The climb was actually very easy and the steps slope at a steady incline. We saw army helecoptors fly by at our eye level which was such an experience, they were directly in our eye level, it was amazing. And the queen Mary 2 ( one of the biggest passenger liners in the world) was docked in sydney for the day so we got some great views of that also.I must of listened well as i remember a lot of the stories and facts. I found the whole thing unexpectedly fascinating, here are a few of the more intresting facts about the Harbour bridge:

It stands 134m above mean sea level
The Bridge's arch spans 503m
The weight of the steel arch is 39,000 tons.
It is one of the most recognisable symbols of Australia.
Dr John Job Crew Bradfield 'Father of the Bridge' and was the man behind the concept of the bridge
In 1924 the NSW government awarded the construction contract to the English firm Dorman Long and Co
Dorman Long and Co also built The Tyne Bridge in Newcastle, England
Over 1400 workers were employed on the Sydney Harbour Bridge each year
Sixteen workers lost their lives during the eight year construction period
It is the world's largest (but not longest) steel-arch Bridge. It was beaten in length, by New York's Bayonne Bridge, which is 25 feet longer and opened just four months earlier.
It opened in 1932 after taking eight years to build connecting Sydney CBD with the North shore
79% of the steel used to make the bridge was imported from England
The Bridge is not completely stationary. It can rise or fall 18cm due to heating or cooling
When the Bridge opened in 1932 only 11,000 vehicles crossed daily 'v' Today where an average of around 161,000 vehicles use the Bridge each day
Today the bridge carries eight vehicle lanes, two train lines, a footway and a cycleway
Paul Hogan was once employed as a painter on the Bridge before becoming the famous crocodile dundee
Sydney has nicknamed the Bridge 'the coat hanger'
On 31 August 1992,the Harbour Tunnel opened to alleviate traffic pressure on the Bridge
Stars like Will Smith, Bruce Springsteen, Al Gore, Matt Lucas, Matt Damon,Steve Irwin, Bette Midler, Chris Isaak, Kieth Urban, Michael Caine, and even an 100 year old climber have completed the bridge walk.

Had another crazy friday night out at 'The Rock' catching up with other old friends Nicki and Ness, who actually spent my 21st clubbing with me in London! i will never forget that, the good CC days!!! We had a fun night, drinking cheap champaign that we didnt pay for. Thanks Ann's for sorting that out ;-) love ya xxxxxx. Anna had a horrid hangover the next morning and decided that mixing red wine and the bubbles was not a very good idea! we could have all told her that before right! Just had a flashback to us 4 girls being squashed into a London Red Phone Box for a photo shot!!!! lol! Look out for that on the sydney snaps kids! Anyway it was a fun fun fun night which ended in Anna and I trying to make our bed at 4.30am!! it took 30 minutes because we were running arpouind lookingfor a pillow ccase that Anna had put on her pillow earlier but being drunk had forget she had...... So saturday was gorgeous weather so we got up early, well 10am, dispite Annas hangover and made our way out to Watsons Bay for a few hours. We had the 'must do' fish and chips at the famous Doyles. Was going to go to see SlumDog Millionaire at the outside cinema at the Oval but the weather looked a little dodge so we decided to have an easy night in front of the TV........ we are getting to old to party all night long and only have 5 hours sleep! Since when do i need to have a night in after a night out! oH NO, I REALLY AM GETTING OLD! And Sunday, well sunday was back to drinking.....sunday session in ' The Oaks' at Neutral Bay, It is an awesome pub, huge with a giant pub garden....met upi with Mary ( the irish lass from the start of my trip) and Alysha ( who used to work at the FSA not to long ago). It was lovely chating up with them drinking pimms and glasses of champaign with strawberries in them........Tars are you proud, still flash packing& champaign backpacking! Thing is the champaign is cheap out here, well the house stuff is the same price as a glass of wine, so why not.

Today we visited Hunter Valley vineyards, got sloshed at 11 am!!!! had lots to drink and even made the driver stop at a beer brewery on the way back! yuck!!! but i drunk it! It was a great days tour up there meeting some great people. Very pretty up there. Also had dinner with James and Torie.....Sydney was a success to.....we are doing very well so far in this gorgeous, fun and sunny country.......

We leave at 7am in the morning for Port Macquarie to spend the weekend with Julie - looking forward to cute beaches and total relaxation for a couple of days.....because, you know life is a little hard at the moment! lol!!!!