Gypsy, the cat.

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Hi all!

OK so I left you last Monday when we were about to get our overnight bus down to Melbourne. The journey started with a bang as, as the driver was pulling out of the bus station he stooled and we ended up gliding down the road without the engine on, coming to a hault in the middle of a cross roads and holding up all the traffic! However, apart from a few other blips in the drivers driving (we assumed he was new as he didn't do the announcement either when he boarded the bus, telling us his name etc - which is the best bit!) we were soon on our way. I had totally run out of water, but had to wait until 3.15am (our first stop) before I could get any! Spitting feathers comes to mind...
The best bit about this journey was the bus wasn't full which meant Soph and I got two seats each, so we could curl up on the seats and "sleep".

On Tuesday I woke early, very stiff and hungry. Every other person was still asleep so I read until we arrived in Sydney Central. After being a very slow reader compared to Sophie I am now whizzing through books and we both will inevitably run out!
We were both tired and in need of a shower, however 'Barb' wasn't picking us up until 4.30 so we headed out to find breakfast. It was so COLD! I dont think either of us had imagined that Australia would ever be this cold, however neither of us thought Delhi would be cold and it was!!! At the station there was a Nescafe stall giving out free coffee, which was an amazing start to Melbourne, as it woke and warmed me up ready to start our day trudging around the city. After breakfast we headed for Queen's Road, full of department stores and shops - this was depressing as we couldn't afford anything. Inside a big department store we wandered around the make up and cosmetics section. We were stopped by a woman selling potions and lotions, who inevitably picked on us because of how rough we looked! After reading through the entire booklet and testing samples, she gave us two samples each of foundation, which neither of us really wanted but was probably an indication into how rough we really looked!
We then walked along Southbank, passing many inviting restaurants with delicious smells wafting through open doors, however, we chose the sensible option and went to a food stall to eat good, but overpriced, sandwiches!
In the afternoon our main aim was to keep warm, so we headed for the closest library, where we sat and read books, for what seemed like an age! We had to give in mid afternoon and have a drink the library cafe as we were soooooooo bored!
On our way back to the station we booked our Neighbours set tour for Thursday afternoon - can't wait! Back at the station we collected our luggage from the lockers only to find the olive oil from our food bag had leaked all over my bag!!! Fortunately hardly any of it got into the bag, but the bag itself was soaked, so I had to carry my bag to Barb's car when she picked us up from the station. Barb look's very much like our family friend Helen Varma, even Sophie thought so! Keith, Barb's husband, and Amy her youngest daughter (who is 18) are really nice and welcoming and Barb liked to bake cakes!
After a nice dinner and a short burst of T.V. we crashed out. My bed had a heated mattress which I was extremely pleased about as B & K don't have any central heating (the norm in Oz) and I was absolutely freezing!

We slept in on Wednesday then made our way into town. As it had been so cold the day before Barb and Keith had given us warm, windproof jackets - aka 'geek jackets' - which we were embarrassed to wear, however as it was so cold it was a necessity! We were only visiting free things in the city, so we visited a tourist center and got a list of free things around the city - most of them walks... which we weren't that keen on doing in the rain and wind! We visited the 'Museum of Moving Images' where we watched films done by final year school students, most of which were really odd and involved a lot of singing! We also went to an Art Gallery where there was an Aboriginal Exhibition, which was really interesting. We spent the majority of the afternoon wandering around inside the gallery admiring the work... but also keeping warm! There was a live Jazz band playing in the square outside so we watched this for a while, before admitting defeat and getting the train back... far too cold!!!
We passed a book stall selling cheap classic books and so bought one each. I bought Dracula... which I'm sure will give me nightmares!!
Back at B & K's we had dinner with just them, as Amy was playing hockey (everyone in Oz is so sporty, however this has not persuaded us to take up any sort of sporting activity!), then were taken on a night tour of the city by Keith. Neither of us particularly wanted to go and none of our pictures came out, and it was an hour and a half, however we cannot thank them enough for the effort they made with us particularly as they didn't know us at all! Later we watched T.V. - still a novelty - then went to bed, not before having a midnight snack!!

On Thursday, after breakfast, we headed to a market. Instead of wandering around the clothes and depressing ourselves, we decided to wander around the food section, but needless to say this too depressed us and we were both soon eating cheese, bread and olives! We are such suckers for good food! It was raining when we left the market, which was annoying as we were on our way to our Neighbours tour which wouldn't be as good in the rain! Fortunately the rain ceased and held off until we got off the train later that day. The Neighbour's bus was jam packed and painted with pictures of the Neighbours cast! Our first stop was to 'Ramsey Street' - where we were surprised to find that people actually lived there in the houses! After taking pictures of ourselves in front of the houses and of course with the 'Ramsey Street' sign (!) we were back on the bus and off to drive around the studio - which was a bit disappointing, as although we got to see the mechanics and the bus stop everyone leaves Neighbours from, we couldn't actually go inside the studio - and what made it worst was the actors were actually in there shooting!
OUr last stop was to 'Erinsborough High' an international school, which doubles up as the high school in Neighbours. We all had pictures taking in front of it, posing with cheesy grins! Finally we were off to meet our ex-Neighbours star - Jenelle! After yet more photos and an autograph the day was over! We were disappointed not to have met Dr Karl, especially as people we know had met him the week before, but it was still an awesome afternoon!
As we got off the train the heaven's opened and we got completely soaked on our way back to B & K's!
Obviously I had to repack my ENTIRE bag that night, although I started after a yummy Turkish takeaway, which made my job easier!

On Friday I woke early for some reason. We spent the day using the internet, watching T.V. and eating as we were getting an overnight bus to Sydney that night! After a farewell dinner and packing the last of my stuff into my now clean bag (free from oil!) Barb drove us to the bus station and we were soon on yet another night bus! The film didn't work which meant we were slightly bored. Through boredom I drank all of my water and then was desperate for the toilet! I didn't want to go on the bus to waited for 3hours until our first stop!!! As nightbuses go it wasn't horrific but they are never enjoyable. We managed to spread out for a couple of hours, until more people got on in the middle of the night. This was the first night bus where I have been absolutely freezing!

I had only had about 2 hours sleep, if that on the night bus so neither of us felt to perky when we arrived in Sydney. The bus driver made some comment about how bright eyed I looked, possibly my eyes were so wide as I didn't have the energy to even blink! Unfortunately the one time we didn't want the bus to arrive early at its destination, it did! We didn't feel that we could turn up at Lou's at 7.30am so we bought a coffee and some raisin toast from a scummy cafe at the station attempting to kill time. Eventually it was a reasonable hour to start thinking about making tracks, so we got one of the many buses written on Lou's instructions. We had to look out for a large red building and McDonald's, which meant both of us were desperately jeeping our eyes peeled, swinging from side to side almost knocking people over with our bags so as to not miss our stop! Eventually we found her house and were greeted on the doorstep by Lou and her brother Mike, who lives with her.
After a big breakfast we watched a film and chilled out for a while, before showering and going out for lunch with Lou and her mum Penny. We met both of them at the Elephant park and it was really nice to see Penny again. Lunch was a couple of mezze plates which was right up my street! After lunch Soph and I went off for a walk around the area, stumbling across a clothes market! We managed not to buy anything.. but perhaps this was because there was a big box labeled "Free Stuff", which we couldn't not go through and take items from! My bag is now heavier but it is ok as my wallet is no lighter!
We had wanted to go into the city that night however we were absolutely shattered from the night before and so Lou suggested we drive to Bondi Beach to see this famous beach and have a drink. This was really nice and we all walked across the beach, filling our shoes with sand, then headed to a bar for a glass of wine or two. As Lou was driving she didn't drink much... which was fortunate as we got stopped for a random breath testing on the way home! She was under the limit, but all of us panicked wondering if one glass of wine was too much!!
Back at Lou's we were all pretty hungry as we hadn't had dinner so we made a quick pasta dish and ate in front of the T.V.

On Sunday after breakfast and showers Lou took us for a walk around the city. We walked for about 4 or 5 hours, however the weather was amazing and we both caught the sun. Sydney Opera House and the bridge are awesome! We walked through the Botanical Garden's to Sydney Opera House taking many pictures en route and of course of each other outside the sails of the Opera House. We then caught a ferry to the other side of the river and walked back along the bridge. Lots of people I have spoken to have regretted not climbing the bridge however my fear of heights is increasing rapidly on this trip and it cost roughly $100 so that was a no no! But walking across was just as pleasant and more safe!!!
We then sat and had a drink on a roof top bar overlooking the city with stunning views. (We ordered chips, which never arrived - and as none of us had eaten since breakfast we were all pretty ravenous!) We headed back via the supermarket, where the house was soon filled with Lou and Mike's friends, and a dinner party got in full flow! It was a really enjoyable evening - where everyone chipped in with the cooking (lasagne) or cleaning up, and we learn't a lot in attempt to make our future concoctions edible! The only mishap was in making the salad where one of Lou's friends nearly chopped off the tip of her index finger... blood was everywhere!

On Monday we woke and had breakfast and put on a load of washing... and then another... and then another! We spent most of the morning in our PJ's and attempted to make a cake out of the limited ingredients we found in Lou's cupboards! The cake didn't rise or taste very 'cake-like' but it was nice all the same! We had left over lasagne for lunch followed by cake, and of course, tea and cake mid afternoon!

I have decided that of all the places I have visited on this trip, if I had to live somewhere other than London, it would be Sydney!

Lovage xxxx

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