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Published: April 24th 2008
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Sydney
xmas dinner, having sake to finish off Arrived back in Sydney on 23rd December just in time for the xmas celebrations! The overnight bus from Byron Bay wasnt much fun so we were glad to be putting our bags down for a while! We are staying at a lodge on Bondi Beach for 2 weeks which is pretty cool but not what we expected!! We booked our "apartment" online and were under the impression that we had our own kitchen, bathroom, eating area etc. However the apartment turns out to be the smallest double room ever, with a microwave shoved on top of a cupboard. There isnt any room to dance never mind hve a party - huh!! The lodge has a kitchen area which can only hold 3 people at a time so we are really disappointed as we were hoping to do some nice cooking ( well Raymond was :-) ) over xmas since we have been travelling. Also because you have a tv in the room there is no communal sitting area like in ordinary hostels so there is nowhere to hang out and meet people which we are so used to doing by now. So after our overnight bus we were a bit depressed
Sydney
champagne cocktails to find ourselves in this poky wee romm for 2 weeks but we managed to look on the bright side - its only 2 minutes from Bondi Beach and Santa comes in 2 days yey!! We dumped the bags and went shopping for xmas pressies at Bondi Junction to cheer ourselves up. Then we tried to book a table for dinner on Xmas day. We looked at the popular Bondi Social but they were looking for $160 per head for a 3-course meal so we settled on a cosy Japanese restaurant which will be a little bit different anyway.
I went to the beach for an hour and when I got back Raymond had decorated our room with tinsel and snowmen. He had filled a stocking for me and had put a xmas tree up so I had a lovely suprise. Now the room doesnt look half as bad :-)
XMAS DAY
oooh a bit hungover today!!! Went out for a few drinks to sample the nightlife on Christmas Eve and had ten too many cocktails! We started off at a pub called "The Shack". Everyone was on the tables singing and dancing, a bit mental really but
Sydney
sunset on hogmanay was a good laugh. We left there about 11pm and went to the Bondi Hotel to bring Santa in. It was jam packed full of people although not a srowdy as the last place. It has an adjoining nightclub so danced the night away inthere until the wee small hours. ( Note to self - never drink jagerbombs again!) The only thing about being that drunk on xmas eve is the temptation to open all your pressies when you are drunk which is exactly what we did - fun fun fun!!!!! Really enjoyed our meal at the Japanese restaurant, with some saki to finish it off. Never made it onto the beach ourselves on xmas day but it was mobbed with people celebrating. Hundreds of people swimming even though it was cloudy and overcast for most of the day, the first time in years apparently, we must have brought the Scottish weather with us!
Had a quiet day on Boxing Day and the 27th. Went out for dinner a couple of times and had a few drinks but apart fromthat a coupleof relaxing days. Have been on the phone to family for the last couple of days, wishing them
Sydney
Irene and I, the after party all merry xmas and crying my eyes out because I miss everyone, especially at this time of year. I wont be suprised if they unplug their phones so they dont need to listen to me :-)
Met up with Raymonds friends from home : Jamie, Laura, Danny and Mags. They are staying at Coogee Bay so we got a taxi through there, about 25 minutes from Bondi. Had a great night out here, everyone in the holiday spirit ( although I think there is a great atmosphere here all year round) and it was good to finally meet Jamie and Laura whom I hadnt met at home.
On the 29th we arranged to meet Irene and co who I had been travelling with in New Zealand and then stayed with in Sydney. Met them at Kings Cross ( the party central of Sydney) and got a great suprise when John and Padraig showed up as I wasnt expecting to see them for another couple of weeks. Also met up with Kat, a Scottish girl who I stayed with in the fruitshack when I was friut-picking out at Leeton. Jamie and Laura showed up too along with Aoife, Connor
Sydney
me, Aoife and Irene and Frank ( Irenes friends) so there was a fair crowd of us and a brilliant night was had by all. We ended up in Scruffy Murphys ( which had just been shut down the week before for over crowding) where there was a Celtic game on upstairs much to the boys delight so that was us there till about 4am until it finished!
HOGMANAY
Headed over to Cremorne Point at about 1pm on Hogmanay to meet up with everyone. Cremorne Point is situated on the other side of the harbour from the city and Opera House. It is a residential area with huge grassy knolls on the waters edge with fantastic views over the bridge and city. People camp out here overnight to get a good spot for watching the fireworks so when we turned up at 1pm there was already thousands of people there. We managed to find a spot, put a few picnic mats down then started the countdown till the new year! The boys had brought their beer in a shopping trolley as they couldnt carry it all - very classy. The weather was perfect with a lovely sunset. We had brought plenty food and
Sydney
fireworks at the bells drink so evryone was merry by the time the first fireworks show started at 9pm. This is a smaller version of the midnight display for the kids. The atmosphere here is amazing, everyone is partying and having a good time. You almost feel like you are in someones front gardens as the houses are so close. There was a few fancy dress parties going on too so some intersting characters walking about! The fireworks at midnight were absolutely stunning, ive never seen anything like it. I can understand why Sydney is considered one of the best places to bring the new year in.
The fireworks lasted about 30minutes then we all packed up and started the walk home ( with the shopping trolley, uphill all the way! Us girls walked a good ten paces ahead of them :-)) to Irenes house to carry on the party. Danced for about 5 hours straight then we collapsed on cushions in the sunroom where we managed to catch some sleep. Had a fantastic night, definately one of the best new years ive ever had!!
Woke up about 10am the next morning, a few people started drinking again but I couldnt face
Sydney
John, Irene, Padraig and me it! We all went to the Oaks Hotel for brunch, great hangover cure, then headed back to Bondi to bed again. On the 2nd of January it came time to say goodbye for a while again. Raymond and I are heading off on a campervan trip to Perth tomorrow. Its sad saying goodbye again to Irene and Co but we are meeting up with them in Perth in a couple of months so will look forward to that. We all met up at the Bondi Hotel for drinks then went our seperate ways. Really excited about our trip now. Taking the campervan through Blue Mountains, Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide and more so update on that to follow soon!!
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Kazza!
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how come i'm only getting emails about ur blogs months after they go up? i only got told about this one today but its from new year!! strange! this time next week u'll be on ur way back - yay!! xx