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Published: January 29th 2009
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Team Ireland
Guinness and John Hi All,
I know what your thinking 'it's about time the blog was updated.' It's been so long since the last one that we're already packing up and moving out from Sydney. Maeve has 2 days of work left and then we're catching up with people around Sydney over the weekend and then next Tuesday we're flying off to Cairns.
Since the last blog so much has happened that it all seems like a bit of a haze. After getting engaged we got so many warm wishes and congrats, all of which are much appreciated. We had a massive display of Christmas and engagement cards on display over Christmas. On the 20th of December we passed the halfway mark of our trip. So whether we like it or not we're on our way home now.
The weekend before Christmas Maeve decided we should hire a car and go on a roadtrip. I thought we might stay overnight somewhere and take the car for 2 days instead. Our (Maeves) better wisdom decided we should just take it for 1 day. So on Saturday we got the car and headed north to Port Stephens Bay, it's about a 5 hour round
trip - a bit like going on a day trip to Galway (a mad idea if you like). We had a nice drive up the coast through places like 'The Entrance' and Newcastle. We had arranged to go horse riding in the bush. So by the time we arrived and had a quick bite to eat in a vineyard we set off on our ignoble steeds.
My horse (I was given 'Guinness' because that's the one the owner thought would suit me best) was a twat. He kept riding really close to the posts so that my shins would get a knock, not very funny but nothing a tug on the reigns and a dig in the ribs didn't cure. We had a group of Asian teenagers along with us who'd obviously never been near a 'real' animal in their lives. Well, the look of horror on their faces when the horses shat/pissed/bit/spat/fought/farted and sniffed each other was hilarious. And there was a group of about 12 horses so there was a lot of the above activities. (Here's my really bad joke) I bet they got a bit of agri-culture shock. Maeve and I were so unfazed by these horsey
Our Christmas Tree
No real trees were harmed in the making of this tree. antics they probably thought we were brought up in sheds. The ride was very nice and we go to see the ocean from the dunes although we never got to see any of the snakes I was told were in the area.
After the horse riding we left a traumatized group of Asians behind and went to see Birubi Point beach. It's an uninterrupted 32kms long and it is the longest continuous beach on the east coast of Australia. It was really great to see the huge expanses of sand around us, sea in front of us and blue sky above us. The scale was massive sand dunes for as far as the eye could see, jeep safaris crawling up and down the dunes so far away that they just looked like an army of ants. We did take some pictures but they don't do the spectacle any justice. It was the first time being in Australia I felt I was in Australia. I've always equated Australia with massive landscapes and scenery - the worlds biggest island, the worlds biggest rock. the worlds longest beaches etc etc, well this was the first time I felt that this could be Australia
and no other. Sydney and Melbourne are nice cities but they're only cities and could be in any country. I think that we'll have plenty of other experiences like these when we drive along the east coast from Cape Tribulation (at the top) to Sydney (at the bottom). I'm looking forward to seeing more of the unique things that Australia has to offer like the great barrier reef (the worlds largest coral reef) and Fraser Island (the worlds largest sand island).
After our stop at the beach we headed around Port Stephens Bay to see the lovely scenery, the heads and bays and beaches including Clontarf Bay and the small village of Killarney. Then it was time to head back home. It was late and we were a bit tired and my plan of staying there for the night would have been perfect. We headed home anyway and got home safe and sound. I got up early on the Sunday morning to leave the car back only to find a parking ticket for $189. It would have been cheaper to hire the car for 2 days and stay over night that hire it for 1 day and pay the fine.
Christmas in Sydney
Maeve and I enjoying a beer in the sunshine in Sydney on Christmas day Oh well. what really annoyed me wasn't that there was no double yellow lines on the road, or the fact that the no parking sign was facing the wrong way, it was that the fine was issued at 11.29pm on a Saturday night. What a Wanker.
Now that I'm feeling better about that I suppose I should tell you all about our joyous Christmas. On the Tuesday 23rd Maeve and I went to the Carol singing in the Opera House. It was a really nice occasion and the really only Chrismassy experience I think we had in Sydney(apart from my Christmas tree). Maeve had a ball, although I think we'd have fitted in much more if we had a couple of kids with us, oh well.
On Christmas day we went to mass in St. Mary's Cathedral, it was packed and full of Kerry, Cork, Meath and Dublin Jerseys. The talk of the crowd afterwards was 'What time will I see ye in Bondi at?'
For Christmas dinner we headed off to Aoife's house. It was called an 'Orphans Christmas Dinner' as it was mainly Irish people, who were 'stuck' in Sydney and missing their Mammy's Christmas dinner,
Aoife and Maeve
Celebrating in Style that were invited -- enter Maeve and John. We arrived in baking heat, about 30 -33C, with a slab of beer and some wine. It was a great day we enjoyed Irish Cadburys' chocolate - Australian Cadbury's is horrible they add some anti-melting agent which makes it taste horrible. Irish Cadbury's is best. We had some lovely bbq'd seafood and nibbles throughout the day along with beer and wine. We had a great time chatting to everybody and getting to know them. We were delighted to be there having a laugh in the sunshine rather than sitting in our apartment looking at each other all day and longing for home, this was the perfect Antidote.
The food was cooked by a friend of Aoifes, Phil. He did a great job on the BBQ and the main which was served at 8 that night (we started eating at 3) was a delicious roast pork with roasted potatoes, gravy and veg. It was sensational, YYYUUMMMM. Not your typical Christmas dinner but a very nice alternative. Phil has actually applied for the reality show Australian Masterchef and I hear he's being interviewed for the show this week so good luck to him, it'd
take a hell of a meal to beat that. We left Aoifes at about 1 that morning and had forgotten about Christmas, it was more like a party that you'd have at home with your friends than a Christmas day celebration, it was too sunny to be Christmas.
Also as my family were arriving on the 28th we were really looking forward to their arrival and weren't too bothered about missing an Irish Christmas. Australia does a pretty piss poor attempt at Christmas. New Years Eve is a much bigger deal over here and Sydney is arguably one of the best places in the world to celebrate the coming of a new year. Over 1.5 million people came to Sydney to watch this years show live. People were waiting from 8am that morning to get a good spot out in the park, no drink, long queues and 34C all day not my idea of fun, all for 10 minutes of a show. We went over to Kevin and Emers' apartment to watch from their balcony, which must have been one of the most ideal places in Sydney to watch from. I bet Kev never knew he had so many
Proper Australian Beach
Birubi Beach, just some of it's 32KMs friends in Sydney as he had in the apartment that night. I've taken a video of the whole 'fabled' fireworks show for your enjoyment. For those of you who can download it and watch it, this years theme is 'Creation' (just in case you couldn't figure it out yourself. it's OK I had to be told too.)
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Alice
non-member comment
Cold in Scotland!
HI guys!!!! I'm here at Matthew's house (the only place that I have access to the blog) so just wanted to wish ye well for the next leg of the trip!!! Christmas sounds terrific and I'm jut going to read the previous entries now (hope there's a good description of the engagement!!!). Anyway, I'm looking out at the rain in Glasgow and If I didn't love you both very much those photos would definitely be making me jealous!!! Ye really look terrific and so chilled out. So bon voyage for part deux, loads of love, Alice