Sydney, The Blue Mountains

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Hi thats me back in Sydney after my fruit picking stint, hope im not doing that again for a long while :-) I went straight to Irenes house ( the girl I met in New Zealand) and the home comforts feel like absolute luxury. Irene has rented a place in Neutral Bay with her friend Aoife, another Irish girl. I'm staying here for a few days until Samantha comes. Neutral Bay is just to the north of Sydney, just over the Harbour Bridge. The house has fabulous views over the Sydney skyline and you can see the bridge from a platform at the bottom of her steps. The have rented the house for about 6 months, the landlord is converting the houses ( there is 4 in her block) into 2 luxurious pads so he's just renting out while he's waiting on planning permission. The house is huge so Irene and Aoife have added a couple of wee nik-naks to make the place feel like home. They both have found jobs in the city pretty quickly so they are settling in nicely to their new jobs and home and both are loving it. Irenes friend Connor (also a friend from Ireland) has a job in Sydney and has been living here for a while so he has helped them out with the settling in process. We all went out for lunch when I arrived back to a nice hotel called The Oaks. It has a huge beer garden which is always full. Its also the first time ive had to BBQ my own lunch. They have what looks like a butchers counter, you go inside and pick your meat then cook it yourself on the outdoor barbie which was great fun. They also do awesome gourmet pizzas, Im pretty sure I'll get through the whole menu at some point. Back to the house where I sleep on the couch but its so comfy I may never leave. Im still getting used to the house after my 4 weeks on the farm.
I have booked a trip up the East Coast for Raymond and I when he arrives in 4 weeks - YEY! We will fly up to Cairns and travel down the coast for about 3 weeks by greyhound and arrive back in Sydney for Xmas and New Year but you will here more about that later!
So I went and picked up Samantha from Sydneys Kingsford Airport at dark 0'clock this morning. I mean, 6am is a really unnecessary time of arrival as far as Im concerned. I had to get up at 5 to get there on time for her arriving as I had to sign a form saying I was responsible for her. She looked a bit knacked but insists she was fine, I will try to keep her up as late as possible so she isnt up in the middle of the night. Its great to see a face from home, Ive told her we'll have loads of fun so I hope she enjoys her time here which im sure she will:-) We headed for Irenes to pick up my bags as we are staying in a hostel in the city. I thought it would be nice to take her over to Irenes via the ferry as it has great views of the harbour & Opera House etc. However as I'd never been that way myself I got the two of us lost and we ended up wandering the streets asking for directions. It wasnt a good way too start the holiday seeing as Im supposed to be a responsinle adult and all but I assured her that this was not a sign of things to come!!:-)
We went to the Opera House and done the tour although I think she was a bit bored. I thought it was great to sit inside the concert hall where all the big events take place and watch some of the rehearsals. We are both suprised at the shape inside and out of the Opera House, although it looks like one huge building, its actually 3 seperate buildings which all join up underneath.
Other places which we have visited have been the Sydney Aquarium and Wildlife World. The animals that stand out the most would be the kangaroos and the Koalas, in the Aquarium it was the sharks. We got our photos taken with Precious the Koala although we weren't allowed to hold her.
The weather hasnt been that great since Sam got here she says its just like Scotland :-) Shes impatient to get a tan too show off to her friends when she gets back. We're heading out of the city in the next couple of days so hopefully it will be nicer then. Went to the pictures to see "Death at a Funeral". I laughed so much I almost peed my pants, Samantha told me to shut up as I was embarrassing her :-)
So we headed for the Blue Mountains, about 2 hours on the train from the city. We got off to a ropey start as Samantha didnt like the Mountain Lodge we were staying at, it was too quiet and a bit dark and gloomy. I think she was finding it hard adjusting to the change of scenery as the city was so noisy and something is always happening there. We moved to the YHA which she much more happier with, there were other kids there and more for her to do which was good. We went to Scenic World which has a cablecar, railway and skycar with a glass floor. We were very impressed as the views were fabulous. The weather makes a difference aswell, there hasnt been a cloud in the sky for a couple of days now. We visited some lovely lookout points - Gordon Falls, Echo Point, Three Sisters etc. The Blue Mountains get their name from the blue haze that surrounds them. This blue haze is caused by the oil which comes from the Eucalyptus trees when it reacts with the moisture in the air. I dragged Sam on some great walking trails, she said she enjoyed it and felt like like a real Indian Jones so Ive renamed her Indy :-) She also tried to insist she is better at reading maps and finding us the right route out of the jungle but of course, me being the adult, I know best :-) I'm sure she will appreciate me saying this haha.
So after an intersting time at the mountains we caught the bus back to the city where we headed over to the coast for a beach holiday. We spent a few days at Coogee Beach at the "Wizard of Oz" backpackers. Coogee Beach is really relaxed and caters brilliantly for backpackers. We then moved to Collaroy Beach which was about an hour on the bus from the city. The hostel is much better but the beach is huge and daunting, unlike the cosiness of Coogee. We have been in the water but not out far as its so powerful and can really drag you away from shore before you know whats happening. Irene and Aoife drove up for the weekend to see us and went swimming. They both had to be pulled out of the water as they couldnt get back in which was a bit scary. The trick is not to panic but of course you do and Ive found myself struggling a bit even though im not in deep water.
Samantha enjoyed meeting Irene and Aoife and commented afterwards that they were not what she expected. When I asked her why she said " well they are normal, not like you"!!!! Whatever can she mean? Answers on a postcard - huh.
We went to Palm Beach for the day which is where Home and Away is filmed. The beach was very quiet but its beautiful and the houses that surround it are very posh. We got our photos taken outside the Surf Club which was very exciting! Above the door it says Club Manager - A.Stewart. There was filming going on so we crept over for a peek and a sound man told us it was okay to hang about. I asked Sam if she recognised anybody but she didnt. We were extremely impressed with ourselves about catching the filming of Home and Away when someone told us they were actually filming "Bluewater High". We sulked away, not amused at all but then found out afterwards that this show is actually very famous in Oz so we were happy after all :-)
For Sams last couple of days we came back to the city for another look about. We went up the Sky Tower and onto the Observation Deck for some good photos. Went over to Irenes for pizza then went to the pictures to see "Heartbreak Kid". Visited Paddys Market aswell and had a good time wandering among the hundreds of stalls there.
So I took her to the airport yesterday and I cant believe she has been here for almost 3 weeks, it has flown in. As you can see from her photo she looks happy to be going home and I suppose I dont blame her after putting up with me for so long :-) She says im a right moaner and Ive told her shes a wee moaner too so I guess we're even :-) I think she had a good time, Ive had a great time showing her around and I hope she has enjoyed it as much as I have!
Raymond is here next week - Yey!!!!! Happy Days x

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Photos

Sydney & Blue Mountains
laughing at one of my jokes

Sydney & Blue Mountains
views from Gordon Falls

Sydney & Blue Mountains
Sam and I with the Koalas

Sydney & Blue Mountains
Summer Bay

Sydney & Blue Mountains
out for dinner

Sydney & Blue Mountains
a bit too close!!

Sydney & Blue Mountains
at the Blue Mountains

Sydney & Blue Mountains
cheeky!

Sydney & Blue Mountains
on the ferry

Sydney & Blue Mountains
looking a little pensive with the aboriginal

Sydney & Blue Mountains
me at the Surf Club

Sydney & Blue Mountains
on the edge again

Sydney & Blue Mountains
sharks at the Sydney Aquarium

Sydney & Blue Mountains
Sam with the sharks

Sydney & Blue Mountains
Sam

Sydney & Blue Mountains
Koalas at the Wildlife Park

Sydney & Blue Mountains
In wildlife world with the kangaroos

Sydney & Blue Mountains
A cassowara bird, native to Oz

Sydney & Blue Mountains
on the ferry

Sydney & Blue Mountains
Sam on Palm Beach

Sydney & Blue Mountains
Harbour Bridge with Opera House in the background