First days in Oz.

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We arrived at Sydney airport yesterday morning about ten am and after the aaaages getting our bags and quarantine stuff sorted we finally were reunited with Charlotte!! We attempted a dramatic airport reunion Love Actually stylee but the crowds and our luggage trolley and the fact we couldn't actually see Charlotte for a good few minutes put a bit of a dampener on it!! We got picked up by our hostel and taken back to check in and stuff, me and Kitty are in a room with three other guys who seem quite nice, one of them told me his entire life story but never his name (no-one asks your name, just where you're from and how long you're there.) so we've kind of made friends!! We went for a walk in Sydney yesterday afternoon, through the Botanic gardens and down to see the opera house and the bridge, it was so much smaller than I had expected!! But pretty cool to see it in person, we had our obligatory pictures taken in front of them even though we were all feeling fairly rough from the jet lag!! We walked around so Kitty could pick up some leaflets in the opera house to add to her already huge collection! It's pretty chilly but not too bad, a warm jumper is enough, it's really funny watching all the Ozzies walking around in their big boots and scarves and coats- I'd describe the weather as an English spring day and this is their winter!! Then we went to the Rocks where there was a cool little market and had some lunch, it was a really strange day because all my sense of time was so out of whack I didn't know what was going on most of the time!! Kitty's offered to pay for me to go on more long haul flights so I can get used to jet lag!! (only joking Wong!!) I had real issues with forming constructive sentences as well, for example my response to Kitty asking if we should get the bus to Charlotte's old house was 'yeah definite'. Doesn't really make sense...! We also went to Oxford Street and then saw where Charlotte's been living while she was here, it was very nice! We also went to her local 'watering hole' to meet her boss for a drink, I'm loving the accents of everyone!! Charlotte's picked it up so much as well, especially when she talks to other Ozzies, I keep trying to copy but it just sounds like I'm taking the piss! We also went to her friend Rachels so we could cook ourselves some dinner and just slob out and watch tv, we were all soooo tired though we can't have made a brilliant impression!! We were all falling asleep on the sofa and I worked out that in the last 51 hours I had been awake for 46 of them, no wonder I'm so knackered!! We spent a very chilly night in the hostel last night, my bed was so creaky that I felt bad every time I moved cos the guy in the bunk below me had mentioned earlier what a light sleeper he is! So I'm still feeling a little bit not with it today! On the way to Rachel's house we had a look at China town for Kitty which was pretty cool, it looked a lot like the one in London but it was buzzing!
Today we went through Hyde Park and Charlotte and I had a game of giant chess which was fun until a crowd gathered and we got embarrassed! We had a look at Sydney tower but didn't go up and had a drink in the Queen Victoria building which was beautiful, a little shopping centre which was built (wait for it...) in the Victorian era. Now we are at Bondi beach which is pretty cool, it's so sunny but still cold! We sat on the beach for a while and had a look in some surf shops, it's just very relaxed which is good! I'm really enjoying myself so far, I'm loving being with the girls rather than an organised tour as we're still getting everything done but at our own pace and having CT is like having a tour guide anyway!! Sydney itself is quite small but it has loads of places with the same name as English places, for example we're in a hostel in King's Cross and have been on Liverpool Street, Oxford Street etc!
Some things that have amused us so far; the road signs on the highways that say 'You've gone the worng way turn around', the sounds the pedestrian crossings make - they're like little spaceships!! Also the tv adverts are about 50% the same as English ones but with Australian actors, and Burger King is called Hungry Jacks, just little things here and there have been similar!! Oh and yes I have already had a tim tam and a new variety at that!! A 'love potions' flavour which was sticky vanilla toffee and it was amazing!! I think any extra space in my bag on the way back will be devoted to tim tams!
We're going to Darling Harbour this afternoon and then out in Kings Cross for a few 'bevvies' this evening, we might be going to a party at Charlotte's housemates uni as well but it's fancy dress and we have nothing suitable so might not be allowed in!! We'll see!!

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