Christmas and New Year in Sydney

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Christmas Eve-So it's Christmas Eve and I'm thinking of Nan ❤️ Can't quite believe it's two years since I had to say goodbye to one of the most precious people in my life. After a little lie in me and Lauren went shopping for either something red or white for the red and white party in our hostel's bar tonight. It took us a while but we both found a bargain. I got a red halter neck playsuit for fifteen bucks....steal! It's a little big, but it was cheap! On the way home I picked up my first box of goon and a mini midori for a special occasion. When we got back to the hostel we didn't have long before we had to get ready to leave for our bridge climb and I realised I didn't have a beach towel for tomorrow. One of the girls in our room pointed me towards the local markets so off I went. I found the Australia towel I wanted for seven bucks and a beach bag for three...bargain! Now I'll look like the ultimate tourist.

We left around five to go to the bridge. Sydney has a free bus around the CBD which is fab! We jumped off at Circular Quay and walked the rest to the bridge climb centre. The whole process took about three hours as first of all you sign their forms and get given a jumpsuit to wear. I also got a sexy pair of black trainers as my shoes weren't good enough. After we were dressed and had left all our stuff in the lockers we got introduced to our climb leader Adrian and had our safety talk. We then got fitted with harnesses and radios before making our way to the start. Lauren wanted to be first so we wangled our way to the front hehe! Just like being kids at school. The first part was really scary as you could see through the boards etc to the traffic below as we were walking under the bridge to get to the main arch. When we got there we had a vertical climb up a couple of flights of steps and then the floor was see through. When we got up there the arch was so wide you couldn't see over the sides so I was much happier. I'm not afraid of heights but I don't like the feeling of something maybe giving way beneath me. We made a couple of stops along the way for photos....first at the opera house where it was still quite light, then a bit further up and at the top. We did a crazy one and a nice one. You get the option of recording a free video too so we wished everyone a Merry Christmas 😊

Just before we started to descend we had a photo with the rest of our group. The views are sensational and the city looks so pretty all lit up. There's a red light at the top that flashes and apparently they don't actually need it anymore but there's an old guy somewhere that likes to see it at night so he pays for the bulb to be replaced when it needs it....kind of like his night light, cute. We only walked halfway over the bridge which I guess makes sense as otherwise we wouldn't get back to the centre. My hands felt minging after holding the railings so I was glad when we got back. When we looked at our photos we decided to buy one each but the printer was taking ages so I said as a joke 'Right that's it, it's now buy one get one free' and he agreed with me, apologised and only charged us for one...not bad I say! After they were printed out I noticed that on one I had a bug stuck to my forehead....nice. On the way home we bumped into our bridge climb leader outside a pub and they all invited us to stay for a drink but we had to get back for our night out. Gutted as it could have been fun. We got a cheeky maccys on the way back as we were starving and by the time we got back it was eleven! The que for side bar was crazy so we nipped up the road to an Irish bar which was okay but not amazing. We didn't mind too much though because we'd had a brilliant evening. I mean climbing the Sydney Harbour bridge at twilight on Christmas Eve? Doesn't get much better than that! When I got back I facetimed Stacey to wish her a Merry a Christmas as it was technically my Christmas already 😊 I opened all my cards I've been carrying for two months which was amazing! I got a drawing off both Mason and Myles and I'm sure Mason drew me a horse 😊 My Dad sent me a birthday card but put Merry a Christmas in it too bless him! He wrote something really lovely too.

Christmas Day-So our hostel put on a free champagne breakfast this morning which was Buck's Fizz and a mince pie but still amazing! I love this hostel....it definitely pays to spend a little more for Christmas. I left for Bondi with Lauren and her roomies around tenish, picked up an opal card (which is free here might I add) and a box of sushi....gotta have salmon Christmas morning! When we got to Bondi it wasn't as busy as I thought it would be but there were security at all the entrances checking bags for alcohol. I'd carried my five litre box of goon all the way so just wrapped it in a towel and in I went....woop! Once we were settled on the beach I put my new bikini on and started catching my first Aussie rays! The waves are so strong here that I kept getting knocked over 😞 even got a little graze from the sand. After the goon dilemma I only had about one cup! We decided to jump back on the bus around 3ish as it was starting to look a bit stormy and sure enough just as we were getting on it started to piss down with thunder and lightening. The ques for the buses were horrendous so we crossed the road and caught it up to the last stop before it turned around and then hopped on an empty one back....skill! It was a long ass journey back to the city as the traffic was manic. I was sat in the luggage basket with my legs hanging over the bars so after a while my legs started to go numb :/

I was naughty and stopped in the 711 for a pie on the way home...oopsie! We finally got back to the hostel early evening and got showered and in our pjs. I skyped Lisa to watch the boys open their presents....when they got to mine Mason wasn't that bothered but Myles loved his drum and finger puppets 😊 😊 I then nipped downstairs to get a cuppa and had a natter with Lauren and her roomies before skyping Dad and his side of the family and my Auntie V and her family and I met my cousin Ryan's new dog Beckham....he's so cute! It cut off before I could have a tour of their new house though 😞 I guess everyone was on the wifi. After a while I facetimed my Nan in hospital 😞 I was so happy to see her but she had her oxygen mask on and started to cry, so I started to cry, so my Auntie D started to cry lol! My sis only told me yesterday that she's in hospital so I was a bit annoyed. Finally I facetimed Lynn and his family and he said he's going to book his flights out to Australia soon yippee!

Boxing Day-So after a little lie in this morning I got up and ready for the races 😊 I was so excited! I missed out on painting my nails as I was running out of time but then Lauren and her roomies were fifteen minutes late so I was a bit miffed! But I soon got over it. We met a couple of her friends from home but I didn't recognise them. We caught the bus to Randwick for international day....as long as we brought our passport it was free entry 😊 On the way in we discovered they were doing bag searches so we nipped round the corner to ditch our hidden booze but the security team soon cottoned on and approached us :/ There was a really nasty one who was just on a mega power trip and threatened not to let us in. I was gonna hide my mini midori bottle in the side of my pants but got too scared so handed it over 😞 When we were finally in I started off the day with a glass of bubbly 😊 We watched the horses getting shown in the ring before placing our bets....of course I didn't win anything but it was great fun. I love the races! I wanna go to Ascott. One of the girls got thrown out because she smuggled in a hip flask and got caught....tit! The security woman was a right bitch!

I managed to find Tania and Hannah who I travelled with in New Zealand and gave them massive hugs! They were smashed and I only saw them for like half an hour and then lost them. I decided to buy a bottle of bubbly when I should've just bought one in the beginning...spent a fortune and obviously got trashed! I had a gorgeous basket of fish and chips and placed a bet on a horse named Cwmbran....I won a fiver at some point but can't remember on which horse. On the way out I sneaked around to the stables to pet a horse I placed a bet on. I don't think his stable woman was too happy but he loved it....poor things probably don't get petted much. So a couple of us chose to skip the taxi que and catch a taxi home and it wasn't too expensive either. One of the girls just got out and said she didn't have any cash so just left....rude! The rest of the afternoon is all a bit hazy and probably best left out of my blog lol! On the way back to our hostel we got dominos....they're like only fiver! I gave a homeless lady a piece and she was so grateful. Then I tried to give a piece to a man who I thought was homeless and he wasn't...big oopsie! The girl in my room has footage of me doing an awesome twirk and Lauren posted a photo of me passed out with the santa sign in her room floor :/ They tried to make me go to sleep but the party was still happening in my room so I danced like a crazy fool, tipped goon over someone and someone else's bag before attempting to sober up whilst watching Casualty.

27th December-So today was an easy day....I obviously went through the motions of alcohol remorse before dragging myself down to Peterpans travel shop to book my East Coast trip 😊 I met Lauren and her roomies downstairs for steak and chips which I can't really afford but couldn't resist, then sent Lynn and Claire my itinerary just so he knows what he's in for. I'm going to try and convince him to do a skydive with me lol! We were going to go for a stroll around the city sights but couldn't drag ourselves out again so I spent the remainder of the day in bed watching Casualty.

28th December-Today I refused to waste anymore of my time as I've been in the city for five days and haven't seen much of it. So some girls in my room, Lauren and a guy from her room all did the Coogie to Bondi coastline walk. It was stunning and we got to walk past loads of other little bays and beaches. It took about two hours as we dawdled a bit, stopped for photos and lunch. The girls weren't so keen on jumping the waves so me and Louis spent the most time in there. On the way back we stopped to pick up something for dinner and settled on chicken in a mushroom sauce with rice....yummy! I decided that it's now too warm for straightening so have started the whole letting the hair dry naturally/curly thing again. It's been a while! I met up with Mercede after dinner who was one of my very first travel buddies in Asia 😊 We sat in the room having a catch up and drinking goon when we decided to go out for a bit. We joined the young girls in our room and went to a place called three fat monkeys where the music was spot on but it was quite dead. After a little while we shifted to a bar closer to the hostel but that was shit so we just gave in and went home. Not exactly the night I had in mind. One of them went home early as she didn't feel well....I get the feeling she's a bit of a grump anyway. On the way home we decided to have tea and toast when we got in so I'm on my way to the kitchen with my veggiemite when I bump into Sarah from our room....turns out the other girls don't have a spare piece of bread for me like they said they did....biatches! I mean if you don't wanna share just say so like.

29th December-So this morning I set off with the girls from my room, Mercede and her flat mate to Palm beach on the bus. I kid you not it took us over two hours to get there and when we finally arrived there was no sign of Summer Bay and the surf shack. So a couple of us went off to see if we could track it down and sure enough it was right up the other end of the beach 😊 😊 We had our photos outside Alf Fisher's shop which was unfortunately closed 😞 He's like the only character I can remember from Home and Away. The diner was members only but I peeked in to see if it was like on TV and it was totally different so I wasn't too upset that we couldn't go in. I did end up buying a really thin Summer Bay Surf and Rescue team singlet that I can't afford though oops! Yes I say singlet now...it's an Aussie/Kiwi word for vest top. After walking up and down the beach twice, as I didn't take my purse the first time, posing with the singlet on and a spot of sunbathing it was time to go. So all that way but at least I can say I've been to Summer Bay woop woop! Me, Mercede and her flat mate left after my roommates because we wanted to stay longer but shortly after I was like 'girls I think I'm burning, let's go' lol! So we were only half an hour behind them. Plus I wanted to get back in time to go to Pancakes on the Rocks with them on Darling Harbour. So after a quick shower without washing my hair I just chucked my hair on the side and some clothes on and managed to look half decent....god I've got lazy!

As we were waiting in the que Beth (the grumpy one) was being a bit of a princess because she was hungry. She said she didn't wanna wait and was gonna go somewhere else but we were all just staying still so she calmed down. I prefer her little friend Sarah much more. She's going to be living in Cairns so hopefully I'll get to see her again 😊 When we got seated everyone was ordering mains but I saw gravy and chips on the menu and was sold straight away! Haven't had it since I left home. It was like the size of my head! I then ordered a stack of pancakes and the lovely waitress advised me to just get two as they were very big. So I did and so saved a few bucks...it's not often someone will tell you to spend less money these days. Gosh I sound like and old biddy! As we were walking back through Darling harbour after dinner we had our photo taken by a pretty boat decorated for Christmas and then stopped to watch this Japanese breakdancer performing for tips. He was okay but only did a show for about twenty minutes. We came across a Chinese garden sort of place which looked pretty but was obviously closed. I couldn't sleep when we got back so watched a few episodes of Casualty. I think I'm gonna have to start catching up on something else soon because it's a bit depressing lol! I then started thinking about my next tattoo......

30th December-So this morning I was due to meet my New Zealand travel buddy Becca at 11am but slept in 'til 10:15 so had to meet her with no breakfast in me so brought her back to the hostel for some 😊 When we saw each other we did the whole run and hug thing as we'd been separated for waay too long! Sniff sniff! After breakfast and non stop catch up on gossip I made us a packed lunch and we set out on our city walking tour that I've been dying to do since I got here. The hostel does it for free but it wasn't the day so I just asked them for the map of the route they take and we were good to go. Before we set off we had to nip to the Oz experience office so she could sort out her start date for her bus. So I did a bit of persuading and she's coming to the Blue Mountains with me and Lauren yay! 😊 😊 Hopefully I'll get to see her when she stops in Byron Bay when I'm on my farm. We set off for Hyde park and after we'd walked through it we moved into the Botanic gardens which are stunning! We found a fairy trail but couldn't see any....must be only kids that can see. You gotta believe to be able to right? So we stopped for our lunch with a view over the water. After that we made our way for the iconic stop at Sydney Opera House and harbour bridge. The photo I've been waiting for and yes yes I did the cringe jumping photos that all backpackers do. We finished off by walking through Circular Quay, Martin Place, Darling Harbour and finally Chinatown. Martin Place was obviously a little erie due to what happened there. There were still some flowers left under a tent that were being guarded.

I haven't really seen Lauren for a few days and have no idea what her plans are for New Years which is tomorrow so I'm freaking out a bit :/ I've decided to go with some girls in my room to Mrs Macquaries point which is near the botanic gardens and is supposed to have the best view of the bridge. We went shopping this afternoon for a monster picnic. We were trying to find ice cooler packs so we could drain out the fluid and fill it with goon as they check your bags for alcohol, but we couldn't find any so we just accepted the fact that we will see 2015 in sober. By the time we got back to the hostel we had hardly any time left to get ready for our Peterpans night out so had to be quick. When I go to get my make up bag off my bed all that's there is my make up tipped out everywhere and the bag has gone. I went absolutely nuts at reception as clearly one of the cleaning people had stolen it because that's just a really weird thing to do and no one in my room would have done it. Janey got me that too 😞 😞 I was so upset! I didn't have time to be upset though because we had to get going.

When we got to the travel shop we had free goon and got entered into a draw for prizes. Todd from our room won a trip and so did Karstin....lucky buggers! There was no pizza as advertised and I was absolutely starving! We caught the free party bus to the Kings Cross Peterpans where there was someone on the door saying 'feel free to take the stairs or the slide' so I thought nah don't be a kid Laura, take the stairs. After a while the pizza was taking way too long so I nipped out for a sausage! When it finally did arrive we all had to fight for it and only got one piece each. You were also allowed to bring your own booze so we nipped to the bottle shop and got a bottle of wine between us to which I then slid down the slide with didn't I? And in the process I burnt my bum as it was too big for the slide 😞 We then got free club entry and a drink around the corner which I expected to be shit but the music was actually really good. We caught the train back but my opal card had run out of money so I just walked on for free....not a good idea as sometimes there are people waiting at the other end to see if you tapped on oopsie! I was okay though phew! We totally should've gone to bed early tonight as we have to be up at eight to get ready to leave for the point...it's gonna be a long day.

New Year's Eve-So this morning I was hangover free so already onto a winner! We left around nine and got to the que around ten. Along the way we found this girl who was a bit lost so she walked with us and when we got there half the que was sat down because apparently they'd been told they weren't going to get in. So we were like 'oh shit!' and the lovely girl we were with was just like 'do you girls wanna come with us' as her friend had been waiting in the que since 7am! Nutter! But we were sooo grateful 😊 😊 She was Welsh too! 😉 We had smuggled a bit of goon into one of our bags but got scared they'd find it and refuse us entry so we all tried to drink it but it was way too early in the day so we biffed it! When we finally went through security they searched the bag our goon was in really thoroughly so we would've been screwed! But then they let me take my opened water in....weird! We found ourselves a nice spot under some trees and we could've perhaps sat in a slightly better spot but we didn't wanna bake as it was boiling! After a busy morning we set out our picnic rugs and then all fell asleep. As we started to wake up from our nap we realised that we were suddenly surrounded by people....good job we gave ourselves more space than we needed....otherwise everyone would've been like sardines! The picnic we brought was just too huge for the three of us so we shared it with the girls too....but we didn't spend anything all day which was great. I didn't even feel like a drink, thought it would make a change to have a dry New Years too.

Laura pointed out this fit guy who was standing with his friend behind us so me being the meerkat that I am stuck my head up to have a look and he gave us the nod....embarrassing! Then when he walked past he gave us a little wave....and again about half an hour later. Cocky bugger! Not gonna lie though....it was nice hehe! The shows started about 6ish with aeroplane shows that left loads of those smoky cloud things about, a water jet show off some boats, loads of boats with lights on the harbour when it got dark and then the fireworks started at nine with a show for families. I tottered off to find Hannah and Tania who I saw at the races for like twenty minutes and then lost and when I found them they didn't seem overly excited to see me which I was a bit gutted about 😞 I don't know if it was just because they were a bit drunk maybe? They had some good alcohol smuggling tricks though! Tan had a pot of peaches that she'd thrown the juice out of and filled with vodka...so doing that one next time! I felt a bit bad when I got back to the girls as I stole the Welsh girl's jumper when she went to get a beer as I stupidly didn't bring one and was freezing! She didn't mind though as she wasn't wearing it 😊 So shortly after that loads of people cleared out and we got to a better spot, under a floodlight too so we could actually see each other's faces and it gave off a bit of heat. When it was time for the big twelve minute show we'd waited fourteen hours for, we stood up and looked through an opening in the trees. We could see I'd say a third of the opera house and the whole bridge with just a few branches in the way to which I snapped a few twigs off oopsie! It was a really good view and I managed to get a cracking video 😊 it took us like an hour to walk home through all the crowds so we were proper knackered so as soon as I got in I had a shower and went to sleep....after I'd uploaded my pics ofcourse :p Maybe I stole one off a girls facebook too who had gone at 6am and got a really good spot hehe!

New Year's Day-Hello 2015! So as I stayed up late I had a nice lie in and then facetimed my sis just before their New Year's....she was in bed! Then I tried to FaceTime Stacey and everyone at their party for the countdown but they were using Richard's phone and my FaceTime doesn't work with his for some reason....I got so upset when I missed it 😞 😞 Then I cheered up a bit when Auntie Dawn and Uncle Jeff facetimed me from Aber when he was on a break from his gig 😊 😊 I then got my butt into gear and tidied my things and put my washing on. I then went downstairs to moan a bit more about my make up bag....this time to a girl so she understood all about how important it was to me and said she'd get the head cleaner on to it. I then bumped into this cleaner and before I could even ask her nicely she just assumed I had it in for her....bit too defensive methinks?? Anyway she helped me look for it in lost property and it definitely isn't there so that's that. Still think the girl she's training took it though.

Me and the two girls in my room who I've made quite good friends with then decided to get out of the hostel and go to Manly beach. I messaged my friend Clare who I met in New Zealand (also on the kiwi bus) to come for a catch up so we all caught the ferry from Circular Quay. I decided to take my pirate hat with me since it was New Year's Day :p All I wanted to do as we were pulling out of the harbour was to take a photo of everything in the background but these people just wouldn't move...they'd take their photos and then just stand in the way....fucking tourists! When we got there we went to the best fish and chip shop place and had a basket of prawns, calamari, some type of battered fish and an oyster with these gorgeous chips! Mmm mmm! They added on a ten bucks service charge though because it was a public holiday which I think was a little cheeky! So I left them my change which was an extra few pennies just to be a cow 😊 So finally we got to the beach and set our stuff down. I didn't bother going in the sea as the waves out here are such an effort to get through so you can actually swim. Now I either had a bit too much sun (as I may have fallen asleep) or a dodgy prawn because I felt soooo sick on the way back on the ferry 😞 I was hanging off the side incase I puked....I think people thought I was hungover. Then we were waiting for the bus and weren't sure which one to catch so I asked one of them and the driver said yes so I said I'll just grab my friends and as I turned to shout for them he just closed the doors and drove off....whilst mumbling something about not waiting AND with Clare on the bus! Asshole! By the time we finally got back I felt better so had a shower and packed my bags ready for my Ayers Rock trip tomorrow 😊 The lovely girl on reception printed out my vouchers for me for free and then we ended the night by having a duvet, movie, tea and biscuits evening in the hallway....the Inbetweeners 2 (set in Australia). The people that walked past us were either drunk and jealous or sober and laughing at us....but who even cares! Fab end to the day! Xx

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