Sight Seeing, Hangovers, Disappointments and More Nights Out!!!

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27th December 2008 - SIGHT SEEING AND GETTING GOONED!!!
Got up at around 8.50am this morning...just in time for the free breakfast!!! Disappointed as only full fat milk which I can't drink so I had to settle for toast!! After three slices of toast and an apple I was still hungry....nothing compares to cereal and not quite on a par with my boxing day breakfast but hey...travellers can't be choosers!! After showering and getting ready we decided to walk into town and see some sights. The weather was a little overcast and very humid day. We called at the info centre for some hot tips on where to go and then set off towards the harbour. You could see the Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge really well and it really was an amazing sight. I was surprised that the Opera House was cream though as I always though of it as white.......still pretty though!!

We walked around the harbour and then had a walk around a really cool market. Some really nice jewellery...some of the nicest I have seen but I kept my purse in my bag and held back. I did not hold back when passing the homemade fudge stall though and bought a stick as a treat for New Years Day. Yum Yum...something to look forward to!!! Following the market we went for a walk along the harbour bridge. Fully booked and not the best day to climb it today but the walk over it was still cool. Just made me more excited about climbing it one day soon. Going to be on my own when I do it though as Nat, Gem and K didn't fancy it.

Following the bridge we walked back through 'The Rocks' and back towards the hostel calling at Woolworths on the way to stock up for tea. I felt rubbish after my toast start to the day and knew I would only settle after having cereal so I splashed out on some Special K for tea.......heaven in a bowl!!! Nat and K cooked a massive pasta meal...so funny to see piled up on the plate and they both had a good go at finishing it.

After tea we all got ready to go out. As usual I was ready well before the others and so set up on the corridor with a box of Goon and some plastic cups. Slowly but surely the ladies joined me as did about half the hostel with their own alcohol. Looked like this had turned into a big night out again!! The Goon party got in full swing. Some really cool people especially the guys from coventry who were all pretty down to earth like us and had good banter. One guy...'Troy'...thanked us for hanging about with them and having a laugh instead of 'going off to find hunks'!!! Ha...bless!!! The corridor party was then taken up to the roof due to lack of air conditioning and then to 'The Gaff' (Bar in town). To be honest I can't remember much of the night once we left the hostel and think Goon is pretty lethal...maybe I should stay off it in future!!

28th December 2008 - HANGOVER DAY AT THE HOSTEL!!
Didn't feel so good when I woke up and couldn't really remember much from the night before. Nat was way worse than me though as she felt shocking. Gem was not with us today as she went to church with the family we spent christmas with so Kirsty, Hatty (cool girl from our room), Nat and I all showered, had brekkie and then headed out towards Bondi beach. Nat felt worse and worse as we walked to the bus stop and after missing one bus and the next being too full we took it as a sign to go back to the hostel and spend the day there. K and I left Nat in bed and went up to the roof top to soak up some sun. Not the nicest rooftop......unluckily for us they were cleaning the area with the loungers and so we ended up laying on rickety picnic benches and going down for a cold shower when we got too hot!! Not exactly sun, sea and sand...funny though!!!

That evening, Gem and Kirsty went out for tea and to the cinema with the coventry boys whilst Nat and I stayed at the hostel. We did have a little walk to Hyde Park nearby to blow the cobwebs off. Really nice actually and we lay on our backs in the park looking at the stars for a while. If the mosquitos hadn't been on the prowl we would have stayed there all night. After our walk Nat went to bed and I laid on the corridor (so I could have some light) on my own writing my journal and listening to my music. I was wide awake and saw many people come and go as I sat there. It was around 3.30am before I finally felt tired and went into bed. Was nice to have some chill out time on my own though I was worried for when the tiredness would hit me!!!

29th December 2008 - MANLY BEACH DAY
Despite my late night I woke up at around 6.30am...wide awake with no chance of going back to sleep!!! What is wrong with my body clock?!! I usually have no trouble sleeping...ask my mum and dad!! Once brekkie had been had and we (us 4 and Hatty) were all up and dressed we headed to catch the ferry to Manly beach. Quite bright when we set off but as we waitried for the free shuttle and the ferry the clouds came over.......fingers crossed it wouldn't rain!

The ferry journey was nice and we were able to see the Opera House up close. Hatty was on form with her camera shots as she blocked the view with peoples heads......she's a funny one that girl!! Once in Manly we headed straight for the beach only calling for a sandwich along the way. The waves on the beach were huge and there were lots of surfers out. It was pretty cold though...not bikini weather and after all huddling up in our towels we gave it up as a bad job and headed to look around the town centre.

The town centre was cool...some good shops and we managed to drop on an amazing street dance show. They got the crowd involved and 4 men from the crowd had a dance off, the pros strutted their stuff, got everyone clapping and built up to an amazing finale. One guy got 5 people from the audience - 3 women, 1 man and a child - made them all bend over and then he ran and literally flew through the air landing with a tipple-over-tail onto the concrete. Hatty's line was brilliant - 'never mind the flying through the air, he just did a roly-bloody-poly onto hard concrete at amazing speed'!! So good to see!!! We then went for a drink at the crepary and all got the giggles. We sat there howling for about an hour over stupid little things until my sides hurt from laughing!!! From the crepary we headed back into town and all bought some Australian Boxer Shorts and an Australian Flag (as a cape) for New years Eve......we were gona look hot!!!

Time was ticking on so we headed back across the harbour on the ferry and then headed back to the hostel. We were cooking a meal at the hostel that night for 7 of us so we called in woolworths for some ingredients on the way home. Nat headed up the starters and did nachos with cheese, sour cream and Salsa and the Kirsty and I cooked the main - chicken fajitas and Beef fajtas. We made a real feast and everyone else (Hatty, Gem and the 2 sweedish girls) helped chop, wash and dry. Total team effort and well tasty!!!

After food we headed upstairs and sat out on the corridor with the coventry guys. They were all on the Goon and heading out but we stuck to our fanta. The next two days were going to be pretty hectic and we all needed a night off from the alcohol!!!

30th December 2008 - DISASTER START, BBQ & ANOTHER MAD NIGHT!!!
The morning did not strat off too well for me!! Once ready for the day I headed up to Tribal Travel with Hatty to try and book a 7 day surf school to start on the 5th January 2009. It would have been perfect and allowed me to visit the Blue Mountains before surf school. Things never go to plan though and the 7 day surf school was fully booked, as was the 5 day school starting on 6th January. Anything else was too late for me as we were on a fairly tight time scale. The only option available was a 4 day school startying on 2nd January which meant I would not be able to do the Bule Mountains either. Total Bummer!!! Hatty had more time so she didn't book but after weighing up my options I booked the 4 dayer......surf school was my number 1 thing to do in Oz and so I had to prioritise!! Mad with myself for not booking earlier though!!

The day could only get better...surely!! Hatty and I both wanted to climbv the harbour bridge so we left Nat, Gem and K and set off to try and do the climb. I was soooooo excited!!! Once again I was disappointed. No bridge climbs today as they were preparing the fireworks. How stupid am I?!!! The only option they had available was 4am on New years Day and she went on quickly to tell us that they did breath tests before the climb.......maybe not then!!!! Looked like I would not be climbing the bridge at all......totally gutted as it was the main thing I wanted to do in Sydney!! What a disaster morning!!

We (Hatty and I) were both gutted and so we walked to the opera house bar and sat in front of it with a Corona. Made me feel a lot better.....amazing views on a hot day with a tasty beer in hand. What a way to wash stresses away!!

Following our beer we headed back to the hostel. The rest of the ladies were on the beach and I could not be bothered to get a bus all the way to Bondi so I got my bikini and my book and headed to a nearby park for an hour or two. I really enjoyed my afternoon!! Started on my own chilling listening to music and ended up chatting to a group of girls and guys who invited me to join a game of frisbee and have a couple of 'free' beers with them on the grass. Sweet day and nice not to be covered in sand for a change!!!

At around 5pm I met Nat and the others at Woolies to get our new years eve fodder and then headed back to the hostel. A bbq was in full swing on the roof top so we headed up there and joined the party. I put into a kitty with Gem, K and a guy that looked just like Will Farrell for some beers and some Gin.......stayed off the Goon tonight!!! Most of the hostel ended up on the roof socialising and chatting until the hostel manager (bit of a richard cranium) got all stroppy and kicked us off.....bearing in mind that he organised the whole thing in the first place!!

We didn't fuss and continued the gathering on the corridor before heading out at around 11.30pm into Kings Cross. Not the best as we all lost one another so I ended up spending my night with some of the coventry boys and the Swedish girls at 'The Gaff'. We ended up going to Sambuca Village and Tequilla town......not good!! I strolled into bed at around 3am. Despite losing everyone it was still a good night but not sure I would feel so good the next morning?!!!

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Photos

Taken to the Roof-top
5 of us on a picnic bench.......very rickity!!!