2nd week in Sydney.

---

So here we go again. It's been a while for one reason or another...but greetings to you all from the West Coast of the South Island in New Zealand! (What a mouthful!)

Anyway, last time I wrote we were just about to make the switch from one side of the Sydney family to the other... We spent 6days with John and Michelle (My dads cousin and his wife) who put us up in their lovely home in St.Ives, a gorgeous leafy Sydney suburb. Not only did they put us up, but they really did treat us to a wonderful second week in Sydney!

John took us to see some wonderful beaches (Including the 'Home & Away' strech of sand!), and whilst at home we were cooked for and had everything we could have possible wanted. We were even leant their car (for my first drive without Pat) to get to a from A to B. Spent more time in central Sydney at art galleries and the botanical gardens. On the Thursday night we had booked tickets for a performance at the Opera House which was absolutely stunning. The whole evening was wonderful, and experiencing 'Planet Earth in Concert' at the Sydney Opera House was just awesome - even made young Carla cry!!

The following day we spent in the Blue Mountains and spent a few wonderful hours with John and Michelle overlooking the vast forrests below and then exploring them after a Cable Car ride down tho the forrest floor. It was wonderful the next day to see Suzannah (J & M's daughter) and her family who came for lunch in St Ives. Was really nice to meet her lovely partner and very sweet children.

On the Sunday we were treated to a gorgeous lunch at Darling Harbour before going to a wildlife centre with Australian animals. We were able to see Walabies, Akidnas, Pythons, Emus, Koalas, a HUGE Croc and the most venomous snake on the planet! Thankfully it was behind the glass! That evening we were lucky enough to have tickets for an A-League game in the Olympic Stadium between Sydney FC and Perth Glory. Football has begun to take off in Sydney and they have a star player in Alessandro Del Piero who scored in the sides 2-1 victory. The standard was not up to much, but it was wonderful to be sitting in the sun, with a beer in our hands, watching some live footy! Lovely stuff! That night I slept infront of the TV in order to wake up a silly o'clock to watch some live Premier League action from home....Carla went to bed!

Our final day in Oz was spent packing up and then going for a wonderful lunch overlooking the sun-drenched harbour with ferries going to and fro. Lovely food and great company in a wonderful setting! We really did enjoy our time in Australia and were so lucky to have been put up by two lovely families who took us in and treated us to an amazing couple of weeks!

New Zealand Blog to come....next time we are online...

Thanks. Bye. xxx

---

Photos

Harbour Sunset
The Sydney Opera House Evening

Harbour
The Sydney Opera House Evening

Brown Snake
Deadliest Snake in the World

J & M
Lovely House in St Ives