Life is better Sydney side...

---

Sydney was incredible! For a large city, there is a really relaxed and easy-going atmosphere. A large amount of the city workers enjoy taking a leisurely lunch basking in the sunshine in the botanical gardens; in comparison to sitting in a dreary canteen while the rain pours in the UK the Sydneysiders know how to do it!

From the central business district out to body beautiful Bondi beach, Nike had obviously succeeded with their get active campaign, as unlike the the UK, people of all ages were out exercising morning, noon and night. Wearing a bikini or speedos day in and day out was obviously their motivation to keep fit, the beaches could easily have provided basis for a Nike advertisement with so many people with bodies to die for gliding past in colourful Nike trainers!

Like typical tourists we managed to get in the top tourist attractions:

- Soaking up the sun on Sydney's beautiful beaches

(Manly Beach)



- Walking the coastal path from Bondi to Coogee beach...we made it without much Tamarama

(Bondi Beach)

- Setting sail from Circular Quay for Manly to spend a day relaxing on the white sands of Manly beach and grabbing a well-renowned Salty Rooster burger for lunch.



- The ferry back provided a beautiful view of the city as the sunset.





- Wandering leisurely through the botanical gardens and having a coffee and ice cream in the shadows of the world famous Sydney Opera House







- In 46 degrees of heat visiting the cities big bath tub (ie Darling Harbour) to check out its newest resident



- A day trip to the Blue Mountains to see some of the national parks most famous features. Unfortunately the mist and rain that descended over them, masked their true glory although the views were still breathtaking. Rain coats might have been advisable but the afternoon was saved by a cream tea and scones at Leura's most renowned/only tea rooms.









Always expect the unexpected, a few of the not so usual things that happened during our stay in Sydney:

1) Marry Me -

Seeing a proposal written in the sky over the botanical gardens, I'm sure every girl was waiting for their name...



2) Central Perv -
The only thing that made the unbearably hot rooms at Central Perk Hostel more uncomfortable was the weird pervert guy on the bunk above us. This guy must have been about 40 years old, didn't speak a word to anyone apart from swearing uncontrollably when anyone made the slightest noise outside the room...already creating a bit of an uncomfortable atmosphere. One night he walked into the room from the shower with nothing but a t-shirt on flashing everything. We left and came back 10 minutes later to this guy sitting on the communal seat still in nothing but his t-shirt watching porn....awkward!!

3)Death on the Train -
We were unfortunate enough to witness a hugely obese man sitting three rows behind us on the train suffer a massive heart attack. At the time no-one really knew what was going on and we don't know for sure that he had died but due to his sheer size, the first aiders were helpless and when we were asked to exit the train it seemed likely.

4)Sydney turned Gotham City -
As we got off the train back from the Blue Mountains, we walked past a guy walking around with a Bane mask on....little bit odd! Decided to walk on as quickly as possible and summon Batman....

5)Snapped! -
While on the train, we both decided to have a little nap. We woke up to a cheerful "Morning Guys!" from the man sitting opposite us who also informed us that he had a taken a picture of us to put on twitter...

Does these things happen everyday in Sydney!???

We had a great time in Sydney apart from the weird mishaps we suffered along the way. The general culture in Australia is fairly similar to the UK with a few differences, the easy going vibe of the place, people's drive to get out and exercise, and Yogurberry frozen yoghurt shops, all of which we decided were mostly down to the constant sunshine. On more than one occasion, Rach commented on how the beaches in Australia and the beaches of Northern Ireland are actually very similar apart from the sun.



Watch out Karen, Aidan, Sue and Steve, this could be our new country of residence...unless they bring frozen yoghurt stalls to the UK, we are out right refusing to come home.

---