SYDNEY!!

Well, what can I say...I love Sydney. I always thought Melbourne would the city for me and Sydney would just be a bit, well, like a big busy city. Don't get me wrong, it is, but how can you not love a city when within 20mins of arriving, you can walk to the Opera House, surrounded by the beautiful Botanic Gardens and all while basking in the sun. That was really how we spent our first day. After a rather uncomfortable 9hr overnight bus journey from Coffs Harbour, we arrived at our downtown hostel at about 7am and unable to check into our room until the afternoon, we hit the sights.
Of course our first stop was the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House and we had a bit of a 'ta dah' moment when we turned a corner and there was the Opera House. It really was quite strange seeing such a famous icon right in front of us.

Ok, another adventure we made some may call 'embarrassing', some may even call 'sad'..... I however was very excited to be able to step foot in Summer Bay, (thats Home and Away for those who have no idea what I'm talking about). Oh yes, I can now say I have stood on the same ground as Alf Stewart and Sally Fletcher, wow. Along with Emma and Susan, there were also another four British girls on the same bus as us on the search for Summer Bay. That made it less embarrassing. After getting off the bus, we weren't quite sure which way to go so in a undeniably tourist move, one of the girls went up to one of the local lifeguards and asked where Summer Bay was. He pointed us in the direction and we were off. They had been filming in the morning but sadly we were too late. Nevertheless, very cool if a Home and Away fan.

So one day, I treated myself to something quite special. I was in Sydney, I had to. I went to a concert in the Opera House. A wasn't really fussed on what to see, I just wanted to see something. So with a combination of availability and time, the outcome was a concert by the resident symphony orchestra. Now if this bores you feel free to jump onto the next section, I think it will be about mountains or something...... So anway, it was amazing. We were treated to a pieces by Dvorak, Block, and Brahms 5th Symphony arranged by Schoenberg. Susan and I were both treated to a visionary delight of both are chosen fields, both in architecture and music. Although we were in the cheap seats, it was quite interesting as we were sat in the choir stalls behind the orchestra, giving a whole new perspective to the concert. I was able to read the percussionists music, see when the timpanist was given a dirty look by the conductor while still able to see the violins of course. It was a really great experience.

For our final day in Sydney, we left the city and headed off into the surrounding hills, The Blue Mountains. Called this, because of a blue haze that lingers over the mountains due to the Eucalyptus trees. It was so beautiful, helped by the amazing sunshine that we luckily had! We were driven around to the best viewing spots and every one of them gave us incredible views of the mountains.

Melbourne

I'm going to just say a little about Melbourne (because I'm actually now in New Zealand and want to get onto that soon!)

Melbourne was pretty cool, a nice city to wander around with a great market right next to our hostel which was kind of cool. But for now, all I'll say about Melbourne is 'Neighbours Night'. That's right, after going to Summer Bay, it was only fair to give Neighbours their turn. I'll warn you none-Neighbours fans, you may not have a clue what I'm talking about! After missing our bus (because we were told the wrong time by the hostel lady, grrrrr) we got a taxi to this very British looking pub which seemed like it was in the middle of nowhere. Hmmm, we thought we had been taken to the wrong place. After a wee look around I saw a little sign which said , Neighbours Night, so we went in. Well what a sight. A pub filled to the brim with Brits, chatting, drinking, and watching Neighbours re-runs on a big screen in the middle of the room. What was I doing?! We bumped into some friends we'd met up the coast and they were equally embarrassed to be there which made me feel better. Then entered Safari Pete. Your typical aussie, in safari gear ready to get the crowd going. After a wee warm up act and finding out where everyone was from (and it really was just Brits), they brought out the Neighbours guests. So our star line up? Steve Parker, Michelle Scully, Dylan Timmons and of course the one and only Dr Carl Kennedy (and his band!). So then we had a quiz while the actors came round each table and we were able to have a wee chat with them and get photos with them, slighty awkward at times but quite cool. Michelle Scully was the best. She was so lovely and we had a very funny girly chat with her! I asked her if she still kept in touch with Connor and she smiled and told us she was still going out with him, since the show!! She was so sweet and got all embarrassed. I want to be her friend. We didn't win the quiz but all was not lost as Dr Carls band came on! They were surprisingly good, although that really wasnt down to Carl's talent. It was a very fun night though!