Wednesday, 29 April 2009
10/02/09
I was chilling in the Internet room of the hostel and met Paul from Blackburn. In my room I met two Italians in my room called Antonio and Fabrizio plus a 50 year old Englishman called Paul. Me Paul and Paul headed to the Shack and drank beer, played in a pool competition where I found that beer doesn’t help you win. We chatted to some American chicks then headed to the Tea Gardens (Irish bar in Bondi Junction) with a couple of Swedish chicks and a Norwegian.
08/02/09
The flight went quickly and I headed over to Mickey’s after I locked my bags away at the hostel (my room wasn’t ready until 2pm).
I went to a bar on the Bondi beachfront and met an Argentinean as well as a guy from Palestine. The bar was playing great House music and we had a great night. Its weird having a great night with people then maybe never seeing them again.
I went to a bar on the Bondi beachfront and met an Argentinean as well as a guy from Palestine. The bar was playing great House music and we had a great night. Its weird having a great night with people then maybe never seeing them again.
06/02/09
So after nearly 4 weeks of spending time with my family and friends it was time to go back to Oz. It was really good to be there at my Grandad’s funeral and walk his coffin on my shoulder to his crave along with my Dad and sister’s finace.
Luckily the snow wasn’t too bad so the plane could take off. There was an Ozzie guy on there that had been waiting since Monday (it was now Friday) due to the snow being so bad.
Luckily the snow wasn’t too bad so the plane could take off. There was an Ozzie guy on there that had been waiting since Monday (it was now Friday) due to the snow being so bad.
13/01/09
I landed in England and my very good friend Faye picked me up from the airport. It was very nice of her to go out of her way to do that and it was weird to see her. It seemed like I hadn’t been away. This was the same when I arrived home. My mum greeted me with a huge hug and tears. It was very good to be home, I was so glad I came back even though my mind was all over the place.
12/01/09
After checking out the surf at Bronte Beach with Mickey, he gave me a lift to the airport with his sister Elle which was very nice of them. I said my good byes and off I went to get the plane back to the UK. I had only been in Oz for 2 weeks and set my mind up for not going home for about 12 months of more. Now I was on my way back which was surreal but good. I was looking forward to seeing my family and friends but even more to pay my respects to my Grandad.
Friday, 3 April 2009
11/01/09
Very hung over and tired we got back to Mick’s and chilled in the living room watching planet earth with Sarah. David Attenborough is the best person to listen to when needing to recover.
We decided to go snorkelling to sort ourselves out plus Sarah and Mickey wanted to show me Gordon’s Bay. We got some goggles and fins and 10 minutes drive later we had arrived. A couple of Sarah’s mates met us there at the sea side cafe and we were good to go. Along the path lead us to a rocky area with many locals sunbathing swimming and snorkelling. It was another great sunny day and the water looked amazing. We went straight in after we put our towels down and snorkelling equipment on. I forgot how hard it was to walk in fins and how stupid I looked, especially as the rocks we had to climb over were very slippery. After Sarah and Mickey laughed at me trying to balance on a rock as Sarah took a photo, we were ready for action. It was nice to know that I had the short straw with the leaking goggles but after 5 minutes of working out breathing through the snorkel, it was amazing. The water was pretty clear and the marine like was the sort you would get in tropical fish tanks. The colours of some of the fish were beautiful; bright blue, green, purple, yellow, pearl. Most of the fish were small but there were a couple of large ones that would swim further underneath the rocks when you get too close.
There were a couple of shark attacks yesterday in Tasmania and further up the East Coast so I had slight paranoia when I was in deeper waters. Watching Great White Sharks on Planet Earth jumping in and out of the water after seals didn’t help and knowing that one of the attacks was by a Great White!
It seemed like the locals weren’t bothered about the knowledge of sharks swimming around in the same water as they swam in. There were some people swimming really far out from shore too. I guess because the possibilities of being attacked by a shark are very slim, they must just not think about it much. It is more likely that you would get knocked down by a car on you’re way back from swimming/snorkelling/surfing in the sea than getting attacked by a shark.
We stopped at Coles supermarket on the way back from the beach. Kangaroo on the BBQ and beers were on the menu tonight. I think I’ve had Kangaroo once before but fresh steaks and sausages on the BBQ were amazing. We had good old Frank Sinatra’s real early stuff playing in the background; the weather was still really good with warm temperatures as the sun started to set. My Grandad loved Frank Sinatra so we raised our glasses and made a toast to him. It was a really good evening.
We decided to go snorkelling to sort ourselves out plus Sarah and Mickey wanted to show me Gordon’s Bay. We got some goggles and fins and 10 minutes drive later we had arrived. A couple of Sarah’s mates met us there at the sea side cafe and we were good to go. Along the path lead us to a rocky area with many locals sunbathing swimming and snorkelling. It was another great sunny day and the water looked amazing. We went straight in after we put our towels down and snorkelling equipment on. I forgot how hard it was to walk in fins and how stupid I looked, especially as the rocks we had to climb over were very slippery. After Sarah and Mickey laughed at me trying to balance on a rock as Sarah took a photo, we were ready for action. It was nice to know that I had the short straw with the leaking goggles but after 5 minutes of working out breathing through the snorkel, it was amazing. The water was pretty clear and the marine like was the sort you would get in tropical fish tanks. The colours of some of the fish were beautiful; bright blue, green, purple, yellow, pearl. Most of the fish were small but there were a couple of large ones that would swim further underneath the rocks when you get too close.
There were a couple of shark attacks yesterday in Tasmania and further up the East Coast so I had slight paranoia when I was in deeper waters. Watching Great White Sharks on Planet Earth jumping in and out of the water after seals didn’t help and knowing that one of the attacks was by a Great White!
It seemed like the locals weren’t bothered about the knowledge of sharks swimming around in the same water as they swam in. There were some people swimming really far out from shore too. I guess because the possibilities of being attacked by a shark are very slim, they must just not think about it much. It is more likely that you would get knocked down by a car on you’re way back from swimming/snorkelling/surfing in the sea than getting attacked by a shark.
We stopped at Coles supermarket on the way back from the beach. Kangaroo on the BBQ and beers were on the menu tonight. I think I’ve had Kangaroo once before but fresh steaks and sausages on the BBQ were amazing. We had good old Frank Sinatra’s real early stuff playing in the background; the weather was still really good with warm temperatures as the sun started to set. My Grandad loved Frank Sinatra so we raised our glasses and made a toast to him. It was a really good evening.
10/01/09
Today was festival day. A free festival had been organized in the centre of Sydney expecting 250,000 people. I was to meet Mickey and his mates at the Shark Hotel for a $2 steak (they’re getting cheaper by the day) then off to the Domain Park for DJ Mr Scruff followed by Grace Jones!
I met Mike and Andy for lunch and watched a movie at they’re hostel. They were also going to the festival tonight so it should be a good one. After the movie I organized myself and packed my stuff ready to take to Mickey’s. 17:30 and I was in the Shark Hotel waiting for everyone. Two beers later, Mickey shows up followed by his mates followed by the rest of the party people. We picked up a carton (crate) of beer and off we went. We heard through the grapevine that security and police weren’t allowing alcohol to be taken into the festival so we split the beers and hid them by any means such as in pants or pockets. Mickey just put a jumper over his carton and held it in front of him, good effort! When we got in the festival, everyone had their own alcohol so we were probably laughed at by security and police.
We met up with Mickey’s other mates who had been there all day and they had a good spot. An Aussie band were playing and were really good. They were playing Ska/Funk/Jazz music with brilliant musicians. With trees shielding us to the left and skyscrapers to the right, it was amazing being at a free festival in the middle of a great city. With massive fruit bats coming out of the trees as the sun starts to set, people of all ages mixing together and partying together I was loving it and dedicated more drinks to my Grandad.
Mr Scruff came on and he played some good tunes but his set was a bit boring. Grace Jones put on a fantastic show afterwards. I’ve always wanted to see her live and she lived up to my expectations. She’s a great performer and artist plus I’ve never seen a 60 year old where a G-string before and look good! At the end of her set, she got loads of random people from the crowd up on stage which I thought made her show even better.
Walking the streets of Sydney at the end, everyone was on a high. We met up with Mickey’s sister Elle and some others before heading to Bondi. Elle was dancing on a wall then slipped and sprained her ankle. She was in a lot of pain and passed out because of it. Mickey ran off to get medical help. As we waited, I quickly popped to the porta-loos. As I was relieving myself from all the beer I had consumed, a black spider the size of my palm was on the wall in front of me. I was literally pissing myself, he didn’t look very friendly and if he jumped, his landing strip would be my man hood! Telling myself “Quick, quick, quick!” I really didn’t want to run out weeing down my leg screaming like a little girl due to a possible life threatening spider crawling around my genitals. I left the porta-loo more relieved than I have ever done in my life. I’m not afraid of spiders but one’s that could kill definitely scare me.
Elle was strapped to a stretcher and was taken to hospital. The rest of us when to Townhall station to get the train to Bondi Junction. We got a cab from there to Coogee rather than Bondi Beach. We couldn’t get into the Palace so off to Coogee Bay Hotel. It took about 2 hours to get form the festival to Coogee so after a couple of beers me, Sarah and Mickey’s mate Richo went back to hers. It was a nice walk back at about 2am with the fresh coastal breeze. Mickey wasn’t with us as he was working his magic with a girl in the bar we were at. We got to sleep at about 4/5am and up early to get to my hostel to check out by 10am. Mickey kindly offered to give me a lift to get my stuff which was very welcomed.
I met Mike and Andy for lunch and watched a movie at they’re hostel. They were also going to the festival tonight so it should be a good one. After the movie I organized myself and packed my stuff ready to take to Mickey’s. 17:30 and I was in the Shark Hotel waiting for everyone. Two beers later, Mickey shows up followed by his mates followed by the rest of the party people. We picked up a carton (crate) of beer and off we went. We heard through the grapevine that security and police weren’t allowing alcohol to be taken into the festival so we split the beers and hid them by any means such as in pants or pockets. Mickey just put a jumper over his carton and held it in front of him, good effort! When we got in the festival, everyone had their own alcohol so we were probably laughed at by security and police.
We met up with Mickey’s other mates who had been there all day and they had a good spot. An Aussie band were playing and were really good. They were playing Ska/Funk/Jazz music with brilliant musicians. With trees shielding us to the left and skyscrapers to the right, it was amazing being at a free festival in the middle of a great city. With massive fruit bats coming out of the trees as the sun starts to set, people of all ages mixing together and partying together I was loving it and dedicated more drinks to my Grandad.
Mr Scruff came on and he played some good tunes but his set was a bit boring. Grace Jones put on a fantastic show afterwards. I’ve always wanted to see her live and she lived up to my expectations. She’s a great performer and artist plus I’ve never seen a 60 year old where a G-string before and look good! At the end of her set, she got loads of random people from the crowd up on stage which I thought made her show even better.
Walking the streets of Sydney at the end, everyone was on a high. We met up with Mickey’s sister Elle and some others before heading to Bondi. Elle was dancing on a wall then slipped and sprained her ankle. She was in a lot of pain and passed out because of it. Mickey ran off to get medical help. As we waited, I quickly popped to the porta-loos. As I was relieving myself from all the beer I had consumed, a black spider the size of my palm was on the wall in front of me. I was literally pissing myself, he didn’t look very friendly and if he jumped, his landing strip would be my man hood! Telling myself “Quick, quick, quick!” I really didn’t want to run out weeing down my leg screaming like a little girl due to a possible life threatening spider crawling around my genitals. I left the porta-loo more relieved than I have ever done in my life. I’m not afraid of spiders but one’s that could kill definitely scare me.
Elle was strapped to a stretcher and was taken to hospital. The rest of us when to Townhall station to get the train to Bondi Junction. We got a cab from there to Coogee rather than Bondi Beach. We couldn’t get into the Palace so off to Coogee Bay Hotel. It took about 2 hours to get form the festival to Coogee so after a couple of beers me, Sarah and Mickey’s mate Richo went back to hers. It was a nice walk back at about 2am with the fresh coastal breeze. Mickey wasn’t with us as he was working his magic with a girl in the bar we were at. We got to sleep at about 4/5am and up early to get to my hostel to check out by 10am. Mickey kindly offered to give me a lift to get my stuff which was very welcomed.
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