Monday, June 2, 2008

Sydney: Back to Sydney en route to New Zealand

30/06/01 - Bondi Beach, 1215

Sitting at Bondi, surrounded by screaming sea gulls. They're waiting to pounce on food I don't have.



Didn't get a chance to write in Melbourne; I really wasn't there long enough. Melbourne has a very nice feel to it; I really like the old architecture around the city. It was nice not having to stay in a hostel - even if I did end up with a cat sleeping on my neck! (Keith to be precise, belonging to Catherine, a friend from Perth I stayed with).



I arrived in Melbourne around 10pm (after having to sit through "Wild Wild West" on the bus - uggghh). Didn't get a chance to do much that night, but on Thursday Catherine took me on a guided tour of Melbourne: over the Yarra, on the trams and even to the controversial Crown Casino (won $2, but then lost it). They wouldn't let us take photos inside, which was disappointing, but not surprising. The scariest thing about Casinos are the hordes of old people who sit there playing pokies all day and night long.



Caught up with Ash, a friend I've known off the Internet for a few years on Thursday night. Drank many "potts" of beer - when I asked for a "midi" I got a strange look. I guess a "pint" is universal (or a schooner at any rate), but wherever you go in Australia the beer receptacle has a different name. Very annoying.



The food in Melbourne was fantastic. I can't believe how many cake shops there are in St. Kilda - Catherine and I went up there on Friday.



Brunswick Street in Fitzroy was great - the highlight of my stay around there was showing a homeless guy how to use the Laundromat (aptly named "My Beautiful Laundrette"). Freaky thing happened when talking to Catherine's housemate's girlfriend - turns out she's the sister of my high school drama teacher. They all came from Perth initially, which I swear only has about three degrees of separation.




The overnight bus back to Sydney was pretty crap - probably got about four and a half hours sleep. Stopping off at Goulbourn at 3:30am was a surreal experience - there was fog everywhere, and the temperature was down to -5°C, and looming over the service station was a giant merino with a red nose (part of Red Nose Day, a charity fundraiser for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome research).



Off to New Zealand tomorrow - the rest of the day I hope to see Sydney Aquarium and of course, catch up on some sleep.

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