As I sit and write this 10,000 miles away, I do wonder if the world is getting smaller, or am I getting bigger, or both. I think how we interpret the size of the world is massively subjective. Occasionally, when I feel a bit homesick, I often look at the world map on the wall and think about all the countries and all the people that separate me from my family and friends. Other times I don’t feel the distance. The wonders of internet and smartphones keep me connected and provide the illusion of being much closer to home.

I’m into my third month and I know it’s the best decision I have ever made, whilst certain circumstances could have been better, it’s the perfect break I needed and I’ve learnt to be self-reliant. Australia is the perfect place to find your sanity, it’s great for the mind body and soul. 

This place has it’s good, it’s bad and it’s ugly, the same as any other, and whilst it is like England but warmer, nicer, and the people have a much better lifestyle, the home is indeed where the heart is. In the beginning I was hoping of getting sponsorship and staying the extra four years. But I think whilst Manchester is cold and rainy, I certainly consider it home and I am starting to miss the place… finally. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, the mind more sane and helps you appreciate what you have back home. 

And whilst its been suggested the strong relationships I have with my close family and bezzies will hold me back in the future, I’m glad! After all, it is the people in your life that are the most important. And without the beautiful, amazing people in my life that keep me going I wouldn’t have been able to do it anyway! 

It's a beautiful day and the sun is shining. It's supposedly autumn, but I struggle to notice the supposed change of season. Since arriving in the 'height of summer', the weather has been a bit odd, apparently it was the wettest summer on record. The temperature rarely rises above 30 or falls below 20, which is perfect for me. Apparently winter is the dry season, and temperatures are expected to fall during the evening- no biggie. I have started to notice you need a cardi once the sun has set and I have down graded to SPF15.

I've managed to buy a camera charger (that actually works)- happy days- up until now I have been managing with my antique iPhone 3GS which is brilliant without even a flash, must upgrade upon my return. I seize the opportunity of the glorious sunshine, camera in hand and venture out to the Botanical Gardens.

It's a huge series of gardens that spans a good distance in the heart of the city, from the Opera House up to Hyde Park. There’s a vast array of plants and trees, it all goes over my head but it’s pretty. The grass is filled with workers on their lunch hour and the trees are filled with hundreds of bats... yes hundreds.  

As I make my way through the first garden, I increasingly become aware of the huge spider webs hanging off the trees as I try and dodge an encounter with an eight legged beast. To be honest I am starting to get used to the aussie creepy crawlies, and they don’t bother me in the trees, afterall the deadly ones chill in our front garden.

I get to the waterside for what can only be described as an epic view… Not sure my photography skills do it justice but you get the idea. This is the most beautiful city I have ever visited, I appreciate Rome for it’s history and Guilin for it’s natural beauty, but for a buzzing, vibrant city Sydney has some amazeball views, greenery and landmarks and obviously the gorgeous, golden beaches. What more could a girl want?!?

 

After spending the afternoon in the Australian museum yesterday, it appears I may be turning into some form of a culture vulture. 

Whilst most of the art is unfortunately wasted on me, there is some cool stuff to be appreciated; from Asian artefacts to your standard Picasso. There is a section for aboriginal art but it in my opinion it's lacking- this has definitely become a point of interest for me, the aboriginal culture not just the art...

It's a grand building, and there is definitely something enchanting about the place. It's free entry so if you're in the vicinty it's definitely worth a look.

Iv had my fill of cultural vulturism so I head to the beach... Standard.

In an attempt to vary my days I've decided it's time to do the whole museum thing.

I was saving it for a rainy day, but if my days are numbered here- by here I mean Australia, not on earth, alive- then I need to start squeezing in all the hotspots on my vast 'todo list' for Sydney.

It's a gorgeous day, and I head through one of my favourite spots, Hyde Park to get to the museum.

It's not quite as big as I expected, and the most interesting part by far was the aboriginal/ indigenous part. I do find it all massively interested and have done since watching the film The Rabbit Proof Fence. The information does seem to be limited here, which makes a trip to the outback even more desirable, but seriously can I brave the creepy crawlie and snakes? Hmm not sure. 

Centennial Park is a hugeeeeeee park in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. Not suprisingly there are hundreds of people running or cycling through the park at 7pm as I make my way to the Moonlight cinema to meet Omar and his mate Toby, another Brit on tour, to watch Pulp Fiction.


I get the bus to the wrong side of the park, story of my life, and I have about a 30 minute walk. Luckily the weather was mild, and the sun was sort of shining. I find myself amongst a massive crowd of weird white parrot type birds which hurries me along, and the sky is filled with bats. Just like the botannical gardens, you can see them chilling in the trees during the day, and then flying around like some sort of horror movie in the evening.

We get into the cinema and I quickly realise I have no blanket or anything to sit on, there was a VIP area with bean bags and waiters, but it's not about paying $40 for that is it.. We sit on the grass and anticipate the start of the film, I get a bit fidgety as time is ticking on, it's a long film and I have the half hour walk back to the bus stop. 

Pulp Fiction is a classic film, but I hadn't seen it for years. I get comfy and as the clouds moved, I could see the stars- inbetween crowds of bats- and it was another one of them moments that I really appreciate where I am. The film is just as brilliant as I remember and for the first time I didn't shield my eyes from the gruesome scenes. 

(How hot is Bruce WIllis in this film.... )

It’s Sunday morning and a perfect day to head down to Bondi Beach. It’s a total mission from Maroubra, to drive it would take about 20minutes, but I have to make use of the public transport, which should have taken two buses and just over an hour, but again it’s busy and takes 1hr 45. It’s worth it as again the view is perfect, you look at Bondi Beach and it looks exactly as you would imagine, picture perfect. 

It’s really busy with people over spilling from the beach on to the grass. On a Sunday, you have the added bonus of Bondi Market. We decide to walk along the front and check it out. It’s mainly clothes and some quirky stuff, it’s expensive but definitely worth a look. We decide on Moo Burgers for lunch, it seems to be the busiest place, which usually means the best place. We weren’t disappointed as the food was lavely. The walls were covered with A4 posters of entertaining pictures that had been drawn by visitors, including poems and our favourite being the drawing of a cow that was pooing burgers.

We grab another fat ice cream, this time smothered in hot Nutella- seriously the best thing I’ve ever eaten. Times cracking on so we get the train to Kings Cross, I’d heard it was ropey and as soon as we leave the station there are some pretty crazy characters, we have a wander and a cold beverage before we go back to their hotel to collect their bags before they head to the airport.

I’ve been here six weeks and it starts to sink in, if I want to stay and have a ball I need to get on a serious job hunt this week, so I’m hoping for a few cloudy days…

After a few weeks of rollercoaster weather, this weekend is proving to be filled with glorious sunshine with clouds few and far between. Jenny and Bruce are down from the Golden Coast for the weekend for some Sydney sightseeing.

We head through the main street of the city, with a Slurpee in hand, or as Jenny would say ‘a cloud of dreams’, to Circular Quay to admire the Harbour Bridge and Opera House. It’s by far the busiest I have seen, and I guess it’s full of tourists making sure they get the money shots of the tourist hotspot in the sunshine, the water is as blue as the sky, happy days.

When the sky is blue, it’s nice to escape the city and head to a beach. We decided to get the ferry over to Manly, apparently it’s one of the most notorious ferry journeys in the world. As you speed away from the city, you get a cracking view of the landmarks whilst dodging boats and yachts for half an hour before arriving in Manly. 

It’s not a huge place, and clearly many had the same idea as us as it was pretty busy. We head down the road full of shops and eateries towards the gorgeous Manly beach. With less surfers than the likes of Maroubra or Bondi, the beach is full of beautiful people sunbathing or playing volleyball.

Along the beach front is bars and restaurants, we walk up and down the front and struggle to decide where to eat. When I came with the family last week we had a lovely meal and bottle of wine overlooking the beach. This time we decided on pizza from one of the ropiest looking places there, Manly Kebab. We decide to grab a huuuuge ice cream and sit on the beach. I’m so bloated I feel crippled and there’s nothing like being surrounded by golden stickinsects to give you foodguilt. 

After a cold beer we decide to head back to the city, and check out Darling Harbour. The sun has set at this point, and the Harbour is buzzing with people and busy restaurants and bars. It’s the first time I have seen it like this and we decide to head to a bar overlooking the harbour. We talk about our experience over here, compare it to home, say how amazeballs it is and that we are lucky and living the dream. It’s hard to imagine being happy going back to the UK, it has to end at some point though, doesn’t it?  

On Saturday, a Mardi Gras celebration took over the LGBT area, including a parade down Oxford Street- Sydney's equivalent to Manchester's Canal Street. 

Firstly, the rain is mental and my umbrella is wrecked, and most people around us seemed to be high on life and definitely high on other things too. The night starts with a good vibe and everyone seems overly excited, which we thought was for Kylie Minogue's appearance in the parade. The crowd is full of, well I wouldn't even say half dressed people strolling up and down the road, and people all in front of us with umbrellas blocking the view. 

I can't see much, and what I can see is all pretty much the same thing over and over again with some weird political and religious messages. It was fun but after half an hour I was kicking my heels, I was convinced to stay after all I might not get the chance to see Kylie again... Anyway we stayed the full TWO AND A HALF HOURS only to see a few Kylie Minogue impersonators... Apparently she was overseeing the float from her hotel room before performing at the Mardi Gras party later that night for a whack of $100 a ticket.... Last time I'm trusting Omar with the details.