The tour group met up at 10am in the hostel lobby for our Sydney Harbour boat cruise. We were met by Andrew, the boat captain. What is it with me and boat captains? Maybe it's because he is the first real Aussie I've met since I've been here, or maybe it's the boat thing, but I had a little crush on Andrew immediately.
Our first stop was at the liquor store to stock up on booze for the boat. Anna, Emma and I had gone in three ways on two 6 packs of Castaway Australian cider. How appropriate for a boat.
It was very windy on the harbour, so we were all bundled up in our hoodies. I chugged two Castaways quickly hoping to get warm.
Andrew took us past the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. He also pointed out some of the most expensive properties in the world, as well as celebrity homes of Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman.
We stopped for lunch at the Sydney Fish Market where they brought us two huge platters of fish and chips to share. I tried the calamari, scallop, white fish, oyster and even a bite of octopus. I wouldn't eat the legs with the little suction cups. Everything is fried here I've noticed. Not my favorite.
After lunch we went to Manly Beach, which reminded me so much of Huntington Beach. After that we pulled in to a smaller beach that was blocked from the wind so we could swim. No one did because it was so cold, but there was a friendly game of beach soccer.
After 4 Castaways, the boat got more fun. Flo, a German guy on our tour who we refer to as Flo-Rida, plugged in his iPod and we jammed out. He proved to be a true white German rapper when he belted out Tupac, 50 Cent and of course Flo Rida. Hilarious!
After we were dropped off back at the hostel, everyone was ready for a nap. After about an hour, I awoke feverish. Great, and no health insurance. I slept a bit longer, then met up with the usuals for dinner at Scruffy Murphy's. I had invited Sam, the American guy from the airport shuttle, to join us. I had a Caesar salad and headed back to the hostel to sleep off the sickness.
