Just rolling along....
After
my delightful stay with Peter I was forced back into the real
world...of travellers. Onto Bondi Beach where I spent a relaxing few
days on the beach, catching up on my sleep and oh heck, a little bit of
partying. I met two awesome English girls, Amy and Katie and from then
we have almost become inseparable. Not by their choice. Ha! Suckers.
That's what they get for being friendly. So not much to tell for the
first week. I can honestly say that the most exciting times were
walking through Woolworth's Bakery section. Ah, Tim Tams and sticky
buns. Sigh...Just beautiful! Donuts here are $3, for crying out
loud!!!! -- forcing my donut addiction or "DA" as it's most commonly
known into "CT" - Cold Turkey. Oh the sacrifices a traveller has to
make.
I went back to the crap hostel I started I had stayed in
first for a night because basically I'd already paid for it. It was
just as bad although I did learn some important lesson from the
experience. A hostel will offer anything to lure you in. Don't fall for
it. This one offered free breakfast, free internet and a free
prostitute.... (Yes, they are THAT abundant! - Don't worry, I gave mine
back). Leave a hostel when there is no need to wear bug spray outside,
but absolutely neccessary inside. And finally there is no was to buy
the cheapest bottle of wine in a shop (common on, I'm on a budget) and
still hold the respect of the cashier. It is amazing how quickly a
smile can turn into a raised eyebrow.
Kelly and Matt, two
friends of Suzanne came to rescue me this time and took me to their
place. A REAL bed again! Yes, I'm a sell-out traveller and I don't care
who knows! They were kind enough to let me stay the rest of the week
while taking me on tours each day. It is good to know locals! They had
a nice dinner party the night I arrived, where we spent the night
discussing the complexities of Anne of Green Gables. It's very big over
here. I detected much dissapointment from my lack of knowledge on
P.E.I. I will learn one day. Matt and Kelly took me to Botany Bay where
James Cook first landed on Australia and shook up the natives a little
bit. I have to be honest, I'm so used to Canadian, American and English
history where there were huge confrontations and thousands of people
died, that when I read the plaque which was a quote from Captain Cook's
diary I was a bit...amused. It went something like "Today was a
landmark day - we confronted the natives. Although they were all but
TWO, they would not budge. One of the natives was holding a sack, which
he then dropped and picked up again......." You get the point. And this
was an EXCITING day. Kelly then took me to Kiama to see the blowhole,
which wasn't blowing, then onto the Melbourne Cup, "THE EVENT THAT
STOPS THE NATION", that we sort of missed. I did bet on a horse, Makybe
Diva, and lo and behold, she won! I then proceeded to collect my
winnings of $2.00 (I bet $.50) Once again, I'm on a budget.
Sorry
for basically uninteresting email. Hey, it can't be exciting ALL the
time! It was a lovely week, but I'm off to Cairns with Amy and Katie.
This is where the adventure really begins....
