G’Day Mate! Well we arrived in Sydney safe and sound. It’s been a fantastic few weeks since we’ve been here and we’ve gotten up to loads so we thought it about time we get the blog updated so we keep all you guys at home really jealous and missing some sunshine even more now your all covered in snow!
Christmas in the Sunshine: Not quite the Christmas we’re used to but an unforgettable experience. Would definitely spend another Christmas in this weather if I could teleport Granny Nolan’s house over here for the few days. Can’t beat Granny’s turkey and pudding! Ummmmm, ummmmm! As that wasn’t possible this year we charged on and made our own little Christmas over here in Sydney. We substituted the crazy hustle and bustle last minute shopping in the run up to Christmas day with a leisurely stroll around The Corso in Manly and a few hours relaxing on Manly beach. Not a bad way to enjoy the run up to Christmas!
Christmas day rolled in and it was time for us to tackle cooking Christmas dinner for ourselves for the first time ever. But first, a short Skype call home to let the family know that Santy had found us all the way over here in Sydney and see if he had still gone to Kilree seeing as I wasn’t there this year! Needless to say the boys hadn’t been good all year round and Santy had left them a lump of coal each in their stockings. Of course we were really good all year and Santy gave us loads of deadly presents. Haha. Next up was dinner time. An interesting experience to say the least but one I was extremely proud of as I’m sure you can see from all the pics I took of each course. It wouldn’t be Christmas day without a starter of Mam’s homemade soup. Thanks Mags for the recipe. Next up, the works with stuffing and roasties. Followed closely by yum brandy and macadamia pudding with cream and custard. Heaven!! Later on we filled up on gorgeous strawberries we picked from the garden, cheese & crackers and sparkling vino. Then to round out the day we stuffed ourselves with pretzels, crisps and chocolate. All in the name of a good Christmas Day.
New Years in the City: After enjoying a few days at Curl Curl beach to work off the Christmas dinner lying out in the sun we headed to Sydney for a small bit of New Year’s sales shopping. Half price 1 day sale in Guess, aaaaaaahhh!! I almost fainted at the site but held it together long enough to go in and spend a rake of moola. You’d know I’m Catherina’s goddaughter. I blame you Cantherina!! New Year’s Eve then we headed into the city early to grab a drink in the oldest pub in Sydney, the Fortune of War, before making our way up to Observatory hill to claim our spot on the grass amongst the crowd to watch the fireworks over the Harbour Bridge when the clock struck 12. What a way to ring in the New Year. It has got to be on everyone’s bucket list as a must see.
Mask, fins, snorkel… we’re good to go: Snorkelling time again and off to Shelly beach we went. It was brilliant. John brought us both out snorkelling amongst the rocks where we saw a stingray hiding out under the sand, a flathead fish we had eaten for dinner the night before and blue gropers which are huge big fish. Incredible.
Home and away, closer each day: Next on the agenda was a visit to Summer Bay.
You know we belong together
You and I forever and ever
No matter where you are
Your my guiding star
and from the very first moment I saw you
I never felt such emotion
I'm walking on air
Just to know...(just to know)
You are there...(you are there)
Hold me in your arms
don't let me go
I want to stay forever
home and away
with you each day
A bit of the theme tune there to set the tone. Today Al brought us up to Palm Beach to check out the Summer Bay surf club and kiosk. We kept an eye out for any camera crew to see if I could fulfil my destiny as an extra in Home and Away but unfortunately the show is on a break at the moment over here as its summer holidays. Next time!
Festival First Night: It was the first night of the 2011 Sydney festival on for the month of January so we all headed into the city to check out the shows in Hyde Park. After watching Lah Lahs Musical Wonderland on the kid’s stage with all the family, myself and Jim headed to meet up with Brady and his mate Kev. Hyde Park silver screen + sun drenched day + just shy of 250,000 people swarm the city for the first nights entertainment + few cold beers = a lot of happy people!
Bondi Rescue: After the short ferry ride over from Manly we caught the open top bus tour at Circular Quay for a day of sightseeing all across the city and out around Bondi. We hopped on and off throughout the day checking out the town hall, St Andrews Cathedral, Queen Victoria’s wishing well, Kings Cross area, Central Tower, the Opera House, St Marys Cathedral, Bondi beach & surrounding areas like Rose Bay and finally Darling Harbour. We passed by loads more sites we have pencilled in to call back to another day. We particularly like Darling Harbour. It’s a really cool area with loads to see and do. We’ll be back! Also keep an eye out for us on Bondi rescue as you can see in one of the pics they were filming there today. Here’s hoping we get our television debut!!
A night at the Opera: Well kind of. Thanks to Santy we headed to the Opera House today for the ‘Essential Tour’ and then onto watch Le Grande Cirque Adrenaline live in the concert hall. Not quite Phantom of the Opera but fantastic dare devil and acrobatic stunts. A bit more our style. It was a great show that would have your heart in your mouth and your bum on the edge of your seat. Big shout out to Santy for that brilliant present!
