Well I left you all upon my return to Sydney going for dinner with Tan & Lou - it was great to spend the evening with more friends - there's something great about going back to a place you know!
So I made it up in time to catch my bus to the Blue Mountains - not so blue as misty and grey!! The whole place was shrouded in fog which was really disappointing. So we continued on our travels and got to Leura - a beautiful little village where there is an all round Xmas shop - it's so cool!! Had lunch there and then went to the Worlds steepest railway - Oh My God!! I was scared - it was virtually vertical - well, maybe a little exageration but hey - never mind. It was a fab experience - well worth doing. By this time the fog had lifted and we were able to get a view of the 3 Sisters - very nice - but would I go again? No!!
Then on the way home we went to the Olympic Park - well all I can say is that London has a lot of work to do for 2012! It is a vast place which is amazing - they had a stadium for everything and some great ideas - like everyone who volunteered to work there has their name on a column outside the Telstra Stadium!! THe fountain where the Olympic Torch was lit is lovely and the village where the athletes lived is huge. Come on London, pull your fingers out. Sydney completed all the construction 2 months ahead of schedule - will London manage the same? My money would be on................well, let's just see!!
From there we continued down to Paramatta where we hopped on a ferry back to Circular Quay. Of course, I was a little disappointed, as this also meant I had to fork out for a ferry ticket back to Manly, but all in all, a good day. Not sure that it was worth the money I paid, but still a good day out. Absolutely knackered now though!!
Got back to the house and went straight back out to get a chinese that my mouth had been watering for since leaving the Blue MOuntains!! A very relaxed evening with the pleasant thought of not having to get up in the morning for anything other than sunbathing if I wanted to!!
Well, I made it up by lunchtime, did my washing, had lunch with Tan and then just pottered, wasting time, sunbathing and trying not to wish my time away in Oz - hard though when a night at the Sydney Opera House to see Madama Butterfly awaits you!!
I started getting ready really early very excited - make up for the first time in ages and it felt soooo good!! And I felt brown!! Hopped on the Sea Cat over to the Quay and ran into Maccas - a quick Filet of Fish later and I was wandering up to the front steps of perhaps one of the most famous opera houses in the world for my final night in Australia. And what a night......
Got my program and read the storyline so I had a rough idea what these Aussies were singing about in Italian!! And then settled back to take a snap of the inside. Oh no - I got shouted at! "No photography allowed inside miss" - whoops - well I got 1!! Inside it isn't plush - but just nice. It kind of has that feel about it - a very special feel. Maybe it was just cos it was my last night but it was brilliant. The opera started and I was impressed to see that Madama Butterfly was a thin beautiful lady and not some fat lady with a huge voice - although her voice was huge and fantastic!! A beautiful story and a wonderful end to my time in Oz.
I can't believe that I was in Australia for 3 months. I have met some amazing people, and made some friends for life. Thank you to each and every one of them that helped me make some great memories that I will always treasure. I love Oz, and I feel certain that it is not Goodbye, just 'Au Revoir'. I have a feeling that I'll be back - after all, I still haven't done the Great Ocean Road, Cairns or Darwin - and now I have fab friends to visit too!! What is a girl supposed to do??!!
So this morning I was picked up at some ungodly hour to catch my flight to New Zealand. I'm sat in an internet cafe just of Cathedral Square, booked into a nice backpackers which is more like a hotel, and I even have a friend for the night - a great girl called Elizabeth from Dublin!! So we're off for a drink and a bit of an explore!!
Take care - talk to you soon, with news on my adventures in NZ!!
Hels
xxx