Sydney!

Oddly enough, our plans completely changed since I last wrote. We decided to fly to Sydney a few days early, which was a great decision. We didn't have anyplace to stay, but we managed to get placed in a 2 star airport hotel which very much resembled a jail cell. Lesson Learned: always have a place to stay when leaving the country.  

After our interesting hotel experience, we relocated to a hostel on the outskirts of chinatown, which was also an experience. Thankfully, we had friends at a hostel about 2 blocks away which we ended up moving to for great reasons. Another lesson learned: don't believe everything you see on the Internet. What was desrcibed as a family room which resembled the comfort of a hotel ended up being a 10x10 room with cockroaches in the window. Ohhh the joys of traveling. We had a good laugh at both places, and often talked about how much we will appreciate the luxury of traveling with our parents who pay for nice hotel much more. But like I said, we had some great laughs and it all worked out in the end.

One of the nice things about being in Sydney was finally having more bennies and johnnies show up. Brandon met with us last Tuesday, and Kelsey and heather came on Wednesday. I can't wait to see everyone else in Perth.

Our week was filled with tons of walking, sight seeing,some beach bumming,a little shopping, and a  well deserved pub break for a few happy hours (did I mention that in love being legal to drink?) one of my favorite things that I did was went t manly island and spent the afternoon on the beach. It was about a 30 minute very ride but we got to see some great scenery along the way. The water was so warm, and the waves and HUGE! We saw a bunch of people body surfing the waves, so we attempted to try it and quickly realized that more training was needed before attempting to ride a wave. It's amazing how those things can make you twist and turn underwater if you get caught in one. There were a couple times it got a little too scary, so I guess I need to give a shouting to the beresford swimming pool for all of those great lessons when I was a kid and my cousin/ diving instructor Corey for teaching me to stay calm underwater. 

Beings we were so close to china town, I was on a mission to find some great knock offs to bring home as gifts, and to impress the guys with my mad bargaining skills but apparently none of the shops there have secret closets filled with fake channels, ray bans, and Pradas. I was disappointed, but I guess every chinatown is different!

On our last night, Gavin, Matthew, Brandon and I all went out for a nice seafood dinner and a show at the opera house. The opera house is beautiful, and it was a great experience that I will remember forever. Unfortunately I ended up getting food poisoning so I had to leave at intermission ,but I'm sure the second half was great. 

I am currently en route to Perth, and I am very anxious  to be settled and to stop living out of a suitcase. This wonderful vacation I have been on is about to come to an end, as I start school next week ( I think....no one really knows.) Im looking forward to meeting more Australians and less backpackers, and getting to know another city.  you all very much and will let you know about the first week of school once it happens!